# what got you hooked?



## pez (Jun 7, 2014)

So just for a bit of fun what got you into car cleaning/ detailing?

Mine was when I was talking to a friend about a clay bar so I brought one along with some quick detailer, once I felt the difference I was hooked.


----------



## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

When I got my first car, it wasblack and never looked clean. Ended up buying endless products and constantly cleaning trying to get it looking how I wanted 

Nsuppose that's what got me hooked, just love having a tidy looking car


----------



## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Going from a (self) destroyed car to a half decent one, and working with the guy i bought it off who was dabbling in the world of detailing...


----------



## zim117 (Nov 9, 2014)

Wanting to tidy up my first car a bit with ag srp found a junkman video and never looked back (still think he is the boss of detailing ) IMO still got loads to learn lol


----------



## pez (Jun 7, 2014)

Clancy, the first car I ever properly cleaned was a black and that never looked clean and then when the fle-bay claybar mared the paint it just looked sorry for its self so had to buy a glaze and wax to make it look better and then the collection of cleaning stuff has just grown and grown


----------



## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

Black cars are a killer 

Best colours ever when they are clean, but a nightmare to live with


----------



## fester165 (Jan 24, 2011)

Being unemployed for a few months started cleaning the car for something to do


----------



## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

DaveKG and Gordon from Defined Details, their passion and knowledge they passed on when I was a young pup starting out.


----------



## chrisgreen (Mar 30, 2012)

All started with my dad. He always kept his cars clean and washed them on a regular basis. I would help him from an early age. It stuck, and when I became a car owner I cared for my cars in the same way, and over time (and especially since I joined DW) moved things up a few levels, moving into more advanced cleaning products and learning how to machine polish etc.


----------



## Wilco (Apr 22, 2010)

I thought i kept my car looking decent enough, a few members on Vec C posted that they came on here so i took a quick look which lead me onto the cyc site and that was that. Id only had experience of halfords before and this was a whole new world for me.


----------



## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

I went to an open day as advertised on here, up in North Leeds, gave a donation to charity for a demonstration, and the pro cleaners went to work on my car, the one I THOUGHT was black, it's when I saw my reflection in both doors, one door had been machine polished the other hadn't, that I saw my black tracksuit bottoms with a black leg and a grey leg, such was the difference!! I can now get both legs black :doublesho and loving it!!


----------



## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

I suppose it was my college tutor that got me into detailing. I was doing my level 3 Paint Refinishing apprenticeship at the time and one day he randomly brought a clay bar in and asked if I wanted a go. So I did, I was already quite in to machine polishing as it's somthing I picked up pretty quick, and have never looked back. It improved my knowledge with the job too because machine polishing isn't really given much time when your learning to be a painter which is daft but also explains why you see so many horror buff jobs. It just gave me another question that needed answering and before I knew i loved detailing. The thing I love most about it and that keeps me interested is that I'm constantly learning and there's always a new type of product or technique i can try. I love it because it's somthing you can never fully master.

Sutty.


----------



## alxg (May 3, 2009)

chrisgreen said:


> All started with my dad. He always kept his cars clean and washed them on a regular basis. I would help him from an early age. It stuck, and when I became a car owner I cared for my cars in the same way, and over time (and especially since I joined DW) moved things up a few levels, moving into more advanced cleaning products and learning how to machine polish etc.


This is pretty much how I fell into it; helping dad when I was a kid (usually going over the chrome bumpers with autosol!) and then going down the AG route when I got my first car/s.
The first steps into "detailing" was when I got a brand new A4 in Phantom Black; my previous car was a Met Black Volvo S60 and although it was washed every week I didn't like the "funny lines" you saw when the the sun hit the paintwork, so I vowed to keep the A4 spotless. I found three websites called Clean your car, Polished Bliss and then DW - the rest was just all downhill from there! :wall:


----------



## warren (Mar 23, 2010)

Think me and Chrisgreen were separated at birth.


----------



## Oldsparky (Jun 18, 2014)

I bought a second hand polo with life shine and a bag of autoglym stuff came with it. I had no clue why anyone needed all that stuff, I'd always been sponge and leather and visitor to local scratch and shine. 

So a bit of googling I found DW I really thought it was crazy then I just tried two buckets then I bought a mitt, the list just goes on and on.


----------



## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

It was Marc from Heavenly Detail and his epic vxr nurburgring thread that opened my eyes to what could be done with a car, linked to here from that thread and havent looked back since. Made some good mates too


----------



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Always loved cleaning my Dads car when I was younger and followed on with that when I first got my own car and as the years went by I was looking at ways to improve my techniques and then I stumbled on this this fabulous site and I have never looked back since.


----------



## Pittsy (Jun 14, 2014)

Brought my 1st black car and was listening to the stealer rabbiting on about paint protection they were knocking out for about £400, I thought if I brought some products I could do it myself and save a few squid.... 
And that was it really:thumb:
In hindsight it probably would have been alot cheaper to blindly she'll out for the stuff they were selling but it's turned into a bit of a hobby and I have got to say I really enjoy it :thumb:


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Bought a set of winter wheels last year, few references to DW on my travels so joined and not stopped learning since.

Mainly that I can't stop buying and my bank balance is never big enough 

I've always taken an interest in trying to keep my cars clean but looking back it's embarrassing some of the stuff I did/didn't do


----------



## R0B (Aug 27, 2010)

Used to wash and 'polish' cars at the weekend at my local independent second hand car dealer when I was at school .........in the late 80's early 90's ...sob!


----------



## bazz (May 15, 2007)

myself its just the satisfaction of having a nice tidy clean looking car.
when I see others cars that are in a state I think to myself at least mine is clean and tidy


----------



## J4KE45 (Sep 7, 2014)

I used to clean my first car every week (well, GET it cleaned-polish :O)
It was only when I got my second car, brand new golf, that got me into it, just wanting to keep that clean and shining!


----------



## Pip66 (Dec 17, 2014)

I've always been a little OCD with anything of mine. I've now found that certain things I do mean I get to switch off. Car cleaning, cutting the lawn, clearing up the garage. I get results for a bit of physical effort and very little mental effort, with no stress.
So for me I find it a great release from the normal day to day [email protected]


----------



## msb (Dec 20, 2009)

Always liked having a clean car but 2 things really did it for me, discovering Rob and Ali at Performance motor care and this forum


----------



## Steve_6R (Jun 9, 2014)

I got rid of my Peugeot (only ever cleaned by the poles) and bought my brand new Polo. Some friends and I did a detailing weekend and spent all day on my car, it looked so good and I was hooked.

Wish I had the time to keep it as clean, especially this time of year


----------



## The Pan Man (Apr 16, 2010)

I just can't stand dirty cars.


----------



## SKY (Sep 25, 2011)

I got into it as I wanted the best looking car on the street: 
I would normally spend all day on a Sat just getting the car prepped for a sat night cruise.

Every week the car would get a coat of wax! - by the end of the season it must have had 25-30 coats of wax on it - Cringe OCD!!


----------



## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Always like to look after my cars but detailing started in 2007 when I had Diamondbrite applied to my new car. The dealer had sealed over water marks and swirls and looked awful. In my search to find out how I could improve it, many links led to Detailing World. I removed the Diamondbrite and never looked back. Never left DW since.


----------



## gerz1873 (May 15, 2010)

I couldn't afford a car for a good few years then when I did buy one I saw it before and after it had a valet and thought what a difference a good clean makes . Started off with one bucket and turtle wax shampoo !


----------



## realist (May 11, 2011)

Bought a black bmw from a dealer and after a few washes all the swirls and scratches started to show. Whatever they had used to cover them up had warn off. This led me to here and 4 years later the cars looking pretty good and still improving:thumb:


----------



## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Always liked a clean car, but never really went beyond AG Shampoo and MER polish ( which was OK actually ), but I spent a full day working over my car with a new bottle of AG SRP ( the expensive stuff from Halfords... ) and then EGP on top and just thought "WoW !!".

Spotted DW last year and lurked for a while then started clogging the forum with random musings. I had given up on car wax about 20 years back as Simoniz paste wax was just tooo much like hard work ...


----------



## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Spoony said:


> DaveKG and Gordon from Defined Details, their passion and knowledge they passed on when I was a young pup starting out.


There was a link to DW on Civinfo round about summer time 2007 to some detailing work by Mr Singh. I was amazed at the fantastic results he had achieved on a black car. I visited DW regularly to check out the Showroom and Studio. I finally signed up in 2010 to enable me to get on to a machine polishing course run by DaveKG and Gordon from Defined Details.


----------



## Criptop (Dec 13, 2013)

I had taken a recent interest in keeping my car clean, but nothing more than a wash mitt, 1 bucket and triplewax shampoo. I then had a lot of time on my hands after unplanned surgery, so I thought I'd look online to find out the best way to wash a car, came across and joined DW and that was me hooked! The wealth of information kept me occupied for the month and a bit I was off work and warded off cabin fever. I bought an Autoglym kit in the Christmas sales and a Das 6 Pro from CYC when I had recovered and that was my interest in detailing secured


----------



## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

I just like looking after what I own , always have done always will 

Just yesterday my little nephew said to me ,"uncle ricky why does your iPad 1 look like its still brand new when it's the oldest one you can get"


----------



## nappy (Oct 3, 2006)

What made the difference between myself just giving the car a once over and wash and wax was when I got a previous car detailed by Clark at polished bliss when they were 1st starting out and more affordable. After that it has been a downwards circle of purchasing new equipment and what you think will be better products. When in fact sometimes your better off in the 1st place with what you have already got.


----------



## ColinG (Jan 20, 2013)

Always liked a clean car, but stepped up a level after finding DW a couple of Xmases ago.


----------



## pez (Jun 7, 2014)

So it seams that ether a mate got you onto it, or it was a natural progression from just looking after what you own, some of the story's are grate keep them coming guys and gals :detailer:


----------



## coco13a (Dec 22, 2013)

Started off years ago cleaning my cars with a bucket and sponge with fairly liquid in !!
Turtle wax was the polish of choice and actual wax was unreal hard work, Simoniz was about all that was available at the time, tried it once and really struggled !
Now I take a serious amount of pride in how I clean my car and really appreciate the comments from others saying how clean it is. Yes it might be clean but there's still room for improvement, have this and other forum's to thank for that !


----------



## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

back in the day, i saw someone on cliosport make their yellow megane look amazing with zymol cleaner wax. i used to clean my new car every sunday anyway but now i was getting a liking for it.
anyway, wrote that car off, never cleaned the fabia untill i sold it and got an alfa. it all went down hill from there. one click on how to clean your car properly thread on the alfa forum and i was here.


----------



## Fox5150 (Oct 13, 2014)

For me, I've ordered my very first new car and wanted to find out how to keep it in tiptop condition. Whilst I await its arrival I thought I'd practice on the wife's car, and it's never looked so clean and I get a real sense of pride when I see it. I've also recently had major wrist surgery and discovered that car cleaning is one of the few things that I can do one handed without any real struggle. I've been out there pretty much at least once a week finding something to do.


----------



## Cooldude196 (Feb 21, 2014)

Polished bliss' ferrari enzo detail video probably! Was amazed by it


----------



## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

Richard at Refined Detail, saw his work, thought I was keeping my car clean, then he sent me some gear and it was all a spiral from there on out!


----------



## Pikaviz (Aug 31, 2014)

I got a new black car, found the site, haven't looked back!


----------



## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

My other Brother Pete, showed me a few things a while back, and the rest is history. The first time I machined a car I couldn't believe the difference. I now notice swirls in everything, even black Beko fridges.


----------



## ALLR_155528 (May 20, 2014)

Like most people before we found this place, I thought I cleaned my car well and only ever shopped at Halfords. what got me hooked is buying my 3rd car it was in a mess and starting researching found a whole new world of car cleaning. Many hours, hundreds of pounds later and I wouldn't change it.


----------



## Beatman (Jun 6, 2010)

For me it the pleasure of doing the job and seeing the end result, how the car stands out from others when on the road. 
I can never understand people who buy cars, especially high end makes and let them look dirty. Most likely more money than sense. 
Only the other day passing the local "£5 hand car wash" a chap was there with his new white Bentley, how could you?


----------



## adamb87 (Jan 13, 2012)

Looked at my astra one day when the sun hit it and i could of cried (swirls and haze). I always used to wash my car weekly but with bad habbits like using a sponge with single bucket. Never did get that car right but every car since has been treated far better


----------



## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

I had my old 200sx resprayed Midnight Purple so I thought I'd better learn how to keep it looking good.


----------



## Bildeb0rg (Jun 7, 2014)

:doublesho


chrisgreen said:


> All started with my dad. He always kept his cars clean and washed them on a regular basis. I would help him from an early age. It stuck, and when I became a car owner I cared for my cars in the same way, and over time (and especially since I joined DW) moved things up a few levels, moving into more advanced cleaning products and learning how to machine polish etc.


As part of my dads policy that everyone works, I was washing the wheels of his company moggy thou' van aged five. As I got taller I progressed up to the roof, and then on to my uncles, my brothers and eventually my own cars. Suppose it's habit now really.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I think it was around 2000 when I found the early version of Autopia and someone had posted a question about what is the best dressing for the rubber seal on a dipstick and I thought these guys are crazy, maybe I can learn something about how to clean cars here


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Started cleaning cars at 8 years of age every sunday for my dad.

Then I saw a immaculate example of a old classic round my town, and use to speak to the owner at a petrol forecourt on which products he buys and how he uses them, but later on found he brings his cars to a detailer KDS to detail it on that standard, would have been nice if he spoke the truth and not run circles around me, then done a research and found detailing world and got hooked instantly.


----------



## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

I've always been a bit of a neat freak and always had a lot of respect for everything and like to look after things.

When I was a kid I always had the tidiest bedroom, the neatest Thomas the Tank Engine line up I even used to mow lines into the back garden when I was about 7 :lol: As I got older it turned into the cleanest BMX, then I started driving so cars just followed on from there. My first Renault 5 was a lovely shade of faded red so I learned how to make it better. 11 years on and I'm still learning and progressing. It's a lot of fun


----------



## rhinoman (Jul 9, 2013)

My start here came from a different direction to most of you.

We bought a highish mileage X5 with aluminium running boards that had these little rust spots all over them. After unsuccessfully trying Autosol and elbow grease I started searching Google for a product that might work better. Found IronX and Detailing World and been skint ever since.


----------

