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  1. #16
    tom p.'s Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Live, welcome to the forum!

    Based upon what you`ve shared, I`d focus on keeping the car clean. In my eyes, that`s 90% of what makes things look good. Get a good car wash, a good wheel cleaner and maybe consider Mother`s new spray ceramic product (annual).

    I had a friend who owned numerous cars and motorbikes. He only had one garage and that meant several cars sitting outside 24/7. All he did was keep the paint clean and the cars still looked very decent when I helped him sell them last year.

    Good luck with the new car !
    Cars: bringing people together

  2. #17

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    I`m actually in a similar position as you, although my start date wouldn`t indicate it, I`ve been a participant/lurker on several detailing forums since the early 2000`s. My life situation has changed dramatically since then, from a high schooler to a working dad. I think this place can still be a place for you. I hardly, if ever, post, but I come here daily to observe, read and understand what products might work best for me. You literally have thousands of people here testing products and giving their honest feedback. For me, I too have little time to detail at all let alone spend an entire day/weekend polishing out my car. Having said that, through reviews here, I`ve determined which products work best for quick washing, which have the best durability, etc. As a dad, if I can find 20 minutes while my kid naps to do a quick rinseless wash, then that`s a win. Where did I find information on the best rinseless was for me, at this forum. I don`t have a garage like many on here, but its neat to see the pristine environments people work in, more aspiration than anything. For me, this place is a great place to just observe and learn.

  3. #18

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Wow, thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it.

    The weather has been frustrating here because I probably won`t even be able to wash my car for another 6 weeks or so. I ran it through an auto wash a few weeks ago to clean the undercarriage but I try to avoid those places. It got to the point where it was caked with salt and I couldn`t see out of my windows so I had no choice. As for my collection, I bought a bunch of products and accessories from Chemical Guys. I know they`re not too popular here but they had just about everything I was looking for in one place and they had a decent sale going on. I got some Extreme Top Coat, Citrus wash, glass cleaner, and APC along with some grit guards and a foam gun. I use 303 for my interior. I`ll probably get some Iron X and some towels and wash mitts from Amazon soon. I was also considering trying Meguiar`s Hybrid Ceramic Wax on my wife`s car. If anyone has some advice on how to use these products (by hand, of course) I would appreciate it.

    Again, thanks for the well-wishes and advice. Oh, and what`s the best way to let a 4 year old help without causing more damage?
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  4. #19
    Detailing Reject Dozerboy's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    When I started here 15+years ago I was washing my truck at the quarter wash then then polishing/waxing by hand it in the street in front of my apartment. Been using the info I gained here way back when for the last 15yrs. Now I’m ready to change to theses fancy new products and am back on here a lot to learn more about them.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    These views on this post are not my own, but rather randomly generated gibberish and in no way should be used to judge my IQ or mental state.
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  5. #20
    Tc99m's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Quote Originally Posted by live311 View Post
    Oh, and what`s the best way to let a 4 year old help without causing more damage?
    I would get a bucket of soapy water and a wash mitt. And let my son go at it. I know he will miss some spots. After he would lose interest, I would go back over the wheels. He loved helping me.

    After a while he started taking care of his ride.

    I even let him dry my vehicles with a leaf blower.

    Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk
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  6. #21
    Oneheadlite's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chas View Post
    I`m actually in a similar position as you, although my start date wouldn`t indicate it, I`ve been a participant/lurker on several detailing forums since the early 2000`s. My life situation has changed dramatically since then, from a high schooler to a working dad. I think this place can still be a place for you. I hardly, if ever, post, but I come here daily to observe, read and understand what products might work best for me. You literally have thousands of people here testing products and giving their honest feedback. For me, I too have little time to detail at all let alone spend an entire day/weekend polishing out my car. Having said that, through reviews here, I`ve determined which products work best for quick washing, which have the best durability, etc. As a dad, if I can find 20 minutes while my kid naps to do a quick rinseless wash, then that`s a win. Where did I find information on the best rinseless was for me, at this forum. I don`t have a garage like many on here, but its neat to see the pristine environments people work in, more aspiration than anything. For me, this place is a great place to just observe and learn.
    Well said.

    To echo everyone else`s thoughts, you totally belong here. Just because you`re not a member of the 100% corrected club (which, if you read a lot of the posts, most people aren`t - paint thickness safety and whatnot...), doesn`t mean you don`t have the shared appreciation of a clean car, and an appreciation of the work that goes into it.

    I, like others, don`t have nearly the time I`d like to put towards detailing. I always joke that detailing is my aspirational hobby - I aspire someday to have the time to make it my actual hobby. In the mean time, I enjoy this site and the sister site to educate myself to better prepare for those spare moments I actually get to get out and do some cleaning.

    Though I still haven`t had time to do a correction on either of our cars (which I always hate to admit), thanks to products I`ve learned about here they still generally present as "Best looking in the parking lot" (I think that`s an Accumulator-ism). Recently took a friend to lunch and he had to ask how many miles were on my car. After seeing it has over 200K, he commented on being surprised, but then not "Because it`s yours". Even though it`s in full winter road-warrior mode where it`s been a while since it`s last bath, it still shows well, and the interior is always at least kept clear.


    I think it`s great to get your 4 year old in on it - My daughter`s 4 also. I think it honestly makes for good life lessons - keeping your things nice, seeing how much effort actually goes into nice looking things, and taking pride in your work. Also how it`s easier to clean up small messes rather than big ones.

    Last summer when she was 3 she would help most often during the drying phase - I`d have her spray the drying aid then I`d wipe it up. If I had her do any towel or mitt work, we talked about how important it is to keep them off the ground. And if nothing else, she`d be out doing chalk in the driveway while I`m getting the cars clean so we still were hanging out together.

    Around the house, I use a waterless car wash for doing windows, sliding doors, and glass tables; she`s got her own little spray bottle (a re-purposed spray chalk bottle actually works great) of Griots Waterless - I`ll boost her up so she can spray the door then I`ll follow up with the towel. She loves it, and I hear about it if I do it without checking with her first. For cleaning the floors, I use ONR in a spray bottle, she loves doing the spraying of that too.


    Last thing to add - I truly wish I could contribute anywhere close the level of so many of the members here. However, I feel I just don`t have the hours into the practice to do in depth comparisons or write ups that you see. But, I still hang out here reading daily and contributing where I can just because I feel it`s nice to hang with people of a similar mindset and to skim from the incredible knowledge base. (As regulars have probably noticed,) I post most often in the off-topic section to get insight on stuff, because I feel if the members have the standards they do for their car care, I`ll likely value their opinion on other subjects in life.

    It really is a great group here.
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  7. #22
    gordonjuan's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Welcome back Live311! I can`t top what anyone else has said already. Check my post count - I`m definitely a professional lurker - but I am here nearly every day. While I`m not sure that I belong here too sometimes, I have always found a thread once in a while I could contribute to. The amount of knowledge I`ve gained here is unbelievable, and has helped me at work (I have a fleet situation) but also helped me pick out a great professional detailer that just corrected and coated my Tahoe. Sometimes It`s not what you learn that helps you do - it`s what you learn to help you choose someone who will do.

    Finally - and perhaps most importantly - there is virtually no hostility, mean-spirited saracasm, or "shenanigans" that go on here that I see in the other forums of varying interests I frequent. Everyone is willing to help and is friendly. A few times I have logged in while in bad mood and left feeling better after some funny posts or where someone has done really well. If for no other reason, I will continue to come here on a very regular basis for that.

    Gordon
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  8. #23
    Administrator Liz@Autopia's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Welcome Live311! I can`t really add much more than has already been said except to say that when I came on board here about a year ago I knew absolutely nothing about any of this detailing stuff and, like you, felt a little out of place. Everyone both internally at the company and here on the forum has been welcoming and very willing to share their knowledge and experience. We do have a great bunch of people here and I hope that you stick around.
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  9. #24
    RaydiantDetail's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Others have hit it on the head perfectly. You belong here! Its about sharing/collaborating and life experiences. The nice thing is its a great group of people always willing to help and we talk about more than just detailing

    I have 2 young kids now and all I look to do is maintain my cars when I can. What would have been 2 to 3 hours on the weekends is now 30min every few weeks and sometimes even months go by without being able to clean our cars. Two of my cars don`t even get any correction work. Just a good rinseless wash and some protection. The only time I really get to detail something is when I take a paid job every few weeks.

    When my kids are older I definitely want to get them involved as something we can do together for a few hours on the weekend.

    I still love coming on the forum and conversing with everyone, learning, and asking questions when looking for answers on something detailing related or heck even life related. Lots of experiences here.
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  10. #25
    holland_patrick's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    While you been here lurking for a while I have been the same way, Not having the fancy tools does take the fun out of it but it doesn`t mean you can`t get your car looking it`s best.

    And sometimes you just need a freind near by with the tools and a garge to help out...
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  11. #26

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Quote Originally Posted by holland_patrick View Post
    While you been here lurking for a while I have been the same way
    Patrick?!?!?

  12. #27
    holland_patrick's Avatar
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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    Yes sir there are no more secrets here

  13. #28

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    How`s it going, man?

  14. #29

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    I came here as a `village hack` about 3 years ago and just listened. When I asked a few questions and got some experienced answers, I said `Thank you`. From there everyone has made me feel like family. There are some very experienced guys and gals here. All of them will advise you. They are all top drawer folks.

  15. #30

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    Re: I`m not sure I belong here.

    I think the bigest misconception here is the hobby WILL take a lot of time and money. I say it only takes as much of either as you`re willing to allow. Neither is a good measure of your enjoyment or dedication. You`re not that different from many of us.

    I hand waxed and washed my car for years. When my family came into the picture, I started using sealants because they allowed me to spend less time taking care of the cars and more time with that growing family. I even got my kids in on helping with the washing. When they were little it was less about them washing the cars and more about spending time with Dad outside getting wet, but I had fun and still got the cars clean. To this day, even though one kid is married and on her own and the other is in high school, we still bond and catch up over a bucket of suds and a wet car...though they get seriously pissed if I try to spray them with the hose.

    The big leap came when I got my polisher seven years ago. I bought a trusty old Harbor Freight Polisher which still runs like a champ today, I`m pretty sure I didn`t pay more than $60 for it. This allowed me to quickly get far better results than anything I attempted by hand, and when using it to apply sealants, it saved me serious time in that regard as well. A few years ago I moved to coatings as my LSP choice which further saves me time by only having to do a heavy detail on any car every 18 months. Simple washings are easy to squeeze in.

    You don`t have to sink a ton of money into this hobby in order to have fun and get good results. If you shop smart and catch sales, there are plenty of opporutnities to get good products from resonably priced brands like Meguiars, Mothers, Griots, Poorboys, etc. You also don`t have to go, "all out" at once. I`ve very slowly over time built up my inventory or pads and products, but I have exactly what I need with very little excess or products I don`t use.
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