How did I get into this hobby?!?

[runrun411]

My wife went away for a few days and I figured I'd do a paint correction on her DD. What a good husband I am. I started Thursday afternoon and worked from 1:30 till 7:00, Friday from 10:30 till 6:30 and today (Saturday) from 10:00 till 6:30. Whew, I'm tired. I thought I'd just chill out while she's gone and then I figured I'd enjoy my hobby. I take my hat off to you guys who do this for a living. I'm still not done and most likely won't be until Monday. How did I get myself into this?

[DetailedByPrecision]

enjoy the detailing therapy.

[Theo_Auto_Fines]

Shine crack it what it is. :-)

[Klasse Act]

There's no cure because noone wants to be cured! Let's see some pics though.

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online

[scada]

I recently bought a new car after my neglected Chevy Malibu crapped it's transmission. I never liked the Malibu so I did not take care of it much. Unfortunately I still owed money on the car which I rolled into the loan on the new car (really wanted a new car and did not want to put money into a car I don't like).

Anyway I want this car (Ford Focus sedan) to last at least till I can pay the loan off. My house has a nice oak in the front yard that provides good afternoon shade. Detailing the car is a nice excuse to work outside, say hi to the neighbors walking by and just generally enjoy the outside. I listen to podcasts while I work. It is a great way to relax and in the end you have a really nice looking car. Of course it is a lot easier this time of year as it stays light out so late. I done a quick wash in the dark after working late.

[T3 AutoDetails]

It happens to the best of us, I always tell my ol lady i'm just going to go out and hit her car with a QD...Next thing you know i'm seeing lots of things I don't like which leads to about 2-4 hours of touch ups lmao! Great isn't it?

[Pureshine]

I have always been in to cars and I have a friend with a lot of nice cars he ask me to detail his cars. when I was done he told me I should do this for a living and the rest is history.

[BobbyG]

Detailing is an addiction with a happy ending....and sore muscles and an empty wallet.....and a beautiful car! :props:

[ihaveacamaro]

It's no hobby, it's a lifestyle!

[Ryry11]

Yesterday I was out In the yard polishing and applying opticoat to my moms car, and my neighbor, who moved in just a few days ago, walks over to the fence and this is how the conversation went:
Neighbor: "is that a hobby or something? You've been outside all day everyday since we moved in doing that to the cars?"

Me:"yeah, it's something like that..."

[Setec Astronomy]

It's no hobby, it's a lifestyle!

Yeah, ain't that the truth!

[PA DETAILER]

was never really into cars/detailing in high school. must have hit later. then i did a dealership job as a detailer. 5 years! pay was so poor! just over min. wage at the time. but economy was bad. so i stayed until i got a much better manufacturing job.

now i just love the hobby! i understand i am in the 5% that really love the hobby and a clean ride.

for me its therapy. after a long week of work there is nothing like hitting the driveway saturday morning and detailing.

the other 95% could care less what their ride looks like and would never spend money on detailing goods. (they think your the idiot)

[swanicyouth]

After a failed attempt to remove swirls on my silver BMW about 8 years ago, I put the PC, Menzerna polishes, and all the HUGE pads away for many years. Then, I traded that car in.

The car I traded it for was a black BMW. Unlike most, my dealer actually had the car detailed well when I bought it. No swirls or scratches. Then, as time went on, I started to see (inflict) some.

This time I was determined to learn how to get rid of them. That got me into detailing. Of course, I figured out what I was doing wrong: too much product, too big pad on a PC, not enough downward pressure.

I work long (13-14 hrs) days. This means I don't work many days. I only have to work 3 or 4 days a week (it flips every other week). So, on any given week I have 3 or 4 days I'm off from work. I also get 4 weeks vacation. So, I have a lot more time at home than the many with a 9-5 job.

Detailing gives me something to do when I'm off. I'll wash / detail my car and listen to the radio / Stern / music just so I have something to do. I can't stand watching TV, if I watch TV I just fall asleep. I hate having absolutely nothing to do. There is always tiny detail I can fool with on my cars.

Neighbors probably think I'm crazy. About 10 people have came up to me in the past 2 years or so, and asked if I run a detailing business and would I do their car. I tell them, I only do my own, it would be too expensive to pay me to do yours. I guess they never caught on I'm always working on the same 2 cars.

I'm still waiting for someone to ask me "How expensive?" But I do get a lot of compliments on my cars, and that's rewarding. But I'm sure a lot of people are like: "there is that A-hole screwing with his car again... Does he think that's a Ferrari?" To which, I don't really care.

[runrun411]

Detailing is an addiction with a happy ending....and sore muscles and an empty wallet.....and a beautiful car! :props:

:iagree:

My wife sometimes has me helping her clean the house, then she wanted a housekeeper to come by twice a month. I agreed because I'm tired of spending some of my free time cleaning house. When she saw how much time I spend doing just one step of the detailing process she said "a hobby like that and a clean house, the two shall never meet". I told here that a lot of guys on this site don't have this problem with their wives. This was when I agreed to the housekeeper. I hate to spend the money, but If I'm helping her I'd be thinking I'd rather be detailing.

[TH3M B0N3Z]

Detailing is an addiction with a happy ending....and sore muscles and an empty wallet.....and a beautiful car! :props:

:laughing:

Sad but true, sir.

My detailing addiction doesn't necessarily leave me broke, but it definitely has a happy ending each and every time.

My car went through several days of crappy Florida rainstorms. I started with the wheels first this morning, scrubbed the tires real good, got the wheel wells looking clean and black again, foamed the paint, got that baby all nice and clean with a proper two bucket & two mitt wash. I was actually excited to clean my car as it was pretty much its dirtiest since I first picked it up.

I got another slight "addiction", if you will, that costs a little bit of money, but keeps me feeling awesome. ;)