I don't believe that its OCD but my wife does.

Interior dismantled for cleaning- check

Wheels off- check I use a dedicated toilet brush inbetween the semi-annual remove wash/wax inside rims.

Assortment of mini brushes- check

Microfiber inside exhaust finishers- no but they are painted black inside

-^OCD no, fetish maybe^

Sell for more many years and miles down the road to the first prospective buyer, oh hell yeah!

Our mower even gets the wash and "Armor All" treatment after every use (even the seat Jon )

 

Mine is seeing a freshly washed or detailed vehicle with dirty inner wheel liners.

 

Products used to detail our cars have improved to the point that I feel like I should use them, and make my car look as good as possible. My hands have to be nearly surgery clean before I clean, wax, detail, change oil, etc.
I know when I first bought my Jag, I removed the undercoating from the sides of the car along the bottom and revealed perfect paint.
I wish I had a Jag for everyday use, and one for the garage.

 

LOL, you clean your wifes car, I just let it be as it is , eventualy she comes out when I'm cleaning mine and starts to say "how do you make yours look so clean ?".....my reply "Clean it"....

It all comes back to the Male 'v' Female language .... what she actualy ment to say was " Can you clean my car aswell" , .....Oh dear why can't the opposite sex speak the same language...

Shaun

 

Nah, done that! I saw RevSam's video and thought "pff, that's way too **** even for me".

And three weeks later I was doing it!

Black stone chip is REALLY necessary to protect those plastic liners

 

I know this question will start me on the road to the dark side, but you guys are making me feel bad.

So I have this "friend" who never cleans the inside of his wheels. What products and technique would you suggest this slacker use to clean the inside of his wheels. Keep in mind they are fairly gunked up now, so what would work best to remove the geological layers of grime without harming the wheel.

 

Start with Dawn dishwashing soap, I know we specify Dawn alot but most other soaps don't work they way it does.

If you need something a little more aggressive, try Zep Fast505 or Simple Green. Once you get them clean, you can wax them and it will make the dust stay away a bit longer as well as make it easier to clean next time.

 

Frog- yep, and if I had Sepangs, I would do nothing less than you do for them as well. My double fives have been sadly chewed up and thrashed within a few more years of their life. But that just means I can shop for Sepangs at perhaps my next tire interval...

Mike- I would hit that with Sonax wheel cleaner first to break all that crap up. In fact, it may take a few applications of it, but that should be all you need. May even be minimal scrubbing (really powerful stuff that works before your eyes).

 

How did you do that, sanding or some chemical or... ?

As for OCD, I see your "inside of wheels" and raise you "removed the supercharger so I could clean under it".

Well, I didn't take it off JUST so I could clean under it, but I did clean under it.

 

Autoglym make 59 products (I believe) for detailing, so there must be a market for them...an army of "super polishers" lol
Don't get me wrong, I have about 20 of them haha when the weather warms up, I will be in the garage using 'em and I have to admit, I enjoy it...get a lot of pleasure seeing my pride and joy at it's best.

I used to have a series 3 E-Type which I would spend hours cleaning, especially the spokes...there were 72 of them...and I knew every one by name LOLOL
I used to enter it for concours, with some success.

Yes, it was OCD, but who cares however, I don't remember cleaning the ar$e of the car inside ....happy days!

 

OK, the evidence is in.

Many of you are, indeed, OCD.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Seinfeld fans know what this is about.

 

Two years ago I jacked the car up on 32" on jack stands, removed the wheels, inner fender liners, power washed the underside, wiped all axles, exhaust, motor, transmission, and body with cleaner, brushes, rags, and wiped it all down dry. Steel Wooled the exhaust system. Then I took it on a weekend trip two weeks later and got caught in two days of rain. It hasn't been in the rain since.

 

A HUGE +1 from me on Sonax Full effect wheel cleaner.

Simply spray it on and watch as the green liquid starts to turn a reddish purple before your eyes. This happens as the formula oxidises the brake dust / filings etc before your eyes.


Many times simply applying then using a power washer will be enough to remove anything. Failing that a second application and a light wipe with a cloth will remove the remnants.

It is non acidic and is safe for your rims and paintwork too.

Buy it and use you will NOT regret it I promise

 

I've "needed" to wash and wax my XKR for probably the last three weeks, but spotty chances of rain has kept me from it.

I like to make sure mechanical issues are taken care of first.

I am ordering replacement BBS rings so I can fix the two that have noticeable curb rash.

My XKR is my daily driver, and clean standing 10 feet away is a lot different than clean with your nose all up in it.

If you think you have OCD, you'd probably consider me a slob then. I don't treat my car like it was a show car, but I do treat it noticeably better than whatever a random selection of people would consider 'average' or whatever that is.

It's yours, feel free to wash and wax, primp and polish as much as you like. You paid for that privilege. How often or how detailed your cleanings are is all on you. Whatever gives you peace of mind is the right choice for you.

Also take note, these XK's are kinda special. It's not like you're going over a Prius with cotton swabs. :P

 

I used to think that I was OCD about my cars but am nothing compared to you guys. My first 2 or 3 cars used to get a weekly wash, monthly wax and spray wax and wipe down daily, but now I just run my cars through whatever car wash is at the gas station when I fill up. I decided a couple years back to not waste so much time obsessing over a car I will get rid of in 2 years. TC

 

Ok guys in 12 hours over less than 1 day we had 34 posts about OCD and cleaning our cars.
I hate to use this word but it's not OCD it's L.O.V.E.
these cars just bond with you on a level that even women can't understand.
who's going to admit it first ?

 

Have your "friend" come to my house, we can sit outside have a few beers and decide who would have the dirtiest inside wheels if we could see them.

 

Norri, beer is part of my stand cleaning materials. For some reason I can't do one with out the other.

 

Wow, I know my neighbors think I'm OCD regarding washing the XKR because I probably, either fully wash or at least wet wipe it down every other day. The brake dust on the front wheels accumulates so quickly that it is almost a daily chore to clean them. I thoroughly vacuum each time and wipe down the interior with a protectorant, and I'll even admit that I occasionally dip Q-tips in protectorant and wipe down the inside of the horizontal bars of the air conditioning vents. Next week, I am planning on painting the calipers red, and I'm sure it will force me to clean the wheels even more frequently. And by the way, I use Simple Green to clean my wheels. So while some in my neighborhood and my family would find me obsessive, after reading what some of you do, I suddenly feel better.

 

That's really funny. Every time I drive my wife's car I exit it with handfuls of trash. We don't have kids so she can't blame it on anyone else!

Also, I always keep a fresh flower in her center console.

I never leave any trash, or anything else for that matter, in my own car when I exit the vehicle.