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Many Aspects of our passion

3K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  Junkman2008 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I recently switched positions at my work. I use to be a Audio Video Service Tech for the last 8 1/2 years. I have been out of the Install world for about 13 years of so now since switching to a Service Tech. A few weeks ago I was asked to take on the roll of Programmer and Engineer. It's a roll I did for other companies I worked for in this field. What is real nice about it I have a full time company car and don't have to drive my Charger to work anymore.

Out parking lot is horrible as it has trees around it and industrial fall out which gets on your car. I hated it so much and found buying another vehicle difficult. I was gonna get something used but the used market is crazy. Going with another new vehicle my wife probably would have shot me. So this new position is a blessing.

The Charger now sits in the garage and I now only take it out on weekends or at night if I decide I need a fix. Prior to having a company car, I would have to give it a Maintenance wash each Friday night after work or Saturday morning. I would park it there on Tuesday and pick it up on Friday as I had a Work Truck I drove all week.Now that it's completely garage kept, it just gets a light dusting on it.

Yesterday morning was the first time I have done a maintenance wash in 3 weeks but I didn't wash my Charger, I did my Wives Purple Charger. I quickly realized how much I missed washing my car each week. Trust me I don't miss dealing with Water marks from the rain and the fallout plus all the tress mess it was getting. It drove me crazy but I do miss our time together in the driveway removing all that mess.

My Son and I went to 2 Car Shows and I saw some awesome Mopars including a 1320 which I also have a pretty strong passion for. I think I need to own one of them as well as that was the car I was gonna get before switching gears to a Charger over a Challenger for many reasons.

The second Show I went to , they had guys directing traffic to the show and to the parking lot for spectators. The guy at the gate thought I was there to show my car. I told him I was just there to look. He was shocked as he said your car is one of the nicest ones here and it's a shame your not showing it. Your Gloss is crazy and your car looks brand new. I thanked hime and told him it's not in show condition in my opinion. Funny I was thinking geez I haven't washed it in 3 weeks , haven't dusted it off or anything and probably put 50 or so miles in it over the last few weeks with no cleaning.

Today is Sunday and my car still is barely dusty. With it being Ceramic Coated and topped with a Graphene Spray coating, even dust has a hard time staying on it. My wheels are also coated so brake dust is a non issue. I want to go out and give it a bath just to spend time with it.

So my point of this thread is realizing my deep passion for detailing. I always knew I loved it and it was a way to get to the final results I enjoy my car looking. We all have levels, Driving is a way to relax and enjoy the sounds power and sun. Then there is the Drag Strip where I can't wait to get to. But Detailing might be at the top of my list of passion that swirls around this hobby.
 
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#3 ·
Passion? Yea.... I wash mine 2-3 times a week during the driving months and never drive it in the rain or during the winter. The time I spend rubbing on my lady is some of the best "me" time I have. My wife once asked me when we were dating if I loved my car more than her. I told her to never ask questions that she didn't want to hear the answer to. 😁
 
#4 ·
My wife has been asking that question since she met me back in 1989. When she met me , I was actually washing my Car ( 1982 Pontiac Firebird S/E ) in my friends driveway who had a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am.
When I owned a 1987 Buick Grand National, I had a heavily dressed Chrome engine. She said I rubbed it more than her.
Today nothing has changed, same questions and comments. She knew who she was getting involved with.
 
#6 ·
I wipe the morning due or the overnight rain off every morning before breakfast.
Then I take my Invisible Glass and do the outside of the windows.
This happens every day unless it’s raining 🤔
I also take a micro towel and wipe off the wheels and wipe any water out of the door jams.
Got too much time on my hands now that I am Retired.
I detail both mine and the wife’s car at least once a month.
My cars always look showroom ready.
My car stays outside 24-7 wife’s is in the garage.
Have to do anything early morning as living in Florida is gets Hot quick this time of yesr
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Wife’s car
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My bad azz Scat
 
#10 ·
Junkman don't ruin this man's life! He keeps the maroon car inside and wipes down his white Scat daily. Some of us need to accept that we have surface scratches.... we have swirls... we have cars that need to drive in salt and snow and we just don't have the time to detail them how we want.

Maybe once a year I take some time to do paint correction and it takes 7-8 hours and I enjoy it but at the end of that time I've mostly minimized the larger issues and eliminated small ones. My car had (still has) a huge scratch on the trunk lid when I bought it used. I still see it after wet sanding and compounding (but it is much better now).

I have to live my reality, my Charger is garage kept but not a garage queen. It is driven year round in all seasons and I need to come to peace with the fact it will always look good at 4 or 6 feet and not be perfect. Maybe when I'm older and retired I'll unleash my detailing fantasies because don't get me wrong I do enjoy it... right now I can't make it fit with my lifestyle so I'll be a closeted detailer ;)
 
#11 ·
I've stated it in the other detailing threads and even posted a picture, my 392 looks darn near flawless from a few feet away with a nice deep shine.

You let Junkman do the flash test and he'd faint! I've done it, and there are swirls, swirls, and more swirls.

They've both discussed that different people have different goals and levels of how the treat their car.

If when I purchased my 392 it was to be my "for fun" car it would have gotten a lot better treatment. But living in the Northeast, with a 6 year old playing multiple sports, and me loving golf too much, the 392 doesn't get the TLC that is used to, but like I said still looks great. I get compliments on it quite a bit and people are shocked when I tell them it is 8 years old with 145k miles on it.
 
#22 ·
I've stated it in the other detailing threads and even posted a picture, my 392 looks darn near flawless from a few feet away with a nice deep shine.

You let Junkman do the flash test and he'd faint! I've done it, and there are swirls, swirls, and more swirls.

They've both discussed that different people have different goals and levels of how the treat their car.

If when I purchased my 392 it was to be my "for fun" car it would have gotten a lot better treatment. But living in the Northeast, with a 6 year old playing multiple sports, and me loving golf too much, the 392 doesn't get the TLC that is used to, but like I said still looks great. I get compliments on it quite a bit and people are shocked when I tell them it is 8 years old with 145k miles on it.
It think we all live different lives and have different levels of care we take with out loved vehicles. Junkman and I are very similar in the fact we are kinda obsessed. My car is basically a garage queen as you guys call it now and I haven't washed it in 3 weeks and it's barely dusty.
 
#12 ·
Having been a used reconditioner for a luxury car dealership for years I have the skills
I found a product that gives a better shine and hiding factor better than any wax or coating I have ever used.
It has hiding properties and is the most hydrophobic I have ever used.
Just to let you know I use my mini leaf blower to blow most of the water off my car and get what’s left with a micro drying towel.
My cars are slicker than whale shit 💩
I am so anal that I also clean and coat the inside of my wheels.
My Scat is drivin hard but not put away wet.
I take a lot of pride in my cars my neighbors want me to do their cars however I just say No
I consider it a hobby as I also enjoy my afternoon naps 🤣
I also volunteer at the Salvation Army 3 days a week at the food distribution kitchen.
We not only give out groceries 3 days a week we distribute food to all the local church’s and food kitchens.
A low estimate is we feed over 1000 people every week.
So keeping my cars spotless is my Sanity. 🤔
I always get over book on my trades even before this shortage crap.
 
#13 ·
Really with a garage that looks that nice I'd be getting both cars in there! It looks narrow though so probably not a comfortable fit. I hate all the builders that do the 19 or 20 foot wide garages. That's like the bare minimum to even be considered a two car garage!
 
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#14 ·
You have to consider architects like to design things using standard size garage doors. Now if someone building a home wants to customize . . .

And I've see many garages wide enough for 2 full size trucks but there is so much other stuff in it the space is cramped.

I'm my opinion anyone wanting to keep their ride show room ready needs a dedicated garage just for the vehicle(s) and have outside storage for the yard equipment and bicycles. I think Mantis has the ideal set up for his needs.
 
#27 ·
I'm not saying make it 35 by 35 but I have a normal 16 foot wide 7 foot tall door and my garage is 24x24 so I can fit plenty of stuff bikes, snow blower, mower yard tools etc. (I don't have a shed).

I feel like half the homes in my subdivision have 1 or two sheds and still manage to park maybe 1 car in their two car garages because of all the crap. Put thousands of dollars of car outside and protect probably $300 worth of crap!
 
#18 ·
I swear 90% of the people in my subdivision of probably 500 houses have their garages too full with other crap to even fit 1 car in. I have a 2 car garage and can fit 1 car in. It's cluttered but organized if that makes sense. I have shelving for all my car supplies, then a rack for storage bins, then my mower, snow blower and lawn care equipment, a deep freezer, my golf stuff, work bench and more tools. I need a shed.
 
#19 ·
I swear 90% of the people in my subdivision of probably 500 houses have their garages too full with other crap to even fit 1 car in. I have a 2 car garage and can fit 1 car in. It's cluttered but organized if that makes sense. I have shelving for all my car supplies, then a rack for storage bins, then my mower, snow blower and lawn care equipment, a deep freezer, my golf stuff, work bench and more tools. I need a shed.
You live in my neighborhood?? Lol

I've never understood why these folks down here fill their garages up with crap and don't put their cars in there.

I've been wrenching for 30+ years and still have almost every tool I've ever bought (and some I'll never ever use again), along with the lawn care and car detailing stuff. The Charger still fits comfortably in there though
 
#24 ·
Just to let you know my car gets rinsed at night and most of the water is blown off.
The Lustre product I use leaves the surfaces slick.
And dirt or dust rinses off with plain water
I can honestly tell you neiter one of my cars have any swirls.
If they did I would break out my orbital and buff them out.
Both cars were clayed soon as they were brought home from the stealership.
Lustre is a great product as it can hide any imperfections and is super hydrophobic.
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When have you seen a product bead water like this ?
 
#25 · (Edited)
When have you seen a product bead water like this ?
Right here: Click each picture for a larger view: If you can't click on the picture and get the larger view, right-click each picture and choose, "open in new tab." That will open each pic in a separate browser tab where you can see the image in full detail.
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Now before I fixed that paint, here's what it looked like. Notice that I am using the flash test to display just how bad that paint looked:

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Once corrected, the flash test looked like this:

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And the depth looked like this:

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😉👍
 
#28 ·
Latest photos flash in garage tonight
Comments ?
That flash test looks good. I would love to see a bigger shot (more pixels), but so far, it looks good. I do all mine with an actual camera so that I can get details like this:

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One thing everyone should notice. Look at how every scratch is a STRAIGHT line. None of them are curved. However, those straight lines are at every possible degree of a circle, which gives the illusion that swirls are circular lines. In reality, they are all straight. They are formed from wiping in every possible direction, which is what people do when they wipe dust off of their paint.
 
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