Quick Question About Washing/Waxing at Home!

Hey guys, long time no see! Since it's finally getting nice outside where I live I'm about to give my Tundra a thorough cleaning inside and out. I wanted to have it professionally buffed and ceramic coated or waxed as I don't have any experience with doing that myself, but the costs of having it done locally have stopped me. So onto my first question, do wash and wax soaps work well for providing protection without waxing traditionally? If so, which ones would you recommend? If not, what would you guys recommend for waxing or ceramic coating it myself at home? I know there's plenty of you who are old pros at this stuff and I need some advice! Thank you for any input!

 

Armor All has some very surprising positive reviews for their ceramic car wash via YouTube

that’s about all i know on the subject

 

check out the detailing forum.

it's a rabbit hole... consider yourself warned...

discovered this section last month; spent over 1k on products after repeated visits. smooth, slick, perfect paint can become addictive.

 

A proper ceramic coat would be done by a shop and would require a paint correction since it is a 2016. If not doing ceramic, normal paint protection would still require wax.

 

Griot's 3-in-1 is all you need for the paint, great stuff! And some Adam's VRT for the black plastics and tires.

 

Just washed and waxed mine today. It’s first waxing! My routine is rinse the vehicle, 2 bucket wash with meguiars ultimate wash and wax.

dry off with a good drying towel. Scrub Meguiars non acid wheel and tire cleaner. Rinse and dry.

polish if you have to. I usually only polish 2x a year or so. Or if there’s some micro scratches or a larger scratch.

dry the door jambs. Then wax with meguiars wax. I have a few of theirs. Used the tech wax today. Sometimes I’ll use the synthetic sealant 2.0. Wipe off.

Then move to the inside. I really like 303 UV protectant for the plastics. Then a meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner.

then the windows with stoners or rain x.

then hit the tires with meguiars wet tire shine.

meguiars is the best consumer product. I buy in gallon+ jugs and rarely buy the product now. Also waxing, I only do once a month or so. If you wax once every few months that’s ok too.

 

I wax mine every other year, whether it needs it or not.

 

Another vote for Griots 3 in 1.
Check out the YouTube torture tests.
Easy to apply and lasts months. Some report a year

 

Adams H20 Guard and Gloss and VRT for tires and plastic.

-Jason

 

Ok, question? I bought some griots 3-1 just because. FYI, I have a 2016 and it has never been waxed, always garage and I wash when it needs it. Can I just wash the truck and use this, or does it require all kinds of special prep. I am not gonna clay bar, do a paint correction, etc, etc.

 

Depends on where you live and what sort of contaminants may be stuck to the paint.
Wash and dry, and then run your hand over the hood and see if its smooth (or do the sandwich bag test).
If its clean, then go to town with the Griot's. Even if its not, and you don't want to clay it, you can still wash it really well and use the Griot's, something is better than nothing. Just know those little tiny pieces of whatever will still be stuck to the paint under the wax.
You usually only have to clay the horizontal surfaces, hood, roof, etc, with maybe a light claying everywhere else. If its not too bad you can clay a truck in about an hour. Not the funnest job but the results are usually worth it.

MGMs look amazing with smooth glossy coated paint!

 

Following...

 

Check out Chemical Guys! I haven't really had a single product from them that didn't work as described. Just be aware, it seems some of their products have gotten redundant. I've always been a quick detailer kinda guy in between washes, but nowadays, Im seeing all kinds of soapless sprays and what not.

 

You can get the basic things you need to get going inexpensively -
A grit guard or two for the bottoms of your wash buckets
A high quality lambs wool washing mitt for paint only
A long handle brush for engine compartment
A regular synthetic mitt for wheels/tires
Borderless towels
You should choose a shampoo that's compatible with the wax you use, I.e., don't use a wash that strips your wax, unintentionally.
Consider a synthetic sealer prior to waxing. Usually, the sealers will last far longer than waxes, but don't provide quite the shine waxes do, though most sealers can have wax applied over them.
Learn the do's and dont's

 

Another vote for Griot's 3 in 1 . . . wash your truck very well, then clay it in the cool shade. Spray/Wipe-on, buff-off w/ 3 in 1 & new microfiber towels. Apply 2nd coat the following day. A very little goes a long way. Easy Peasy. I did my truck back in November, (2006 DC in Blue Steel Metallic) came out insane, and water still beads like crazy, and it's super easy to wash.
Griot's came out with a 'Ceramic Speed Shine' which I use just a few light sprays of when drying my truck after a wash. VERY impressed . . . . it adds a light maintenance slickness to the 3 in 1 . . . great combo.
I'm sure a 'true' ceramic coating would be even better . . . and I was 'reluctant' of the 'Ceramic Spray Wax' being a gimmick, I can assure you it's not. I bet some of the other brands mentioned are just as good if not better. Good Luck.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, some people/ experts mention using a 'decontaminant' after you clay to remove any of the liquid lubricant you used during the clay process, giving a totally clean surface for the ceramic wax to adhere to. Not sure of the exact product recommended (I've heard some using a type of alcohol). I did NOT do a 'decon' and just used 3 in 1 after the clay process. I guess the results may have been even better, but like I said, I'm extremely happy, and it was minimal in cost.

 

I would vote for sending it to a professional. Let them do proper corrections and apply the ceramic coating. At first I was questioning whether the cost was worth it... But now that I have it, I am 100% certain it was worth the money. It’s incredible how easy it is to maintain and everything literally wipes off with minimal effort. My truck sits outside 24/7. It shines like I just waxed/polished after nothing more than a simple wash with a quality product. I use the rinse less CarPro ECH2O with distilled water. It usually take about a 1/2 gallon to wash the truck.

 

Meguiers ultimate wash and wax is the best soap I've found to wash my vehicle. No streaks or spots when air drying. I won't touch my paint with a towel.

 

Yes I agree air drying leads to less micro scratches. I try and use really good and clean drying towels and hardly notice drying scratches. It’s the best soap though and smells really good.

 

I’ll throw in my process, which I have found to be successful. But do go here:

https://www.tundras.com/forums/detailing.66/

Wash:

I use Optimal No Rinse, and the 2-bucket method. ONR is a polymeric, non-abrasive, non-toxic cleaner that is diluted in water. It’s not expensive. It smells nice.

(polymeric cleaners do their thing by having microscopic polymers in a suspension that have an affinity for the dirt on our trucks. The tiny polymers grab the dirt and hold it in a clump of polymeric particles, where it can just roll off the vehicle in the water suspension.)

I wash my truck in the garage to avoid any chance of water spots. If it has collected mud, thick grime, etc... I spray it off with a high pressure hose nozzle. Bucket 1 is solution. Bucket 2 is rinse water. Both buckets have a grit guard.
A clean string mitt is soaked in B1, and passed in a straight line over the panel, in the same direction air would flow. Turn the mitt over and do a second pass. Then rinse, shake, and scuff the mitt in B2. Re-soak in B1, and repeat until the truck is clean. I normally do the whole roof and back window, then use a thick drying towel to dry all surfaces, AGAIN, only passing the dry towel over the painted surfaces in a straight line that mimics the passage of air over the truck. Then I do the hood, then each side, and finally the back, drying after each stage. It takes me about 15 minutes to do the whole truck.

There is no scrubbing. If something must be scrubbed, save it for last and use a fingernail, chemical, or soaking to remove the problem area.

Once the truck is washed and dried, I use CG spray wax (the banana stuff), or I use Meguires Tech wax.

When the truck was brand new, I washed it and applied Klasse sealant. I believe much of it is still on the truck because of how gently I wash. Water still beads up and there are really no swirls or scratches in my paint. My goal this summer is to clay bar and re apply.

Before I wash the body, I wash the the wheels and tires in the driveway with running water, 2 scrub brushes, and CG Diablo wheel/tire cleaner. One brush is a coarse long fiber for the tires. The other is a kind of rat tail of soft plastic that I use for the wheels if they are visibly grimy. After the tires dry, I use a Griots matte tire dressing that just makes the tires look new, not real shiny.

I use aerospace 303 on exterior plastic. I use aerosol household glass cleaner on the windows.

I normally wipe the windshield blades clean with alcohol after the glass is clean.

All soft materials I use are laundered after each use, and I store them in a covered bin.

Just make sure your approach doesn’t cause more issues than the dirt you are removing. Swirl marks happen fast. I say forget “wax on, wax off” circular motion, do straight lines, and your work is easier and the result is safer and nicer.

Also, check out Autogeek for reviews, instructionals, and products.

 

Thank you for the reply, I seriously need to put some effort into my paint. To me it looks and feels fine after I wash it and wipe it down w/Lucas Oil Slick Mist, but after this many years, I know it needs much more.

 

Well yesterday I washed, detailed, and ended up waxing with Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax. And today it's been raining all day, because of course it is. The base coat for the Meguiars seems to be repelling water well and I'm looking forward to applying more each time I wash. Obligatory picture of the truck taken 5 minutes ago included.

 

So you're asking if you should do some prep but then say you won't be doing the proper prep?
Yes you should at the very least clay the truck , ideally every year. With a clay mitt it takes under an hour.
You could just use 3 in 1 after a wash but a smoother, cleaner surface will help it bond better, look much better, and last longer.

 

Use the cellophane wrapper from a pack of smokes, better than a sandwich bag, that will tell you how shitty your paint is.