Washing the car.

stevo2, Feb 7, 5:04am
How long does it take you to do a "full groom" on your vehicle!
I had no work today so I thought I would give the van a birthday. It took all day to wash, cutting compound on any stubborn marks, kero on the tar and bug spots, a full wax, armourall the inside, clean windows and spray the tyres. I never touched the engine bay or underneath.
It hasnt been done for yonks but looks a million dollars again now.
How long does it take you to give your car "the works".
Stevo

curlcrown, Feb 7, 5:06am
Most cars all day. My own I keep clean so half an hour to an hour.

jason18, Feb 7, 5:09am
Yeah about an hour on my own cars. wash, Spray on wax, Armourall and vacuum. I usually keep it pretty clean anyway.

johnf_456, Feb 7, 5:12am
half an hour to a hr for me but I clean regularly.

mileyfan73, Feb 7, 5:14am
Half aday.Wash,chamois dry,dress tyres,respray wheel arches black if needed,armour-all interior,clean windows,vacuum,clean engine bay,polish every 6 weeks.

gunhand, Feb 7, 5:24am
I do a bit of grooming on the side and they take a full day to do a full groom, including, wash, buff, wax, lux, and clean all interiour bits with small brushes etc then armour all the plastics, lux out boot and spot clean engine bay, do all door shuts and inside doors as well. And thats not shampooing.

gasngo2, Feb 7, 5:29am
a full day for the works,only to get dirty again at the end of the week.

stevexc, Feb 7, 5:35am
Wife's car took about 3 hours on Sunday
- Wash
- Claybar
- Polish
- Wax
Windows, interior, tyres etc

grangies, Feb 7, 5:42am
Ditto. Pretty much a day's job when they're dirty.

What wax do you use!

We use this ( it a spray painters worse nightmare to paint over ) . But the stuff is magic.

Click the link then go to the synthetic liquid polish.

http://www.turtlewax.co.nz/Products/Ice/tabid/28996/Default.aspx

socram, Feb 7, 6:24am
I never do the whole car at once.Clean the wheels about every couple of weeks (alloy wheel and 4 wheel disc brakes= mucky wheels) plus tyre black.Every two weeks for the glass.Wash the exterior about5 or 6 times a year.Interior rarely gets done!Underbonnet about once a year.
Polishing about once every three years, though the paint finish is excellent and doesn't really need it, but, where do you get a clay bar from!Paint sales!Auto cheap!Repco!I think it might benefit from it now.Too much crud around in the air I think.

gunhand, Feb 7, 6:27am
Depends on the car etc, flash cars geets mequiars and cheapos get turtle wax spray and wipe wax, which is not to bad really.

mugenb20b, Feb 7, 7:13am
After a 4WD trip, 3 days to clean (+1 day to do preventative maintenance to the drivetrain and chassis), which is the main reason I no longer do it. I would rather spend 3 or 4 days doing something more productive, but that's another story.
So, to do the "works" on our family cars takes about half a day each, every two months. I'm not all that fussy with cutting compound or waxing, but the interior has to be immaculate, even though it gets annihilated after a week.

kingfisher21, Feb 7, 9:02am
What is this "washing" and "cleaning" thing you speak of!

shuddupowh, Feb 7, 12:30pm
About an hour or 2. Wash mainly, only sometimes a polish/wax and a vacuum and dusting inside. Am going to get it buffed professionally this week to try get rid of some scratches and scuff marks, then a good polish.

shuddupowh, Feb 7, 12:31pm
And my washing includes all the door jams, under bonnet, around boot, inside wheel archs and scrubbing the rims.

kazbanz, Feb 7, 7:15pm
depends on how dirty the car is--I spend between 3 and 12 hours cleaning a car up. "i"means me and my staff

tonyrockyhorror, Feb 7, 8:10pm
Don't do it. Washing vehicles damages the paint. If you only wash it when it's time to sell, it'll be immaculate.

magicmat, Feb 7, 8:38pm
At least half a day to do it properly. For a quick clean up perhaps an hour or so to give it a quick wash and vacuum.

tigra, Feb 7, 9:29pm
And what did you get in return!

wron, Feb 8, 10:03am
I remember a thread ages ago that talked about a car wash product sold by someone in Whangarei - anybody know what it's called!