How long does it take YOU to wash?

[audio1der]

I used to go to the wand wash (no, my car has never seen an automatic) and dry in about 30 minutes.

Now, I wash & dry at home, and it takes me about an hour.

I know I`m doing a better job and being easier on the finish, but it seems like so much work.

And don`t get me started on quick detailing that turns into an afternoon...:cool:

Just wondering how much time everyone spends to wash & dry.

[BradE]

For me it depends on the size of the car. On my Explorer it`s about an hour and 15 minutes on average. Town Car is about an hour and a half. It can be shorter or longer depending on how careful I want to be.



I`m slow. :(

[imported_nowaterno]

If it seems like work, youi`re doing it wrong :) Seriously, once I started using cool tools like Einszett Exclusiv Shampoo and the big blue towel for drying, washing became much more fun

[Tim Lingor]

I know what you mean!! :( I used to think that I spent a long time washing my truck, but now I wash the wheel wells with Pro`s degreaser/cleaner, then the tires with EO, then wheels with EO A2Z, then wash the truck(using of course 2 buckets), canopy and boat(on the canopy) and canopy rack. To do this takes 3 different mitts(wheels, upper paint, lower paint). Then comes the drying: I use the CW on my windows, and a mixture of both the Absorber and Meg`s new Waffle Weave MF. Finally, I dress the tires with No Touch, and Meg`s #40 on everything else that is plastic/rubber.



Total Time: 3 HOURS!!!!!:shocked :shocked



And that is at FULL speed and no breaks!



Cheers

Tim

[chris0626]

Yep, I`m definitely in the 3-hr (4-hr?) range. 3-bucket method. And I`ve not really "washed" unless I`ve also done the door jambs, lip around the trunk and engine bay, under the air dam, wheels and wheel wells, etc. Also takes extra time to keep the car wet til I`m ready to dry the whole thing (to avoid water spots). And blot dry takes more time, it seems to me, than just the rubdown I used to give.

[boywonder]

Daria gets bathed in 1 hr which includes drying of door jambs and interior cleaning and treatment. If I decided to be extremely anal, it can take anywhere from 2-8 hrs.

[gnahc79]

my car Betty, with the help of S100, takes ~1 hr for a wash,dry, and dressing. Since I wash it every 1-2 weeks it`s really easy. It`s hard for any water to stay on the car, though, hehe.

now for some of the other cars that I do, 2-2.5 hours for the same thing. The front of the car get be pretty ugly.

[Kleanride]

man, my wash and dry USED to take about 45 minutes, now I am on the hour and a half progam. My old condo had `softer` water, and my new house has water that is HARD AS ROCK!! I have to re-rinse each panel as I am drying and I fight with water spots like no ones business!! Wax As You Dry helps, and QD helps, but what I really need to do get a mist/pump/spray thing for gardening and fill it up with RO water or soft water and use that as my final rinse....

You shoulda heard me cussin` & swearin` over the weekend while drying the Civic...THEN I thought of the sprayer idea last night-oh well. Thanks whoever posted that idea originally!

[2wheelsx2]

Straight wash and dry, which I do every week, takes on average, about 1/2 hour. If I have to do anything else, like use 20/20 on the glass, dress the tires, clean the engine etc., then it`s anything goes.

[andriver]

1 to 2 hours per car. This usually takes up my Saturday mornings. Then I have to mow the lawn and do the rest of my chores!!!

[Scott P]

The time varies based on where I`m going and how dirty the car is. Roxanne (named that since she trips the red light at the track) takes about an hour or so to wash. If I`m driving somewhere soon, it takes a bit longer since I have to unscrew the front grills to get teh water out of them and open/close the doors several times to get all the water from everywhere. Plus, I always wash down and dry the door jambs and hood/trunk channels.



If I QD right after drying, that adds another 15 minutes or so. The beauty of QS is that I can clean the glass at the same tme as I QD the car.

[audio1der]

Thanks, everyone!

I feel a little better about leaving the gf inside by herself every Saturday morning now. (I do wash both our cars, but that just compiunds the time, now that she knows what an Autopian-level detail does to her car!);)

[imported_SlackerQX4]

It takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.



Sometimes I get carried away, and it takes alot longer :)

[Scott P]

Actually, my wife said it best when she said "How come it takes you an hour to wash your car when you only spend 15 minutes on mine?"



:D

[imported_FUEL]

Typically takes me about an hour. Depending on it I get out the leaf blower and blow out all the cracks and what not then it will go about 10 mins quicker.