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. 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. Because what is more Autopian than having your kids detailing with you?



My oldest son turns 8 years old tomorrow. Where does time go? I can remember it like it was yesterday when I posted in the mod forum here about the arrival of the Jngrbrdbaby. Autopia was a huge part of my life back then and I made sure Erik came into the world already stocked and ready to go. Here he is with his first can of wax (Poorboy had some Natty`s Wax poured into these Muppet tins for a promotion). It is still sealed and unused, but I think this is the year we can bust it out and get busy with it.







The first real job I get my kids started on is filling the bucket. That is something easy that any kid can do. Also, it makes them feel good to make the bubbles that get the car clean to begin with. 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 and how much to use.











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...











Note the tell tale polisher spin off spatter on the side of the blue recycle bin. lol Anyone else have a wall or trash can that looks like that?







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.

[MichaelM]

Love it!



Don`t have kids yet but do have a bunch of nieces and nephews, can`t quite seem to get my siblings to agree to loan terms yet

[Bill D]

Very glad to see you back, Jngrbrdman! :wavey





This has got to be the single most precious thread ever posted on Autopia! :yo:



Your kids are probably the youngest Autopians in the world! I can imagine the very bright future in car care they may choose to have, hobby-wise or more!



Wow, time really does fly by! I can`t wait for them to start posting here!



Send them all my best!

[Jngrbrdman]

Very glad to see you back, Jngrbrdman! :wavey





This has got to be the single most precious thread ever posted on Autopia! :yo:



Your kids are probably the youngest Autopians in the world! I can imagine the very bright future in car care they may choose to have, hobby-wise or more!



Wow, time really does fly by! I can`t wait for them to start posting here!



Send them all my best!

Erik has been trained from day one. When he wanted to dress up like Daddy, he always looked like a real Autopian.







Minus the chain, of course. That would damage paint.



He actually still wears that hat. I had JNGRBRDMAN embroidered on the back of it at a hat shop in Georgia. He asked me what an Autopia was a few months ago, so he got the run down of everything. So he may very well be one of the youngest to actually enjoy cruising the forums looking at shiny cars.

[David Fermani]

Epic thread in the making. Thanks for taking the time to create such great documentation. I`m sure there`s no pressure being placed on the kids to become detail oriented either huh? :boink: If the wife wasn`t super paranoid about chemicals and allergies I`d be putting my kids to work too. :whip:

[Scottwax]

Both my sons have worked with me, but neither is really into detailing. They both still do very good work.



Glad to see you back!

[Brad B]

What a treat to hear from you, old-timer! We go WAY back on the forum. What a great post. The pics are a treasure!

[C. Charles Hahn]

Both my sons have worked with me, but neither is really into detailing. They both still do very good work.



Glad to see you back!

If you`re instilling a positive work ethic in them, it will translate to whatever their interests are. So that`s what counts most!

[Woody Wax]

Priceless, you should be proud



Both my daughters help out from time to time, I send them straight into battle with the interior. But if I`m honest it’s really only because I hate doing interiors lol

[Jngrbrdman]

Same to you! At least you know what I`ve been up to the last few years now, eh?

[AlexRuiz]

You just made my day! A truly heart warming thread

I need to get mine to do the same

[DaVinci Detail]

Those are GREAT photos. They grow up fast though. My youngest boy turns 10 in a few days.



Not to be a debbie downer, but a young boy was killed close to us by a pellet gun accident the other night. Sad.



Give them a good hug and tell them you love them.

[WaxManRonnie]

Probably one of the coolest posts I`ve read. I have son almost 4. He loves helping me. I use Zaino a lot on some of my high end cars. His favorite is the Z6 detailing spray. He`s got that task down perfectly.

[Junebug]

I missed the boat, my oldest is 17 and the other is 13, both girls, neither much into manual labor. Although BOTH could sure use it. Although the first born has helped me on a few occasions with interiors.

[imported_ZimRandy]

My son loves the foam gun.







:biggrin1:



Randy