I want to wash my truck for the first time. It's finally above freezing and not raining. So, I would like to know what kind of wash mit to get and what kind of drying towel? The truck is black and I will be doing by hand so I want to avoid swirl marks as much as possible. I have a brush that I bought last year but I think it scratched the clear coat of my white truck. I have Macguires gold for soap.

Thanks

 

For a wash mitt, make sure it's very soft and has deep pile, meaning it has more area for dirt and particles to be absorbed into, instead of being dragged across your paint. As for drying towels, try not to drag anything across the paint. Instead, try the sheeting method, then blot dry.

Sheeting- After you are done washing, take the nozzle off the hose and let the water flow un-interupted across your paint.. This will actually remove A LOT of excess water. Then, use a microfiber towel to "blot" dry the areas that still have water on them.
Also, you can consider using a leaf blower around door handles, tailgate handle, windows, door cracks, etc.

 

The OCD'ers here will tell you to use the 2 bucket wash method with grit guards and are starting to get into the use of foam guns and cannons.

That said, I've used two different Walmart quality mitts - one looks like dredlocks and the other looks like fleece - I prefer the fleece type. Microfiber mitts don't have a deep enough pile. The dredlocks one snags on trim and edges and pulls the loops out. I use that one on my wheels now. Good soap choice.