Product recommendations for washing / waxing truck?

[Sundancer330]

Drive thru car wash 2-3 times a week does it for me. I dont have the time to hand wash nor do I care to. And spending all this money on coatings seems like a waste.

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[Roady]

Drive thru car wash 2-3 times a week does it for me. I dont have the time to hand wash nor do I care to. And spending all this money on coatings seems like a waste.

Paint care technology has made huge leaps since I was younger and I was skeptical at first until I tried it. You can achieve amazing results, making your vehicle look even better than when it was new. I view the coating as a way to keep it looking better longer and it makes for easy washings.
I spent a lot of my hard earned money for the truck and I keep mine for over 5 years so I want it looking good for a long as possible.

The great thing is we all have a choice. You can wash yours with a brillo pad and it's nobody's business but your own.

 

[JayceeP]

Optimum No Rinse on all exterior surfaces and Optimum Spray Wax. Clay bar before and after winter. Optigel tire bond to jazz up the rubber every now and then. Most times I can wipe clea man with just a wet towel.

This is all I’ve ever done to my 4Runner over 8 years and it looks like new. Also friendly on water usage and the product is biodegradable. I’m leasing this F150 but I’ll do the same routine. I have Space White so I need to hit it with some Iron X…. I’m surprised at the amount of rail dust on the hood and roof.

 

[flynavy]

Any other recommendations for leather? Still not completely sold on the ceramic leather stuff. I get it’s an investment but I’m curious of other opinions.

 

[JayceeP]

I used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner a couple of times in my 4Runner during the first couple years but since then I’ve only ever used damp/wet microfibre and wipe clean with a dry towel. Same for the windows. This is actually what’s in the owners manual and it looks like Ford’s is the same (mild water/soap solution). This is what I will do.

 

[jrhoops]

i've used a lot of products, as a DIY guy if you want to be done in under an hour and want it to be great, better than most, probably not "perfect" then I would recommend the turtle wax hyrbid solutions family. Use the ceramic spray per the directions once a year then maintenance washes with their car wash soap and wet wax

 

[JayceeP]

First wash today.

All exterior:
Optimum No Rinse
Optimum Ferrex Iron Remover (lots of paint contamination from when I picked the truck up)
Optimum Spray Wax

Wheels:
Optimum No Rinse
Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel

I’ll do a pre-winter and post-winter clay and wax. Otherwise it’s Optimum No Rinse 100% of the time on 100% of the exterior with the occasional Tire Gel touch up (the wheels usually shine up with just a wipe).

 

[xtraman122]

First wash today.

All exterior:
Optimum No Rinse
Optimum Ferrex Iron Remover (lots of paint contamination from when I picked the truck up)
Optimum Spray Wax

Wheels:
Optimum No Rinse
Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel

I’ll do a pre-winter and post-winter clay and wax. Otherwise it’s Optimum No Rinse 100% of the time on 100% of the exterior with the occasional Tire Gel touch up (the wheels usually shine up with just a wipe).

Wow that must be Space White? That’s the most gray/silver I’ve ever seen one. It was my top color pick, but my engine choice of PowerBoost superseded that and made me settle for something else.

I’ve been using a combination of ONR and some Chemical Guys products (Detail spray, interior cleaners). I know Chemical Guys is gimicky and overpriced, but I’ve had good luck with a lot of their products. Nothing beats the original Optimum No Rinse wash though, I keep that handy at all times.

 

[JayceeP]

Wow that must be Space White? That’s the most gray/silver I’ve ever seen one. It was my top color pick, but my engine choice of PowerBoost superseded that and made me settle for something else.

I’ve been using a combination of ONR and some Chemical Guys products (Detail spray, interior cleaners). I know Chemical Guys is gimicky and overpriced, but I’ve had good luck with a lot of their products. Nothing beats the original Optimum No Rinse wash though, I keep that handy at all times.

Yep- Space White. Basically at dusk. I like how the colour changes throughout the day and I do get compliments on it!

 

[xtraman122]

Yep- Space White. Basically at dusk. I like how the colour changes throughout the day and I do get compliments on it!

Looks great. I ended up with Lead Foot which also changes a lot in different light, but Space White was definitely my first choice, just not possible with my engine choice.

 

[houstongoose]

Figured I’d chime in.

Wash: Chemical Guys Honeydew Snowfoam
Wheel cleaner: Chemical guys Diablo wheels cleaner
Quick detailer: Griots Garage speed shine (love this stuff)
Tire shine: Chemical guys
Interior cleaner: griots garage 3-1 (love this stuff)
Leather cleaner: Griots Garage 3-1

Griots garage is probably the best store bought stuff you can get that readily available. I plan on replacing all the chemical guys stuff with griots products when they’re gone. Nothing wrong with Chemical guys, just think it’s it’s not that much better than something from Meguire’s/Mothers with a 10-20% mark up.

 

[johnatuckeriii]

I've always been a bit of a Meguiar's fanboi but have come around to a few other products... until the AvalonKing coating over the weekend my usual kit was the following:

Exterior:
3M scratch remover
3m polish compound
Meguiar's Ceramic Wax Paste
Meguiar's Ceramic Detailer
Meguiar's Ultimate Wash N Wax
Meguiar's Spray Clay D2002
Meguiar's Hyper Dressing D170

Interior:
Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (used on seats and door panels)
Sprayway Glass Cleaner (foamy and awesome)
Folex Carpet Cleaner spray (for bad things on the floor)

When I bought the AvalonKing kit on Black Friday I kinda bought everything:
IPA Prep Spray (which is literally iso in a bottle)
Prep Shampoo (which is literally diluted Dawn)
Four of the ceramic kits themselves (my truck and wife's car eventually)
Polishing cloths (that shed and are terrible, which is probably why they were free)
Detailer/Booster spray

She's as pretty now (maybe more so) as she was when I applied the ceramic paste wax from Meguiar's... let's see how long it holds up.

After Meguiars:

After AvalonKing:

 

[Mont1414]

For wax coating I highly recommend fusso coat by soft99. It out performs most ceramic coatings. Extremely hydrophobic and getting 11 month out of it in canadian weather. $30 tin will last you about 48 years.

 

[UGADawg96]

Today I used these three products:

Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner
Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax
Invisible Glass Glass Cleaner

 

[Deepfork]

Is there anything wrong about using an old fashion car wash with the pressure washer that you just drive into and wash yourself? It seems easier than the 2 bucket method or buying my own pressure washer.

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