reasurring words PP, we must both have far too much time to spare as you say. My girlfriend has threatened to get me psychiatric help if i carry on. I try to explian that i find the whole process therapeutic in itself, but she's never gonna understand it as I do. My clean car is a clean ordered mind and body, yes, it's an estension of myself. Opps, getting a little carried away.
As for polishing. I feel that it being a lot more work, i tend to do this every few months, which seems to surfice. I would of course love to have it shinning as much as it does after a good waxing/lustre all the time, but this aint feasible with the working day as long as it is.
What about jet washes, are they the king of grud control or a potential hazard for paintwork?
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Jet washes I tend to avoid for general cleaning, but I do frequent them when the car has been through mud for example and I want to get the inside of the wheelarches back to some kind of cleanliness. Also good in the winter for getting rid of the salt build up on the underside.
Maybe we have one of those compulsive cleaning disorders - I too find it therapeutic and there is a clear end result which gives satisfaction.
Oh dear I must go, a van has pulled up outside and some men in white coats are coming up our path!
PP
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Get water meters, that'll calm you both down. ;-)
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I find that the bottled water is far more kind to the paintwork!
;-)
PP
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Get water meters, that'll calm you both down. ;-)
I'm on a meter and I've calculated that I use about 50 gallons for a really thorough money-no-object hand wash, and this costs costs me 35p ~ much cheaper than any other method.
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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thiscosts costs me 35p ~ much cheaper than any other method.
It might cost you that to 'extract' the water, but I think you will find the charge to drain it away more than doubles that figure.
Still cheaper than the garage though.
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this >> costs costs me 35p ~ much cheaper than any other method. It might cost you that to 'extract' the water, but I think you will find the charge to drain it away more than doubles that figure. Still cheaper than the garage though.
50 galls = 0.227 cubic metres water used @ 76.2p/cubic metre plus 0.216 cubic metres sewerage @ 80.2p/cubic metre = 35p.
Quod erat demonstrandum !
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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50 galls = 0.227 cubic metres water used @ 76.2p/cubic metre plus 0.216 cubic metres sewerage @ 80.2p/cubic metre = 35p.
I'm impressed by your accuracy & attention to detail! I'm also impressed by the difference in charges between your water co. and mine.
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>> 50 galls = 0.227 cubic metres water used @ 76.2p/cubic metre >> plus 0.216 cubic metres sewerage @ 80.2p/cubic metre = 35p. I'm impressed by your accuracy & attention to detail! I'm also impressed by the difference in charges between your water co. and mine.
Seems like the M62 is not the only good thing to come out of Yorkshire ! My prices were only for metered water used and did not take into account £19 pa standing charge and surface water drainage of about £45 pa.
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I hope all you serial washers are prepared for withdrawal symptoms when the drought warning kicks in after all this fine weather. :o)
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He he, the fact we;ve got Kielder resovoir means we've never had a hose pipe ban that I can remember. :)
I'll be washing all summer long :)
Blue
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Have total empathy with your goodself, martin, and peterperfect and agree with PP's comments re. the pressure washer - OK for the wheel arches but prefer a bucket & sponge for the rest..
BTW Re. the other thread, what does "Plus ca change, plus cest la mem chose!!" mean? I'm too ashamed of my lack of French to ask the question on the thread in question.
KB.
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OK I am a washer too. Probably only once a week, but it takes but 10 minutes to go over with hose and sponge, then leather, and the twice yearly AutoGlym makes it so much easier and satisfying.
Of course, taking ten minutes out to give it a wash regularly means it never gets *really* dirty. Mind you, in winter, it is very satisfying washing off a film of dirt and finding gleaming bodywork underneath...
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Far be it from me to suggest anyone here needs help :-0
I can spend (and do) hours with cotton buds, a toothbrush, Luster Metal Spoke Cleaning Tape and Autosol with my bike on a hydraulic lift keeping my Harley cleaner than when it came out of the showroom, with nary a crook or nanny unattended to, but I need several days' psyching up to wash anything on 4 wheels, and even then find excuses not to do it. Mind you, an F-150 is big and does need a step ladder to get the roof and the windsheld done.
So I let Ferdie's girls at the Bikini Car Wash take care of it...
Freudian answers on a postcard please......
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In the early days of the big Landcruiser (the 4.2TD, one of the first 4x4s I ever drove) I took one to a drive-thru car wash. Guy ran out and stopped me, warning me I'd bring his carwash down! Again, you could only do the roof with steps.
Mind you, I also took a Discovery into a multi storey car park once. Realised fairly quickly an alternative use for roof rails...
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All Serial Washers
This is in fact very bad for your cars. First the paint will become dull. Then it will oxidise, allowing rust to form underneath. Eventually the paint will just fall off.
As I have an old car and don't mind this if you tell me where you live I can come park outside for an hour twice a week and I'll read my newspaper while you enjoy yourself.
Kind Regards
Gen
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This is in fact very bad for your cars. First the paint will become dull. Then it will oxidise, allowing rust to form underneath. Eventually the paint will just fall off.
Which, of course, is why I refrain as much as possible from washing mine. I have only the car's best interests at heart...
HF
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Had the same kind of fun with an old Commer Camper van I used to have, it was pretty much impossible to keep clean without the use of a crane and climbing robes. I prefer my Passat these days, as it allows endless fun at the jet wash station on summer days.
Talking of jet wash, have just come back from FeuVert (in Grenoble, France) and they have this fantastic foam washer for just 2 euros, it makes a lovely mouse that covers your car in a gentle, yet thoroughly efficient way. My passat is now gleaming like CD held up to the light..... Yes I must get some pills for my disposition, it's taking over!!!
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I tend to clean mine *at least* once a week, often twice. It always looks gleaming, and 'cos it's got Extra Gloss, I tend to find it gleams like it's just been polished every time I wash :)
Use the pressure hose to remove the rubbish from the paint (from a distance, I don;'t strip the paint) then sponge it clean, rinse and dry.
No paint scratches, oxidisation, or any other nasty things as yet, and the car's a year old. Still showroom fresh :)
Blue
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a lovely mouse that covers your car ....
Mouse?? Geees, what are you feeding him on so that he can cover a whole car?
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"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose": loosely translated - "the more things change, the more they remain the same".
Can be applied to just about anything you can think of......
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