Tell us what products and how you wash your truck

[Dented]

When it rains I go for a drive.

 

[Cuervo]

Outside: Rain.

Inside: Open doors, cordless leaf blower.

Barely more serious note: I measured my truck's height today and it looks like it will clear my preferred touchless automated car wash of the two in town by 2". I'll wait until I have the help of a trusted friend on a short ladder present to confirm this as I attempt entry.

Use that antenna measuring stick

 

[Oafy44]

For all those that just use rain can you take pics of your truck and post. I love a dirty truck sometimes and will go through a mud puddle purposely- as long as it’s easy to clean up down the road.

 

[Canyon Trekker]

For all those that just use rain can you take pics of your truck and post. I love a dirty truck sometimes and will go through a mud puddle purposely- as long as it’s easy to clean up down the road.

Washed yesterday with rain and micro cloth, then hosing down afterwards. Going through the rinse cycle today.

In all honesty, it only cleans up easily if you've prepped it prior, which was done at the manufacturer (paid extra) when I got it. Been about a year, probably needs another good touchup. Love my VO7 spray after the wash, brings back the shine every time.

 

[ICT Tremor]

Touchless automatic car washes are really the only option for at least four months a year when you live way up north. You either put up with their downsides in order to keep on top of salt removal on both paint and undercarriage, or you have a vehicle that goes to hell within about five years (the undercarriage even less). And at least where I live, we have some legit touchless auto washes that do a remarkable job.

Washing outside ain’t a thing in winter unless you’re using a rinseless wash with some glycol added to it, get creative in ways to stay dry and warm, and are just generally a masochist. Plenty of heated garages and shops - I have both - but a wash process that involves a run through an auto wash, then a wash/detail with rinseless products back home in a heated space is really pretty pointless unless you plan to just leave that vehicle sitting in the garage or shop. Even in the dead of winter with highs well below freezing you’re still gonna find puddles and salt dust the next time you drive it.

All that to say the concept of a “maintenance wash” takes on a whole new meaning up nort’.

 

[Camarox2]

Same; except no wax, I use Chemical Guys V07 periodically. It's raining this week... I'll wash the truck tomorrow.

Amazon.com

Oh ya, truck washed here too. Thanks to the rain.

 

[PlumasTremor]

Downfall to AMB is it is dirty before i get home.

Man, you are so right. Antimatter blue is a PIA heartache. I always wash it myself, in my driveway, and it's a battle to get it washed and dried before it's already showing dust and pollen. And forget trying to wash it if it's hot and in filtered sunlight...it'll dry before you can rinse the section you're washing.

 

[Optimus🤖]

Chemical guys products are bottom of the barrel when compared to other detailed products.

Mannetts Mega Shine makes the best products hands down. They have a tire shine that literally does not attract dust. They were using ceramic infused sprays long before anyone.

Yeah ok, meanwhile Chemical Guys have the highest reviews online and been around for years, troll.

 

[CDUB19]

I have used Carpro products for past 5 years.

Just to lead in…… I’ve detailed cars for the last 35 years. It’s more of a hobby for me now and a time I use to get my mind relaxed from work. So starting with that you might get an idea on how bad I am and will over clean my truck, LOL!

I do this with all my vehicles but I’ll stick with what I do on my truck in this post. First off, I did my own ceramic with Carpro UK 3.0. when I bought it new. The depth of my cleanings will vary depending on how dirty the truck is. My truck is leveled on 35’s with 20x10 -24. That -24 can definitely throw extra dirt and grime up the side of my truck. I start out by doing the tires, wheels, and underneath first. Once that’s done I’ll start on the body. So if the truck has been driven in the rain and nasty I’ll first start by completely wetting the truck to allow the water to loosen up the dirt. While it’s working on the dirt I’ll start getting my foam gun ready with the Carpro Reset soap. I get my 2 bucket system ready, and then I’ll come back and pressure wash off all the heavy dirt. I want all the heaviest trash off the paint to prevent fine scratches. If it’s really bad I’ll sometimes foam the entire truck and let it dwell for about 2-5 min then rinse before doing a contact wash. Now, with the normal contact wash I’ll start on shady side first. (I try to avoid wash in sun as much as possible). After that I’ll breakout my EVO leaf blower and get most of the heavy off. I then come back with drying Carpro BOA towels to finish. Sometimes I’ve picked up a tar substance down the side of the truck so I keep a mixture of the Carpro Echo2 and will use it to help the drying process while removing that off the side. I also use it to get bugs off front which works great without scratching.

All this takes me about an hour to an hour and a half. I lead in telling you I would over do it. I’m so bad I got creative and thought I’d see what happened if I ceramiced the frame and fender wells. I was pretty surprised how good it looked and now how easy it is to keep clean. I’ve got 12k on the truck and have had it since July 2022. These pics are from last week.

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

Yeah ok, meanwhile Chemical Guys have the highest reviews online and been around for years, troll.

I've been doing a bit of research the last week or so on cleaning products and CG and Adam's consistently are described as great for the average vehicle owner as they're very user friendly and relatively inexpensive. Those who are into detailing seem to steer away from these for other products and across a few blogs, forums, and Redit, find those who use those brands to be the exception.

Of course those who are using top end products will describe these as junk, which is unfair given the countless people who get their desired outcomes with these products. I'd put CG and Adam's in the "good" to "better" categories depending on the product, but not sure any of their products would land in the "best" category nor would any be rated "poor".

 

[ICT Tremor]

CG has scammy rep in the detailing community, generally. One of those businesses for which the old mantra of “they’re a marketing company that happens to sell a product” rings true. The “late night informercial” of the detailing realm.

Adams is similar, albeit falling far lower on the scammy scale.

I stick with brands that don’t try so hard to blow your socks off with BS, and who’ve been around for decades - Meguiars, Griots, Optimum and Duragloss make up most of the crap on my detailing racks. Three of those four make their own product too (exception is Griots), which I think is important to the “no BS” detailing experience.

 

[OTG-Tremor-CG]

@cavementech and @Camarox2

I'll then spray the tires with tire spray. Today I used Griot's Garage 10951 Black Satin Tire Coating. For work I drive down many powdery dirt roads so I'm trying to find a tire product that will not pack the dirt on them. Any suggestions?

We live in a remote scenic area of the Rocky Mountains and drive our Ford trucks (F350 Tremors and F150s) and Jeep Wrangler Rubicon HR's on unpaved roads and off-road in dust, mud and snow. Therefore, we do not use any brand of "tire shine" products. Years ago when I had a business and lived in Colorado Springs CO and on my 35 acre hobby ranch near Peyton CO...never used any "tire shine" products...hate the stuff on all vehicles, but especially on trucks and Jeeps.....because it looks so 'fake'. The various tire shine products makes the tire look 'painted' and not new. As a result, I have been using Black Magic Bleche Wite Tire Cleaner for years...because it makes the tires look "naturally clean and naturally new"...a matte black and not a shiny painted black. IMO, the painted black looks stupid.

 

[OTG-Tremor-CG]

Our F350 Tremors both have PPF on the front and rocker areas and Opti-coat Pro Plus ceramic coating. For care and maintenance we like the products listed below. Opti-coat and Optimum are two different companies.

Optimum Car Care products --------> https://optimumcarcare.com/

The Rag Company -------> https://theragcompany.com/

Westley's / Black Magic ----------> https://www.blackmagicshine.com/products/bleche-wite-tire-cleaner

 

[HeavyAssault]

What does one use to wash/clean the engine bay?? Hoping to find something that's sort of spray-n-rinse one stop product. I got some low pressure sprayers to keep the "forced" water down from getting into components.

I'm likely going to try using my own two part process of low pressure wash/foam, then low pressure cleaning rinse.

 

[AppStateDDS]

I like to use Duragloss mainly - I’m partial to them as they are literally two miles from my office and I know the owner. But, their stuff has been top notch for me. Their ultimate detail spray and tire foam are two of my favorites. That said, I use other company’s products from time to time.

 

[RedZilla]

My last truck was an 05 F150 Lariat. It was taken through a local high end car wash almost weekly for the first 5-7 years. Made sure to get the under body wash and full wax each time through, you know, get that salt cleaned out of all the underbelly. By 2010 the bumpers front and back were beginning to bubble rust under the paint visibly. By 2012 the frame and wheel wells were producing big flakes of rust. The underside of the bed was so rusty that the lineX was the only thing that made it possible to walk in the bed, felt like a trampoline.

That truck rusted out worst than any other truck I've ever owned. I'm convinced the cleaners used in this particular car wash were very effective at quickly dissolving dirt and grim. At the same time those cleaners also were very effective at attacking the finish and base materials the truck was made out of.

Redzilla only gets hand washed at home and rinsed with a pressure washer with soft water.

PS - I'm thoroughly convinced that automatic car washes are for people the trade vehicles every three years.

 

[MiTremor906]

I hand wash only (foam canon and then two bucket and microfiber wash cloth) and use mostly chemical guys products. I have also clay barred the truck once as well. Whole process takes a few hours.

 

[BadDogPSD]

What does one use to wash/clean the engine bay?? Hoping to find something that's sort of spray-n-rinse one stop product. I got some low pressure sprayers to keep the "forced" water down from getting into components.

I'm likely going to try using my own two part process of low pressure wash/foam, then low pressure cleaning rinse.

I've had good luck with Sonax Engine degreaser/cleaner followed by Sonax Plastic detailer. Some areas, where the grime builds up, might need a little agitation with a detailing brush.

 

[Robin Hood]

I'm a hand wash only guy. None of our cars go thru the car wash. Better dirty then scratched IMO. I have a tankless water heater with soft water and a 1800 PSI commercial grade electric pressure washer to handle the hot water. I always wash in the shade or at night with floods.

.Pressure wash, snow foam, pressure wash, then dry. Typically 1 1/2 to 2 hours including washing out all door jambs.

 

[StrokinOut]

.Pressure wash, snow foam, pressure wash, then dry. Typically 1 1/2 to 2 hours including washing out all door jambs.

No contact wash?