Car enthusiast forums-SMALL RANT-

Rant on.

I am sure many of us are also on car-centric forums that cater to the specific vehicle we drive and adore. I am on a site that is centered around the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO and all it's variants. They have a detailing section over there. When I read through that section, it reads like a list of crap you should never do to your car. I mean, the in-depth discussions on the pro's and con's of Turtle Wax ICE. Seriously? Then the MF discussion that centered around some "really cheap towels from WalMart that did the trick." I wouldn't have used those things to clean off the dipstick before checking my oil! God forbid you try to spread what little knowledge you have and you get labeled, and I quote, "The detailing elitist." Lol..see what you guys did to me? You made me into an elitist. But seriously, just trying to share the knowledge I have gained over here with some of my GTO brethren has proven futile. I say good luck to them, maybe Nu Finish will get them that Concourse winning shine! lol

Ok, rant off, I am just pissed that someone called me out for buying Supernatural, saying I was nuts to do so. I didn't bother telling them about CR or Royale.:kilt:

 

I see your point. Some people are hell bent on using only OTC products, and wont spend the money online to buy better stuff. I get that soetimes on a car forum Im a moderator on.
(I help moderate the wash&wax section).

 

I tried explaining that it really is not that much more for the regular products, only when you get into the high end waxes and multiple types of products. If a person were to buy a proven set of good products and use them, they would be spending no more than the guy buying from Autozone every week.

 

:shrug:

I started off on OTC.. I think almost everyone does. It's not a bad thing for people who don't know what a swirl is, or care how to remove it. But for those of us who care, we obviously buy specialty products.

 

Sometimes you've gotta pick your battles Spy.

 

Kudos to you for trying to share the knowledge and even more to walk away. Like littlemissGTO said, pick your battles.

 

I guess I'm sorta lucky on my car forums. I've never been called crazy or insane, just a guru haha :applause2:

 

I mean no offence with my comment but maybe its the way you came off that made it seem like your an elitist. You can't express tone through the internet so that might have thrown them off.

What was meant to be a comment to send someone in the right direction may have sounded like you were telling them what to do and how to do it "because your way is better." If you get what I mean.

And to be honest, I find otc products such a waste of money. Most really good "boutique" products are in the same price range as the more expensive otc brands.

Take for example NXT 2.0. You can get a tin of fk1000p that will last you longer in terms of application and durability but costs you maybe $5 more than that bottle/tin of nxt. If you break it down to the cost per ounce its actually cheaper to go with the FK.

These same people will change their motor oil with full synthetic every 3000 miles but won't spend a little extra to make their car look better.

If people only knew that protecting your car with quality products will save you thousands in the future maybe they would get it.

I don't care if your car runs like a champ if its horribly oxodized with failing cc or swirled to hell. I'd rather do everything right. I like my car running good on the inside and looking good on the outside.

 

You know, I was pretty careful how I worded my replies over there, mostly because I have been there for a long time and most people over there know what I am about. However, I completely see what you are saying.

 

I concur with the "pick your battles" line of thinking....as the old saying goes "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink"..so fukc 'em if they don't want to listen:fs:

 

I'm on your site as well, haven't been on there in a while. I was thinking about getting a GTO and while I was in car limbo I decided to talk about detailing on there. I got accused of trying to push certain products, whether it be implicit or explicit. "Phantom Wax" I believe is what they asked me if I knew about. They asked for pics of my car and everything. I suggested like 5-10 different companies and all kinds of products. Yeah, I'm sure I'm a spokesperson for 5-10 companies....

 

lol..you know the drill. Those guys are just stuck on OTC stuff and anything else is an attempt to sell snake oil. It's a shame too, because the cars are so nice when done right. I mean, I went from taking my car to a drive through wash every weekend and using Nano-wax QD to getting my shit together and using good products. I am paying for the neglect with untold hours of correction and learning, but to me it is a really enjoyable hobby. I don't know what I am going to do when I get the car 100% corrected..lol

 

Do other peoples' cars, duh!! :headbang:

 

Other cars of course. We have a guy on our other site who is dead set on using Windex to clean his car. You just can't get through to some people. Then I decided, why the hell do I even care?

 

I figure by the time I get my car perfect, I will be ready to do other people's cars..lol.

I am also beginning to wonder why I even try to help these people. However, it is the one or two PM's I get from someone asking where they can buy Menzerna and what to get that kind of makes it worth it in a way.

 

I added my touch to the argument over on that board. You'll probably like it. That just happened!

 

Nice! That was pretty much all that had to be said on that subject.

 

It's one thing to be ignorant and it's another thing to be close-minded and stupid.

 

I think it all comes down to how good is "good" and how best is "the best"...
and how much money are they willing to spend on that...Just like many others, I started OTC. It was my uncle that got me started. He wanted me to go to a local Auto Zone to check out some carnauba waxes with him...I don't even remember what he bought that time...it was 8 years ago or so...nobody really bothered to use car care products in my family, they still don't...
anyway, back to the point, to some people Turtle wax and Purple power are the best brands...they still use rags to wash their cars and think there is nothing better...
and perhaps that's what makes our cars shinier then theirs...

 

My shop teacher when I was in highschool had a fully restored 5x Chevy Wagon Red/White color scheme, two fully built bracket racers: Camaro, Chevelle, a harley, etc. And he wiped his cars down when it rained with shop rags. I guy that spends 10s of thousands of dollars building his cars in his garage (might as well be a shop at his house, 'cause he has all the equipment from owning a shop before), cares A LOT about his cars, but doesn't understand what he's doing is wrong. :doh: