Wax On, Wax Off

Since the automobile may be the best investments in life because of the rapid increase in the price immediately off the lot, I decided to protect my investment a bit. After fixing the dent on Friday, I decided it would be time to protect the paint from harmful sun rays, add some durability, and maybe add a bit more shine. I've also been waiting for a good day to wash Electra too; I hate when it rains the day after getting a car wash.

My parents still drive their 1996 Nissan Maxima around RI daily and somehow it still looks amazing (beside the left rear bumper). My father definitely took good care of that car; one would only hope for such a old car in such good condition. What was his secret? I'm not positive but it could be the Miracle Car Wash in Cranston, RI on Reservoir Ave; it's the best car wish around and it even ends with employees drying what wasn't dried by machine by hand and they clean the interior too. Their spectacular service is the reason there's always a line.

Here in Fort Wayne, IN, we have a chain of Mike's Car Wash. One thing about Fort Wayne is that for the amount of people that seem to live here, there are a copious number of cars. Parking lots around town are more full than student parking at the center of campus; though parking on the streets of the city is painfully easy (no parallel parking required; the spaces are made for oversized pickup trucks). Parking at the mall or a restaurant at dinner time is nearly impossible; it is odd since the amount of people inside the restaurant would not be as you would expect. I have two theories on this problem: 1. Every single person over the age of 16 has their own car and everyone refuses to carpool 2. There is a secret tunnel to a underground restaurant somewhere at each parking lot. Going back to my main point, there are outrageous amounts of cars in Fort Wayne and the residents sure love their car washes. There is always a line at Mike's Car Wash, even at seven in the morning; are unlimited car wash plans popular around other areas?

After getting my car washed after a 10 min wait, I'm ready to use Nu Finish Liquid Car Polish for protection. I bought that product because I remember that orange bottle residing in my father's garage and I can only assume that's the magic stuff that kept the Maxima looking good after all these years. But Mike's Car Wash is not nearly as good at Miracle Car Wash so you have to finish your drying by hand and there are just some spots that can't be cleaned by automatic washes; don't let the cute animated stuff characters fool you. (Automated car washes were amusing to go thru though)

After hand washing the missed area, apply Nu Finish on my car. It's as easy as users on Amazon stated in their reviews. The disappointing aspect was that I couldn't pretend to be like Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid since I had to let the product sit a bit before "wax off". After a hour or so, I knew Electra better than ever including curves and scratches I've never noticed before. I do feel more "manly" after that experience, not to mention the smell of the various car maintenance products that will never go away.

She is beautiful.

I don't know many people who wax or polish their cars. Is this a generational habit or just a niche group?