Detailed vs Cleaned vs What is Soap?

Posting here due to higher traffic vs the Detailing forum and also since it's not a detailing 'how-to' type of post.
I know some guys really get into the nitty gritty (no pun intended) when it comes to detailing, and some guys are at the opposite end of the spectrum and let nature wash their truck when it rains. I'm somewhere in the middle; I like my truck to look nice and clean, but I don't have hours to spend keeping my truck spotless (nor do I want to; I have other things I like/want/need to do). Plus, I park outside 24/7/365. I do, however, keep the interior as close to spotless as I can.

I appreciate the effort it takes to fully detail a vehicle, but if I spent that amount of time and effort, I'd be so disappointed to drive my sparkling clean truck only to have it get dirty again on the first drive. A lot can happen that's out of your control while driving.

So, as a result, I do keep the interior as close to spotless as I can, but for the exterior, I wash it every couple/few weeks and give it the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions treatment, along with some tire dressing and call it a day. I've given up fretting over trying to keep my truck in "just detailed" shape; it's just not going to happen with my schedule and other priorities & hobbies.

So where do you fall on the truck care spectrum? I'm betting most guys are like me.

 

Wash it every 3 weeks or once a month.
Wax it 2x a year.

Parked outside 24/7/365.

Don't spend a lot of time polishing or waxing.
1 coat and done.

Interior wiped and vacuumed as needed.
I work outside a lot. I use seat covers.
The armrest on the doors, center console, and steering wheel take the brunt of the heavy stuff.
So they get clean about every 2 weeks in the summer mowing season. Maybe more.

Wax? Nothing too special.
Usually one of the 2 below. Mostly because I can get it on my black trim and it does leave a white residue.

 

I may have to try those. I hate it when I get wax on the black trim; it's a PITA to remove. Thanks for the info!

 

I just blast off the mud (or salt slush after snowboarding trips). Sometimes I vacuum the inside when the dog hair gets out of control. That’s it.

Actually went through a touch less car wash a few weeks ago to get all the pollen off. Probably first wash in a year or maybe more. But it’s a 2007 and my black paint is already fubar’d. Truck is mostly garaged tho.

 

Parked outside 24/7 in the PNW. I give it a deep exterior wash and TW Graphene wax every spring. After that I soap gun and pressure wash every 2-3 weeks. I carry a lot of "stuff" in the extcab so I want it clean and organized.

I've been using the TW Graphene for 4 years now, sure makes washing easy peasy.

 

<-- washes and towel dries when dusty. Wax before start of summer and before winter hits, both to protect paint. Get out the pressure washer once a year and wash/inspect entire undercarriage.

Interior is always "Imma juss' vaccum it" then the OCD kicks in and I'm at it with Q-tips and micro brushes LOL . . . once every few months when it's getting dusty.

An often overlooked maintenance (that I swear, I promise, I'm going to do this year) is to fully extract the seat belts, clamp them at full extension, and do the seat belt clean. Do it on a warm day that you can leave them out to fully dry. This keeps them from getting sticky and not fully retracting.

 

Parked outside 24/7, automatic car washes once every week or every other week in the winter to rid the salt from underneath (depending on how much we've gotten to that point). This spring is the first spring I've had it, I imagine I'll just two bucket wash it twice a month maybe, vacuum interior, and that's that. My days of spending 4+ hours on a Saturday detailing it are LONG gone considering I daily drive everything I own and it gets dirty immediately.

Perk of owning silver... hides a lot of stuff very well.

 

I did that once a couple summers ago. My truck was the cleanest it ever was. It was literally showroom fresh and beyond. I was so proud of it! I sat back and admired all of my hard work. I couldn't wait to drive it and "show it off" as we went out to dinner. I drove past the fire station on the way to the restaurant, and the street department was doing some work on one of the water lines. The street had a steady flow of dirty/muddy water running over it. Needless to say, all my hard work vanished in an instant! I was pissed, but then had an epiphany; keep it reasonably clean on the outside but spend the time where I actually sit; keeping the interior fresh.

 

I'm more in the "what is soap" category. I rarely wash the truck. The last couple times I did was because I was taking it in for work and didn't want my mechanic to deal with all the fresh mud and dirt. My truck was waxed once. By my mother, the year after I bought it new lol. So yeah, like 12 years since it was waxed.