These are a few of the things I have learned in the last couple of weeks:

Brake dust is the enemy
Zwipes are nice
Microfiber is good
Terry cloth is so-so
The inside of the windshield is tuff to reach
You are never done
Tires must shine
Glass must be invisible
Paint must be 2 feet deep [or appear so]
Clay is not for modeling
Your kid’s clay will not work
Scratches, swirls, and spider webs are also the enemy
Never, but never wax or buff in a circular motion
QD does not stand for “Quiet Desperation”
A week is not enough
An endless supply of cloths is a given
Your car will get better gas mileage
Your car will go faster
Your car will feel better
Put and extra $100.00 in the budget for speeding tickets
People will stare wherever you go
The wife and kids feel neglected
It takes at least a week to learn which cloths do what
Dust is a demon from hell
So is lint
Try to maintain sanity.

 

Ya your hooked

 

...and I have no idea how it happened... I just washed and decided to wax... the next thing you know I have the wheels off waxing them.

Well, gotta go... the trim needs attention today.

 

It is cheap therapy. That is how I look at it. The reward is huge also.

 

Welcome to my nirvana/nightmare.

People can see the pleading in my eyes.

I am captured.

 

I wonder how many sleepless nights my detailing thread has caused? Will Frank's wife subpoena me for his divorce hearings? Will his Visa bill start coming to my house?

 

Well, let's talk for a minute about what it REALLY means to be obsessed...I bought my MINI on 12/9/04 with 8 miles on it. Today it is 9/9/05, and I have 9025 miles. Quite possibly, the only thing I do more than obsessing over my car, is documenting the obsession over my car. For that, I use a really cool program called "Automotive Wolf" that lets me create invoice entries for everything, and scan in receipts. Sickly enough, I've created an invoice entry each time I've washed my 05 JB/JB MCS:

Listed are the dates and odometer readings for each time I've completely washed/detailed my MINI.

Yes, it's a cry for help...

12/9 8 --Delivery Day--
12/9 116
12/10 118 Dealer washed it--I didnt' know better
12/10 122 I wasn't happy w/ dealer's wash so I redid it
12/16 401
12/19 490
12/23 751 full wax treatment w/ MINI Wax
12/29 945
01/01 1041
01/02 1180
01/05 1242 re-waxed, switched to Zaino--clay & 6 coats
01/07 1300
01/11 1487
01/16 1604 added 1 coat of Zaino
01/25 2001
01/27 2048
01/30 2181
02/05 2418
02/08 2489
02/10 2531
02/15 2689 added 2 coats of Zaino
02/16 2719
02/24 3090
(put in for JCW Upgrade, and clutch pedal repair--2wks)
I was in a loaner--and yes, I even washed the loaner once.
03/15 3185
03/19 3353
03/20 3353 added 1 coat of Zaino
03/23 3520
03/30 3744
04/02 3816
04/03 3849
04/06 3926
04/09 4084
04/12 4125
04/15 4270
04/16 4344
04/18 4459
04/20 4511 added 1 coat of Zaino
04/23 4575
04/29 4826
05/03 4908 full clay, 6-coat Zaino re-wax treatment
05/10 5108
05/14 5258
05/18 5382
05/23 5556
05/27 5741
05/29 5776
06/03 5918
06/08 6065
06/10 6095
06/16 6388
06/20 6514
06/24 6645
06/29 6789
07/04 6898
07/10 7086
07/16 7334
07/20 7400
07/24 7604
07/27 7738
08/03 7904
08/06 7976 Zaino clinic--full re-wax, clay, 3 coats
08/07 7976 put on 3 additional Zaino coats
08/11 8059
08/16 8297
08/24 8557
08/30 8736
09/07 8937
09/09 9025 (today, stripped and full re-wax 3 coats today, 3 more tomorrow AM)

The stats (excluding the 2 weeks my car was in the shop getting the JCW kit installed and to fix the clutch pedal):
Owned 9 months to the day.
67 washes.
5 complete wax jobs and 4 supplemental coat days.
The longest span between washes was 9 days.
The shortest span between washes was 0 days.
The most miles between washes was 397.
The least miles between washes was 2 miles.
The average days between washes is 3.73 days.
The average miles between washes is 134.6 miles.

 

You're one sick man But, a sick man with a very clean, shiny car.

 

Thanks Everett!

 

Tarzan, very very nice

 

It sounds about right to me! (And the shine on your car is beautiful!)

 

Damn, and people say I'm **** for washing once a week!

 

Brake dust is the enemy - NO PROBLEM. I don't brake... I glide ..

Terry cloth is so-so - Terry cloth is for bathrobes, not cars.

You are never done - Yes you are ... Law of Diminishing Returns ... your brain might not be done but the car is done.

A week is not enough - depends upon the subject.

An endless supply of rags is a given - RAGS! EKKKK ...

Your car will get better gas mileage - ??? NO WAY. The shinier it is ... the faster it goes ... see your own point below.

Your car will go faster

Your car will feel better - But you won't. Sore shoulder muscles

People will stare wherever you go - ahh NO. That depends upon the rest of the bling.

The wife and kids feel neglected - LOL In that case, buy the wife some bling!

It takes at least a week to learn which rags do what - RAGS AGAIN! EKKKKKKKK

Dust is a demon from hell - ahh NO. BUGS are the HIGH DEMON FROM HELL

 

Tarzan

That is one funny rant,err document.
I too am **** and a Zaino Zealot, but since I have no accountability I lay it all off on folks like agranger and Bradb. Not that there is anything wrong with that. quotes Seinfeld

Your car looks plenty deep, nice. carry on.

 

Ahhhhh, another convert!

 

I thought I had it bad, but I've only worn out two cartridges in my Mr Clean car cleaning system in the two weeks I've had it.