Those without garages: How do you detail?

C

ChadO

New member
I do have a garage, but it's one of those garage apartments build separate from the house in the early 1900s for a Model T... carriage... who knows. The garage is sufficient to house my vehicle, but not sufficient for doing any detail work, because I have very little room to maneuver on the sides of the car.



I have a long driveway, but it's also very thin, and it's covered in trees with birds. I really feel as though I haven't a suitable location to go through claying, polishing, sealing, waxing without some undesirables landing on my surface. The only location I really have that's suitable is in front of my house, and then I'd have to deal with wind, dust, and the sun.



Anyone without a suitable environment for detailing have suggestions? I could borrow a friend's large garage I'm sure, but I'd really like some options around my home. Any ideas appreciated!
 
before I had a garage my method was just to work fast. Pick a good day to do the work when its not windy and just work fast. You may have to wash between steps just to make sure its not getting dust and crud blown on to it. If you can find a DIY car wash with a closed bay then its possible you can do it there. Its a good place to do the wash and clay job at least. Doing the polishing could be a challange unless they let you have access to some power. There are a lot of appartment guys here who have been maintaining their awesome cars without garages for a long time so I'm sure you'll get other suggestions too. :bigups
 
Maybe get one of those folding canopies you can see in the california car cover catalog. They even have versions in large auto part stores or KMart-like stores. I'm not sure if they are availible now,they might be considered out of season currently, at least around here.



If interested, I bet getting one online is the best way to go this time of year. If you get one, you'll be able to slow down your detailing and enjoy more.
 
I have a garage to keep my car in, but not suitable to detail. I too have a long driveway covered by trees. It makes a great place in the shade to do full detail jobs all day long! It's always in the shade. I contend with little pine needles falling now and again, but it's no big deal.



It sounds like you are in a good situation. No? You have a garage and a shaded driveay to work in. What's wrong with that?
 
Spilchy said:
I have a garage to keep my car in, but not suitable to detail. I too have a long driveway covered by trees. It makes a great place in the shade to do full detail jobs all day long! It's always in the shade. I contend with little pine needles falling now and again, but it's no big deal.



It sounds like you are in a good situation. No? You have a garage and a shaded driveay to work in. What's wrong with that?
Click to expand...



Well, my driveway is really thin as well (See here), but I honestly haven't tried doing the detailing there. It would still be difficult to really get to the sides and do the polishing w/ my PC, but I'll go ahead and give it a shot.



Thanks for the responses so far everyone!
 
Chad



When I detail cars without garage I use a shelter that I bought from Sams ($200). or you can visit their web site (EZup)
 
I use a portable tent. Not too big. 8' x 8' canopy. Just to help block out some of the sun. I still have to work fast, move the car, move the tent etc., but it helps me out a little. Also have to schedule a good day or couple of days depending on what you plan to do. weather.com helps me with that......although it's been wrong time to time....go figure. :p

Don't forget to give the birds the evil eye when they fly by.
 

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Sweet Agean Blue TL Type S! :up I've got an Anthracite Type S. From you user id, I assume it's an '03? Just FYI, there's a safety recall on the water pump and timing belt autotensioner for certain TLs. See the TSB (techincal service bulletin) 03-022. If you need more info, PM me. I'll send you a link to another site for the details.



Any way, back to the thread's topic. SK2003TypeS do you get stares, laughs, etc from the neighbors? Mine give me the old song "you're going to was all the paint off". They really loved it when I changed to my summer tires and I detailed my wheel wells. :rolleyes: I've got a canpoy just like that for camping. Sometimes the garage is to hot.
 
Thanks again all.



I'm really liking this

EZUp, but it's a bit more expensive than I'd like. Might be a good investment though...
 
ChadO,

I was eyeing the speed shelter myself for a while. Now that I look at it, I probably should've bought the better product. I'm not disappointed with what I have, but it would be nice to have something slightly bigger. Also, the material of the canopy on the one I have is rated at 150 denier (I think). The speed shelter's canopy has a much stronger material (500 maybe ?). I don't leave that tent out. Only used it a few times. I'm thinking of getting a second one and then "butting" them together for more shade. They claim "one person setup", but it's a lot easier with two (doable with one). The first time I used it, it actually poured after I slapped on a coat of Zaino. It didn't leak, but I can see it wearing down if the elements hit it for a while. Just some thoughts. Did I just say a bunch of nothing ?



PAW,

Thanks for the thumbs up! Loving the ride. Yep, it's an '03. Haven't heard of the water pump and belt yet, but I'll look it up with the Owners Link.

Do I get laughs and stares ?...Yes, I had someone call me up cracking up because he heard I bought a tent for the car. "Dude !!!...hahahahhaa" (about 5 minutes of that).

I have to do my wheel wells soon as well as the inner rims (wash,clay, wash, zaino).
 
I just bought the Speed Shelter and I love it. :xyxthumbs



Thanks to some great input from Autopia members...
 
Spilchy said:
I have a garage to keep my car in, but not suitable to detail. I too have a long driveway covered by trees. It makes a great place in the shade to do full detail jobs all day long! It's always in the shade. I contend with little pine needles falling now and again, but it's no big deal.



It sounds like you are in a good situation. No? You have a garage and a shaded driveay to work in. What's wrong with that?
Click to expand...



That's what I'm saying! I have no garage, a thin driveway with no shade for most of the day, and add to that it's a big hill so working is uncomfortable and it's impossible to have a rolling bucket or anything! Getting one of those temporary tents is probably a good idea...count your blessings for having any garage at all!
 
Oh wow! And I thought most people detail outdoors!



So detailing outside on a nice, not windy day would still not be a good idea? hmmm...maybe I should start getting the crap that's been piling up in my garage.
 
I have a garage, but no room for a car. Nor do I have a driveway. But I can use it to plug the power cord to my PC. All my detailing is done in my backyard. (My car and neighbors close by)



Basically pick a nice day out. I can usually do a pretty good job working there except for the wash, which creates some mud. I can use the Quick&Easy wash if there were rains from the day before or something like that. When working on interiors like carpeting, I use a large padded matt to kneel on, keeping me off the ground. Lastly, I have to move the car to do all the wheels, wheel wells, and tires out on the street.



I really envy all those who have garages AND driveways to work on. ;)



Take care. V...
 
I normally detail at clients' homes, but occasionally I get one who prefers to go out shopping or something, so they drop it off at my place. I own a condo (calif, what else is there to afford), and I share a garage (4 car). You just have to adjust your methods, with what you have to work with. I remeber my first detail was a BMW 318i, Sanat Ana's were howling, and there was a brush fire in the local hills. So I had wind/ dust/ and ash fallout to deal with, it took forever plus 6 hrs to get the orange to pop, but I did it. the owner was totally excited when I dropped it off. "Looked better than when I picked it up". Adjust my friend, adjust, thats all you can do !
 
I use the covered parking at my apartment. Only good for hand applications though because they don't want you dragging long extension cords out from your apartment and the loud noises from power tools would most likely end in neighbors complaining. So the few times I've gotten to use my PC has been at my brother's houses. Sucks! My wife and I are looking at getting our first home in a few months, and a 2 car garage is top on the must-have list. :)
 
I have to wash mine in my graveled driveway. In order to more easily wash and dress my tires here is a little trick i use. I cut 4 small pieces of 1X6 lumber about 10 or 12 inches long each. Before beginning i place one in front of each tire and drive on top of them. This gives me jsut enough room under the tires to wash and dress the entire tire without having to move it.
 
i am in the same boat, have a garage but no space to manouvre. i will see if my local hardware store sells the portable tents so i can get some shade during the sunny days and have longer to detail.



my biggest problem is when it comes to waxing. since there is no shade the wax always streaks. if i leave the waxing until the sun begins to set the i leave soomething else out like plastic trims or the tyres etc. thanks for the suggestion of the ten.
 
I sympathize too -- no garage, no driveway, so all my detailing is done "curbside." Best gift I ever gave myself was buying the EZUp Express this summer. If it's windy, I attach sidescreens (plastic tarp with grommets), weighted down. If I'm worried about dust/debris, I just spritz (with water or QD, depending on what I'm doing) and MF-wipe each area before I work it.
 
well for me i have no garage nor do i have a driveway so the only place where i can work on my car is underneath a tree.when i was first learning how to properly detail my car i had to have a set routine and go from that.my thoughts are is that once u have your routine down u shouldnt have any problems working fast either.one thing that works for me is that if i need to wash my car i always bring a bucket of car wash soap and a big pump sprayer,i used it to rinse the car off first and then to rinse it off of soapy water.works for me.after that then i can get to my routine as quickly as i need to.i guess im jus used to working quickly like others on this board.probably need to since theres nothing to work under huh?:p



Robert
 
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