Walk Me Through Your Detailing Routine

Process, products used... Thanks! Since I've been living a lie thinking Armor All is good it has led me to rethink my entire car washing and detailing process!

 

There is a Detailing section of this Forum, you may have a better chance at finding what you are looking for there.

 

Truck gets dirty from trail. Free blackout look for wheels! Clean windows and lights. Profit money and time!

 

If it’s real bad, I’m a fan of using a pressure washer to blast loose stuff off, then using a foam cannon. Rinse, foam again, go in with 6-7 small microfibers to reduce carrying dirt across the clearcoat, then hit the wheels and rinse. Finish with leaf blower before I go in with Megs spray-on-while-wet wax.

Maintenance washes I just use a garden hose but still use multiple microfibers so I’m not worrying about if a gritguard is actually guarding my clearcoat from swirls.

Apply wax with a DA polisher every month or so. I’ll clay if the paint is feeling real rough. In a couple years I’ll take it to a professional detailer once I’ve accumulated a good amount of trail pinstripping.

 

Drive for a month, if weather will be clear for a week or so, run truck through the car wash (not touchless), use free vacuums to clean the inside. Use rags to wipe water off of truck where blow dryers missed. Use same rag to wipe dash as it’s now wet. Now the truck is clean!

 

I drive down to the local detailer, pay $40 for a vacuum, handwash, and wax, then walk to the cafe across the street for lunch and a beer. And yes, i ask that they clean the dash but dont put a shine on it. ArmorAll is the devil.

 

My monthly process as well... then pay the grandkids every 6 months to really detail my vehicles.

 

1. Vacuum car with Ridgid 4 gal 5 HP wet/dry vac
2. Fill up Chemical Guys wash bucket and grit guard with water and Chemical Guys Extreme Body Wash and Synthetic Wax
3. Throw in 4 Meguiars microfiber towels to the wash bucket
4. Throw in ladder, wheel/tire scrubbing brush, CarGuys wheel/tire cleaner to my truck bed
5. Drive to local coin operated wash
6. Rinse Car thoroughly with the wand
7. Spray wheels and tires down with CarGuys tire and wheel cleaner and scrub with my wheel/tire brush/microfiber towel
8. Rinse off wheels
9. Grab microfiber towels from bucket to clean truck and flip the towel on a new side per panel. Never put used towels back in to bucket
10. High pressure rinse to get off all the soap and then finish off with low pressure rinse
11. Drive home (air dries most of the truck)
12. Grab clean Meguiars microfiber towels and spray the towel liberally with Ammo Hydrate and dry the car as well as door jams
13. Clean windows with Invisible Glass and Megiuars Microfiber towel
14. Add 303 aerospace protectant to all of the window seals and door seals.
15. Admire your truck

 

Mines been dirty since I bought it. The rain washes it once in awhile

 

god no. please stop doing that. you are just swirling that paint horribly. this is pretty much the worst way to 'clean' a vehicle.

 

This guys right you know

 

close but most coin operated wash bays around here don't let you handwash.

get a cheap electric power sprayer. you can find them for $80 on Amazon.

1: if it's been month or so, go to touchless car wash and run it through. That'll get all the heavy stuff off.
2: go home and open all doors and hood/trunk/bed
3: with a vacuum clean the interior.
4: using a glass cleaner of your choice and waffle micro fiber (not standard, waffle is better on glass) clean your windows inside including windshield. also wipe down plastics and dash (basically dust the interior)
5: close doors and whip out a foam cannon attachment for your power sprayer
6: using an automotive soap of your choice wet the car first, then foam cannon the entire vehicle.
6.5: during this time, feel free to wipe down with a tire brush the tires and a wheel brush, the wheels
7: after the foam slides off mostly, power rinse the entire vehicle.
8: get our your leaf blower and go to town blowing off the truck.
9: using a waterless wash agent and lots of soft pile microfibers, begin wiping down the vehicle from the top down.
10: be sure to spray the agent, then wipe, then with a separate towel, buff.
11: be sure to do this for all glass as well
12: you can stop now or....
13: whip out the clay bar and clay the entire paint surface, also claying the glass with a different piece of clay.
14: wax or seal the paint.

 

It gets washed off whenever it rains.

Seriously, it's a truck...not a show car.

 

Here is a link below that shows basically how I wash my truck. I never run my vehicles through a carwash and if I have to, it will be touchless but very rare that I will use one. I like the Chemical Guys and it's the only detailing products I use. I do hit my vehicles with some Hydrosilex after a full detail every 3 months or so. Hydrosilex is better, in my personal opinion than waxing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJPJ26h3LL0&t=527s

 

Just the way I routinely wash my truck with the options available to me. (No touchless carwashes available, never had issues handwashing at coin op bays)

 

Then you don't know most of Tacoma owners lol.
I use a hose, a bucket and some soap. I use a towel to dry it off and use that towel to wipe the dash. Gets it every month or so.

 

The way I see it, there is 'washing' your truck and 'detailing' your truck. Not mutually exclusive, IMO.

My 'wash' is similar to what some have explained as their 'detail'.

Washing occurs once every one to two months, depending on weather and my available time. Washing takes ~45 minutes and is always done by hand. No machine washing, ever.

Detailing occurs twice per year. Detailing takes 8-10 hours.

Washing requires (2) buckets, car soap (a foam cannon is a great addition if you can afford it), a microfiber sponge for the body, and a wheel sponge with cleaner. That's it.

Detailing is where the big guns come out. Talking random orbital, cutting, polishing, sealing, and waxing compounds, all with their own specific applicator pads. Paint depth scanner is used all over the truck. Claybar is a must. Two 'washes' are required. Head phones and a great playlist help get me through the ordeal.

*I only wax two times per year. I apply it per the manufacturers recommendations. I do not wash my truck with dish soap (which breaks down and removes wax). I would never re-wax my truck without claybarring it immediately beforehand. And if I claybar that means I do the whole process, as claybarring makes the paint 'naked'. I don't condone repeated waxings without first stripping the upper layers off of the paint.

My truck sits dirty after being offroad or sitting outside during storms. I feel comfortable doing this as I know that the paint is clean and protected underneath the grime. I don't stress over dirt, but I also don't let the truck sit incredibly dirty all year long. I did that with my old XJ's. Not this one.

I go through this process to protect the paint. I want to attempt to keep it shining for as long as I can.

YouTube Chemical Guys and start your research. They cover everything far better than we can on this forum through text.

 

1. Remove weathertech floor liners and dog hammock
a. Vac the carpet/seats with the shop vac and shake out the dog hammock
b. Scrub weathertech liners with Adams all purpose cleaner and the pressure washer (put them against the wall to dry)
2. Load up the adams foam cannon with their blue soap and hot water.
a. Fill the adams bucket with warm water put the grit guard in the bucket
3. Rinse the truck really well with the pressure washer
a. Drag the step ladder over to the driver side of the truck
4. Wet the wheels, tires, and fender liners then spray tires and fender liners with Adam's all purpose cleaner, scrub tires, and fender liners with stiff bristle brush, mix a small amount of car wash soap and water in a separate bucket, clean wheels with a wheel woolie to get in between the spokes and use a wheel only microfiber mitt for the face of the wheels.
5. Rinse the wheels, tires and fender liners
6. Hook up the cannon and soak the truck with a heavy layer of foam
7. Start with the roof and windshield then the driver side doors working my way around the front to the passenger side, tailgate and driver side bedside (using a microfiber wash mitt going in straight lines rinsing the wash mitt in the bucket after every panel)
8. Rinse the truck with the pressure washer
9. Mist each body panel one at a time with Adams H2O Guard and Gloss and dry each panel one at a time using two plush micro fiber towels
10. Open the doors and use a general purpose microfiber towel to dry the door jambs
11. Clean interior glass with Safeway glass cleaner
12. Wet a general purpose microfiber towel with Adams Interior cleaner, wipe the dash, center console, and door panels.
13. Mist Chemical guys "leather scent" under the front seats
14. Reinstall dry weathertech liners
15. Park the truck in the sun, open a lawn chair in the garage, open whatever beer happens to be in the garage fridge and enjoy the shine.

 

@jerryb1984 said;
Drive for a month, if weather will be clear for a week or so, run truck through the car wash (not touchless), use free vacuums to clean the inside. Use rags to wipe water off of truck where blow dryers missed. Use same rag to wipe dash as it’s now wet. Now the truck is clean!

Pretty much the way I've been doing it since I've owned trucks. (Not necessarily monthly) I've never noticed any "paint swirling" or negative affects of any kind that stood out over the scratches from trees, bushes, fences, wildlife, pedestrians etc.... YMMV!
**There may or may not be factual statements in the above post**

 

1. run through a regular wash, not touchless (probably b/c I'm afraid of it busting my 3rd brake light seal) but I'm lucky to have a really great wash close to my house and it hasn't caused me any issues in 2 years of steady use
2. dry with clean microfibre
3. apply McGuires quick detailer to dry surface and wipe dry with clean microfibre
4. wipe wheels out (my wash does pretty good job of scrubbing the wheels so rarely is there much remaining residue)
5. apply Aerospace 303 to any exterior black trim or powder coated accessories and wipe dry
6. apply Chemical guys interior detailer to interior plastics and wipe dry
7. Armor All WINDOW CLEANER (literally the only thing worth a damn I think Armor All makes) - and wipe with the Shop Towel makers "Window towels" that are lint free for all mirrors and interior/exterior windows.
8. vacuum as needed
9. every few months I hit my neoprene seat covers with wetsuit cleaner which keeps them looking new and fresh

in between washes, if I just have a bit of normal road grime (the kind you can't really see) I'll go around with a few microfibre towels and hit it with some Quick Detailer, and if I really want it to shine I'll go in after that and apply either MacGuires fast finish or quick wax. And about 2x a year I'll do a full clay, mothers polish, wax process and the above keeps it sealed up pretty well.