All you have to do is post and tell us why you love detailing. Is it for the satisfaction of a clean vehicle? To Protect the investment in your vehicle(s)? The money? Or something else entirely?
What do I love about detailing? There are a lot of reasons, many of us probably have similar reasons, but I can break it down into three major reasons. Hope ya'll don't get on me for being a little bit philosophical here, lol, bear with me here, I'm gonna write my heart into this a bit, and sorry if I sound like I'm dragging on or being cheesy.
The three explanations are in relation to what I believe are three major parts of anyone's life, which are involving the Mind, Body, and Soul.
The most observable relation, being with the Body. I honestly love how detailing gets you quite a workout, maybe not an intense one, but a physically demanding one. Who here has ever broken a sweat while working the DA in a closed garage late at night, trying to get those last few passes in before your arms start to gas out to put down the polisher? I think we've all been there, especially during those summer days where the heat in the garage begins to increase, and you start sweating it out.
Anyone gotten down on your knees, or squated to work on degreasing someones tires or rims to the point of perfection, rubbing the brushes in and out of the spokes and rubber? Ever done that in the sun, lol. Don't even get me started on the awkward positions you get into while working on vacuuming the interior trying to get every nook and cranny clean. With that,
I love detailing for the activity it gives to your body.
Now another aspect of detailing, is on that AGO and Autopia are ALL about. Use of the mind. Anyone can be a hack and take any random polish or compound, random tools, and do a half baked job on a car. But what separates the great from the average? It's the methodical planning and preparation we do for our craft, whether it be professional, enthusiast, or hobbyist. The endless research on what compound, polish, or wax to get. The improving technological advances in compounds and polishes using SMAT, DAT, AAT; LSPs now consist of Waxes, sealants, and coatings; Polishing tools having forced rotation DAs, regular DAs, large throws, and rotarys. Don't even get me started on how many brushes I've tried, to find the best one for brushing my carpet or tires, lol. Honestly, I've spent enough reading, researching, and testing on here to write a thesis lol, and I for damn sure am not the only one here that has spent late nights reading random articles about detailing, or contributing to the forums. All of this for the sake of detailing. Keep your mind active, don't be afraid to try something new, improve your skills and all. With that,
I love detailing for working the mind into becoming a better detailer.
Last but not least, detailing in relation to your soul. Let's face it, detailing isn't just a job, it's a passion. I'm pretty sure we all came here with a simple question of "How do I properly clean my car?", and the entire thing snowballed into this. Two years ago, I didn't picture myself being so into auto detailing as I am now. I'll keep this explanation simple,
I love detailing for what it does to my soul, how it inspires me to do better, and how it gives me a tangible goal to feel satisfaction from.
Here I leave with some cliche quotes.
For the professional detailer, I hope this quote applies to you.
As for myself. One thing is for certain, detailing is in a way my therapy.
Think about this. You go through your life thinking about work, money, your kids, family, all that stuff that brings you stress from being uncertain about the unknown.
Day in and day out you do that, but when you're working on your car, polishing, waxing, or whatever you're focused on, ask yourself, what are you thinking of?
The answer? Nothing. Nothing is stressing you in a figurative sense. It is you, the paint, and the task at hand.
In the minutes or seconds of that, you are zoned out of that stress, your thoughts are clear, and in that moment of time, you find a sense of tranquility, clarity, zen, or whatever you want to call it. (You know what I'm talking about). Those moments of clarity from the outside world, that is why I love auto detailing.
Here's a quote that applies to that.
On a bad note, life comes crashing back after the DA turns off, lol, back to reality, but hey, gotta live for moments like that at times, my kind of therapy.
If you read through all of this, I hope you enjoyed my cliche writing. Thank you AGO and Autopia for somewhat changing my life by giving me another way to destress and express myself here.