Damn am I sore.  I've been taking Vanessa to the carwash about once a week, one of those automated carwashes that doesn't touch the car.  It does an okay job, but not a great job.  I've been telling myself that when the weather got better I would give her a good washing by hand.  Today was the day.

I managed to get out of work early and after I picked up Neya at school we came home and she was excited to help me wash the car.  We had fun wetting the car down and soaping her up.  As I expected Neya soon tired and wanted to go play.

Sometimes a simple tedious activity is therapeutic and relaxing.  So it was as I methodically scrubbed and rinsed every inch of Vanessa.  I let my mind go delightfully blank and simply concentrated on cleaning.

After the final rinse of the body, I went to work on the rims with a special rim-cleaning solution which lifts off brake-pad dust and road grime.  Vanessa's front rims were very dirty and this was a vast improvement.  Then came the bleche-white treatment of the tire walls, to make them dark and shiny.  They'll probably need a second coat.

Then I waxed, and buffed, and waxed, and buffed, for a long time.  It was at some point during the waxing that I started her up so I could listen to music while working.  After the waxing and buffing was finished, I used a surface cleaner to clean around the insides of the doors and the rear hatch.  Then I removed the rugs and vacuumed the floor.  The rugs I treated with a carpet cleaner and they are drying now.   Then one more quick pass with the vacuum and back into the car they go.

I took a break before vacuuming to have dinner with my wife and daughter.  We had Chinese food.  Satay beef... yum.

All in all, I spent about 5 hours cleaning the car.  It was worth it though, she looks great and I am utterly relaxed (and sore!)  My arms are killing me from the waxing and buffing... but it's a small price to pay to have such a great looking vehicle.