# How long does a maintaince wash take you ?



## 204driver (Aug 27, 2008)

Just wondering how long a maintenance wash takes you all on a well looked after car . To include wheels including inner areas , pre wash , 2bm wash , dry , QD , windows in and out and a hover and interior wipe over .


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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

30-60 min for the outside only 
60-90 min for outside & inside quickly

I use Optimum products


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## Luke M (Jul 1, 2013)

Three or four hours for a basic in and out. That's including a generous helping of tea break intervals.
I'm sure I could rattle through it faster but it's time I like to spend relaxing not rushing.


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## Berylburton (Sep 14, 2013)

I tend to wash in the evening during the summer as that is when my drive is in the shade. I can take anything from 45 mins to 2 hours depending on the weather. If its nice I take my time and enjoy being outside


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

Luke M said:


> Three or four hours for a basic in and out. That's including a generous helping of tea break intervals.
> I'm sure I could rattle through it faster but it's time I like to spend relaxing not rushing.


Exactly this for me too. I like to enjoy it and don't like rushing through it.

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## LewisChadwick7 (Aug 22, 2014)

normal exterior wash around 60-75 mins

allow another 30 mins or so for inside


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Luke M said:


> Three or four hours for a basic in and out. That's including a generous helping of tea break intervals.
> I'm sure I could rattle through it faster but it's time I like to spend relaxing not rushing.


This :thumb:


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

About an hour....


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

About an hour half full lot.


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## Pittsy (Jun 14, 2014)

Too long according to Mrs P:lol:


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

Berylburton said:


> I tend to wash in the evening during the summer as that is when my drive is in the shade. I can take anything from 45 mins to 2 hours depending on the weather. If its nice I take my time and enjoy being outside


i am same, 45- 2 hours depending on what i do as i inevitably get carried away and fanny about a bit. Plus with a few tunes on it is easy to spend longer as I'm generally in no rush, especially now seeing as being divorced means there is no one to nag at how long it takes to "wash a bloody car"


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Between all the getting out and putting away, a bit over an hour for external only. Add another 30-45 minutes to give the interior a reasonable going over.

This is if I'm doing it on my own. If I'm minding my usual 'helper' (who is not quite three) then you can easily double these times :thumb::doublesho:lol:


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## ace2000 (Jul 22, 2015)

Same here about an hour, add in about 30 mins for the interior


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Inside and out usually about 3 hours for me, a full on detail in the Spring and Autumn is about 8 hours.


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## T.C (Sep 1, 2014)

All bloody weekend according to the neighbours


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## Lincs Poacher (Feb 7, 2016)

about 90 mins outside, car is on the large side.


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## Ford8loke (Jan 11, 2016)

How do you lot manage inside and out in 2hrs? It takes me 15 mins per wheel/tyre. Then another hour to rinse, pre wash, 2bm wash, rinse and dry the exterior. Then a further 30 mins for windows and tyre dressing.

I rarely get a chance to give the interior a quick going over, it usually has to wait for a proper hoovering and deep clean.


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## CoOkIeMoNsTeR (Mar 6, 2011)

On my ceramic sealed Volvo a maintenance wash exterior only including prep and packing up is about 3 hours but I have a bad back so I am slower these days. That said it's a big Volvo and there's a coffee break or 4 in there. Add another 2 hours for the interior which is usually minging thanks to the Dog fur and children's toys along with the associated crap my wife leaves all over it!


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

20 mins on the outside (ONR)
20 mins on the wheels (shampoo and wheel woolies)
7 mins to vaccum the inside (Dyson cordless only lasts 7 mins on high power)
perhaps 15 mins doing a quick QD, Glass and Interior wipe down

Sometimes it's just wheels, or just an exterior wash...

Not a full decon - just a maintenance wash...


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## leehob (Jul 9, 2014)

Soul boy 68 said:


> Inside and out usually about 3 hours for me, a full on detail in the Spring and Autumn is about 8 hours.


Same as :thumb:


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

2 to 3 hrs. Which is rushing it abit. 
Still to long according to the other half. 

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## Chris Donaldson (Jun 26, 2016)

If I'm quick 45 mins for the outside. I only do the inside every couple of months. For some reason I care less about the inside and generally it's only ever me in my car so it doesn't get dirty as I'm pretty clean. I regularly do mine and the wife's cars back to back to save a bit of time on setting stuff up so a lot of the time I'm doing about an hour and a half or so at a time.


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## shane_c (Mar 5, 2016)

Roughly 1 hour. I would clean the outside far more than the inside. I'm more fussed in having the outside immaculate than the inside but it is never left in a bad way either.


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

It depends how long I can have to do it.
I can spend a few hours on it.
Or if I've woken up late and I'm supposed to be going to a show or meet, around half an hour :lol: obviously hoovering and things will take a back seat.


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

In the 2-3 hour range I'd say. 

Just my regular weekly wash takes me over an hour.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Ford8loke said:


> How do you lot manage inside and out in 2hrs? It takes me 15 mins per wheel/tyre. Then another hour to rinse, pre wash, 2bm wash, rinse and dry the exterior. Then a further 30 mins for windows and tyre dressing.
> 
> I rarely get a chance to give the interior a quick going over, it usually has to wait for a proper hoovering and deep clean.


I could spend an awful lot longer if I had the time. The other night I went out to give the mats a quick hoover, two hours later I was just packing away, having cleaned and dressed the whole interior.

Ultimately I have to fit what level of detailing I can around other commitments, and because we have one car and two small children, it needs to be done when we're all at home. I'd love to have a whole day to do a full decon, polish etc, but I have to accept I'm simply not going to get that and so I do different bits as and when I can.


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

At least 2 hours but more like 3 hours


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## Joel. (Jun 22, 2011)

I usually don't plan anything else for the day. Usually 4 hours probably, nice and relaxed pace with nice food breaks in between, maybe walk the dog etc. I don't like rushing anything.


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## scrounger (Apr 17, 2008)

Usually around 3-4 hours but that includes sorting any jiggly bits when I find them. When I do the Rolls it's at least 4 hours.


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## AdamC (Jan 31, 2013)

About 2 hours


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## euge07 (Jan 15, 2011)

about an hour for outside maintenance wash, 
quick spray with autosmart tango then rinse afterwards, using a pet dryer to quickly dry wheels and tyres etc and blowing out water traps and then a big drying towel to finish, then autosmart highstyle brushed onto the tyres! obviously the better protected the car is the quicker it takes, inside I would also spend an hour!


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## WayneST250 (Nov 26, 2013)

20 mins setting up
10 mins each wheel inc arches
15 mins for snow foam and rinse
20 mins shampoo and rinse
10 mins shampoo door shuts 
15 mins drying body and door shuts
5 mins dressing tyres
20 mins cleaning up and putting stuff away.

Total time = 2.5hrs 

Thats without class in and out
Without QD
Without plastic dressing 
Without quick wipe over of engine bay with dressing
Without touching the inside, these would add may be another 1.5hrs, taking it to 4hrs in total.


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## legend139 (Oct 18, 2015)

Generally for a maintenance wash with a lick of quick detailer about an hour n half

Setting up is usually 5 minutes due to all the pressure washer plumped in and a 30m pressure hose reel makes set up a doddle..

Quick jet wash down 5 minutes

Snowfoam 10-15 minutes, wheels & tyres scrubbed, and buckets filled whilst dwelling.

5 minutes jet wash down.

15-20 minutes 2BM whilst rinsing in between each panel.

10 minutes sheeting water then pat drying with britemax drying towel & genetic drying towel for the tyres/alloys.

Further 10 minutes for a lick of quick detailer (sonax BSM)

Then if the tyres need dressing that's a 5 minute job.

Quick break down that but I have had it under an hour before including a quick Hoover inside with the cordless dyson, got a major sweat on in the process as I had an hour to kill and was going out for a meal but the car needed cleaning 

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## Mike_NSX (Feb 20, 2013)

Easy 3 hours minimum!


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## J306TD (May 19, 2008)

About 1 1/2 hours. Depending on how bad the car is 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Wheels , g101 lower car , wash car , dry , Sonax BSD car I'm lucky have everything to hand pressure washers set up on entrance of garage 45mins - 1 Hour


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## NateQ (May 3, 2015)

About 2.5 - 3 hours for me. can't seem to get it shorter without cutting corners, which I dont like to do!


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## Kevlar (Nov 12, 2006)

About 3 hours can just dissapear very quickly for me!


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## sean ryan (May 10, 2015)

It take's me 3-4 hour's every week but i love it :thumb:


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## MikeK (Dec 4, 2015)

If I'm strict and only a quick wash and qd then 45 - 60 min, but usually there's something else I'll want to do which leads to something else....

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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

Anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes for a maintenance wash for me these days.
A full wash and detail is 4 to 8 hours


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

45-60 min if just washing body and wheels 
60-90 min for washing body and wheels & hoover

Mainly AutoGlym Products used...except QD thats Chemical Guys Speed Wipe and my foam mix is 50/50 AutoGlym MultiWash TFR and Valet Pro PH Neutral foam


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

nick_mcuk said:


> 45-60 min if just washing body and wheels
> 60-90 min for washing body and wheels & hoover
> 
> Mainly AutoGlym Products used...except QD thats Chemical Guys Speed Wipe and my foam mix is 50/50 AutoGlym MultiWash TFR and Valet Pro PH Neutral foam





f4780y said:


> A full wash and detail is 4 to 8 hours


4-8h for a full detail....you are joking right?


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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

nick_mcuk said:


> 4-8h for a full detail....you are joking right?


Nope, but probably my use of language is the problem 

A full wash and detail is what I call the thing I do every weekend. 4-8 Hours. A maintenance wash is something I do mid-week or when I don't need to, or have time to do, the full wash and detail.

A really proper full detail, which I probably manage 3 times a year is a 2-3 day event :buffer:


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

Probably an hour for the outside. Takes me the same time to pack all my gear away.


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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

f4780y said:


> Nope, but probably my use of language is the problem
> 
> A full wash and detail is what I call the thing I do every weekend. 4-8 Hours. A maintenance wash is something I do mid-week or when I don't need to, or have time to do, the full wash and detail.
> 
> A really proper full detail, which I probably manage 3 times a year is a 2-3 day event :buffer:


4-8h for a full detail??? What does that include?

And what does a maintanance wash look like?

And what does a proper full detail look like?


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## rEvolve (Jul 29, 2016)

A&J said:


> 4-8h for a full detail??? What does that include?
> 
> And what does a maintanance wash look like?
> 
> And what does a proper full detail look like?


I think he said 2-3 days for a full detail

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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

rEvolve said:


> I think he said 2-3 days for a full detail
> 
> Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk


Thats not what I asked.

Im want to know what kind of work he does in 2-3 days and what he does in 8h.


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## rEvolve (Jul 29, 2016)

No what you asked what '4-8 hours for a full detail??? What does that include'

I'm saying he didn't say that.....he said 2-3 days for a full detail and 4-8 hours for his maintenance detail

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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

I just want to know what kind of work he does in that period of time period.


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## mac1459 (Aug 25, 2011)

1.5 hrs including set up and tidy away (outside only)weekly.
interior & engine bay 3hrs monthly


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

About 3 hour


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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

A&J said:


> 4-8h for a full detail??? What does that include?
> 
> And what does a maintanance wash look like?
> 
> And what does a proper full detail look like?


Sure, happy to list it out, although apologies to OP - wasn't my intention to hijack the thread... Hopefully the detail is informative!

These are my definitions for my own work:

Maintenance Wash = 45 to 90 minutes - mid-week or if full wash not needed or possible.
Nilfisk Rinse, Snow Foam pre-wash, 2BM wash with Supernatural Sponge, Dry ,QD

Full Wash + (light) Detail = 4 to 8 hours - most weekends.
TFR / Bug Remover / Trix (as required) + Nilfisk Rinse 
Snow Foam pre-wash + detailing brushes around all grills, cills, etc.
3BM Wash (wash, rinse, wheels) - CarPro Merino Wool Mitt, EZ-Detail Wheel Brush, WoWo Wheel Mitt
Exterior Glass Clean with Nilglass
Dry panels and wheels
Wax - Top up with 1 new coat of current wax, or if I fancy a change,
M&K Pure via DA + 1 or 2 coats of a new wax
Wheel Wax (if required)
Engine Bay Clean - APC + CarPro PERL
Interior - Adam's Total Interior Detailer + M&K Treat (dash, doors, trim), CarPro Inside + M&K Nourish (seats), Nilglass, Swissvax Wood Polish, full hoover inc. boot - maybe put some stripes in the carpets 
Tailpipe metal polish and metal wax
Tyre dressing
QD (not required, but just cos I'm obsessed with QD).

Full Blown Detail = 2-3 days - around 3 times a year.
As above, but adding:
Full decontamination of all panels using TarX, IronX
Clay all panels and glass
All wheels taken off and fully decontaminated, clayed, and either waxed or sealed
Wheel arch and undercarriage detail
Glass polish via DA
CarPro Essence all panels via DA (assuming no serious correction, in which case CarPro fixer and/or reflect)
Eraser / IPA / Panel Wipe as required
Wax all panels 1 or 2 coats, usually something "premium" to make the most of the Essence
Engine Bay - Deep clean
Interior - Deep clean

Not saying any of this is right, wrong, or indifferent. It's just what I do cos' I really enjoy it, it keeps me active, and it's my "hobby"! :thumb:

All of this "behaviour" has developed entirely via inspiration from DW


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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

Thanks for listing.

Its the weekend detail that got me questioning. I understand that you like detailing and thats fine but in my eyes its a bit of an overkill and waste of product to do what you do every weekend. You basicly strip the entire protection back down and reapply the wax.

Is the car even dirty after a week considering you wash it mid-week? Are you not happy with the way it looks or what?


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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

A&J said:


> Thanks for listing.
> 
> Its the weekend detail that got me questioning. I understand that you like detailing and thats fine but in my eyes its a bit of an overkill and waste of product to do what you do every weekend. You basicly strip the entire protection back down and reapply the wax.
> 
> Is the car even dirty after a week considering you wash it mid-week? Are you not happy with the way it looks or what?


As I say, it's my hobby and one of the things that keeps me active and helps combat my general lack of fitness. I love my X4 as I've loved all my cars. I love the way it looks, and I love to keep it clean. I work hard, I don't have kids, and am lucky enough to be able to spend money on my hobby. The wife doesn't mind too much either, which is a bonus. :argie: She's often cleaning the house whilst I'm cleaning the car.

I don't always manage a mid-week wash. Sometimes I only need to do a maintenance wash at the weekend. Sometimes the car is dirty. Sometimes I wash it when it is pretty clean. I can spend 8 hours pottering around not doing very much to it, or I can go all out and fill every minute. Quite often the Scottish weather gets in the way!

This year I've rediscovered my love of wax and have built a good little collection, in particular M&K, and so yes, am happy to take the opportunity to try and new wax, by taking off the old one. Again, its a hobby and I really enjoy that aspect of it. Waste of product? Maybe from other peoples perspectives (which are perfectly valid and will be centred around their own priorities), but as I said, I'm really lucky to be able to spend my money on my hobby and I enjoy trying out different products and finding a core set the do the job for me, occasionally replacing one with something "better". Not trying to be big headed or arrogant about it. I am genuinely just in a fortunate position, doing something I enjoy in my spare time.


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## Marco Polo (Jun 24, 2016)

I spend about an hour on my maintenance wash - just exterior, with no detailing.

For those that spend 8 hours or 2-3 days doing a full detail, 3 times a year or more, how many monitor the paint thickness with a gauge to see how much is left for them to continue safely? There has to be a limit as to how long you can keep on detailing to that extent.

Marco


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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

Marco Polo said:


> I spend about an hour on my maintenance wash - just exterior, with no detailing.
> 
> For those that spend 8 hours or 2-3 days doing a full detail, 3 times a year or more, how many monitor the paint thickness with a gauge to see how much is left for them to continue safely? There has to be a limit as to how long you can keep on detailing to that extent.
> Marco


Yes I do Marco. I have a gauge, and always check my paint depth before using the DA with anything abrasive as it's good practice and my paint gauge deserves to get used once in a while!

For sure, if you were having to do a full paint correction on a regular basis, I'd be concerned about depth of clear coat and repetition of that behaviour would certainly have a time limit, but that hasn't been my experience. :buffer:

With the X4, which is now just over a year old and has been religiously detailed since day one, it hasn't needed, nor should it need, a full paint correction any time soon (if ever). My swirl spotter torch is yet to achieve its true purpose and spot a serious swirl on the car :lol:

There will always be micro marring introduced to paint over time due to washing and drying technique, even to rock hard BMW paint, no matter how careful you are, and the odd little scratch here and there cannot be avoided either. Oh, and stone chips... grrrrr.

To address the marring and minor scratches I choose CarPro Essence. Using that a couple of times a year with a light or medium cut pad doesn't even make a dent (pardon the pun) in my paint thickness according to my gauge, but corrects the defects to my satisfaction (and yes, I'm aware it has "semi-permanent" filler properties too - I like that feature and the results are awesome). 
I could probably continue with this routine for the lifetime of the car without any concern about overly thinning the clear coat. If there is a little patch that needs a spot correction (a scratch maybe), I'd just tackle that one area with something more abrasive (fixer and / or reflect) and keep a note of the area I've worked on for future reference.

So whilst I am washing the car a lot (and yes, I do recognise it is a lot!), I am careful, and when I do get round to a twice or three times a year full detail, that doesn't mean I need a full paint correction. It's really just eliminating unavoidable micro marring, which results in only the slimmest of slivers of clear coat being removed.

When I first got my DA I remember being utterly paranoid that the first time I used it I was somehow going to burn right through my clear coat on the first pass. Since then, and with experience, I've learnt that, in the case of the BMW paint on my car at least, you have to work pretty hard to remove any significant amount of clear and I simply haven't needed to do that all over the car yet. Only in a couple of little spots.

Hope that helps!

*Sorry again to 204Driver - I really feel like I've hijacked this thread, which wasn't my intention!*


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## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

f4780y said:


> As I say, it's my hobby and one of the things that keeps me active and helps combat my general lack of fitness. I love my X4 as I've loved all my cars. I love the way it looks, and I love to keep it clean. I work hard, I don't have kids, and am lucky enough to be able to spend money on my hobby. The wife doesn't mind too much either, which is a bonus. :argie: She's often cleaning the house whilst I'm cleaning the car.
> 
> I don't always manage a mid-week wash. Sometimes I only need to do a maintenance wash at the weekend. Sometimes the car is dirty. Sometimes I wash it when it is pretty clean. I can spend 8 hours pottering around not doing very much to it, or I can go all out and fill every minute. Quite often the Scottish weather gets in the way!
> 
> This year I've rediscovered my love of wax and have built a good little collection, in particular M&K, and so yes, am happy to take the opportunity to try and new wax, by taking off the old one. Again, its a hobby and I really enjoy that aspect of it. Waste of product? Maybe from other peoples perspectives (which are perfectly valid and will be centred around their own priorities), but as I said, I'm really lucky to be able to spend my money on my hobby and I enjoy trying out different products and finding a core set the do the job for me, occasionally replacing one with something "better". Not trying to be big headed or arrogant about it. I am genuinely just in a fortunate position, doing something I enjoy in my spare time.


Well as long if its fine by you its fine by me :wave:


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

About 1-1.5 hrs for me. 

Gonz


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## Marco Polo (Jun 24, 2016)

f4780y said:


> Yes I do Marco. I have a gauge, and always check my paint depth before using the DA with anything abrasive as it's good practice and my paint gauge deserves to get used once in a while!
> 
> For sure, if you were having to do a full paint correction on a regular basis, I'd be concerned about depth of clear coat and repetition of that behaviour would certainly have a time limit, but that hasn't been my experience. :buffer:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I'm new to detailing and it was a thought that had crossed my mind several times - I had the same fears about using my DA. I guess frequent detailing would mean that you need to spend less time on maintenance washes or do them less frequently, which, coming back to the original subject would be a relevant factor - more frequently=less time?

Marco


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