Naval Aviation especially is challenged with these issues - perhaps the quality of the wrench turners, their tools, training, procedures and process are the root of the problem. Navy and Marine squadrons have never emphasized how "clean and orderly" and well painted an aircraft is - contrast to an Air FOrce aircraft where the canopies are highly polished, cockpits are clean, drips of fluids are non existent. And an aircraft is treated as a temple and ready for us who are "Modern Knights of the Sky".
You can not compare the two. A commercial operator hires people qualified for the job to start working from day 15 (or however the training/hiring process takes). The Navy hires a guy who has (allegedly) some persuasion towards a particular discipline, but knows nothing about the system he's supposed to be working on. Over the course of 12 months-ish (assuming said Sailor is properly motivated), the Navy gets a certified, bonafide technician. After another 6-ish months, the Navy gets a qualified QA rep. If standards are kept, in the end, the Navy has a very robust training program that produces some great maintainers, but again, the system isn't designed to hire new guy off the street that can keep your chariot pristine.
And seriously, you're advocating for the AF? When I came back from Haiti, both our birds had their tails absolutely covered in soot. Due to how the -60's airflow works when sitting on deck, the exhaust collects in a very specific pattern (this happens with all aircraft). Our birds were filthy, but it wasn't because our maintainers didn't care (I actually had a lot of rock stars on my det), but it was a badge of the work we were doing every day saving lots of lives. I could have cared less how pristine our birds were because I knew what the "wear" meant for what we did. (also, Navy paint is so coarse...for specific reasons...that it's hard to clean).
Good stuff. When I get held up in the line, I curse the process, not the individuals trying to execute the process IAW what they've been hit on in the past. My new favorite...having to do both a SHARP and a NAVFLIR. What is this? 2003? Thanks CNAF AMI team!