Washing Your Expo Vehicle - Recommendations?

[Brian McVickers]

How do you wash your vehicles?
What products, equipment and techniques do you use?
Waxing and buffing?
Getting rid of pinstriping?
Trim pieces?
Tires?
Engine Bay?

Thanks
Brian

:snorkel:

 

[Pskhaat]

One thing I do is put one of those oscillating sprinklers under the truck and get all the muck, salts, mud &c off.

Otherwise, I'll admit I wait for a few "detail car wash" coupons online and for like $4-$5 will have someone do it for me :O

 

[tdesanto]

For getting inside wheel wells and under the body, I prefer something with a bit more precision; I use a Staun Massojet 600.

 

[soenke]

I go and find a river about 80-90cm deep with a little current,
if the car is very muddy I use a glacier river with some sediment...:sombrero:

 

[Guinness44]

Small Kaercher pressure washer. A big RV type brush, with either Meguiars or Turtle soap. Only use quickwax, once or twice an year (and also use Meguiars rubber/vinyl conditioner on the plastic/rubber parts.) Interior shopvac, sometimes some Murphy oilsoap, other times the conditioner. The leather parts, saddlesoap once in a while, then saddleconditioner (sparingly). Windshield, frontwindows, and mirrors, RainX.
Never wash the truck after a run (hot), always the next day.

 

[bucketosudz]

Soenke, Doesn't your Toyota get wrinkled from all of the water exposure though???....:wings:













I leave my kids in the bath too long they get wrinkles!!!!

 

[\\'anderer]

For a vehicle with good paint:

I use a car specific soap (dish washing soap is too harsh on the paint)
using a sponge or car wash mitt,
I use a pressure washer on the exterior and undercarriage if its really bad
I do not wash the engine compartment, unless absolutely necessary.
dry with a chamois or similar
Black magic car wax
If I keep it cleaned and waxed, polishing is not necessary.
If polishing an old Car I have used Maguires #2,#7 and then wax.
no armor all on the exterior
Simple green to clean the tires and interior.

For a vehicle with bad paint like my jeep:

Any soap that is handy
pressure washer
screwdriver (#3 Phillips) to dislodge mud
Not a good wash mitt because the paint will ruin the mitt
Wax sometimes, with whatever I have (just to keep the scratches from rusting).
air blast the interior (carefully)
I do not wash it at home, the neighbors would not be happy about the big mud slide going down the gutter in front of their houses.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

I, much like the subaru commercial, let mother nature take care of it! :sombrero:

 

[Something]

How do you wash your vehicles?
What products, equipment and techniques do you use?
Waxing and buffing?
Getting rid of pinstriping?
Trim pieces?
Tires?
Engine Bay?

I try to do regular washes a couple times a month at home with good ole soap from Auto Zone and a clean mit. I generally wax three times a year. Once at the beginning of spring, once in the middle of summer, and once late fall.
I never even touch the engine bay...it's not a show truck. If there are big enough pieces of dried mud that I can pick them up with my hands then I do just that and chuck them into the woods. Trim pieces that are black plastic (on my old rig) I would armor all to freshen them up but that's a temp fix if I have a hot date.
Tires I scrub with a dedicated tire/wheel brush and again, if I have a hot date or just feel like being bling bling rolling through the hood I tire wet (foam not spray).

If underneath and wheelwells is exceptionally mucked up I am 'that guy' and I go to the quarter wash down the street and pressure wash and leave a bay full of mud.

pinstriping...n/a

 

[98dango]

umm wash it where suposed to do that. I used the the garden hose every day i drive the jeep to rinse the windows. If i half to work on the jeep ill pay my sister in law 10 bux to do a verry bad job. But i dont get dirty or yelled at for making the mess.

 

[Something]

umm wash it where suposed to do that. I used the the garden hose every day i drive the jeep to rinse the windows. If i half to work on the jeep ill pay my sister in law 10 bux to do a verry bad job. But i dont get dirty or yelled at for making the mess.

:Wow1:

 

[98dango]

:Wow1:

what if you end up in the mud every day you give up on a clean truck my drive way is 1/2 mile of dirt to get to my 300 yards of mud to get to my apartment. I have had to winch out of my drive way

 

[Tanto]

I am 'that guy' and I go to the quarter wash down the street and pressure wash and leave a bay full of mud.

I have the same confession...people scowl, deep down I know they are just envious.

Did that once in my driveway, the wife was unhappy.

 

[BKCowGod]

you can always tell when I have been off road because all my neighbors' cars get dirty too. Nothing like washing a truck while parallel parked

Oh, and the Jeep gets Meguiars purple crap. The BMW gets the same soap, followed by Zymöl wax every 6 months.

 

[Brian McVickers]

I recently tried some new Green soap that is Enviro friendly but it would not get the tar and dark scuff marks off.

For tar, road grime, scuff marks from grease, rubber or plastic - what is the answer?

Has anyone tried those clay bars? How do they work?

Thanks
Brian