Ok, some educate me on detailing my truck outside

[BWL]

You retired or what??? Most of us work and don't have time like that on our hands. LOL
I do similar to what you do (yes I'm retired) which last me most of the summer as I don't let it get dirty unless I go camping. Normally I only have to wash and dry. I have other cars to drive if the weather is nasty.

I recall during my Corvette days it did take a lot of time to detail my custom Corvette:
https://moskovita-photography.com/1977.htm

I do keep my Ram nice but it only takes me about an hour or so... I learned shortcuts after detailing my corvettes over the years.
https://moskovita-photography.com/2014_Ram_1500.html

Not retired, but I get my time off in chunks so I can usually free up a couple days once a year to get it looking like new and just to prevent rust I manage a few hours a month to do the undercarriage, clay bar the odd spot on the paint and give the interior a quick maintenance pass.

 

[rotwiler]

I've never waxed my 2013 outdoorsman, just hydro blue and some detail spray for plastic on outside like back to black. Lazy way, but I get compliments on trucks looks all the time. Truck is never garaged, I don't have a garage and sits in Washington state (rain rain rain)weather all year.
I do run a claybar once a year, that's about it.

 

[Hardracer]

What is this washing stuff you guys speak of?
I thought rain takes care of that

 

[FN 2187]

To wash, dry, and wax my truck it takes me about 3 hours. Of course, I don't wax it every washing (which I do weekly) but I do use a "wax as you dry" product every other washing. Without waxing it takes me between 45 minutes to an hour. I do have the advantage of being 6' 6" and the long reach definitely cuts time off the job. Vacuuming adds another 5 minutes and doing the interior glass, dash, and door panels adds another 30 minutes or so. Dressing the tires and wheel wells adds another 20 minutes. No wonder I feel like there's never enough time in the day...

 

[HDGoose]

To wash, dry, and wax my truck it takes me about 3 hours. Of course, I don't wax it every washing (which I do weekly) but I do use a "wax as you dry" product every other washing. Without waxing it takes me between 45 minutes to an hour. I do have the advantage of being 6' 6" and the long reach definitely cuts time off the job. Vacuuming adds another 5 minutes and doing the interior glass, dash, and door panels adds another 30 minutes or so. Dressing the tires and wheel wells adds another 20 minutes. No wonder I feel like there's never enough time in the day...

I am 6'7" and this is the first truck I have ever longed for a step in front of the dually wheel to get to the 5th wheel hitch. It is not lifted, and is a stock Tradesman.

But washing it? I still use a long handled soft brush. And I get in the bed ot the truck to wash the top of the cab.

 

[FN 2187]

I am 6'7" and this is the first truck I have ever longed for a step in front of the dually wheel to get to the 5th wheel hitch. It is not lifted, and is a stock Tradesman.

But washing it? I still use a long handled soft brush. And I get in the bed ot the truck to wash the top of the cab.

I guess having a dually comes with it's own special challenges.

 

[Pull Ya]

One simple answer to your question is you keep going till you run out of beer.
Jay

 

[14hemiexpress]

Yall make me feel like I'm doing something wrong. When I had time to detail before kids. I would spend 8 hours on exterior and windows(inside and out). I would wash good dry good then the fun would begin. Step 1 clay bar step 2 polish step 3 wax step 4 polish all chrome step 5 was tires step 6 windows step 7 was good coat of rain x on the windows. The Interior was for another day never got bad. Now I have kids and I'm lucky if I even get to wash my truck. It's really sad. Did I mention my trucks were black...

 

[BWL]

Yall make me feel like I'm doing something wrong. When I had time to detail before kids. I would spend 8 hours on exterior and windows(inside and out). I would wash good dry good then the fun would begin. Step 1 clay bar step 2 polish step 3 wax step 4 polish all chrome step 5 was tires step 6 windows step 7 was good coat of rain x on the windows. The Interior was for another day never got bad. Now I have kids and I'm lucky if I even get to wash my truck. It's really sad. Did I mention my trucks were black...

View attachment 225174

Is that how it looked before kids? If it's a current pic you're doing enough. Looks pretty darn good.

 

[14hemiexpress]

Is that how it looked before kids? If it's a current pic you're doing enough. Looks pretty darn good.

That's before kids. I have had my current truck for a little over a year and only washed it maybe 6 times and only used a cleaner wax on it once. I need to break out the polish at some point got into some trees and it left small scratches nothing that wont come out.

 

[HDGoose]

Is claying just like washing with a mitt, but doing a smaller area at a time?

 

[Gamedog]

Is claying just like washing with a mitt, but doing a smaller area at a time?

"Claying" is spraying some kind of lube (typically a quick detailer works) and applying a clay bar to the lubed area, which captures paint contaminants that normal washing does not remove.

 

[Plankton]

Is claying just like washing with a mitt, but doing a smaller area at a time?

I've never used one either, so I looked it up:

 

[FN 2187]

Yall make me feel like I'm doing something wrong. When I had time to detail before kids. I would spend 8 hours on exterior and windows(inside and out). I would wash good dry good then the fun would begin. Step 1 clay bar step 2 polish step 3 wax step 4 polish all chrome step 5 was tires step 6 windows step 7 was good coat of rain x on the windows. The Interior was for another day never got bad. Now I have kids and I'm lucky if I even get to wash my truck. It's really sad. Did I mention my trucks were black...

View attachment 225174

Black is a real challenge because keeping it up is a MUST. You slack off even a little and it's very noticeable. My last truck was black and it was a ton of work. I think black looks the best but I will never own another black truck. I actually saw my black truck being driven by the current owner a couple days ago and it looked so sharp. But I'm happy with my white one.

 

[14hemiexpress]

Black is a real challenge because keeping it up is a MUST. You slack off even a little and it's very noticeable. My last truck was black and it was a ton of work. I think black looks the best but I will never own another black truck. I actually saw my black truck being driven by the current owner a couple days ago and it looked so sharp. But I'm happy with my white one.

That's no lie. I have had 4 black vehicles and every time I say not again and the cycle repeats. Hard to beat black and chrome. Next favorite is white and blacked out.

 

[FN 2187]

That's no lie. I have had 4 black vehicles and every time I say not again and the cycle repeats. Hard to beat black and chrome. Next favorite is white and blacked out.

White and blacked-out is what I have now.

 

[Kevin Fowler]

If I'm feeling lazy, I'll take it to a touch-less car wash at a gas station. $8-13 (depending on level of cleaning) for a quick wash, does a good chunk of the work and saves a lot of time. Take it home and finish the job.

 

[Pull Ya]

IMHO---A touchless wash will still not remove all the dirt from your truck and if you try to dry it after you go through the car wash you will just scratch the paint rubbing on the dirt that was not removed. You should at least use a rinseless wash after the car wash which will remove any remaining dirt and then you can dry the truck without worrying about scratching the paint.
Jay

 

[HDGoose]

Well...now I'm not so concerned...

 

[Dragon62]

This is my first black truck and I see already it's gonna be a challenge. I've had the full color spectrum and landed on black this time. But I like washing and keeping my rig clean, it's part of my 'me time.'