Ever reach the “why bother” point in your life?

N

nan_wpg

Member
I’m getting older. Ive enjoyed detailing in the past. I’ve tried many products over the years, and spend god knows how much.

I’ve taken pride in vehicles that appear “brand new” all the time. Flawless.

you know the routine:

pres pray, wash, chemical decon, claybar, compound, polish, degrease tires , apply dressing, steam clean interior, brush on latest greatest dressing on dash.

all done and dandy.

today, I did daughters car. Quick wash, decon, and real quick claybar. Real quick “polish” with Uno protect, wipe down of interior with onr, clean the glass. Quick dress of the tires.

honestly it’s good enough. Sure the swirls are still there. If you look for them in the right lighting. Other wise it’s a clean shiny car with shiny tires.

im starting to think of polishing less in terms of correction, and more so for the ease of washing and drying.

maybe I’m lazy?

most people don’t care about their cars. Even people with cars that cost as much as a house. They just want clean and shiny.


has anyone reached the point of “stepping it down” instead of stepping it up?
 
Funny you post this as I was just thinking the same thing. Well sort of the same. I used to take really good care of my car but since it gets parked outside, and gets dirty pretty quickly right after washing, I have been finding myself getting lazy and doing a "good enough" low effort washing. It gets to the point where it`s kind of depressing spending a lot of time washing it and then then in the next day or two there is a rain/dust storm and looks worse than before.
 
I have found that striving for absolute perfection with any vehicle you drive leads to stress and disappointment.

I still haven`t fully learned this lesson yet.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
 
nan-wpg:
You are not alone in your sentiment about how much effort you can expend toward detailing as one ages. I am no spring chicken myself and quite honestly, I think your body, and to some degree your mind, tells you how much you can do detailing wise.
I also think there is some degree of how much you are willing to accept visually and appearance-wise for your vehicle. There is the value of the vehicle itself, how that vehicle is used, and how much time and money someone is willing to spend on that visual appearance, whether they do it themselves or pay a professional detailer to do it that all factor into that decision.
I need not tell you how physically demanding good, thorough detailing can be. The required physical effort is one aspect that many novice or first-time detailers are either unaware of or simply ignorant of that and learn that pretty quickly it is NOT as easy as it some make it out to be. It`s the proverbial "If it was easy, EVERYBODY would do it."
But your concern is "What is an acceptable visual appearance of my vehicle?" YOU know your tolerance level of what vehicle appearance should look like TO YOU, and how much exterior dirt and swirls, and interior filth you can stomach. If it is not "perfect" or have a show-car appearance if it is your daily driver does not make you "lazy" in my eyes. Not everyone shares in your "new-car" look for their vehicle, and judging by the appearance of many nicer, expensive vehicles I see on the road being driven by their owners, there are quite a few who see their vehicle as an "appliance" to get from point A to point B on a daily basis. You know those types; put the gas in and go.
Can you cut corners in detailing and vehicle cleaning and say, "Hey, that`s good enough for me?" As stated, there`s a number of factors that determine, "How good is good enough.
Every long-time, experienced OCD detailer recognizes there comes a day when they cannot do what they used to do physically effort- wise and how much time they can physically spend detailing. But if you still enjoy detailing, then do as much as you can and enjoy your end results. if you have to change your approach or put up with "that`s good enough for me",well, only you know what level that is.

For detailing owners of black vehicles there is this adage: "Do you own the vehicle or does the vehicle own you?" Detailing perfection is a very subjective judgment. When some admiring person looks at your nicely detailed black vehicle and combs their hair or adjusts their clothing or fixes their make-up, you know you`ve arrived.
 
I can still do what I used to do. It’s getting harder, and honestly I’m thinking what’s the point? My cars are daily drivers. They get blasted with snow and ice.

a “nice” car garage kept and driven on sundays I can see keeping it “pristine”. Daily’s I’m thinking a quick one step twice a year and occasional vacume. One dash wipe down and call it a day.

As stated this will get me better than 99% of all cars out there.

was just just shocked how good daughters car looked compared to my truck given the considerable difference in time spent.

I do admit my 2012 Nissan Frontier always got me “did you buy a new truck” all the time. Seriously all the time (until nissan redid the frontier for this year ) from 2005 till 2022 a frontier did t change one bit.

2012 still looks new (no rust thanks to oil spray) but even still I’m thinking one and done.
 
There are definitely levels to this hobby/addiction. Some of the work people do is really impressive. Knowing myself, only a matter of time to when the interest fades. I`ll always keep a clean car, but my obsession or interest in new detailing products will eventually subside. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. My cars have always been kept clean, but I never cared about swirl marks, hydrophobics etc and was happy with that. The interest for me ramped up about 2 years ago.
 
I have a different view on the leased car in the household v. the owned ones, although at age 68 I`m not as anal as I used to be. The owned cars are still better than 95% of the cars on the road. Even the leased Acura is probably better than 90%. There`s a very steep time v. results curve at the end of the detailing mania!
 
my grand daughter said to me today my truck is broken can you please fix it and can you also detail inside and outside too
 
Also I’m in winter mode half the year. No detailing just a monthly touch less wash. So it doesn’t matter half the year.

im at the point of twice a year spring/fall quick all in one, good vacume and interior clean/dress. Interior doesn’t get too dirty anyways. Just gravel/sand on the weather techs.

and most people just see shiny/not shiny and don’t care about swirls. I now accept whatever swirls are left after Uno do speed. And seriously if you use Uno/speed from brand new, and wash sensibly it does a good job.

‘’I did invest in a rupes polisher. Money well spent. Less joint pain
 
CleanIt said:
There are definitely levels to this hobby/addiction. Some of the work people do is really impressive. Knowing myself, only a matter of time to when the interest fades. I`ll always keep a clean car, but my obsession or interest in new detailing products will eventually subside. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. My cars have always been kept clean, but I never cared about swirl marks, hydrophobics etc and was happy with that. The interest for me ramped up about 2 years ago.
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never leased. I would not invest much beyond regular washing on a lease. Maybe inside glass for vision
 
c5longhorn said:
I have found that striving for absolute perfection with any vehicle you drive leads to stress and disappointment.

I still haven`t fully learned this lesson yet.
Click to expand...

Buying used cars certainly helps. There were so many defects that I go for the 5 foot view now. :) But with my last new car, I was a little too anal.
 
Rsurfer yes she did she is a honor student in last year of collage she will due anything for her Grama &Granpa
 
nan-wpg:
Two inquisitive Captain Obvious questions:
1) What specific manufacturer/brand and trade name/type of "spray-oil" do you use to keep the rust from forming on your vehicle?
2a) What specific Rupe`s model polisher did you buy and what specific manufacturer(s) and type(s) of pads and backing plate diameter size are you using with your Rupe`s polisher? Did you buy an optional anti-vibration side-handle for it?
2b) Did you look or consider other manufacturer`s polisher and what made you decide on the Rupe`s??

I ask because I STILL have not made up my mind on a "different" polisher to replace/supplant my now-getting-old Porter-Cable 7424 Dual-Action Orbital.
 
It is a hobby you can fall down the rabbit hole! No doubt. I do not enjoy the spring polish. I do enjoy what is after. Normal weekend washes.
 
I just find time`s a bit more limited now than during the pandemic. So I`m looking for tools or products that will help me reach the results I want most quickly.
 
I haven`t got to the, "why bother" point, but I`m no where near as fanatical as I used to be. I take a much more pragmatic approach and do what needs to be done from a preservation standpoint and/or what work gives me the best bang for my time.

I still get great joy out of washing my car, wiping it down, and cleaning up the interior. I really like the results of doing the polishing/coating, but loosing 12~14 hours to do the whole process and the work involved doesn`t really give me the same joy it used to. Fortunately, now that I use coatings the full detail job only happens once every couple of years vs. every six months like it did when I used sealants.

These days, I get more joy out of going places and doing things in our cars than I do actually working on them.
 
Lonnie said:
nan-wpg:
Two inquisitive Captain Obvious questions:
1) What specific manufacturer/brand and trade name/type of "spray-oil" do you use to keep the rust from forming on your vehicle?
2a) What specific Rupe`s model polisher did you buy and what specific manufacturer(s) and type(s) of pads and backing plate diameter size are you using with your Rupe`s polisher? Did you buy an optional anti-vibration side-handle for it?
2b) Did you look or consider other manufacturer`s polisher and what made you decide on the Rupe`s??

I ask because I STILL have not made up my mind on a "different" polisher to replace/supplant my now-getting-old Porter-Cable 7424 Dual-Action Orbital.
Click to expand...


1. Rustcheck. It’s a wd-40 type spray applied in the door panels/rockers and a thicker oil on the undercarriage. It’s done yearly. My guy is a rust proof ER only (some do rust “on the side”). The application is more important than the product.

2.a rupes 15mm long throw, and the rupes smaller 3” pad model (can’t recal model #). Rupes pads all colors, and also rupes blue and yellow foam pads. Rupes fine, and coarse polish, and rupes Uno protect.

2b “I’ve been everywhere…man (Johnny cash)”, lol. Tried many different polishers, forced rotation, rupes, cheapo Bauer from harbor freight.

I chose rupes because:

1. You will not find a smoother operating polisher. My joints no longer ache after polishing. Priceless.
2. I like a system approach. Got tired of trying dozens of polish/pad combos. As I get older I just want to simplify.
3. I wanted to support more local as opposed to Chinese made knock offs. Simply a personal decision.

no regrets with the rupes. Very happy. I did buy afternaerket backing plates (excel) do simulate the,washer mod.

works like a charm. Didn’t absolutely need it as I was getting real good with the normal backer but the mod makes it even easier (as I get older).

I still have a porter cable and an “ultimate detailing machine”. Delegated to wax application. They still work but no where near the smoothness of rupes.
 
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