The auto detailing thread

[ShinyGreenApple]

So . . . I love for my truck to look spiffy and shiny when I can. Now that it's getting warmer here again, I can do this as often as I'd like again. I can't figure out how to do a few things though -

The top of my truck and the tonneau cover. No matter how many times I wash it with fresh soap and water or how promptly I rinse there's still way too much residue and gunk left on after it dries. Gah! I like to wax after the truck is washed but I know it can't be good for my paint job to go rubbing around on an area that's not clean.

The top of my bumper is like this one, and the sun has gotten to it and it's no longer a nice, deep black color. Same with the door handles. Is there anything I can put on it to restore it?



Last thing - my truck has wind guards on the doors and the one on my driver's side is just about halfway off. A friend of mine says that I can get a repair kit for it at Advance Auto or NAPA, but that he's really not confident that it'll work.

Any advice?

[Frantic Freddie]

The top of my truck and the tonneau cover. No matter how many times I wash it with fresh soap and water or how promptly I rinse there's still way too much residue and gunk left on after it dries. Gah! I like to wax after the truck is washed but I know it can't be good for my paint job to go rubbing around on an area that's not clean.

The top of my bumper is like this one, and the sun has gotten to it and it's no longer a nice, deep black color. Same with the door handles. Is there anything I can put on it to restore it?

Either your water's hard or you're using the wrong soap,DON'T use dish soap,they make soaps for cars,pick it up at any auto store,I think even Walmart carries some.

As far as the plastic I do believe there's products that'll put that nice black sheen back on,again,ask at the parts store.


My Jeep rarely gets washed,we live in the dirt

[ShinyGreenApple]

Oh no, trust me I use zip wax car wash, no desire to strip the paint. My Mom used to wash their old cars with dish soap or laundry detergent and it certainly took it's toll.

[Aethian]

Could it be that the finish has gone bad where you need to 'strip' the wax and wash and then apply new?

[ShinyGreenApple]

Could it be that the finish has gone bad where you need to 'strip' the wax and wash and then apply new?

It happened before I started waxing, and it's only on the top surfaces; the sides stay pretty shiny after the soap is rinsed. Maybe because the tops are flat and there's nowhere for the water to run?

[blondemarmot]

Hi! My husband is a professional detailer that owns his own business who can answer all your questions and some you didn't know you needed to ask.
His questions to help you in your detailing endeavor are as follows:
1) Location
To determine environmental conditions
2)Year, make and model of vehicle
To help in determining proper care and maintenance of paint and trim.

Trust me, I have to listen to him ramble on about cars and paint and wax and soap and cleaning mitts and blah blah blah. I would only be quoting him in my answers.

[Der Cute]

I think of claybars when I hear what you're talking about:

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-07240-...8780079&sr=8-1

[ShinyGreenApple]

Hi! My husband is a professional detailer that owns his own business who can answer all your questions and some you didn't know you needed to ask.
His questions to help you in your detailing endeavor are as follows:
1) Location
To determine environmental conditions
2)Year, make and model of vehicle
To help in determining proper care and maintenance of paint and trim.

Trust me, I have to listen to him ramble on about cars and paint and wax and soap and cleaning mitts and blah blah blah. I would only be quoting him in my answers.

1) North Florida. We have a lot of pollen right now.

2) 2006 Dodge Dakota quad cab with tonneau cover and wind guards.

[blondemarmot]

Ok he is writing the information for you in a word document and will pm you instead of posting on here.

[blas]

What is all that green stuff on the ground?

[Aethian]

What is all that green stuff on the ground?

Green stuff? I've heard stories of this green stuff. Before all the snow and ice came. Before our trees were stripped into bare bones. There had been talk of green stuff then.

[blas]

No kidding. And man, does that truck look clean, regardless of the other talks going on in this thread.

My silver car is brownish grey right now, thanks to salt, sand, and snirt. I can't go to the carwash, because it snows practically every other day to every 3 days, so it's a waste of money, and before that, it was too cold (car washes around here are closed when it goes below 10 degrees F).

Thanks to that bitch Mother Nature and our need for salt/sand in the winter, the paint job on my baby Gizmo is probably not going to last more than another year.

Once that bitch gets off her winter period, I'll be at the carwash probably every other damn day for a good week or two, until that thing gets cleaned.

[ShinyGreenApple]

blondemarmot, thanks so much for being middle-man and thank your husband for getting me all that info It's gonna be very useful.

And just FYI, that's not my truck in the pic, although mine looks really spiffy now, as I did go out yesterday and give it a wax and a vacuum.