Teach them while they are young...

[Jngrbrdman]

I`m working on a new design for my blog and I read something I posted awhile back that made me smile. For those of you who don`t know me, you should know that my world revolves around my kids. Todd and I talked for quite some time about this at SEMA this year in fact. Most of us sacrifice so much for our families that we wind up not having much of a social life outside of work and home. I didn`t want my hobby to get in the way of family, so I`ve always made a concentrated effort to include my kids in the process. I`ve done so since they were itty bitty. As soon as they were old enough to stand and hold a vacuum hose, I put them to work. Here are some of my thoughts on how you can include your kids in your detailing obsession.

The first job I get my kids started on is filling the bucket. That is something easy that any kid can do. It makes them feel good to make the bubbles. Start them out by just filling it, but as they get older then you can start teaching them about which soap to use for different cars.





The next easiest thing for little kids to do is wipe down the wheels after you have washed them. Just give them a microfiber and tell them to get the drips off. This will train their little fingers to be very detailed as well as getting the experience of wiping things down.




Graduate them from wheels to getting the drips that collect under the rear deck lid and drip out of the gas cap. It saves a lot of time to have them chase those drips around for you.





I would normally say to start them on washing the car, but they need to be a little older. Once they get tall enough, or if you start them when they are four or five, then they can start by washing the bumpers at least. I`ve found that those are more durable as far as paint goes and there is less chance that they are going to damage anything.



Of course, have them get more experience by washing other things too.



I`ve had my boy clay a few bumpers in his day too. Again, because the paint is more durable, I don`t worry about him damaging anything. It is great when you have a car with bugs on the bumper or around the fog lights and you just want to keep the little guy busy for awhile. If the car is low enough, you can even start teaching him how to do it right after they get some experience.



Before you freak out that I have him working on a $150K Porsche, you should know the owner is a good friend of mine and he was standing there the whole time laughing.

Vacuuming is another great task to start kids out on. I started Erik out young as did I with his 2 year old brother. They are both expert vacuum operators at this point.





Clearly child labor laws don`t apply at OCDetails. lol

Interior detailing is something your kids can help out with too. I like letting my kids loose with a bottle of Meguiar`s Quick Interior Detailer. It is safe on everything and it isn`t that expensive, so I don`t worry that they hold the bottle 2 inches from the surface when they spray. (they learn)



Windows are also a good thing, but you`ll probably have to go over those again for sure. It is a good thing to have them do since it is their fingerprints all over the place anyway. My boy keeps his area of the van much cleaner knowing he is responsible for detailing it if he makes a mess.



Waxing by hand is something I`ll let my boy do to my bike or on the bumpers, but since he can`t reach the entire panel on many cars, I tend to do most of the waxing myself.



It takes awhile before they can be let loose with a polisher too, but once you have gone this far with them, try talking them out of a turn to hold the machine for a couple minutes.





Buffing off the wax is also something they are good at. Erik`s job is to go over the car when I am done and make sure I haven`t missed any spots. This goes along with their drip spotting tasks.



And of course, let`s not forget about the cleanup. They love helping put things away. I`m not ready to let them loose on the cleaning of the pads, but Erik figured out the Pad Washer right after I got it out of the box and assembled.



So the point is that you should include your kids in your detailing hobby. Don`t necessarily let them run loose in customer cars, but let them help maintain the family fleet. It will teach them more than you realize. Work ethic, cleanliness, team work, and a love for the best darn job in the world!




I`ve tried to include my daughter. Erik has tried too. She is 5 now and finally has the attention for it. She prefers to supervise though...







With two playful brothers helping as well, she usually just ends up like this...



So most of the time she just supervises and lets us know what we should be doing. lol



I believe she is reminding us of the virtues of using microfiber instead of t-shirts. lol Gotta love kids, I tell ya.

[C. Charles Hahn]

I remember that post from a few years back... by now those kids are probably starting to beg to DRIVE the cars, aren`t they?

[Jngrbrdman]

lol Don`t make them grow up too quickly for me now... They are definitely getting better at the whole detailing thing. Erik is coming with me on jobs and actually doing a pretty good job. It only takes me about 3 minutes to finish up what he missed when he vacuums the interiors. I`ve found the easiest thing to do is let him loose with a bottle of Meguiar`s Quick Interior Detailer first and then put him to work vacuuming. He saves me probably about 30 or 45 minutes on a detail. I guess starting him early is finally paying off. I think this year we`ll bust out his Muppet tin of Natty`s Wax that I`ve been holding on to since a couple months before he was born in 2003. He`ll be 8 in a couple weeks and I think it is time to put this pre-VOC goodness to some use.

[Nutbread]

What a great post. Didn`t see it the first time around.

Thanks for the repost.

[ca.detailchick]

These pics are so adorable of your son!!

Princess is pretty cute too!

My advice to Dads with girls is to get them involed too if they show an interest.

When I was a kid I was crushed when my Dad wouldnt let me help him build our "go -carts"and told me girls didnt do that but let my brother help him!

He has changed with the times though and loves it when I detail his car for him now ! We also have great conversations about cars now that he realizes women can do more than just cook and clean.

[Rocket]

Nice post. My brother and I are 13 years apart. When I got my car and started getting interested in detailing he was very young and would want to help. I would always let him rinse the car and help soap up the wheels. He alwaysw liked rinsing the soap off more than anything else

[ZimRandy]

I love it. Great thread.

My son clays his bike.......



Examine, clay, and polish. Yep, he does that, too!


His favorite part....the foam gun!



He`s an old pro and has several years experience.....



I agree that it helps to get them involved. My son loves to help and because he knows how to `treat` a car, he knows better than most adults about car care. My wife thinks I`m nuts and our kid will be even more OCD than me, but it looks like I`m not the only one who has helpers.

Randy

[ca.detailchick]

All these kid pics are so cute it almost makes me want one of my own.

Are they available for hire/loaners yet?

[Jngrbrdman]

There are those days when I would pay you to take them... lol Unfortunately for me, but lucky for them, mine were born equipped with a `cuteness defense mechanism` which they activate right before I put them up on Craigslist.

[ca.detailchick]

Yeah I was probably deluded by their cuteness too!

Seriously though, if you keep them busy with something they are less likely to get out of controle and be monsters, right??

Obviously Ive never had kids!

[Jngrbrdman]

LOL That may be true. The thing I think it will accomplish is it will create memories of them spending time with you. There is more time to talk about life and school and all those important things when you are working on a car. Some of my best memories of my dad are when we were up to our elbows in grease and grime working on a project in the shop. We really had some good bonding moments.

[Pats300zx]

Great pics Anthony... !!!!!

[Old Pirate]

I spend so much time overseas from my first marriage that lead to me missing out on my kids, but the 2nd marriage lead to a one that`s in college and a artist. Who wasn`t into detailing at all. Great to see all of you with your kids.

[BIOLINK]

Well if this isn`t a commercial to have kids, I don`t know what is.

Nice thread!

[JRdetailerwoman]

As a preschool teacher AND a mother I thoroughly enjoyed this post! Your children are adorable and such good helpers!!! My children are adults now, and (unfortunately) their only interest in detailing is to ask ME to do their cars! Perhaps if I had started them young like this things would be different! Thank you for making my day with this post!