Silly Question(s)...

[jolly7982]

Hello, hope you're enjoying the weekend.

So I used Meguiar's Ultipate Paste Wax "Hydrophobic Polymer Tech" on Monday of this week. It's a truck and it's gotten dirty. I'm curious do I just wash it like normal (chemical guys Mr. Pink) and dry it off? Do I just rinse it and dry it off? I'm new to this whole thing so, sorry for the ******* question(s).

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

Hello, hope you're enjoying the weekend.

So I used Meguiar's Ultipate Paste Wax "Hydrophobic Polymer Tech" on Monday of this week. It's a truck and it's gotten dirty. I'm curious do I just wash it like normal (chemical guys Mr. Pink) and dry it off? Do I just rinse it and dry it off? I'm new to this whole thing so, sorry for the ******* question(s).

You are going to get a different answer from everyone here but I will go to a simple hand spray car wash and rinse it off with plain water or bring it home and spray any bugs, dust and such with my pressure washer and depending on how bad it looks I'll hand wash it or just wipe it down with a instant detailer of your choice. I never wipe my down with dust or dirt on it, it'll scratch the paint! Anybody else give you a better way I'm watching cause I have no problem changing to something better or easier!

 

[jolly7982]

You are going to get a different answer from everyone here but I will go to a simple hand spray car wash and rinse it off with plain water or bring it home and spray any bugs, dust and such with my pressure washer and depending on how bad it looks I'll hand wash it or just wipe it down with a instant detailer of your choice. I never wipe my down with dust or dirt on it, it'll scratch the paint! Anybody else give you a better way I'm watching cause I have no problem changing to something better or easier!

I'm so new at this, anything suggestions/thoughts help. I think I'm at that point of "retirement" life where I need to find something besides "honey do" list to keep me busy. After buying a vehicle that was more for me than the family needs (though I find myself hauling more **** now), I wanna take care of it.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

I'm with you there! I work 65 to 70 hrs a week, have since '78. I still have to clean my toy before we go anywhere in it. Drives my wife crazy but she tries to understand after 42 years. She just quit saying anything! She's smart tho because she knows if my vehicle is clean she can pick the destination if she wants, I just love to ride! LOL

 

[Treburkulosis]

I love both Chemical guys and Adams products. Both have excellent products and it all just depends on what you want your truck to look like. If you want to pm me I can help you not have to spend a ton of money trying to get what you need.

 

[jolly7982]

I love both Chemical guys and Adams products. Both have excellent products and it all just depends on what you want your truck to look like. If you want to pm me I can help you not have to spend a ton of money trying to get what you need.

I'm just more curious that after I wax my vehicle, should I just use the hose, soap (chemicals) and dry it off and call it good.

 

[Rlaf75]

I'm just more curious that after I wax my vehicle, should I just use the hose, soap (chemicals) and dry it off and call it good.

Every vehicle I owned that I actually waxed I simply used a hand sprayer at a carwash place or if i was ambitious enough i would use a quick detail wash and wax soap combo with a dedicated quality sponge and a garden hose to keep it clean between waxes. I did that when time allowed and they all looked good. I plan on doing the same with my new 21 Ram. I even do this with my harley davidson

 

[Treburkulosis]

I'm just more curious that after I wax my vehicle, should I just use the hose, soap (chemicals) and dry it off and call it good.

Mr pink is a good soap, I personally use the extreme body wash and wax. I would suggest if you don't want to do a foam cannon of some sort. I started the Chemical Guys water hose cannon and it worked good. I would use a two bucket method and a good mit. Below is what I would use if you wanted to wash dry and call it good.

Soap:

Amazon.com

or

Amazon.com

Optional cannon:

Amazon.com

2 of these:

The Home Depot 5 Gallon Orange Homer Bucket 05GLHD2 - The Home Depot

Use the 5 Gal. Orange Homer Bucket to haul parts, paint, topsoil and other household and work-site items. This orange, plastic bucket holds up to a 9 in. bucket grid. The Home Depot logo is featured on

www.homedepot.com

Strainer:

Amazon.com

Wash mit:

Amazon.com

If you have a leaf blower use that on the truck first and then use these to to finish.

2 of these:

Amazon.com

For basic in between waxes once every two weeks, I would use this:

Amazon.com

 

[HandyCruiser]

I don't want to sound facetious, but I go a whole other way on this issue of keeping our rolling stock clean. I have a monthly subscription to the drive-thru car wash about half a mile from my home. This allows my wife and I unlimited use. So we drive through it several times a week. After a few times through, the cars build up a nice coat of wax on them and look polished all the time. We don't have to worry about scratches and worn car wash equipment due to all the demanding and particular upper middle class folks in our area that know how to effectively complain should their $80K cars get scratched. There are real advantages to country folks like me and my sweetie living among a bunch of suburban Karens.

So my old Charger R/T Daytona with 15-year-old yellow paint still looks great. And the paint on our new Ram looks better than it did after detailing before we left the dealer lot. You can even see the paint gleaming in my photos. I know it's likely not as good as self-detailing with clay bars, advanced waxes and the like. But it's close and only take 2 minutes. The cost is $29.85 per month per car. It's money well spent and we've been doing this for years.



Three times through the car wash:

 

[Bigs]

A little late to the party, better late than never I guess!

Wow, all great suggestions here!
IMO, it all depends on the energy and patience you have to do this stuff. I do all this outside including detaining, I don't have the luxury of a garage.

For me, I can't stand water spots or streaks after washing and drying, so I always use a quick detailer after every wash (in the summer).

**I would not do this if my truck was not previously fully detailed. Basically, this is my maintenance routine.

1. I wash using my favorite car wash soap.
2. Dry it off with a drying mf towel and a leaf blower for grill, mirrors and hard to reach places.
3. Do all my dressings if required. (trim, tires, running boards etc)
4. Use some quick detailer and do the whole truck. I have A LOT of good quality clean mf towels for the job. I have used Poorboy's, Mothers, Meguiars, TW Hybrid Solutions and I forget some and they all do a great job. I'm starting to like TW, you can apply on everything and it doesn't stain!

This routine for me is about 1 - 1.5 hours long every time.

Don't forget, dirty wheel wells on a clean truck looks like crap. Make sure to clean them and dress them (if you have the plastic covers in there), you'll see the difference it makes!

 

[jolly7982]

A little late to the party, better late than never I guess!

Wow, all great suggestions here!
IMO, it all depends on the energy and patience you have to do this stuff. I do all this outside including detaining, I don't have the luxury of a garage.

For me, I can't stand water spots or streaks after washing and drying, so I always use a quick detailer after every wash (in the summer).

**I would not do this if my truck was not previously fully detailed. Basically, this is my maintenance routine.

1. I wash using my favorite car wash soap.
2. Dry it off with a drying mf towel and a leaf blower for grill, mirrors and hard to reach places.
3. Do all my dressings if required. (trim, tires, running boards etc)
4. Use some quick detailer and do the whole truck. I have A LOT of good quality clean mf towels for the job. I have used Poorboy's, Mothers, Meguiars, TW Hybrid Solutions and I forget some and they all do a great job. I'm starting to like TW, you can apply on everything and it doesn't stain!

This routine for me is about 1 - 1.5 hours long every time.

Don't forget, dirty wheel wells on a clean truck looks like crap. Make sure to clean them and dress them (if you have the plastic covers in there), you'll see the difference it makes!

That's about what it takes me now. I don't do t he leaf blower though, I do have one, but I think my wife would really step up her game with teasing me if she saw me do that.

I have buckets full of MF towels, I'll have to check out the TW Hybrid Solutions.

What do you use for the detailer? I've only used the 3-1 Chem guys one.

I'm about to get a winter set of tires, 275/55/20 but was thinking about getting the whole thing and going 275/60/18, not sure yet.

 

[jolly7982]

I don't want to sound facetious, but I go a whole other way on this issue of keeping our rolling stock clean. I have a monthly subscription to the drive-thru car wash about half a mile from my home. This allows my wife and I unlimited use. So we drive through it several times a week. After a few times through, the cars build up a nice coat of wax on them and look polished all the time. We don't have to worry about scratches and worn car wash equipment due to all the demanding and particular upper middle class folks in our area that know how to effectively complain should their $80K cars get scratched. There are real advantages to country folks like me and my sweetie living among a bunch of suburban Karens.

So my old Charger R/T Daytona with 15-year-old yellow paint still looks great. And the paint on our new Ram looks better than it did after detailing before we left the dealer lot. You can even see the paint gleaming in my photos. I know it's likely not as good as self-detailing with clay bars, advanced waxes and the like. But it's close and only take 2 minutes. The cost is $29.85 per month per car. It's money well spent and we've been doing this for years.

View attachment 465082

Three times through the car wash:

View attachment 465083

I've looked into the clay bar stuff and no thanks. The last time I wax'ed my truck it too 2 hours...lol

 

[Bigs]

That's about what it takes me now. I don't do t he leaf blower though, I do have one, but I think my wife would really step up her game with teasing me if she saw me do that.

I have buckets full of MF towels, I'll have to check out the TW Hybrid Solutions.

What do you use for the detailer? I've only used the 3-1 Chem guys one.

I'm about to get a winter set of tires, 275/55/20 but was thinking about getting the whole thing and going 275/60/18, not sure yet.

Hahaha I don't care what people think, when that truck leaves my laneway, it looks better than off the showroom! But the wife is supportive of everything I do, so I'm lucky for that!

The issue I have is no garage, so products that can be applied in direct sunlight are a must for me. Obviously, if it's too warm out I'll probably pass. I usually do it early morning before it starts getting stinky hot.

At this time, the detailer I use is the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax 3 in 1 Detailer but prior, I had fully detailed (wash, detox, clay, TW Polish & Wax and 2 coats of TW Ceramic Wax Spray 24hrs apart)

There's also a TW Car Wax Spray that can act as a waterless wash or right after you wash your truck without drying, but I haven't purchased it. I may try that one next.

Remember, this is not a ceramic coating, it's a product that has Ceramic Technology SiO2 built in. I haven't tested the durability, when winter comes, that's when I'll be able to see if it lasts!

Listen, Chem Guys make AWESOME products, I do carry some of their products and will keep carrying them in my detailing arsenal! I also love Poorboy's QD+ as well, but watch out for your matte plastics and rubbers. Most products will stain these whereas TW so far has not! That was a HUGE seller for me. As I'm getting older, I also lack the patience and if I can apply a product without masking which saves a sh*t load of time, hey better for me right?!

As for the winters, mine came from the dealer with winters, I think they're 18's, I will get them in fall as they didn't have the stock when I picked up my truck a few months back!

 

[Treburkulosis]

A little late to the party, better late than never I guess!

Wow, all great suggestions here!
IMO, it all depends on the energy and patience you have to do this stuff. I do all this outside including detaining, I don't have the luxury of a garage.

For me, I can't stand water spots or streaks after washing and drying, so I always use a quick detailer after every wash (in the summer).

**I would not do this if my truck was not previously fully detailed. Basically, this is my maintenance routine.

1. I wash using my favorite car wash soap.
2. Dry it off with a drying mf towel and a leaf blower for grill, mirrors and hard to reach places.
3. Do all my dressings if required. (trim, tires, running boards etc)
4. Use some quick detailer and do the whole truck. I have A LOT of good quality clean mf towels for the job. I have used Poorboy's, Mothers, Meguiars, TW Hybrid Solutions and I forget some and they all do a great job. I'm starting to like TW, you can apply on everything and it doesn't stain!

This routine for me is about 1 - 1.5 hours long every time.

Don't forget, dirty wheel wells on a clean truck looks like crap. Make sure to clean them and dress them (if you have the plastic covers in there), you'll see the difference it makes!

Get a foam cannon. Seriously I can wash my truck using the two bucket method, dry it almost all the way off with my leaf blower, and then finish with a meguires drying towel. Total time for inside and out is about 30-45 minutes.

 

[Bigs]

Get a foam cannon. Seriously I can wash my truck using the two bucket method, dry it almost all the way off with my leaf blower, and then finish with a meguires drying towel. Total time for inside and out is about 30-45 minutes.

I do have a foam cannon and also use it depending on the soap obviously as some soaps are useless in them (like the TW HS soap).
The reason it takes me up to 1.5 hours is to QD the whole truck after the wash. It's not just for the wash as I would have quit a long time ago!
I'm also building my routine with the truck so every wash and QD is quicker every time!

But yeah, foam guns save a lot of time for sure.

 

[Treburkulosis]

I do have a foam cannon and also use it depending on the soap obviously as some soaps are useless in them (like the TW HS soap).
The reason it takes me up to 1.5 hours is to QD the whole truck after the wash. It's not just for the wash as I would have quit a long time ago!
I'm also building my routine with the truck so every wash and QD is quicker every time!

But yeah, foam guns save a lot of time for sure.

I detail mine too lol. Yes its all about routine. Ceramic coating sure helps as well. What detail spray do you use? I have everything from CG Banana spray wax, quick detailer the pink one, and adams graphene detailer which I am in love with currently.

 

[jolly7982]

Hahaha I don't care what people think, when that truck leaves my laneway, it looks better than off the showroom! But the wife is supportive of everything I do, so I'm lucky for that!

The issue I have is no garage, so products that can be applied in direct sunlight are a must for me. Obviously, if it's too warm out I'll probably pass. I usually do it early morning before it starts getting stinky hot.

At this time, the detailer I use is the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax 3 in 1 Detailer but prior, I had fully detailed (wash, detox, clay, TW Polish & Wax and 2 coats of TW Ceramic Wax Spray 24hrs apart)

There's also a TW Car Wax Spray that can act as a waterless wash or right after you wash your truck without drying, but I haven't purchased it. I may try that one next.

Remember, this is not a ceramic coating, it's a product that has Ceramic Technology SiO2 built in. I haven't tested the durability, when winter comes, that's when I'll be able to see if it lasts!

Listen, Chem Guys make AWESOME products, I do carry some of their products and will keep carrying them in my detailing arsenal! I also love Poorboy's QD+ as well, but watch out for your matte plastics and rubbers. Most products will stain these whereas TW so far has not! That was a HUGE seller for me. As I'm getting older, I also lack the patience and if I can apply a product without masking which saves a sh*t load of time, hey better for me right?!

As for the winters, mine came from the dealer with winters, I think they're 18's, I will get them in fall as they didn't have the stock when I picked up my truck a few months back!

Ah, I saw your turtle wax post, it just dawned on me that when you said TW, that’s what it means lol.
Why two coats of wax? I don’t plan on waxing again until it’s closer to fall. I usually wait till the shade hits the truck before I wash because spots.

 

[Treburkulosis]

@Bigs What I do to save time, is I get out lets say not only the stuff to wash the truck, but tire shine, applicator, detail spray, microfiber towel, interior cleaner, micro fiber towel, interior shine, and the applicator. I use my wifes Dyson to vacuum the cars out so I go ahead and set that out with my stuff as well. I wash and dry first. Then I vacuum and clean/add interior shine. By then any runs that have happened can be detailed out. Lastly I do my tires. Walking back and forth kills a good 15-20 minutes. I do the same steps with my wifes Pacifica except it gets leather cleaner and conditioner instead.

 

[Bigs]

I detail mine too lol. Yes its all about routine. Ceramic coating sure helps as well. What detail spray do you use? I have everything from CG Banana spray wax, quick detailer the pink one, and adams graphene detailer which I am in love with currently.

Dang man, I'm not that fast! That's cool though. It may get to that when my routine kicks in. SO far I must have trimmed down 30 minutes. Had the truck for about 2 months.

I was a big user of Poorboy's World products due to their direct sunlight application possibilities (with common sense of course). But the fact that most detailing products stain the black trim, I was looking to find a different product that would apply in direct sun and would be black trim friendly. So, after searching a bit, I decided to give Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions a try... I was never a TW fan before, I thought their products needed to be re-thought and were just meh... But this stuff is different. Applies in a jiffy, the polish is actually pretty good, the spay coating is also easy and the best part, works in direct sun and doesn't stain black trim. Heck, I apply it on my black plastic mirrors! (not the polish)

So now, time will tell. Don't know how durable it is and all. The results are freakin great, looks better the next day when the product has cured! I wanted to take more pics using my DSLR and that decided to crap out. So my thread in the detailing forum doesn't really show the true finish as they are taken with my Galaxy s20.

I've never tried Adams products, they are on my list for sure. I also like CG products, that banana is awesome!

EDIT: Sorry, I use the TW HS Ceramic 3 in 1 Detailer.​

​

​

 

[Treburkulosis]

Ah, I saw your turtle wax post, it just dawned on me that when you said TW, that’s what it means lol.
Why two coats of wax? I don’t plan on waxing again until it’s closer to fall. I usually wait till the shade hits the truck before I wash because spots.

Ah, I saw your turtle wax post, it just dawned on me that when you said TW, that’s what it means lol.
Why two coats of wax? I don’t plan on waxing again until it’s closer to fall. I usually wait till the shade hits the truck before I wash because spots.

I do mine first thing. 7 am. When it gets hot, you are doing double the work. If you are worried about spots, you can clean the paint up with a good swirl and scratch remover, CG or Adams, I would use CG Polish #36 or #38 then if you don't want to spend a ton of money the adams graphene spray coating is super easy to use and it will make the water run off. It doesn't last as long as actual ceramic coating, but it will last 6 months to a year. This will also help with water spots on a darker vehicle. I did my wifes Pacifica with it last year and it was great. Its now ceramic coated with Adams. Her van is dark grey.