detailing?

is it a good idea to detail my car even though i park it outside? i feel like its gonna get dirty so fast anyways..

and if it is a good idea is a local car wash a good place to get it detailed if they offer it or take it to some professional detailing shop?

thanks!

 

I don't have a garage. Sometimes I park it under a tent.

and I wash my truck every 2 weeks with a good detail every month or so.

it's all a matter of opinion whether or not you want to detail; if you're comfortable doing it yourself it's cheaper that way; if not, the local detailer is usually better than a car wash but much pricier

 

I wash after a good rain, etc. or every 2 weeks, I fully detail it once a month inside and out, to be honest if you learn how to do it yourself I find you will do a better job than anyone else would and at a fraction of the cost. Invest in microfiber towels, wash mit, some good meguiars car suds, tire shine, clay bar, windex, makeup brushes for the inside vents and nooks, armor all, cleaning wipes, tuff stuff or you can invest in a bissell little green or rent a steamvac, etc. Once you get your routine down the monthly detail should only take a few hours or so. I also like to use a leaf blower after I wash it on low to get the water off before I towel dry, do the same for my bikes. Truck unfortunately dosent fit in the garage with the bikes in there, but Im in AZ so not much as far as salt and what not.

 

thanks! appreciate the advice

 

Just wash it bro and follow USA's post.

 

+1 to usafwx

I spent almost 6 hours cleaning mine up... It's "Radiant Red" which is known to fade with ease so due to paranoia I actually wash mine once a week... Polish with a orbital polisher and wax it once a month.

I work at Autozone so the stuffs I use cost a little less to me...

I use...

Meguiars ultimate wash and wax with a very very soft microfiber wash mit... It gives it a pretty good shine alone.

Today I used for the first time Meguiars "Smooth surface" clay bar kit... It did make it smooth but visually I didn't see a difference and was easier to use then I was expecting.

Meguiars Ultimate Polishing compound with a microfiber (blue) bonnet on a 10" orbital polisher... That made a difference in how deep the paint looks and eliminated about 80% of the swirl marks and made the truck squeeky clean.

Meguiars gold class wax (with the provided applicator)... Went on like butter and made the surface super smooth and slippery.

Meguiars endurance tire gel (with foam applicator [sold separately])... Smells like grape soda.

For the wheels and undercarriage, Super clean (purple spray bottle)... I got my truck with a tick over 45K miles and it was always a dry climate truck (born in California, lived in Vegas with the original owner then he/she moved to Arizona, now back in california) and once i sprayed this crap all under it my driveway turned black as i rinsed it off.

The bed and other exterior black plastics, I use Mothers back to black...

Lights I use Meguiars Plast X to keep it from hazing in time.

Interior Meguiars interior detailer...

And finally Stoner's Invisible glass... Works great and it is safe for the tinted windows (Do not use windex or other products with amonia as it will fade the tint to purple over time).

Always have a surplus of microfiber towels and when you're drying your truck don't use regular bath towels either... Get a shammy cloth or the bigger microfiber towels (blue/dry).

Also as usafx said... those little brushes come in handy with dust in places you cant reach like the vents.