OP
OP
TRIMMELL
Full Access Member
The coin op car washes are fine just do NOT use their presoak. The regular soap shouldn't hurt anything. The presoaks are usually too aggressive and they will eat at your coating over time. You can also use a waterless wash at home if you want to. Less mess and its a lot quicker since you're not chasing water out of the seals and crevices all of the time but if you have the desire to two bucket was the truck do that instead. Do NOT use wax. I will include a list of recommend products. Use a spray sealant like CarPro's Reload that will give you the nice freshly waxed look but it will also protect your coating and extend its life. Not to mention its designed to work directly with your coating. Anything you apply over coating will take away the hydrophobic properties unless its designed to work with coating like Reload Sealant or some of the other brands. There is a TON of stuff like foam guns, wheel whoolies and little brushes and detailing sticks and thousands of other tools you can add to your collection over time but these are the basics you'll need. If you enjoy washing your truck I would recommend buying a foam gun to use with a pressure washer. Its not needed but it does put a super thick layer of foam on the truck which makes it even safer to hand wash. I would also recommend a little blower or using compressed air to help dry the truck. The less you touch the paint less likely you are to scratch it. And with a coated truck an air compressor or a blower will almost completely dry the truck without even touching it. The water just blows right off. After washing and drying before you apply sealant you'll want to use a product liked CarPro Eraser to remove any remaining residue before you apply sealant so its bonding to the naked coating for best results. Eraser just happens to be the best thing you'll ever use for cleaning glass in your life even though it wasn't designed to clean glass.
-Washing Products-
Buckets- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...essories-M12/35-Gallon-Bucket-P1103/White-S1/
Grit Guards for buckets- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...ge.com/Grit-Guard-M25/Grit-Guard-Insert-P119/
Wash Mitt- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...Long-Strand-Auto-Wash-Mitt-P608/Zero-Cuff-S1/
Soap- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...m/Chemical-Guys-M31/Maxi-Suds-P224/128-oz-S2/
CarPro Eraser- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...nsive-Oil-and-Polish-Cleaner-P603/1000-ml-S3/
Paint Decontamination Product. Use once or twice a year- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...arPro-M54/IronX-Iron-Remover-P600/1000-ml-S2/
Foam cannon- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...image.com/DI-Accessories-M12/Foam-Lance-P770/
AMAZING TOWELS for drying or applying sealant. Keep them segregated after you use them so wash towels don't wash with sealant towels.- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph.../Double-Thick-Edgeless-Towel-P928/16-x-16-S1/
Sealant. Use once a month or so.- http://www.detailedimage.com/CarPro-M53/Reload-Spray-Sealant-P605/400-ml-S1/
Blower- http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.ph...tro-Vacuums-M11/Blaster-SideKick-Blower-P853/
-Washing-
(1) Rinse your bucket/grit guard really well and fill bucket with water about 60%. Add about 1oz of soap per gallon of water to the bucket and then fill the rest of the way up and make sure the soap has blended with the water. If you put soap in first and then fill most of your soap ends up on the ground. Put your grit guard in the second bucket and fill it with water.
(2) Try to wash the truck in the shade. Wash the truck at the car wash or rinse it off very well with a spray nozzle on your hose before you start. Start at the top of the truck washing the top and then working your way down to the sides. I like to do maybe 1/4-1/2 of a panel and then take the wash mitt and dunk it in the rinse bucket and shake it around so the dirt gets dislodged and then dunk your mitt back into the wash bucket again. 1/4 - 1/2 of a panel at a time and then dunk it in the rinse bucket again. While you're washing use straight lines with your wash mitt and very very light pressure. Wash the lower portion of the rockers last.
(3) Rinse from the top down and make sure to get all of the soapy water out of the door seals and cracks and crevices where it can hide. You don't want soap running out and then drying on your paint coating. After you get the soap washed off take the nozzle off of the hose and let the water just stream out of the host and it will make most of the water sheet off of the truck where it is a lot easier to dry.
-Drying-
(1) If you have the blower try to blow as much water off as possible. After that take a microfiber towel and then blow the water out of the seals into a microfiber towel. So hold the towel right in front of the blower and catch the water before it has time to run down the panel. Do that with all of the seals and cracks and crevices.
(2) Then pick up the remaining water with one of your towels with light pressure using straight motions with the towel. Sheeting the water off first with the hose will make a HUGE difference in the drying process. If you can buy the blower that will help too. Any time you can prevent touching the paint you're better off as that is less chance of you scratching the paint.
-Wheels-
(1) I like to clean the wheels first and then do the tires last. I scrub the tires with a product called Diamond Magic that is a gentle degreaser. On the wheels I just use the same soap I use on the paint just in a bit higher ratio. There is also a product by CarPro called IronX CarPro Iron X Iron Remover Cherry Scent - 500 ml | Free Shipping Available - Detailed Image that works really really well. You spray it on the wheels and let it sit for a few minutes and it will dissolve the brake dust and make most of the grime just rinse away and then you can hand wash it after that.
(2) Dry them in the same way you would dry the paint after you rinse them.
(3) If you want a little bit of shine on your tires I use CarPro Perl at a 1:1 ratio. It leaves them with a nice dark rich look but they aren't shiny and it doesn't rub off. Its water based too so no oily film. CarPro PERL Plastic Engine Rubber Leather Protectant - 500 ml | Free Shipping Available - Detailed Image
-Sealant-
(1) Spray your sealant on the paint liberally and then work it in with a towel in straight lines left to right and then go up and down to make sure its spread evenly. After that flip to a clean side of the towel or use a second towel to remove any residue. You can use Reload on your paint and glass and wheels. I wouldn't recommend it on the textured surfaces as it might be hard to make sure its completely leveled and not streaky. Apply Reload about once a month or so for the best protection of your coating.
---------- Post added at 11:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:31 AM ----------
$1,200-$1,600 is the average on what you'll pay to correct/coat the paint on a Raptor that doesn't need a ton of paint correction. If it has a lot of swirls, buffer trails etc. expect the price to be higher. The prices are pretty stable across the country too so that range should work everywhere and be close to what to expect. Coating the wheels cost an additional $300-$500 typically.
---------- Post added at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 AM ----------
Nobody knows how long a properly applied coating and maintained coating will last. Most customers aren't paying someone to properly wash their car everytime after coating so that is when you will see them only last a few years. If you're taking it back to the detailer who applied it for regular washes then it will certainly last years. Mine is just over a year old on my car now and I have very minimal marring and I have been using waterless wash for the last year. I haven't lost any of the coating properties even after using waterless.
Last edited:
