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Spring Cleaning / Detail pics, post em if you get em!

2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  MDSWA 
#1 · (Edited)
I just spent the better part of two days (between rain showers) cleaning up the truck following our long winter. Still looks pretty good if I do say so myself at 14 years old! I started with a wash (pressure washer / foam cannon) followed by de-tarring, detail clay and Meguiar's Gold Caranuba. Also washed all the junk out of the undercarriage with the pressure washer. Discovered a rear shock that was leaking (Bilstein 5100) so I'll need to replace that. Hopefully they will replace it under warranty. If not, I may try Fox shocks this time for the rear.

Cleaned the engine bay top to bottom with a Simple Green Solution followed by an engine detail spray and wipe down (didn't use the the pressure washer in the engine bay) . Then I tackled the interior with a shop vac and Meguiar's 40 Rubber and Vinyl Conditioner. Washed the windows with Invisible Glass, cleaned the chrome and exterior trim and I was done.

I always seem to find little things that need attention when I do my spring cleanup. This year it was cleaning battery terminals, fixing a bad wiring connector and doing a better job installing the dash camera I got for Christmas. Oh, and the dog got a bath too :)

Regular washing, waxing and garage storage really makes a huge difference, especially in our northern winters. Detailing isn't my favorite thing to do but I like the results. Anyone else doing a spring clean up? Post em if you got em!
 

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#4 ·
Spring Detail



Go for it! All it takes is a few auto detailing products and some elbow grease. Oh, and a bunch of time if you're as slow and OCD as me. This is my 3rd auto detail this spring. Helped my daughter with her Accord and today I did the exterior on my wife's Rav4. Not sure how I get roped into doing 3 when I only drive one vehicle. The easiest part surprisingly is the engine bay clean up. The first time can be a little challenging if it's really dirty, but after that it's a 15-30 minute job once a year. My neighbor's have hinted they want me to do their vehicles but by the time I get done with mine, I'm really not very excited about doing another one. My home made detail kit includes:

Meguiar's (pink) car wash
2 bucket wash with grit guards (or)
Pressure washer and cheap Amazon Foam Cannon (MTAC?)
Mothers or Meguiar's detail clay kit
Simple green solution for engine bay cleaning
Garden tank sprayer to rinse engine bay with minimal water
Griots Garage Engine Dressing or 303 Protectant for engine bay
Meguiar's 40 for vinyl / rubber treatment
Eagle tire and wheel cleaner
Tote full of old terry cloth towels
Tote full of Costco microfiber cloths
Invisible glass spray glass cleaner
Shop Vac
Wife's carpet shampooer
Mequiar's spray wax to keep the base coat looking good and make it last longer
 
#6 ·
Tackling the ceramic coating on mine. Jeez, what a pain and time consuming. Today was day 2 but luckily I have a few days to get it done. Tomorrow I plan on adding 2 more layers on it. Those who have ceramic coated themselves, how many coats are recommended?
 

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#9 ·
Looks good! I'm Interested in the ceramic coating process. A write up on the steps you took and products/cost would be great. Is that an Amp Bed Step in the photo? I love the one on my truck. Makes it so much easier and safer to get in and out of the back of the truck.
 
#10 ·
Yea, I am currently editing a video that I made of the ceramic coating process I did on my truck. I will be releasing it soon, with all the information you requested. And yes, that's an AMP bedstep, use it quite often actually. Im jealous of the chevy's that have steps built into their grille, but if they lift their truck, they will need bedsteps too lol.
 
#16 ·
FYI - here's an update on my spring truck detail. The old school Meguiars Gold Class Caranuba Plus Premium Liquid Wax is holding up nicely and still beading water. The truck is garaged and doesn't get a ton of miles, so that helps. What really helps is washing it every 2-3 weeks and applying a top coat of liquid spray wax. It takes maybe 10 minutes and leaves the truck with a nice glossy shine. I'm using the Meguiars A1624 Quik Wax with a microfiber cloth. Super easy to apply and keeps the truck looking new. I did the same with my wife's Rav4 and it looks like a show car with a nice mirroring effect.

If you're lazy like me and don't like waxing your truck several times year, you might want to check out the spray wax products. Not a substitute for a real wax job (in my opinion) but it certainly extends the life of your base coat.
 
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