For those of you with Dark Trucks

[5RWill]

Maybe i'm too particular about keeping my things in good condition and just need to accept the fact it's going to get scratch. That said i feel like i'm the cause of some of these scratches after i wash it. Picked up a wash mitt, some actual car shampoo/detergent, and washed my truck. I've got probably 4-7 new scratches that i had never noticed before. Yes they could be buffed out but i'm pretty certain i'm the cause i just don't see how else it would happen. Right above the rear wheel wells on both sides is the worst.

 

So maybe i'm just doing this wrong or thinking way to hard. How do you all keep your darker color vehicles clean?

 

I'm going to get it clear bra'd but i have to find a place that will do it around here first.

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

That's probably from using one bucket. The way I do it is I have one bucket just to rinse the stuff in and the other one is the one with soap. After using a sponge or mit I rinse it really good in the water and then put it in the soap bucket for fresh soap. At the end the soap bucket isn't dirty and the rinse bucket with plain water is dark. I washed it this past Saturday after not doing a real wash since it warmed back up (during pollen season I just rinsed the truck off a few times) and the plain water was black.

 

I also bought a squeegee made to wipe all of the standing water off after rinsing the soap and water off. That's to stop water spots from showing. On a dark color you easily see them, but with a light color you don't see the water spots.

[5RWill]

Yeah I had two buckets this time I guess I wasn't careful enough. It stayed washing the truck too long and should've gone and rinsed and resoaped

[AdamsPolishes]

Theres so many variables that come into play that you have to almost be surgical about how you wash - ESPECIALLY on a truck that sees some dirt b/c the level of grit on the surface is so high.

 

One thing that really helps a ton (coming from a guy who has and has owned and still owns trucks) is seperating uppers and lowers.

Use 1 wash pad for the upper portions of the truck, down to about the belt line, then use a second wash pad for the lower sections. The lower portions, especially behind the wheels, are always way dirtier than any other part of the truck, so at the very least you can limit damage by keeping it isolated to 1 wash pad.

Another big thing is taking advantage of rinsine. A pressuer washer used to blow off the majority of dirt is a great idea - limit the amount you touch the vehcle while its dirty and you can greatly reduce the amount of swirls and scratches. Even if you don't own a pressure washer, going to a local coin op and just using their pressure washer (don't use the brush) to blast off the gunk, then driving home and doing the wash will only cost a few quarters and will reduce the amount of dirt/grit on the paint before you start.

Also, the choice of wash media is a huge deal - there are tons of sponges and wash mits out there, microfiber being one of the most common, but a lot of guys use the cheap ones and without much pile depth the grit has nowhere to go so it ends up ground into the surface. We recently released the wash wedge which is a foam wash media with DEEP channel and cross cuts so theres tons of space for grit to retreat, and then when you rinse it releases the dirt and grit very easily. It makes a HUGE difference.

 

 

http://adamspolishes.com/shop/specials/sub-category-1/adam-s-wash-wedge.html

[AdamsPolishes]

One other thing.... if you want to take it to the extreme - add an additional bucket for very dirty washes. Hard to see in this video, but my Z71 was pretty filthy and I had started experimenting with 3 buckets - 2 stages for rinse and 1 for soap. Just adds another barrier between the grit removed and your finish. Heres the time lapse of the process -

 

 

[POS VETT]

Something didn't add up here.

 

If the location of the scratches was particular, it might not be your wash equipment or washing method.

[Dobsongeorge]

A lot of guys run into scratches in the drying phase. Myself included. The old rock solid shammy that miraculously becomes a soft rag when wet is horrible on paint. It's great for absorption but has no place to pick up rocks or dirt missed during wash.

 

Recently read about pre-soaking a microfiber in water and then using a little lubricant like a detailed while drying. The presoaked and rung out microfiber suddenly becomes very absorbent and the detail spray adds a barrier just like compound does when buffing.