*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

Fair enough. Thanks for the input!

 

Look at her...look at this filthy animal...



I tried a touchless car wash a week ago and that thing blew chunks. The rain would have cleaned up better plus the dryer was making my hood dance too much so I just got out of there. Going to try to self-clean.

Just the basics! I'm not going to wax and coat and do any of the fancy stuff but just trying to make this presentable. What are the basics I need to go and get this done without a pressure washer?

I'm guessing:
-Microfiber cloth/mitt
-Bucket
-Soap (what kind or brand I have no idea)
-Wheel/tire cleaner (what brand I have no idea)
-water

Am I missing something here?

 

Protecting the paint is a basic. Might want to rethink the no wax idea.

 

Hey guys

I have a bedbug and when filling my dad's kerosene heater, the idiot filled it too full and the nozzle leaked.

So, I've been fighting getting it cleaned for a few months when weather allows.

I've used my carpet cleaner.
Sprinkled baking soda back there
Did the coffee containers
Today, I took it up to the car wash. Took the rug out. Hit both sides with soap and rinse. Did the bed as well.
It has yet to fully dry, but when I got home i smelled a hint of the kerosene when pulling it out to let everything dry.

What's everyone's thoughts for my next steps? Driving me absolutely bonkers.

 

This one might be a little bit out there, but I'd be tempted to try Dawn Dish Soap. Why? Well, Kerosene is a petroleum product and Dawn works great at getting petroleum products out of just about anything. (They use it to clean birds and other sea creatures trapped in oil spills.) Of course to use it you'd have to soak the whole area with a pretty rich mixture of Dawn & hot water, then let it set a bit (or lightly agitate it) before rinsing it really well with more hot water. Just my 2 cents.

 

X2 on the dawn.

 

Could I use a polish on a foam applicator pad to clean up the microscratching on the plastic surround on my head unit?
Anyone ever try this?



Also I doubt I can really fix it but can you correct scratching on the clear plastic over the gauge cluster?

 

Thanks guys. Great idea. Next decent day, I'll take it up to the car wash and do just that.

 

Should be able too. No don’t think it will hurt anything. If it does just Line-x it.

 

Don’t joke. Line-Xed dash would be BA!

 

I would say you could, but as always, start with the least aggressive product first. Oh, and make sure to mask off the black padded dash first. You'll hate yourself - for many years - if you get any polish on that.

 

Those "Bedbugs" are hard to get rid of from what I hear and have read online. Good luck.

 

Hello:
I just picked up my new '18 TRD Sport a few weeks ago, but the weather here in central Ohio has been too cold to get started detailing the new truck. I have all of my supplies and expect to do the usual wash, clay, polish and wax. Over the past week and a half I've read this entire post and my brain hurts. The question I have (but didn't see addressed) is when polishing with a DA and pads, how do deal with the decals and also the 4 sections (2 on each side around the rear wheel wells) of paint protective film? I'm guessing that you wouldn't want to polish over them, especially the decals.


Thanks for your help.

Dean

 

Remove them with a heat gun to include the badges looks much better

You are correct you want to avoid the decals and badges. Tape them if you have to.

You can polish over the clearbra materials but its a great idea to remove those too because they just look bad over time. They yellow and harbor dirt

 

Thanks.

Not sure I'm brave enought to take a heat gun to my new Taco. I'll have to do some reasearch. But I agree, it certanly look better without them.

Dumb question: What's a badge?

 

Think of the chrome "TACOMA" lettering on your doors as well as all of the chrome lettering on your tailgate. (Even though none of it is actually chrome.)

 

Thanks Tom.

 

You're welcome.

BTW, I'd like to respectfully disagree with the statement that you need to mask off decals while detailing. In over 25 years of detailing, I've rarely had to mask off decals. Unless one gets truly stupid with a machine (generally a rotary buffer) at high speed with lots of pressure and an overly aggressive polish, your chances of damaging decals is next to nothing. That said, you should take it easy on them. The only real issues I've seen with decals have been on boats with very old and sun damaged decals that were curling up at the edges. And yes, that's something to stay completely away from.

 

While we're all disagreeing here, why would someone want to buff out a brand new truck with the potential to harm new paint. Put a sealer on it and call it good..

 

From all of the reading I've done here and on Autogeek, it seems like the recommended way to treat a new car is wash, clay, polish and wax (or seal). Could be wrong, been a long time since I've had a new truck.