Removing grease off my truck?

I wouldnt spend any more money in detailing. Its going to get some exterior wear through whatever life throws at u

 

This brought back a memory. This stuff works good for degreasing, and is basically safe. Back in the day, I worked at a hardware store and was reading MSDS sheets on the john because there was a huge folder of them in there. The one for Simple Green used to read "may cause agitation if consumed in large quantities". I'm wondering who is going around in a bad mood from chugging it, lol. They have since updated the MSDS to read that ingestion 'may cause upset stomach'.

 

never take a car through an automatic carwash that isn't touch free! especially a new black one! if you dont have experience with a power buffer then i would take it to a detail shop especially bc your truck is black and black paint is the easiest to swirl and hard to make look perfect. an exterior only detail shouldnt cost more than 100-150$. all of those scratches should come out if you cant feel them with your thumbnail. if the scratches wont drive you nuts then just give her a good handwash/wax and save the money

 

Kitty liter and pressure washer. Or may be dish soap....not in any specific order.

 

Good luck finding a pro to do an exterior detail of a Tacoma for $150. Hell... I'm no pro but I do a damn nice job and have been using a r/o buffer for going on 10 years now and I wouldn't touch it for less than $400. That's a helluva a lot of work.

 

once you scratch black you never go back


(unless you pay for it)

 

After the first two sentences I thought for sure the op was seeking advice on disposing of a body...

 

Mechanical car wash and dead body disposal are equal to the eyes of this forum.

Why do you think so many people keep shovels mounted in the beds? That's the first thing you forget "in the moment."

So I hear.

 

Also not sure why I didn't think about this earlier

Wd-40. I had a 5 gallon cube of wvo explode in the back of ram. It's clear coat safe and will take off the grease. Just use it and a microfiber cloth

 

Black is not a color......

It's a frigging career.....

 

The "scratches" are not bad, but it'll drive me nuts. I'll probably just pay to have it detailed/fixed and then wash it myself from here on out.

 

I worked as an automotive reconditioning technician at a toyota dealership for 3 yrs and im pretty damn good with a buffer. 400$ for an exterior detail on a tacoma is insane!!!! we did complete details for ~300$. i could make toyota black shine like a diamond with a three step process. I do live in Montana so im sure prices vary per region but 400$?!?!?!? nope

 

Three passes sounds about right. Working in small sections at a time, say 3 feet by 3 feet, how long would it take you to go around a Tacoma just once ? I'm guessing an hour and a half. Do that times three. Now, that's not even counting for the prep time... washing and claying. You do that job for less than $300 and you're working cheaply. But hey... good for your customers. hahaha

 

yea i usually do one panel at a time. quick prep, hit it with medium duty compound, then swirl remover with foam pad if needed and finish with handwax. it wasnt a job to get rich with but i did learn a lot about taking care of vehicles which im thankful for and allowed me to purchase toyotas at cost. plus i was only 20 yr old at the time. but i could only take it for 3 yrs. glad im out of that business now but definitely have the skills to keep my truck looking good!

 

I wish my 54 year old back was healthy enough for me to do detailing for a living, I'd love to do it.. so rewarding to see the finished product and the car owner's face when they see your work. But man, it's back breaking work so keeping up with my two vehicles is a labor of love but I couldn't do any more than that.

 

If those scratches will drive you nuts, look through the threads on here for washing to minimize further scratches. The wrong mitt, dirty water, and the wrong technique will put scratches right back into the paint. For starters, lookup using the two bucket method for washing and buy a grit guard for your buckets.

 

Yea I have already ordered a ton of stuff on Amazon. Just waiting for it to get here. I honestly didn't think one time thru the car wash would put swirls/scratches on the car. Never again. I talked to a detail guy over the phone and he told me worse case scenario would be $150, but I have to bring it to him on Saturday so he can see how bad it is. I think a wax might be all it needs, maybe polishing.

 

Wax doesn't remove imperfections, it just covers them up. You'll need to polish them out. You could hand polish but good luck with that. My suggestion: If you're going to be serious about maintaining the paint, break down and get your r/o buffer and pads and polishes now, spend some time looking at videos on how to use them and do it yourself. You'll then be set up to maintain your paint for years to come. If you're not that serious about keeping your paint looking great, then let the pro get it this time (for $150, appears he's just going to prep and polish, no claying or any other type of detailing). When he's done, put a good coat of wax on it, stay away from the automatic car washes, and do the proper two-bucket washes on your truck.

 

Thanks