Zen and the Art of 86
 

I was reading a post a couple of days ago about someone who doesn’t “get” car meets and would rather drive the car than polish it, and it got me thinking. Some prefer to put the car to its intended use while others like to appreciate them as wheeled works of art. I like to do both. I track and AutoX my car but I also like to spend time cleaning and polishing her (yes, I do anthropomorphize my car sometimes).

To me, that is my meditation. A time when I can forget about the stresses of work and family and just focus on the car. I have been known to spend an entire day (10+) hours getting lost in the details of cleaning and polishing every part of the car. Last night I spent four hours just cleaning the engine bay. No one will see my work but I know that she just sparkles under the bonnet. It also makes me intimately aware of the condition of hoses, wiring harnesses, belts, etc. which adds to my knowledge base should any weird noises arise.

I have pulled wheels and polished the inside of them as well as cleaned and prepped the fender wells, brake calipers, dampers, and springs. I have put her up on stands and cleaned the under carriage to the point that she could be at an auto show with mirrors under her so people can appreciate the underside (not that I ever would on a reasonably stock vehicle). This is on top of the normal detail work of cleaning the paint and detailing the interior, which are several hour jobs each.

My wife and other people look at me like I am crazy for going to such detail when cleaning the car (and the motorcycle too). But what they don’t understand is that it isn’t about the cleaning. It is about the state of Zen that comes from clearing your mind of everything else and just enjoying the moment. Then, when it is all done, I step back and look at the sharp reflections of the environment in the paint, smell the polishes and the carnuba, and look through crystal clarity of the windows and mirrors. I see the stark contrast of the rich black rubber and plastic moldings against the fine pearlescent metal flakes in the white paint. I can feel the rough texture of the tires that goes onto the shoulder from scrubbing while howling as I speed from one cone to the next. Each chip of paint on the nose reminds me of the moment that I got it while following another car around Thunderhill and eating the dirt that was kicked up from other cars that went off. The memories of the adrenaline and excitement come flooding back as I clean those minute badges of honor.

For a brief moment in time I don’t care about bills, or clients, or politics, or anything else. It is just me, and my 86.

That was beautiful :cry:

What do you do for work? Are you in a highly technical career or some sort of Audit team?

WOW - that's a great get-a-way for you.....:thumbsup:


humfrz

for those 10 seconds (hours) or less, im free.

... might wanna take it easy on that part :laughabove:

In all seriousness, though, I understand what you're saying. I don't go through that level of detail, but I do get the same type of joy out of washing/detailing my car. :thumbsup:

Same here, such a nice escape in long summer evenings.. I rarely spend more than an hour on cleaning, etc, but it just feels so nice.. (and the inevitale post cleaning drive) although it does ruin it quickly when you find a scratch; which I try to take philosophically, by telling myself that the car is so exposed to harsh environmental elements that it's normal to get a bit bruised up.

If you feel the need to zen out, you're welcome to stop by.

45 mph winds 45 deg and really moist at present.

8)

I can't find the time to detail anything like that. First, there's work (I'm fortunate enough to represent 4 indirectly related corporations, so I get to work from home most of the time and basically do the work when I want - but some days it's an hour or two and other days it's 14 hours).

And then there's the fact that I'd rather be driving the BRZ... or playing soccer... or spending time with the wife and kids... or riding MX... Hard to find enough time for even a little bit of each of them.

But I can understand the reason(s) you do it. Glad you enjoy it. Nice write up.

I am a partner in an electric vehicle startup in Silicon Valley. Most of the stress come from companies who want me to warranty parts that fail due to their own negligence. That, and the stresses that come from expanding the business to satellite locations for the first time and trusting the store to someone else. Lots of money on the table and it is nerve wracking.

plus one for the zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance reference. the sequel lila is really where its at though.

I was recently having a conversation with a co worker to the same effect. I've realized that my passion for cars isn't so much for driving them quickly, but rather just designing, working on, and improving them. I guess that being an engineer by trade, I chose the right profession :-)

I don't care if it's cleaning the car, hitting the red line or looking at other cars.

It all feels good.

i do the same thing, i was about 1/2 way done getting the outside or my car washed when my neighbors left to the movies, when they got back i was in the middle of clay barring the car getting it ready for the liquid polish, then to rainx the windows and cleaning out the door jams... tomorrow is reserved for vacuum, shampoo, inside glass, ect lol

Tis true. There is something oddly relaxing about car detailing.

I was more curious from a perspective of your attention to detail, not so much the stress management.

Your answer was enough for me to make some assumptions about how you work, especially when your 'parts failures are due to negligence of others' which I can relate to.

I related a lot to your post and I think to your working style as well.

Post up some pictures of the car, lets see how clean that engine bay can get!

How so? I don't think I ever finished Lila, but reread Zen at least once.

i just think the way he organizes the way he labels the world becomes a little more inclusive and organic. plus the overall tone is a little different and i found it more captivating.