You know those do it yourself w/ 2 dollars worth 4 mins...
the 8 step process
Rinse...
Soap....
Tires...
High Pressure something
High Pressure Rinse
Wax
Lightj final rinse..

Are They Worth it.`//!>>/??!!
QUICK I MIGHT GO TO ONE TOMORROW>!!!

Sounds kinda of high to me, the place we used to go to back in Tn, gave you 3 mins for 50 cents, and each additonal quarter gave you an extra minute.

Im just saying...
Is it all good...
Thats what i usd to do.... But this is my reall first car....
I wanna start over right...

1 more q...
Is the wax part... really wax?.... liquid i mean ??>.. i dono
confused...
does step number 7(wax) really give the car a .004 mm coat??.

First of all, I FORBID you from using the brush at these things. Think of all the nasty crap people scrape off their cars with it. Without something touching the paint tho, not everything will come off. The wax is more for making the water bead off, it's no substitute for a real wax job.

When it's late and I can't wash the Box at home, here's my method:

The Anal-Retentive Detailer's way to wash a Scion.

I have a 5-gal bucket and 2 wash mitts at home. I pour a little car wash soap in it and take it with me to the car wash. Turn dial to Wash/Soap. Put in the minimum amount of quarters to get the sprayer going. Stick the tip of the nozzle into the washmitts to limit pressure and put some water in the bucket. As the water level starts to rise, pull the tip back slightly so it creates foam and suds. ( I do this step first cuz the car wash has Hot water, if I wait, the water gets too hot to touch.)

Spray the car starting at the top and working downward. Blast out the wheels wells, too. Wet it down until the time on the machine runs out... Grab the bucket . I mentioned 2 wash mitts. I use one for the paint and one for the wheels. You don't want to wipe wheel grease and road grit on the paint. I buy a new mitt periodically and it becomes the paint mitt. Again Starting from the top, wash your Scion. I usually start on the roof, then the back door. More road grime collects on the bottom so work downward and then rinse your mitt in the bucket when you get to the bottom. I split the sides by panels or doors, always working down. After I get it soaped down, I switch mitts and wash the wheels and interior fender edges.

Then turn the spray dial to Rinse, drop in more quarters and give it a thorough rinse. Not to beat a dead horse, but work from the top down. Be sure to blast out the trim rails in the roof and the door jam lines, etc. You don't want soap bubbles showing up after the timer is done. I wring out the mitts, toss the bucket in back and drive home. Then I give it a thorough drying with The Absorber. Last step is to dry the door jams to keep them looking clean.

I always took a bucket and my own car wash, the only thing I ever used the car wash for was for the rinse, just because our apartment back home didn't have a car wash bay.

Never use the brush, people like to be jerks and put sharp objects such as rocks, and other stuff in it just to scratch your paint.

i do my car washes at home.... basically what MR. Anal Retentive said though :p
heres my way of doing my usual full detail.

fill bucket with soap and water
i have this giant sponge for the paint and a mit for the wheels (well, hubcaps till i get my tC)
i rinse the car
soap from top to bottom(as previously stated)
wash the paint and wheels
rinse again
check for spots i may have missed and clean them
i spray "wax as you dry"...
dry the car with this towel i have thats similar to the absorber. both work great though.

open hood, trunk/hatch, doors and fuel door.
take out the floor mats(mine are plastic) and spray them off.
dry the droplets of water that come out

with a damp towel...
clean the edges around the trunk and the door jambs
the inside of the fuel door(how does it get so dirty in there!?!?)
and the engine bay. (anything i can get to, i clean)

then i work the inside...
dust the dash, console and whatever other plastic parts need to be dusted. (i use armor all in the civic)
vaccuum(sp?) the front and back seats, floor and even the trunk.
also clean all the mirrors and windows from the inside.

when everything inside is done... i spray a lil febreeze on the fabric and thats it for the inside.
once the tires are done drying, i put some tire shine on the walls of the tires.

depending on how hot it is outside i may rinse the car frequently as i wash in an effort to prevent water spots.


when i get my tC, ill most likely learn to wax the right way to get that awesome shine ive seen on other cars. FM looks good when its clean and it reflects everything which i find to be pimp! :D

Another quick tip - don't use a sponge to wash your car! Get a wash mit with the longest nap you can (that's the length of the little fibers that make up the mit). The reason is that you're going to be washing dirt off your car and the longer the nap, the more space there is for the dirt to go away from the paint - this is why you don't want to use a sponge or a rag or something for the paint. Also, ever wonder why cars get all of those swirl marks? Its from washing it in a circular pattern. When you soap the thing up or dry it off, do it in straight lines from one end (top) of the panel to the other. Then rinse off your mitt and go again.

And don't buy the white cotton wash mitts. You'll be picking lint out of everything...

i just take it to the carwash and they wash it by hand...

i just take it to the carwash and they wash it by hand...

If you go somewhere nice enough, you'll probably be fine, although real hand washing is expensive. If they use dirty rags or drop something on the ground, you're going to end up with ____ed up paint, just like if you did a bad job yourself. If you don't care, that's fine. If I really didn't care, I'd take it to the carwash where the machine does it and it's cheap. But if you do care, you do it yourself. If it ends up with swirl marks or scratches, the nice hand wash place isn't going to refund you your money.

hey thx for all that input...
Thank you everybody..
So today i drove my car onto my drive way...
In the sun and the 65 degree odd weather..
And i washed it w/ soap.... about 10 mins...
Detailed the tires.. about 10 mins..
Dried the car...
and Turtle Waxed my car... about 90mins...
Invisible Glassed my windows.... about 20 mins for perfection
All together.... it took me about 2 and a half hours..
BUt it looks soooo nice now!... yay

i only work 4 days a week waitering so i was thinking about detailing all of the other waiters/servers./WAITRESSES!! cars...lol
make me a few extra bux... and itll help me on my technique...
thx again