You know you have been seriously bitten by the detailing bug when you find yourself:

[irvsmith]

I found myself doing some idiosyncratic things now that I am interested in this obsession (I mean passion.) I thought I would tabulate some of mine and thought it might be a fun thread to have people post those things you do around your car (or even the house I guess) as a result of your passion to keep the car looking immaculate. You know the things that significant others or friends might comment on when you are getting into their cars or at their homes. In your replies you can add new items or simply reference the item number in this post as things you do as well.

1. Tapping your feet every time you get into the car.
2. Blasting the defroster to avoid running the windshield wipers and potentially smearing any dirt on the glass.
3. Closing the door with the side of your hand instead your fingers so you don't induce more fine scratches.
4. Actually not incessantly wiping down the paint and waiting until a full wash so you are not touching the paint.
5. Have a large set of products/MF towels in the trunk for immediately addressing the bird gifts, food/drink spills, etc.
6. Searching far and wide for that parking spot away from other cars.
7. Driving on certain roads to avoid construction work.
8. Opening and closing doors for passengers so they don't introduce new scratches.
9. Buying replacement MF towels after very few uses? After only one use?
10. Seeing swirls in other cars.
11. Cringing when you see someone using an automatic car wash or dry wiping their paint.
12. Picking up those little crumbs or bits of dirt when you just did the interior yesterday.
13. Doing all the above even on your daily driver (guilty as charged.)

[Kamakaz1961]

LMAO! I think you are CRAZIER than most of us here!....LOL Which is a good thing! I DO NOT DO #9 at all! I am NOT WORTHY compared to you!.....Keep on rocking!

[BudgetPlan1]

Aside from #10, I'm just too lazy to do that stuff. Winter is actually kinda a relief in that I can just forget about the car stuff for a few months.

[Breese147]

+ 1 numbers 1, 2(minus the best part because it hardly freezes where I life but I HATE using the wipers unless it’s pouring rain and I’m driving over 50mph) 4,6,10 Drives me crazy because I really just want to do a 50/50 for them. 11(I tell my family members and friends every time I see them post about getting a car wash for their “baby” that they are hurting the paint. I want to add some of mine.
1. Walking through parking lots when it rains and seeing which cars have protection on them and which don’t.
2. Forbidding your loved ones from taking their cars through drive through car washes.
3. Inspecting every car you get into for cleanliness
4. Waterless washing your car every 2-3 days so that it can stay clean and then purposely letting it get dirty so you can do a full wash and get a beautiful before and after shot.
5. Pulling your led light in your phone out at night to inspect cars at night to make sure they aren’t swirled up.
6. You take 1-2 hours to do a maintenance wash
7. You forbid anyone from using your supplies without your supervision especially any handling of your microfiber towels.
8. You wipe down your dryer with Apc to avoid any contamination of dryer sheets to your microfiber towels.
9. When you polish Stainless steel appliances in your house to remove water spots.
10. You clean the colored suspension on trucks/suvs just so that when you bend down and look at a certain angle you can see the color of the suspension/strut.
11. You never let anyone lean or put anything on the painted panels of your car.



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[oneheadlite]

Guilty on the avoiding the wipers (no glass coating, but sealant or a rinseless that makes it so you've just gotta make it above 40 or so!)..

#3: I spend plenty of time getting in and out of other people's cars (auto tech) - I either use the very very edge of the door, the door edge inside the jam, or a fingertip on the glass at the base.

[WristyManchego]

1. Fitting a brand new front and rear window because they had minor scratches

2. Removing and filling the rear wiper on a hatchback so it never scratches the new window

3. Brushing the direction of the carpet pile after vacuuming

4. Applying 7 layers of Zymol Titanium and having the mechanic slip and hit the deck after trying to balance himself on the rear pillar when inspecting the wheels. “What the Fu*# is on this car!?”

[ScottH]

All the above plus the following on our (2) daily drivers:

1. Vacuuming interior, cleaning floor mats, interior glass and conditioning leather once a week

2. Detailing engine twice a month

3. Exterior hand wash twice a week (bucket, rinseless, waterless or combination thereof)

4. Application of a "helper" LSP once a week (e.g. spray wax, Hydro Blue, etc.)

5. Applying a true LSP or combination (e.g. coating, sealant and/or wax) 4 times a year

6. Asking wife to walk to the store after detailing her car (doesn't always go over well)

7. Asking friends and family to drop off their cars when I can no longer stand looking at them anymore

8. Rinsing off car immediately after being driven in rain - wash same day 99% of the time

9. Telling wife "Honey you don't need the wipers. I just applied window sealant".

10. ALWAYS parking on end spot

11. Carry a quick detail kit in car (MF towels, waterless wash, fast interior detailer)

12. Obsessively looking for any imperfections in windshield while driving to work

13. Signing wifey up for AG emails (tends to soften her up a little when the next order arrives as she is aware of the sales)

Ok that's enough before I get locked up in a room with padded walls (LOL)

ScottH

[VISITOR]

when i pull into a double sided parking spot where there isn't any other option, i'll slowly pull in and roll down the driver side window and make sure i'm about one foot away (or so) from the white line (also straight and centered) which is about the center/even with the other side (double check when you get out). sometimes it varies though, depending on the parking spot because some are so tight/narrow they look like they were made for go-karts. after you're parked, there's the double glance as you walk away we all do and don't act like you don't lol. some people can't park (let alone drive) normal these days. you gotta take every precaution (most can careless about other people's property) available...

[camaro2ssblack]

After each baseball game, I clean my kids bat with APC, and hit it with some HD Speed.

The other coaches ask me how his bat still looks brand new and I’m embarrassed to tell them lol.

[VISITOR]

After each baseball game, I clean my kids bat with APC, and hit it with some HD Speed.

The other coaches ask me how his bat still looks brand new and I’m embarrassed to tell them lol.

lol . when i was done riding my electric skateboard, i would use a small blower and blow off the whole board (top/bottom) and then wipe it down the underside with some QD and a microfiber towel. you would be surprised how much dust/dirt it collects after just one ride...