Getting the annual polish in while on baby's time.

[PouncingPanzer]

So, nine weeks ago my wife and I had our daughter. Needless to say my world has changed drastically since. We are on Mila-time now. That said my hobbies(all of them) have been put on hold for the most part. She gets fussy when the Xbox is turned on, it never fails. I haven't been to the boat in about a month and I'm fiending to give tours. I stress about when and how I will manage to get stuff done on the weekends that I didn't get done Mon-Fri while also being a dad and going to the plethora of family gatherings that occur this time of year. As a result my car is dirtier than I'd like it to be and I don't think I will be keeping up with it as usual. Historically May has been "Spa Month" for my daily drivers. I typically get a 4-5 day weekend lined up and I clamp down and do it all inside and out including a machine polish. But how do I make this happen now while on Mila-time? I have been brain storming my options...

I think focusing on a single panel at a time is my solution. Start and finish the process here, then if baby allows it move on to the next. Prewash and wipe down a panel, decontaminate it, and then polish it. It may look silly when I drive to work and the only spotless panel that day is a passenger rear door skin....but I will have to ignore that part for the sake of the greater good. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will have managed to complete the entire car.

If you were planning on this approach yourself, how would you go about it?

[Uncbrs]

Congrats! And I've been there. I didn't make it happen until I took two days off of work and the in-laws were here wanting time with the little one.

Otherwise, the SO and I just have an agreement that we need the "me time" on occasion and how we spend it is up to us.

Your plan seems logical though if you go about it that way and I'm guessing 95% of people will never even notice that shiny rear quarter... unless you live near other AGO members

Sent from my SM-F936U1 using Tapatalk

[PouncingPanzer]

My wife is on-board with this method so I will give it a whirl! I will start with the horizontals and less obvious panels first.

[Uncbrs]

Go for it now. It only gets more difficult once they start walking and talking!

Sent from my SM-F936U1 using Tapatalk

[Urmil]

Congratulations and great plan .

My situation is different....My wife's car sits outdoors in a gated lot. However, I can never seem to find enough time to do a full exterior detail. I'm also planning on doing one panel at a time, (pre-wash, wash, chemical decon, clay, polish, and apply a ceramic spray coating).

I know that polishing a car outdoors is not recommended but I don't have any other option.

Has anyone done the process I outlined and has any feedback or recommendations for me?

[noorth]

I do my cars like that actually. It's more enjoyable.

Rinseless is your friend.

[MisterSnoop]

Maybe decon more than a panel at a time. If you end up with more time to polish, you can keep going. If you have to polish one of the other panels a few days later, it'll just need to be cleaned.

[noorth]

^^ Yeah i usually clay at least 2 panels before i wipe down with a rinseless and then polish. You can do a bonnet quickly using RW and clay. Less than a hour.

[Desertnate]

Congrats!

When I was a new dad, I was working off a much different detailing regimen than I have now. In those days, I was simply keeping everything clean/washed and then applying a sealant every six months to keep it all protected. I hadn't discovered machine polishing and fallen totally down the rabbit hole...

As kids get older, you don't really get any more time. You trade nurturing a fussy baby for their hobbies/sports or simply spending quality time with them. I found rather than trying to cram in "spa sessions" for all the vehicles into one block of time, I'd spread it out over months. I'd even do simple stuff like washing whenever I found a gap of time.

One thing that really helped me when dad time was more important than car time was using coatings. When using a high solids coating, I only do in-depth detail sessions every 2~3 years and I off-set the vehicles so I almost never have to do more than one every year. I found it is much easier to find time to jam out a vehicle once a year than it is to do 2~3 every six months... If you take the approach you describe where you do a panel/section at a time it could make it even easier. Once you finish the car, all you have to do is keep it clean for the next couple of years.

[PouncingPanzer]

And this is why I asked.. Great advice everyone. Good point about prepping more than a panel at a time, just in case the baby is merciful. Lol.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk