Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Throw money at it

A friend of mine, who recently adopted a dog, have decided to pay for professional service for certain things, instead of doing it herself. She calls it “Throwing money at the problem.” Let the pros handle giving the dog the biannual bath, and clipping its nails. I think it’s a brilliant strategy. The point of earning money is to make our lives easier - rather than to buy more things. Mundane tasks that aren’t enjoyable should be outsourced if possible. It gives you more time to do the things you actually like. In that friend’s case, it’s watching Succession.

She’s also hires a mobile detailer to come wash her car from time to time. While personally I’m not at that level of income, I think it’s worth considering having my BMW M2 professionally detailed every few years. Most of the time the car is sat outside in the elements, and these days I’m not as consistent in washing it as I was back in my early 20s. Detail the car every two weeks? Who the French has time for that.

It’s been nearly three years since I bought the M2, and I think the time is right to enlist professional help. To take three years’ worth of accumulation off the paint, polish it up nicely, then put on a layer of ceramic coating on top. The latter is important because ceramic coating is like a semi-permanent wax that last for years. It protects the paint from UV damage and prevents outside elements from sticking to it. Car wash becomes dead easy because I can simply to hose off the car at local wash. Only periodically would I need to bring out the towels and cleaning solution.

I previously had such a service done to my 2013 Subaru WRX STI, a rather long time ago. I skipped the service on the 2016 Mazda Miata because the car is tiny and it takes little effort to wash. The 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 already had ceramic coating done by the previous owner, which was a nice bonus. I’ve lagged on getting the M2 done because at the time I lacked the money to throw at the problem.

It seems I’ve got the money now!

First pho.

I washed the car

This past weekend I was reminded why I don’t wash my BMW M2 often: it’s those damn wheels. The “Style 788M” factory alloys looks amazing (clean or dirty, honestly), but that multitude of spokes is horror on the fingers. I actually tore a piece off my right ringer finger, and as of writing it’s still hurting rather nicely. What I really need is my old set of wheel woolies. However I just don’t have to mind to spend hours on car detailing anymore.

In fact the only reason I even washed the M2 this past Saturday was because it’s been over four months since the car last got one. That I didn’t even do:: a neighbor borrowed the BMW for a bit, so in return he cleaned it and gassed it up before returning (a gentleman always hand back a borrowed car with a full tank of gas). The neighbor did a fantastic job because up until recently the paint was still beading water nicely, indication of a layer of wax.

Well that layer was completely gone. I don’t detail my car as often as a I used to (once every two weeks!), but I’m not negligent either. Time to bring out the single bucket, many microfiber towels, and that bottle of Optimum No Rinse Wash with Wax. It was actually kind of nice: a beautiful Saturday afternoon, warmish weather, with a slight breeze. Perfect conditions to spend some time with the M2, podcast playing in my ear. If I weren’t so lazy about it, I’d probably do it more often.

I could pay a professional detailer to do it periodically, though I don’t mind a bit of manual labor. It humbles the mind, and it’s great exercise. The best workouts are the ones that have utility, the everyday tasks. Squatting to clean those aforementioned difficult-to-clean wheels sure beats squatting at a gym rack. My thighs get the burn, and the M2 gets clean.

Standing guard.

Automotive enthusiast's life: car detailing

For an automotive enthusiast (the quintessential car nut), the weekend is that wonderful occasion when you can finally spend some quality time with the car(s) you love. Nothing is more in line with “car guy” tradition than washing and detailing the car. People that love cars tend to make sure their automobiles are well maintained and in quality running shape. Cleanliness of course is the one big factor that contributes to the beauty of the car - as it was meant to be seen. 

Being a huge car guy myself, I spent this past weekend performing a full detail to my beloved Toyota Corolla sedan. The whole process took a grand total of eight hours because I was deliberately being extremely precise about it. During the washing process I made sure to clean inside the engine bay of all the road dirt and grime that has accumulated in six years of ownership. I even took the alloy wheels off in order to clean them from the inside. Some call it obsessively anal, I call it obsessively thorough. 

After washing the comes the arduous task of hours upon hours in clay barring (to get rid of paint contaminants), polishing, and touching up the paint where road debris made annoying rock chips on the front end of the car. Last step is of course protecting all the hard work with a nice coat of wax.