The grumpy thread

[captain_70s]

I wash the cars quarterly. 😂

The issue with self service car washes is they're usually closed in winter when you most need to wash a car... Also needing coins or tokens to use them is a pain.

[Supernaut]

I just gave the E36 its first wash in a long time a few days ago. It was mostly so I could pressure wash the underside before topping up the lanolin I have on the sills / in the wheel arches...

While I had the pressure washer set up, the Megane got a quick blast but it basically looks the same (complete shit).

[barefoot]

I have washed all of my cars at least once, although I do mow my lawns at least daily and keep a diary to remind me which direction I did them last.

[reb]

When I was a delivery driver I'd wash my car at least weekly, in winter every two or three days. £3 in a jet wash and it'd look lovely. Usually filthy again by the time I got home though.

[beko1987]

Ive used the esso self serve jet wash before when the car turned green one winter 😂

I tend to do it really well once, then as I don't do that many miles it keeps fairly clean. What I want to do one day* is have the rear up on the ramps and jet wash underneath then sort any rust bits out. Giving the engine bay a good clean is handy too as you don't get filthy hands topping fluids off or doing simple little things! Again once done well once a quick blast over as you wash the rest of the car is all it needs. 

Jet washing the door shuts, water drain holes, water channels etc is quite critical though. If I do a car at the FoD I concentrate on that part more than the giving it a wash bit

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, Jazoli said:

No it doesn’t, it’s an old trope, fairy liquid is fine if you want to strip old wax and polish off, a proper car shampoo is better though.

from google, other search engines are available 

“Washing up liquid does contain a 'salt' but this is the active ingredient and should not be confused with road salt. There is nothing in a washing-up liquid that will exacerbate corrosion – there's no sodium chloride salt to worry about. The issue regarding corrosion is the 'chloride' bit of the salt.“

According to the Ecologist magazine it has Sodium Chloride as an ingredient. I think we all call that “salt”.

[Markeh]

What's car washing?

Nearly 3 years and over 33k later mines still only ever been washed at Nissan. Although we will have to clean the door to touch in a couple of scratches later this month 

[loserone]

1 minute ago, Markeh said:

Nearly 3 years and over 33k later mines still only ever been washed at Nissan

Bit of a bizarre brag, our Duster is two and a bit, 40k and 5 services in and hasn't been to a Dacia dealer since it only had 7 miles on the clock.

[captain_70s]

Welder wire feed motor has done a die.

Not like I need this car welded and out the garage by next Saturday, as my latest rusty shitheap is landing...

[Remspoor]

7 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I find fairy very effective 

[Markeh]

49 minutes ago, loserone said:

Bit of a bizarre brag, our Duster is two and a bit, 40k and 5 services in and hasn't been to a Dacia dealer since it only had 7 miles on the clock.

Oh believe me - it's not a brag - it's been a heap of shite. Perhaps if it behaved a bit more I'd consider washing it myself!

[Popsicle]

7 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

at about 2-3 washes per week for a wrong 'un like me.

'per week' must be a typo?

[High Jetter]

21 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

'per week' must be a typo?

I think he means that's how often it rains 😀

[loserone]

17 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I think he means that's how often it rains 😀

Got to wash it again if it rains 

[Split_Pin]

You might laugh but all my cars sell super-quick on here for a good reason 😉

[Rust Collector]

I wash my cars for the MOT and usually before a long journey. Washing a car properly takes ages and I don’t really have time to do it until it gets to the point that it must get done.

To be fair, even if I did have loads of spare time, I’d rather spend it indoors wanking or something rather than washing cars.

And to keep it on topic, both in terms of grumps and maintaining* peak exterior condition on our cars, today I ran over my A frame with spectacular results.

Luckily I had my rigger boots on, and a decent kick and a swear has made the bumper look as good as new*.

[Jazoli]

6 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

According to the Ecologist magazine it has Sodium Chloride as an ingredient. I think we all call that “salt”.

Sorry that’s bollocks.

[Jazoli]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

You might laugh but all my cars sell super-quick on here for a good reason 😉

Mine too

[DavieW]

It appears our neighbours have bought their son his first car. No real problem with that (our generation had to save and buy our own), however they only have a single car drive. Now they have 3 cars, they've taken to parking one of them outside a neighbour further down our already narrow cul-de-sac making it difficult for the woman across the road to reverse out of her drive. One of theirs already parks half over "our" bit of the road so they're slowly pissing off more people in the street. 

[Popsicle]

4 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

I’d rather spend it indoors wanking or something rather than washing cars.

You could combine the two tasks for that 'snow foam shine'!

[somewhatfoolish]

That does sound like a pain in the bollocks, but she'd get on very much better if she reversed onto the drive and so would any pedestrians.

14 minutes ago, DavieW said:

It appears our neighbours have bought their son his first car. No real problem with that (our generation had to save and buy our own), however they only have a single car drive. Now they have 3 cars, they've taken to parking one of them outside a neighbour further down our already narrow cul-de-sac making it difficult for the woman across the road to reverse out of her drive. One of theirs already parks half over "our" bit of the road so they're slowly pissing off more people in the street. 

 

[DavieW]

1 minute ago, somewhatfoolish said:

That does sound like a pain in the bollocks, but she'd get on very much better if she reversed onto the drive and so would any pedestrians.

 

In practice but in reality because the road is so narrow she'd struggle when the front swung out when she reversed in. Unless she reversed down the whole road. 

[horriblemercedes]

I can only remember once in the last 10-15 years washing a car, and that was only because it was totally necessary and it was mostly my friend who did it (it was his car and I helped because I was waiting with him).

 

It's such an awful way to spend time. Life is simply too short and who cares if the outside is a bit dirty? Just don't touch it. The stuff you have to touch is inside. I mostly keep the interior clean.

[Erebus]

On 06/10/2024 at 09:12, beko1987 said:

I love snowfoam and have always got on with it, but I use a foam cannon that fits on the pressure washer. Always been a bit dubious of these hand pump things that seems to be the current tend.

Nice thick foam from the lance, then go round with the brushes and do the trims and tightwork. A good rinse and 70% of the dirt should come right off

It works better if you clean the car every week/2 weeks. A foam and rinse on a well waxed car will be all you need

But that's alot of effort 😂

 

That looks like good stuff.  What brand of snowfoam is it?

[beko1987]

2 minutes ago, Erebus said:

That looks like good stuff.  What brand of snowfoam is it?

Autosmart stuff. At the end of my 5l bottle now after 4 years, will need more next spring 😂 I'm going to go back to this stuff though, I've had it before and it was very nice

https://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product/elite-snow-foam-professional-pre-wash-foam-5-litre/

My foam cannon is one like this (I paid way more for it but they were quite new at the time as a product) 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/387371736232?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ef_jdcfat2a&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QOvj0cTJQtq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Just buy the one that fits your pressure washer lance fitting. 

I've been known to do a cheeky re foam before washing too, makes it lovely and slick.

My purchase this year was one of these! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364958308098?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=konpgmwnr9s&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QOvj0cTJQtq&var=634556185759&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Their bloody brilliant as you can get up close without having the lance in the way. Makes doing door shuts and the boot shut easier. Easy to almost shoot yourself in the face doing under the wheel arches and sills too... 😂 Good job I had my glasses on 😬

[Erebus]

14 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Autosmart stuff. At the end of my 5l bottle now after 4 years, will need more next spring 😂 I'm going to go back to this stuff though, I've had it before and it was very nice

https://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product/elite-snow-foam-professional-pre-wash-foam-5-litre/

My foam cannon is one like this (I paid way more for it but they were quite new at the time as a product) 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/387371736232?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ef_jdcfat2a&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QOvj0cTJQtq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Just buy the one that fits your pressure washer lance fitting. 

I've been known to do a cheeky re foam before washing too, makes it lovely and slick.

My purchase this year was one of these! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364958308098?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=konpgmwnr9s&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QOvj0cTJQtq&var=634556185759&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Their bloody brilliant as you can get up close without having the lance in the way. Makes doing door shuts and the boot shut easier. Easy to almost shoot yourself in the face doing under the wheel arches and sills too... 😂 Good job I had my glasses on 😬

That's great info.  Thanks very much.  Appreciate it

[vulgalour]

So far I've been referred by my gp to a mental health team, another mental health team, and a mental health nurse.  I've also been instructed to self-refer to a mental health service.

The result of that is being told that the self-referral was the only thing I needed to actually do as the other referrals were just going to refer me there anyway.

Considering I have issues with memory and get easily confused this isn't helping me recover!  Latest shenanigans has been getting a new sick note which I was supposed to receive on Friday (so my notes tell me) but the gp didn't call me to confirm.  They have completed the sick note but I only know that because I chased it up today and then found out they've left a several day gap between it and the last one even though I'm not fit to work.  Apparently I will get a call later today confirming correct note and receive a copy I can then send to my employer.

Why does it always feel with mental health care that the onus is on the patient to take control of their recovery, and not on the provider to actually provide care?  (this is a rhetorical question)

 

Anyway, I'm getting really fed up of being ill now and would quite like everything to go back to normal so I can Get Shit Done.

 

[Keymaster]

@vulgalour, a couple of weeks ago I was where you are virtually word for word. I'm at week 4 of being signed off and finally the brain fog has started to thin out a bit. Stick with it, use the Wysa app or similar if they've sent it to you - I found it a bit naff at first but it does help.

[vulgalour]

Sick note updated and received, dates corrected, so that's something.  Also found out the self-referral appointment I thought was on Friday wasn't, the phone call I got then was from one of the other mental health teams that were discharging me from their services since I was with the self-referred service.  Said service also manage two different systems and the reason they haven't called me on Friday is actually the earliest I was supposed to hear from them was today, so I should get an appointment this week when someone has reviewed my assessment and assigned a worker to my case.

I'm writing this down more as a place to jog my memory than anything else and to highlight how confusing this is even without brain problems.  It's an absolute shambles.  I'm also supposed to be getting the results of a blood test done last week but I don't know if that's something I chase up or not, and if it is something I chase up I have no idea how long I am or am not supposed to leave it.  Hopefully the test comes back totally normal so we can hopefully rule out a physical cause.

I'm still pro-NHS, in principle, but in practice it's an overstretched underfunded chaotic nightmare due to decades of neglect and the care I'm currently receiving is representative of the state of things.

[Zelandeth]

Not even anything on the door to explain why they're closed two hours plus change earlier than the posted hours this time.  Heaven forbid I actually needed anything that was really urgent.