So me, hubby, hubby's friend, and the dogs are in the Sierras at our cabin this weekend (greetings courtesy of 33.6k dial-up and a little bit of boredom - I just ran out of books). This requires a drive across the Central Valley, which I am convinced they should just build a glass tunnel through so those of us who need to cross the Valley can do so without actually having to interact with it.

Anyway, I drove the MINI seperately from the rest of the crowd because I had a thing at the beach Thursday morning...I get to the cabin and Clara is a massacre of bugs (see the "I Hate Bugs" thread). I figure "bah, whatever, it's all dirty and stuff here anyway". Except that at night, the glare off the bugs on my windshield is distracting and downright dangerous. I'd left all my Prima stuff at home thinking what could happen that would require a wash, it's a 2.5 hour drive. Duh.

So I take Clara down the mountain this morning in search of an AutoZone and a wash bay or *gasp* a full-service wash (I have to do a full PC job in the next week or so anyway, so I figured what the heck). I find a full service pretty quickly but it's new, and that frightens me, so I keep on driving and find an OSH right next to a 6-bay self-wash! YAY!

So I head into OSH, straight for the car care aisle, and pick up a gallon of washer fluid (depleted from trying to wash the bugs off in vain), a small bucket, a roll of 6 thin but soft-feeling MFs, a chenille wash mitt, two MF applicators, and bottles of glass cleaner, "Gunk" bug remover, and Meguiar's Soft Wash, QD, Interior Foam and Spray-On Quik Wax. We were sort of "slumming it" but I figured I didn't do too badly. Total damages were $60, and I figure I can just leave the whole set up here so I have it for next time.

I head over to the self-wash and park in a bay and get $5 in quarters. Blithely ignoring the "PLEASE NO BUCKET WASHES" sign, I got to work.

First let me say, I need one of those high-powered wands at home! I blew the brake dust and other dirt off the wheels in 2 seconds flat. Amazing.

I sprayed down the whole front end and windshield with the bug remover. This stuff worked much better than the Turtle Wax variety I used last time, and was a clear, windex-y type liquid rather than the lotiony consistency of the TW stuff. It also worked better - I sprayed it on, let it sit while I made up my wash water, and then blasted it off with the wand and all but two little bug pieces came off. Pretty impressive, I didn't have to scrub at all.

Normally I am not much for a lot of foam with my wash, but I enjoyed the Soft Wash. It made a ton of foam and smelled really nice. I've been considering getting a foam gun and if I do, this is probably what I will use in it.

In the middle of the wash, a red beat-up looking Camero screaches into the bay next to me. A guy and a girl hop out, immediately start pumping quarters into the machine, and in less than 30 seconds after pulling in are madly washing their car. Maybe another minute later, 3 sheriff squad cars coming peeling into the lot and surround them and block them into their bay. Whoaaaaa. But one of the cops came over and told me I was safe and I could keep up my work. And "nice car". Hee. They arrested the guy and the girl drove the Camero away. Whatever.

THEN I made the mistake of using the Spray-On Wax without reading the directions. Oopsie. So I spray it allllllllllllllllll over the car like a madwoman, thinking "Like Hydro, cool!". Yeah, not at ALL like Hydro, and NOT cool. I spent the next hour buffing, drying, buffing again, buffing again, removing wax from the trim BAHHHHHHHH I was so irritated when I was done. READ THE DIRECTIONS. I'm a moron. By the time I was done I was sweating, tired, my hamstrings hurt and my hair was plastered to my face.

However, Clara is now shiny clean and is the best looking car in the village right now My husband and his friend promptly made fun of me when I returned, but his car is now covered in gross bugs and mine is not

 

Cool story glad you got her cleaned up. I learned car wash wax does not = Hydro

 

ML- wow, that sounds like an exciting day for a cabin get away.

so is that the Griot's SprayOn wax you used? If so, yah, that stuff
needs a final buff. next time, you just need to spray more SprayOn wax
on the area that didn't buff out smoothly and it will smooth itself out.
but the trick is to use a dry MF towel, meaning it works better after the
car has been dried. it's not so 'wax as you dry' as Hydro at all.

should've brought that griot's detailing bag worth of Prima products, huh?
(live and learn? )

good job.

 

It was Meguiar's...it SAYS "wax while you dry!" on the bottle but I call bullsh*t...or else I just used wayyyyy too much.

Next time I'm packing that Griot's bag and bringing it along...I don't care WHERE I'm going, if it's an overnight trip that bag and all my Prima stuff is coming with me!

 

My kinda girl...(I do the same)

Fascinating.

A trait we share in common.

 

huh, never tried Meg's Spray On wax... guess i never will.

yah, better safe than sorry. just bring the arsenal along.

 

I don't really understand why they have this rule. I mean I get that I was there for more than an hour, whereas the girl on the other side of me was in and out in 10 minutes...but I paid $3 (1.50 x 2) to just use water for a total of roughly 2 minutes - no soap, wax, or any other crap that comes out of the wand. I guess if there were people lined up waiting I could understand it, but I don't think I've EVER seen people waiting at a wash bay in my entire life.

 

My guess is that they think that if everyone did it there'd be a "problem." Yeah, like that's going to happen. No, only the rugged few will go to the trouble to schlep their stuff up to a car wash, but these guys don't care...they just want quarters.

I've found a few w/ no such signs...I patronize them gladly.

At least the police didn't seem to care.

 

<<pins the Lifetime Member of OCDetailers Club badge on ML>>



By the way, did you keep washing while the cops surrounded the bay next to you, only to glance up to see what was going on ? Once I get into my wash routine, it would take a 8.6 earthquake to stop me.

 

We still need to do a detailing day . I got some swirls on my roof (not sure from what) so I'm tearing off my PC job soon and redoing it

 

I still haven't PC'd the PW MC so one of these weekends we'll have to do that.

You have swirls only on your roof ? What did you do differently to that area, any idea ?

 

No, I noticed them right away when they all peeled in (first the Camero, then the cops), but I kept going. I looked up when one of the officers poked his head around the divider between my bay and the one they were in (they were right next to me) and I raised an eyebrow and asked if I was okay where I was and he said I was fine and to keep doing what I was doing.

And he said "Nice car!"

for the boys at the Tuolomne County Sheriff's Department

 

"...kept going." Yes, you've earned your Lifetime Achievement Award in the OCDetailer's Club. I'm sure you're appropriately honored.

 

Well at that point both me and the car were covered in that d@mned spray-on wax so it wasn't like I was going anywhere anyway

But I'd like to thank the Academy, and Heather and Richard, and all the folks over at Griot's...all my friends and family back at NAM...and I couldn't do it without the fans!

 

I did it last Therefore, I was tired (it was my 1st PC day, so I didn't think about how grueling it'd be before hand) so I think I slacked off on the roof