A nice little hopeful thread to waste time til spring.

Since spring is rolling around soon (thank god), I've been aching to clean my truck. I'm def going to try and clean every inch of that thing because it's def been a rough winter so far.
So what do you guys do when you clean your trucks? Do you just clean the outside/inside or do you go to the under body and engine and clean everything in between? Just post your routine if you want!

PS - Wrong section oopsie =[

 

Don't you just love having a black truck. I bet your new wider tires make a big mess of it like mine. When I do the spring clean, I really spend a lot of time spraying the underside, trying to get into all the little nooks and crannies under there. Then a good handwash, a buff, and some good wax. It's usually a couple hours, but it sure pays off when you are done.

 

I usually pull the interior apart in the spring, about the first week of April, and give it a good cleaning. That takes about 2 hours, then I spend another 4-5 really detailing the outside, wash, wax, and claybar. If I have the time I get the underbody done to.

 

I wash it regularly. Good under body rinse each time, detailed wash, scrub tires and inside wheel wells with help from simple green. Hand dry, wipe insides of doors, tail gate and hood. Dust interior with wet towel, vacuum if needed as well as clean windows inside. Tireshine on the plastic trim.
Normally every few washes I'll wax it and rain-x the windows.

 

i'm lazy, i take it to the pay and spray and hose the crap out of it when it looks dirty... i don't do interiors... i will eventually take my truck in, and pay someone to do a full detailing on the truck

 

wash/wax/Claybar exterior
Spray every nook and crannie of the underbody
clean interior
Clean Inside Windows

I havent buffed my truck since i got it, just because my buffer is still packed in the garage from the move.
by the time spring rolls around i should have my garage unpacked and the truck will get a nice buff

 

how do you guys spray the underbody?

 

If im at home I put on some dirty jeans and lay under it with a hose and go to town. You'll get dirty but the result is worth it. If im at a carwash I run it through the automated first to get the underbody wash. The one I go to lets you choose packages or individual things so for a dollar I can run it through and get the underbody and a good prewash before I hand wash.

 

As Spartan72 Said, throw on a pair of dirty jeans, and go to town under it. i get very wet and dirty but its worth it.
if its winter and to cold to wash it, i run it threw the automatic car was and get the underbody done atleast, ushully i get the underbody done and the basic exterior wash just to get as much salt off as possible.
i drive my truck MABE 100-150miles a MONTH and theirs always salt on it, i just wash it 2 seconds later the salt is caked on, the town where i live LOVES salt lol

 

my city is apparently using this new chemical, no salt, salt doesn't melt snow when it's -40... lots of gravel... i have 4-5 really good rock chips in my windshield, which was replaced in september... average lifespan for a windshield in my city is probably less than 2 years... but this new chemical sucks *****, it dries so fast, so it hits your windshield and dries instantly, i ran the reservoir in this rental dry, from completely full, in less than 2 weeks

 

Do a rain dance.....then wait!

 

rain ain't gon happen here for a few months... it's WAY too cold, and the chances that is rains/snows on the same day that it happens to be above 0, is next to nothing

 

My regular routine.

- Vacume interior floor and floormats.
- Wash rims and scrub tires
- Spray under carriage and wash around door edges, wheel wells, and lower rockers.
- Wash all door jambs and inseams.
- Wash remaining areas of truck.
- Let dry (I use the Mr.Clean gun)
- Apply tire dressing spray to tires and on rubber wheel well splash gaurds (helps keep mud from building up) and Aerospace 303 to tonneau cover, mirrors, window trim, and door handles.
- Apply Aerospacce 303 to all interior trim, parts, and seats (I have pleather covers).
- Windex interior glass
- Stand back and enjoy the clean truck.

- This normally takes 2 hours from start to finish.

I don't usually wax the truck, haven't in years.........but I've seen some good spray and wipe waxes out there. I don't have the time to hand apply and buff anymore.

 

Mr. Clean to fill my two buckets of water.
Then spray the truck and underside down real good.
Wash the rims first with a seperate rag and then the fender wells.
Then wash the outside with my second bucket.
Rinse
Wipe down with towels
Then use a spray detail quick wax with a micro fiber towel.

 

After my first wax of the season, I use the "Ice" spray on wax the rest of the time. Good stuff.

 

my cleaning routine... try to drive on the highway when it is raining! and hit every puddle i can find.... this cleans the undercarriage and sides all at once!

 

if i do it at home, i start with the roof and clean one panel at a time. quick spray, soap, rinse, dry.

if i'm at the DIY bay, it's a quick spray, soapy brush, rinse, dry. normally it costs me $7 to do the outside and i'm not too worried about the inside since i never eat in it and try to take care of the inside.