Dodo Juice Giveaway - Story Time!

[Nick McKees37]

Do you remember the first vehicle that you detailed? I'll use the term "detailed" lightly, because I remember the first car that I "detailed" consisted of nothing more than a simple coat of wax from the local auto parts store. Nothing more, nothing less.

I was about 13 years old and my father had just purchased a brand new GMC Sierra SLT Extended Cab. It was burgundy with the optional 17" chrome wheels and had every option available at the time. He was proud of it, and wanted to keep it looking nice. I was looking for a little extra spending money to keep me occupied during the summer months, so he proposed that I wax his new truck. I said sure! It was simple, pour a quarter size amount of wax on a towel and wipe it on the paint until it started to turn clear and then add more. Wipe off every 15 minutes or so. Sounded easy enough! An hour or so later, I was $20 richer.

I have three 30ml pots of Dodo Juice DoubleWax sitting on my desk along with a couple Cobra Microfiber Towels that I'll be giving away to three lucky people who are willing to share the story of the first vehicle that they "detailed" or simply waxed. There are hundreds of members online at any given time and I have a pretty good feeling that most of you have waxed a car some time or another.

Share your story, and even include a couple pictures if you have some available. The three winners will be announced on Friday, July 1st.

Don't be shy!

[qaz393]

in for the first one!!!

always took my car to automated car wash cause i get them for free. lsp beading was not present on my cars. this year i started applying 845 from autogeek to my cars with fantastic beading results

[jakesdad]

My first "detail" was my Dad's blue and white1960 Chevy Kingswood Station Wagon. I don't remember being offered any money for doing it but in those days you just did it because you were asked.
I'm guessing that the car was probably six months old and we had taken it on vacation to St. Marys, Ohio and parked it under a Mullberry tree. Mullberries are similar to blackberries and can cause a Gawd awful mess to the finish of an automobile.
As I recall the only thing I could find was a green can of Dupont
rubbing compound to extract the stains from the berries. If I thought it looked bad prior to the "detailing" with the compound you should have seen it after my efforts... That stuff was like sandpaper....
Needless to say, Dad was less than thrilled with the job and I was never asked again to wax his car.

anyway, these are my recollections.... I learned a good lesson on what not to do.....

[CrownKote]

When I was 14 I got my first car, it was a project car. A 1966 VW Bug! It was kinda trashed and needed a new motor, brakes, and much more but the paint was in ok shape. I decided to "detail" it and went at it... I vacuumed it out then wiped all of the seats down. I then moved to the paint... That was interesting as I wanted it to look as good as the show cars that I loved seeing. I had my mom take me to Checker auto parts and we bought some of the redish TW heavy cut compound and some TW "show car" wax. I got home whipped out the terry cloth bathroom towels (mom didn't know) and started hand buffing. I read the can thoroughly and followed the directions on it closely. I did that to every painted surface on that car spent about 3 days doing it and it came out to what I would consider now a "hack" job but hey it was a start right?

After doing that to my Bug I decided to try it on my dad's Gremlin which was severely oxidized and that UGLY baby poop green color. I couldn't make it super shiny but my dad thought it was a good try. Mom wouldn't let me do the brand new Caravan but that is because she bought the "detailer's package" from the dealer...

That's my first go at detailing and I would love the DoDo winnings... Never tried Double Wax...

[cutter]

It was a Maroon '72 Impala. I bought it from my Uncle, the paint was slightly oxidized and washing and waxing did little to help the situation. I ended up using a rubbing compound and lots of elbow grease (I wish I had my Flex then...lol) to get it back into shape.

Wow, that was many years ago, thanks for helping me dig up old memories!

[bigaizsosexy]

My first detail: My first detail consisted of a white 2001 Mitsubishi Galant back in 2003. I was taught on how to properly wax the car by my uncle who happened to be a huge car enthusiast. I thought it was awesome that you could spread a paste (wax) on the paint and it would protect it for 6 weeks or so. This happens 9 or so years ago. It drove me to become more interested in the industry and I thank him for where I am today.

[TLMitchell]

Man, the first one is gonna be tough to recall! I used to hit the parents cars with Turtle Wax, the puke-colored stuff in the green bottle. I think I probably left half of it in the nooks and crannies. It was brutal stuff when it dried.

The toughest early attempt I recall was someone's '66 black VW bug. They insisted on Simonize. I didn't have a clue what thin meant then. Probably would've been easier to remove with a hammer and chisel! IIRC, I learned a harsh lesson on waxing in the sun on that one.

Owner was happy because it shined and beaded. My mind's eye tells me it was probably a smeary mess.

Got a lot of experience at my first job at age 14 at Willey's Supersonic Car Wash. Steam guns and vac in the back, standard pull-through whirling brushes and mondo blower coming through at the end. One guy jumped in the back to do the windows and rear deck & seats, one in the front to drive it out to the 4 dryer guys and hit the front windows, dash, pedals etc. I got to do the driving even at 14 because the full-timers weren't exactly Einsteins. On rainy days we did hand wax jobs with Blue Diamond cleaner/wax. Usually tar encrusted relics we used dry cleaning fluid to remove all the crud.

2 bucks for a wash & dry, an extra $.50 for "hot wax". 3rd degree swirls were no extra charge. I got richer at $1/hr at a time, plus tips! Paid for my first car at age 16 though!

Ah, the good old days.... NOT!

TL

[Pats300zx]

Man...my first one...1964 Rambler convertible my parents gave me. I can remember working on that thing with Rain Dance car wax and tons of other Dupont products...I remember when Meguiars first out with their Quick Detailer in the maroon bottle. I thought it was revolutionary lol.

[Belair]

When I was a teenager my dad taught me how to wax the family car - a 1951 Buick Special Sedan, dark green with a white top. Using an old t-shirt to apply the Simoniz wax in the yellow can, I wiped it on the hood vigorously then waited for it to haze then wiped it off with an old cotton towel. That wax was a bear to get off when it dried too much but the paint was really shiny. My arms were sore for 3 days afterward.

[cmichael258]

My first "detail" was waxing the family's 57 Chevy wagon. My father had a large hardware store that you could pull a car into and my grandfather had stables in the back part where he sold horses and mules. It was mid Summer in NC, with no ventilation other than a crosswind from the front open door and rear open door. Between the horse/mule aroma, woking with a can of wax with the consistency of Johnson's Bowling Alley Wax and a car that looked longer than a football field, I managed to finish without passing out or having my arm falling out. The payoff...."Good job son, we'll have to bring your granfather's 56 Buick in".