Many folks describe OCD a when a person has an impulse to perform a specific activity over and over, that other folks may describe as not normal.

I like to take turns washing and detailing my 3 cars every weekend. That may not seem so odd, but I always want to insure that I never wash / dry / or quick detail in direct sunlight. Since my house is out in the middle of a open field, I get sun on my driveway and garage pretty much all day. My OCD insists that I wash my car before the sun rises, and then move it into the garage to detail it as soon as I dry it. Most of the summer, that had me out washing my car between 5:30am and 6:00am to get it done and moved into the garage by 6:30am when the sun hit the driveway. Now that the sun rises a little later, I can sleep in till 6:00, and start washing at 6:30am.

I have been doing this now for 5 years. Anyone else have this affliction?

 

Read 7 years of this forum and you'll see !

I've spent years washing two MINIs every weekend. Detailing with claybar, r/o buffer, various Prima polishes, etc, twice a year, each of them. Clean the engine bays then too.

Quick detail the MINIs every day they're driven.

I clean the door jambs (including the boot hatch) every time I wash them.

I take q-tips to the air vents once a month.

I heat my garage in winter to keep my detailing products from freezing (and to keep the MINIs warm but that's a whole other sickness).

So yeah, I'm a freak.

 

I am complete opposite, My Harley 150000 miles wash about once a year, Wrangler wash about every two months, Mini wash once a month. I find I have ADD so never really get them done complete even at the long intervals.
AMen

 

Adding on as I think of things.

I keep a thin microfiber towel in the pocket of my driver door. At least once every few days when stopped at a traffic light, I dust the dash, center control panel, steering wheel, door panels... pretty much everything I can reach.

I keep a small bottle of Primary Hydro and a Monster Fluffy (from Detailers Paradise) in the boot for those unexpected emergencies... birds, rude humans, whatever.

 

I may have both of you beat. I clean the engine bay pretty much every time I clean the car and I seldom drive the car without it having a quick clean.

I am fortunate that a friend of mine has a lift in his garage so recently the car went up and I spent the next four hours cleaning under the car. Any loose dirt was brushed off, cleaner applied then a small wire brush was used to clean off loose rust, rust inhibitor applied then, since I had Armor All right there I used that as well. No one will see what I did but I want the car to last and the time under the car is well spent as preventative maintenance and I learned a lot about different parts of the car that I would not normally see. Sadly enough, I enjoyed it.

 

Rockridge.... I only buy homes that face west so I have morning shade until about 10:00 to wash the cars. Both my last two homes faced west and it was no coincidence. That's as important to me as the number of bedrooms and having indoor plumbing.

 

Another.... I keep 8 gallons of distilled water in my garage during the winter. On those snowy, icy, frigid days when the sodium chloride is on the roads and it's too cold to was the MINIs, I pour the distilled water ( leaves no spots) over them to get the salt off before I bring them in the heated garage.

 

When we had our house built, we thought it would be a good idea to have the two car garage not facing the street, so we turned it on end. If I had not done that, I would have had morning shade....

Live and learn....

 

I just bought Optimum No Rinse for the winter. Last couple years, I used Griots spray car wash, and felt it left too many swirl marks on my Range Rover. Seems like that combined with distilled water would be an improvement.

Have you tried ONR?

 

No... never tried it. You know anyone who has or have you read any useful reviews on it?

 

How clean are the little mirrors in back of the sun visors?

 

CR&PW&JB... We must be related!!!

I am an absolute freak about all the things you have said you do.

1. I quick detail every night/ morning to get the dust and what not off my mini.

2. For the people who say that scratches it no worries I r/o polish it every spring and maybe in fall if it really needs it.

3. I have several microfibers within reach of the drivers seat and also a 3oz window spray bottle... for touchups.

4. I have a Detailing bag in the boot with all the necessities like quick detailer, past wax, tire shine, window cleaner, simple green cleaner, toothbrush (for scrubbin), a bunch of microfiber towls, foam applicatiors, a bunch more but thats off the top of my head.

5. once every 3 months I take my rims off and clean real good on the insides including clay bar'in them, also I do a full scrub out of the wells and the strut towers becuse with it lowered it can be hard to clean effectivly in there.

6. I dont have the luxury of having a shaded drive so I bought 3 10x10 easy-ups so I can wash the car in the shade. All detailing after that is done in the garage.

7. If a microfiber mit or towel gets dropped it either gets thrown away or becomes a rag... it will never see the paint of the car agian.

8. Make sure that I never put my bare hands on the paint of the car because it is proven the oils on your hands are harmfull to it... therefore I bought microfiber detailing gloves and I always wipe off the doors when someone gets out and closes it with fingers on the paint. (my girl hates this because it is always her fingerprints im wiping away).

 

I am a proffessional detailer and the more I learn about cars, paint, ect. the worse my OCD becomes.. I'll add more as I think. Also in response to Rock ridge... I have a huge filtration system off of my hose to prevent water spots. It is not perfect by any means but it sure does help. The cause of water spots has been traced back to mineral deposits in water and it is nearly impossible to filter them out completley though it can be greatly reduced. Also I have heard that even distilled water is not comletely H2O. It still has minerals in it. It would be similar to saying that your expensive water came from some special spring that a fairy sprinkled some pixy dust in... and really it comes from some tap in a warehouse.

 

I have seen lots of positive feedback on autogeek online forum. I plan to try it out next month, as it gets cooler.

 

Came out of the house this morning, only to see bird droppings on the hood my car. Quickly got a MF and some Griots Speedshine, and removed the spot.

I know folks say that bird droppings can etch your clear coat, but will it eat through a polymer sealant first? I can understand it eating through wax, but would think the plastics would create a better barrier...

 

Cool... might have to try it out. We can compare notes maybe.

Not really answering your question but I had a nasty bird dropping that left an etching in my clearbra on a hot summer day while I was working. Not sure how many hours it was on there but I wiped it off as soon as I saw it. Could have been there for 8 hours or 10 minutes, who knows ? Damn birds !! Couldn't see the etching unless light hit it a certain way and you were looking closely. But I knew it was there ! again.

 

Yes and No. Your familiar with Auto Geek, Im sure you have seen the Klasse sealant. I personally think this is some of the best stuff out on the market. It is extremely hard and durable. Also I can be lazy and only get 2 coats on the car, but they claim you can put as many on as you please.

In response to your question it really depends. I have had a few of the same encounters and if you get it off quickly within probably 10-15 hrs it still leaves a big etch mark which looks like its in the clearcoat.... correction its actually in the sealant. You can take this as good or bad. It drives me nuts to see it and look at it and many times ill use a solvent and take off the sealant in that spot and reapply so I dont have to look at it. The good thing is that its just in the sealant.

The actual clearcoat itself is much tougher and can withstand bird poop longer, but if left on the paint for a couple days it will etch. From costomers I've had it can be rubbed out easily or eat to no clearcoat left.

In the end, the sealant puts a good barier between the two and definitly buys me some time to see it and remove it before It etchs the clearcoat and I have to take abrasives to my paint. I personally love the protection of sealant but it tends to give a hard glass look vs the warm glow which I like. I often lay an ultra thin coat of Pinnacle Souveran high grade Carnauba wax. Gets you the glow and the protection.

 

try using meguiars NXT car wash, it has something in ti to minmise water hardness.

 

Alrighty, I don't have a MINI yet but my Touareg gets a pretty thorough cleaning processs about every 3rd week.

I'm really quite clueless about the fine art of detailing. Nonetheless, I'm a clean freak.

I keep microfiber towels within handy reach to wipe any annoying dust away. I've got to do something at long red lights.

I watch weather reports so I can avoid driving in the rain. But, if I do get caught in a storm, once I'm back home in the garage I dry it all off. It's a habit. If only cars would shake the water off like dogs do? Ha ha.

I don't allow sugary drinks in my car.
I tap the dirt off of my shoes before getting in.

I wipe the leather down with leather cleaner/conditioner.

I make it a point to park in an indoor garage whenever possible.

This is all pretty ridiculous since I'm driving a 4x4 AWD SUV that's supposed to get dirty.

If I take my Treg' in for service, I get lots of compliments on how clean it is. So, I must be doing something right.


The few things that scare the bejeebus out of me?
1. HAIL <--freaks me out!
2. Parking at grocery stores.....parking lots in general. I park far away.