I'm not talking about the order that you wash and wax or anything, I am talking about when you are physically washing it. Like do any of you have a specific pattern that you use like washing up and down or left to right. I was thinking about this when I was washing my truck and was wondering how you guys do it.

This was the first time in over a month that my truck had been washed. I made a line where I stopped washing at one point and looked at it and you could really tell that my truck was dirty. I live on a dirt road that washes out when it rains so my truck stays muddy now since it has rained here like for the last month or so, even though some days it was just a passing shower or whatever. It has so many spots on it that it would probably take TWO clay bars and at least six hours or so to get them all off.

 

Hey Paul

I use something called the 2 bucket method. Works very well for me and makes my equipment last longer. What I do is take 2 5 gallon buckets we have, before each use I rinse them out to remove any leftover dirt from the last wash and fill one with the wash solution and the other with just plain water. I use a Lambswool wash mitt to wash my truck. I don't use it to wash the rocker panels, wheels and tires, and wheel wells. I wash each panel at a time, taking my time and going back forth with the mitt, not going in circular motions because this will induce swirl marks. Now we don't want that now do we

After each section I wash I throw the mitt in the rinse bucket to remove any particles it may have picked up, rinse it out, ring it, and back to wash bucket. I do this throughout washing the entire truck except for lower areas is where my mitt is forbidden to go since it gets the dirtiest down there. After I wash my truck, I have another mitt I use, my beater. It's a 3 yr old regular old wool wash mitt, not the cleanest, but I use this for the rocker panels, wheels, & wheel wells. After all is done with the painted areas and the lower areas are done, if need be, I take out my bristled hand brush that I got from the Dollar store here in town and some E1 tire Cleaner and go to work on the tires. Finally, on occasions, I take my Meguiars Endurance and throw on some dressing. Oh, use those tire swipes, really dress the tires nicely and even gloss. Then clean the glass and that's it. Hope this helps,,,91

 

I use a thing called a schwala (sp.?), which is a mitt attached to a pole. I wash in a back and forth motion with it, and I use an old t-shirt to clean tires and wheels.

 

Well, everyone thinks i'm crazy, but i usually take an hour to an hour and a half to wash my truck. First, i spray down the truck and start washing with the hood/front. Then i wash the fenders, then i wash the doors, then the suicide doors, then the bed, then the tailgate, then the roof. All with Zaino wash. Then i Z6. Then i wash the wheels (those 10 spoke wheels are a pain in the *** to wash). Then i Z16 the tires! Thats it and it looks beautiful afterwards Well worth the effort!


Joe

 

I am sure some of you guys have seen this one, but this thread had a lot of good info about washing... it is https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...hreadid=124694

 

If we lived next to each other you wouldn't look so crazy and neither would I, same routine, with the same great product...

 

You hijack every single Gen Care thread with Z. It's starting to get pretty pathetic.

 

Come on now buddy, I didn't start this one KingRanchSC02 started this one. Isn't he a King friend of yours?

 

Why do you two wash the roof last? Just curious because it's the place I always start.

Lyfisin

 

Actually I do the roof first then the other things, basically the same...

 

Hey, he's a fellow KR buddy.... he didn't go into the 'same great product' schpeel though. You are in sales aren't you? If not, it's something you might consider...

RP

 

paulv107,

I'm quite fanatical about washing, as it's one of the most important parts of automotive paint care. My process is probably different than most............

First, I wash the wheel, inner wheel wells, and tires with a separate mitt and small bucket of suds using my strongest car wash.

Then, I rinse the bucket out, get another mitt, another small bucket of strong suds, and wash the second nastiest places, like the air dam, front and rear bumber, outer wheel wells, and along the bottom of all the panels.

Finally, I use the 2 bucket method to wash the paint with a milder car wash, and my best mitt........ rinsing the mitt in the clean bucket after each panel. I use a top/down or front to back motion on all panels.

Seems like a lot, but it's not. Doing all those nasty places first with separate mitt and wash keeps the swirls down. It also means you will spend less time on the paint, which allows you to dry off the water before the spotting starts.

Hope this helps.

 

Yeah, I was actually referring to when you are actually applying the soap to the body. I know some people are very particular on how their trucks are washed and was just seeing if anyone applied the soap in a special way or if it was just put it on any way you can.

 

Hi all, I'll add this.

If you live up north I highly recommend automatic car washes at least once a month.

Why you ask.....because if you get the deluxe wash with underbody spray it will rid you of a lot of crap left from all salt they use.

I learned this the hard way. I live in NC and took a trip last November. Got caught in a huge snow storm while driving back. I brought it home and spent an hour hand washing the underside. Thought I did a good job. About a month ago I went under the truck to do some work and found many spots under the truck that are corroding. I now take all my vehicels to the car wash at least once a month or so to do the underside.

I am as careful as I can to use the best wash and never go behind a filthy car.......but I have sworn I will never take another vehicle I own up north.

 

One cool tip I picked up on some detailing site is to wipe in different directions on the outside of windows than on the inside.
Like vertical strokes outside the glass and horizontal inside. The direction doesn't matter but when you are trying to remove a spot or streak it makes it easy to determine which side of the glass it is on.