WOW. We are in the miniorty.....

[PA DETAILER]

When i look at the work parking lot, and all the vehicles, i do notice the shape of them. Convinced! WE ARE A MINIORTY! Maybe one other vehicle rolls in with tire protectant. 90% of them dont see a wash till it rains. Just makes you think, what a crazy hobby i picked. What do you notice at your work place? I am convinced. 90% of the population could care less what their vehicle looks like.

[Bunky]

For many it is just transportation but for a large number they do not know how to clean it properly so not incented to repeat something that does not work. This usually involves using dish show, dish rags, etc. to wash.

Thanks to clear coats, cars can stay "shiny" for some time until the abuse from improper care finally dulls the finish. Going the through a mechanical wash usually does not make an instant change but takes many trips to really make it obvious.

[PA DETAILER]

Agree. And for many i can relate its a time and money thing.

[The Driver]

Knowledge is power, without it... Bliss. I can`t tell you how many people I`ve shown what/how swirls are/form. Once you show them they are avoidable, a lot of them want them out and to stay out. People will react to knowledge, if they don`t know it exists... How can they act? We`re here to educate them, that is our main job as Detailers.

[Wheelzntoys]

I`ve tried to teach people at work, they tend to want the easy thing and keep using gas station car washes.

If they want a polish, I stick to M205 or an AIO, maybe even a glaze if they want it spiffy before an event. Of course I let them know what I`m using and why.

No compounding or heavy polish until they change their car wash habits.

[spiralout462]

I`ve mentioned the 2 bucket wash method to a few peers before. They stare at me like I`m speaking Yiddish! I agree with your estimation. It seems that if they aren`t absolutely filthy they are marred and swirled to death!

[bswombaugh]

Knowledge is power, without it... Bliss. I can`t tell you how many people I`ve shown what/how swirls are/form. Once you show them they are avoidable, a lot of them want them out and to stay out. People will react to knowledge, if they don`t know it exists... How can they act? We`re here to educate them, that is our main job as Detailers.

I totally agree about educating people on paint defects and imperfections. My wife has witnessed a few of my paint corrections and she now is really starting to understand about swirls, oxidation, and etched waterspots. She used to not give it a second thought and believed that those defects were just normal on all cars. Now she has an awareness to the point that she notices cars in the grocery store parking lot and points out the ones with the swirls and such. No one had ever pointed this out to her . What finish used to be ok and acceptable to her in the past, is now considered sub par. She now has a much higher standard of what really looks good.

[Todd@RUPES]

Ironically, the same people who "don`t care" are the same ones who ask how you keep your car so shiny, or make comments. This is anything in life though. Educate those who do car and let the rest be happy (and often times envious)

[512detail]

I still stop and scold people when I see them drying their new vehicle with a bath towel. And to make things worse the liquor store I manage is across the street from one of those DIY coin ops and I see some REAL funny stuff daily. Sometimes I am tempted to yell across the street at them but we all know it would most likely be to no avail.

[neoflex]

Pshh, I got you guys beat. The guy that lives across the street from me just recently bought his wife a new Hyundai Sonata. I guess she decided this weekend that it could use a wash. So the two of them proceeded to fill a wash bucket and than wash it by dunking a broom, yes you read that right, a broom into the bucket and rubbing it all over the car like it was wash brush. The sight of this just made me cringe and I would normally try and steer them away from proceeding but personally I can not stand them so I continued to mow the grass all while just shaking my head. It`s no wonder why they always look at me cross eyed when they see me washing my vehicles with two buckets, foam cannon, 50 million different brishes and chemicals etc. In their minds I am likely the crazy one.

[PPLd]

I try to keep 2 sides of my car life separate.
Garage queen convertible that I only drive in nice weather (but not too sunny).
otherwise it is the daily driver.

dont get me wrong, they get washed using the same shampoo, towels, tools etc.
but i would wax a garage queen, seal a DD.
talking about seal, i just stock up heavily on WG DGLS!

[Mr. Gloss]

Most of us probably have time to keep our cars clean and shiny. Most of us have time to spend on insignificant things, like detailing.

For a family with 3,4,5 kids, a car isn`t considered a significant item, it`s transportation.

So, it doesn`t shock me when my daughter`s family of 6 doesn`t have time to wash the car every other day. Twice a month is more than sufficient.

Take a walk in their shoes for a week and you`ll get it.

[PA DETAILER]

It is a crazy obsession. We put our love/time/money in a object that loses value over time. But for me its a big release from the grind of life. THERAPY. Nothing like a perfect saturday morning. EARLY! Outside one on one doing what i enjoy.

[Swanicyouth]

And to make things worse the liquor store I manage is across the street from one of those DIY coin ops and I see some REAL funny stuff daily.

Sometimes you see some good stuff at the coin-op. Last time I was there I saw a very attractive young lady wearing spandex pants vacuuming out her car. The thing is, while moving the vacuum back and forth she was twerkin` it like Beyoncé.

This would have been rather un-eventful, except she was bent over twerkin` it vacuuming the back seat of her car for like 25 mins... There must have been a lotta pet hair back there or maybe something else....

Dunno. Every dude there just stopped and stared - she was oblivious. I was waiting for some guy creepier than me to pull out their iPhone and start videoing it.

[Merlin]

We are in the minority...

I went looking for a new car a couple of weeks ago and was looking at a car in the showroom under the fluorescent lights.
It was heavily covered in swirls. I mentioned the damage to the car peddler and he said "I don`t care!"

A week later I was in the mall at the Tesla store. (Yes, they have a store in the mall with cars next to the Apple store).
I mentioned the swirls and the peddler stood there with his arms crossed coldly repeating "I don`t care."

So there we are...working to educate the consumers that do not know and the peddlers who do not care! This is so sad.

When I do a vehicle I work hard at it and I take a LOT of pride in my work. Are we the only ones that care?