How often do you wash your car/van? How much time/effort do you put into it?

YoungBusinessman

Bought my van back in April and realised i am only washing it once a month....which is around every 1200 miles!! I drive daily around building sites which i think is why i have been so lazy recently!

For washing it i just pressure wash it, shampoo and sponge then pressure wash to finish! Looking into getting some of the proper detailling gear, anyone got anything to reccomend? Remember being a medium sized van, i could quickly get through some stuff!!

The main detailling site found through a google search has some right nutters on it, to the point of getting home from a drive and cleaning the brake dust off the wheels?! My van has steelies with hubcaps, the hubcaps are actually stained a gold colour from the dust!! Need to replace them and start looking after it, seeing as it cost me so much to buy it!

phill99

I take my van to the Eastern European car wash place. They give it a good going over including slicking the tyres and doing the glass inside and out and drying it down for £10. They do it in 10 minutes and its an excellent job. There is about 8 of them working on it. For £10 why would you want to wash your own van? It must take you at least an hour.

Syman

Mine gets washed once a year, whether or not it needs it!

LandyAndy

YoungBusinessman wrote: »

Bought my van back in April and realised i am only washing it once a month....which is around every 1200 miles!! I drive daily around building sites which i think is why i have been so lazy recently!

For washing it i just pressure wash it, shampoo and sponge then pressure wash to finish! Looking into getting some of the proper detailling gear, anyone got anything to reccomend? Remember being a medium sized van, i could quickly get through some stuff!!

The main detailling site found through a google search has some right nutters on it, to the point of getting home from a drive and cleaning the brake dust off the wheels?! My van has steelies with hubcaps, the hubcaps are actually stained a gold colour from the dust!! Need to replace them and start looking after it, seeing as it cost me so much to buy it!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

vaio

Syman wrote: »

Mine gets washed once a year, whether or not it needs it!

Same here and at MOT time

having said that, if it's raining on the day I "wash" it by driving through the puddles on the way to the test

forgotmyname

The proper detailing gear probably costs more than the van. And would last one or two trips to the site.

Buy a 2nd van and detail that, Keep it stored in fully sealed and airconditioned garage and only bring it out on dry days when they winds below 3mph, And never drive more than 15mph. You must never ever use the wipers.


I'm with Syman on this. Once a year is more than enough.

YoungBusinessman

Maybe get it washed properly inside and out once every 6 weeks, i feel my time is more valuable than the time it takes to wash it?? Was meaning by "proper" detailing stuff just snow foam?

Didnt mean clay bars,wheel cleaner, glass cleaner, etc etc as the list is endless.

PasturesNew

I don't bother - it rains enough and I don't take it anywhere mucky.

I've tried in the past to wash cars, but they always look worse when I've finished - and there's a whole stripe right down the middle of the roof I can never reach....

lincroft1710

Once a year, at the most!

westv

I'll join the once a year crew and feel less guilty now.

motorguy

phill99 wrote: »

I take my van to the Eastern European car wash place. They give it a good going over including slicking the tyres and doing the glass inside and out and drying it down for £10. They do it in 10 minutes and its an excellent job. There is about 8 of them working on it. For £10 why would you want to wash your own van? It must take you at least an hour.

Have to agree. Theres a crowd of eastern europeans work in the town closest to us. For a fiver they'll wash the car, dry it, polish the glass, clean the kick plates and slick the tyres.

Four of them at least will descend on it and they've it done in a matter of minutes.