How Do You Wash Your Truck?

[feellnfroggy]

Anybdy else just drive it through the lake?

 

[The purple one]

This March coming up will be two years that I have had my truck. I still have not washed it yet. The mold on the back window is making it hard to see out of it not sure why.

 

[LearjetMinako]

Anybdy else just drive it through the lake?

Did that with the mountain bike. Bike was nice and clean when I pulled it out. And I was chillin, just floating on the water. Thou next day, any bare metal surface rusted.

 

[Hopman]

I let mother nature do it. Or I stop by the local charity car wash if I see one. I get my truck washed and the organization (be it high school sports or other local chairty) gets a few bucks (if it's a suggested donation, I toss in a 5 or ten spot).

The ONLY time my truck has seen the inside of a car wash was before the last New England meet & greet.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/group.php?do=picture&groupid=45&pictureid=2970

Mine's the dinky purple one on the right.

Amazingly, the paint still looks good, even without one drop of wax touching it.

 

[daniel3507]

I hate Armor All. I use 303 protectant for the tires/plastics. Doesn't attract dust, has Uv protectant and will not harm rubber/plastic the way AA does.

Meguiars Gold Class wash, dry with microfiber towels, glass done with Stoner's Invisible Glass also using microfiber towels. Meguiars Detail wipes inside. Woolite and warm water with a mF sponge for the seats/carpet when they need attention.

This is pretty much my exact same process in a nut shell. Right down to all the products with the exception of the detail wipes. I use the two bucket method to wash. when it is in need of a fresh coat of wax (or sealant depending on the season) i'll clay bar it with Clay Magic Blue.After that I wipe the entire truck down with rubbing alcohol and start waxing. Best stuff I have ever used is Pinnacle Souveran. $95 bucks for a can of it but i love the way it looks on dark colors. I have a small wax collection but keep going back it time after time. For the tires i use Tuf Shine and then get the frame and wheel wells with armor all tire foam.

 

[TheTopher]

Bit of a long list, but here we go.



Turtle Wax Ice for the wash

Wax I use the first 2 parts of the Meguiars 3 step set. I replace the 3rd step with Meguiars NXT Techwax 2.0

Mud flaps, door handles and mirrors I hit with Mothers Back to Black.

For the wheels I use simple green and elbow grease.

Windows I use invisible glass

Tires I use Black Magic

For the chrome bumpers I use mother's chrome polish and for any rush removal I'll use simple green and aluminum foil (no kidding, it works)

For the underside of the truck I went over all the main parts like the frame, cross members, axle drive shaft etc with steel wool and rust reformer when I first got it. So now I just spray it with simple green then reach the hose under and host it off as best I can.

For the engine bay I soak the whole thing down with simple green as best I can, give it a few minutes and hose it off thoroughly. Take it easy around the dizzy and you're fine, so long as you rinse with a garden hose and not a pressure washer. I dry it off most of the way with compressed air then let it air dry. After it's dry I go over every bit of black plastic with Mother's Back to Black and the clear stuff like fluid reservoirs I hit with Armorall Cleaner wipes.


For the interior I pull the seats and shampoo the carpet every so often...most of the time I just vacuum it though. On the dash and plastics I use either armorall or EagleOne vinyl/leather cleaner. On the seat covers I use a special neoprene shampoo I got from wetokole.com


For a quick shine between cleanings, I go over it with a Lucas Oil quick detailer, turtle wax ice quick detailer, or meguiars quick detailer. They all work pretty good.

When I first got it I used a meguiars clay kit on it before it's first wax...not something I've ever done since then though.


It's not a show truck by anybody's standards...I just like to take pride in it every so often.

 

[necessaryevil]

pressure washer, or charitable car wash, i love seeing the look in those kids faces when i pull up just covered in mud, its worth the $20

 

[Scotty J.]

Car Wash about every 2 weeks or so, depending on the need. Detailer takes it about ever other month and works his buffer magic on it.

 

[mikeindmills]

I used to be pretty anal about washing my f-250 til it got the Ford bed rust. Now it just depresses me so I only wash it about once a month. My explorer gets washed when it rains. I find when you drive through the bigger puddles on the road it has a 'touchless carwash' type effect.

 

[Hopman]

pressure washer, or charitable car wash, i love seeing the look in those kids faces when i pull up just covered in mud, its worth the $20

And that's $20 that goes to a good cause!

 

[OilPatch197]

I typically use one bucket, and one of those hand mitts. I used Maguires Gold car wash, then I use a wax product.

I only wash and wax my car when I see that water no longer beads up on the hood.

I wash the Windows, headlamps and tail lamps at every Gas fill up.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

I use Blue Corral wash in a clean bucket with a sponge to wash it off. Spraying off any excess I can and then doing one section at a time and rinsing usually starting at the top.

Then a few times a year I clay bar it. Tried Megulars and Turtle wax Ice, like megulars better sofar.

Then I hit it with a coat of Mothers carnubal wax and then a coat of Megulars Tec Wax paste 2.0

Windows and lights I hit with Rain X streak free cleaner and Original Formula Rain X.

Inside I vacuum and use Armor all wipes every once in a while.

 

[ZackW]

None of my cars have nice enough paint to really bust my ass keeping them clean, so they maybe get a wash once a month if not longer. Hell I think my Tracker hasn't gotten one, aside from rain/puddles, in 2 years.. it's paint is shot though. When I got my B4000, it was faded pretty badly. I put off washing it for a while, and finally did one night. Waxed it up and damn did it make a difference. Used to be able to see the outline of the removed M graphics on the doors, now it's all solid black and shiny.

When I do wash, however, I use a 2 bucket method with an Armorall wash mitt and Meguiars Gold Class soap. Then use an Armorall MF towel (bought a kit with everything) to spread the water around ,since they don't dry worth a damn anyway. Then I leave the car to air dry, and use Meguiars gold class wax (i think) with some garbage Armorall MF applicators. This usually results in me swearing a lot as all the water comes out of all the cracks in the car as I'm trying to apply the wax. Generally this forces me to stop waxing it and leaving the car as it is. So most of my cars are shiny in the front, and clean-ish in the rear.

I tend to keep my windows fairly clean with Stoners and a MF towel though as I drive a lot at night and prefer being able to see. For my rims/tires I use a meguiars spray for the rims and a foam for the tires. For the interior, I may vacuum it out once a month or so. They're used primarily for work so don't care what it looks like inside.

 

[whocares]

Easy way to get the undercarriage cleaned is to slide a lawn sprinkler under the truck to loosen up the dried mud, washes away most of it and softens whats left then it doesnt take much effort to get the rest.

 

[backroad101]

For the chrome bumpers I use mother's chrome polish and for any rush removal I'll use simple green and aluminum foil (no kidding, it works)

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How does this work? Interesting.


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