We all know I’m a slob, right? That I can go a loooooooong time living with something that is messy? Wait, let’s amend that: I can go a looooooong time without noticing that something is messy.
Several weeks ago, I actually noticed that my truck was pretty dirty. It was actually so bad that it looked like the paint was peeling off the hood and the roof. No problem though – I just developed a handy little blind spot that just stopped seeing it. There were even a couple of times I thought, “Maybe I should go through a car wash”, but then I would forget as soon as I was driving.
Sunday, though, I was driving home from Wal*Mart and it was such a pretty day, I thought that it would be perfect car-washing weather. I wasn’t even going to wuss out and do the automatic wash – I’d wash it with the machine gun sprayer.
Oh. My. Goodness.
I was so mad that I didn’t have my camera for some ‘before’ pictures. What I thought was a little peeling paint was a solid layer of months-old, sun-baked tree sap and bird poop. It was so gross!!! The stuff on the hood washed off with just the soapy wand, but for the roof I had to take an old shirt from the inside of the truck (it’s really messy inside, too) and scrub and scrub and scrub and scrub that junk off. It was awful! I’d scrub a little spot truly clean and then swipe at a larger area – the whole while balanced on the edge of the truck bed – then feed the machine more quarters to rinse and start again. I didn’t get every single spot, and I regret that, because there is no way I’m going back up there.
Note to self: Go to the automatic car wash more often, and stop parking under trees.
I’ve often wondered if there is a non-aesthetic reason for washing cars. Does it help keep the paint intact longer? Does it help prevent rust? I havent’ washed my truck in years. Does it matter? I mean, other than the fact that my paint color may actually be lighter than it seems…
I vaguely remember my uncle saying once that bird poop will wreck a car’s paint, but – eh.
I remember this topic was discussed in The Tightwad Gazette but I don’t remember the conclusion because I too hate to wash cars.
Will Lloyd be driving the clean truck with some Cardinal stickers for a couple of weeks now?
Bird droppings can wreck the paint, or at least the clear coat.
Squirrels, on the other hand, build nests in the engine compartment and chew through your ignition harness wires.
The truck runs in the former scenario; it does not in the latter.
If you wait this long, you might as well take it to a place where they wash your car for you. Then you can look it over and say, “You missed a spot”, and they have to fix it.