Cleaning & Detailing

[Cornhusker Larry]

Curious how often and what method everyone uses to wash their Ranger?

I use a pressure washer and foam cannon. Pre-rinse entire truck, spray wheel cleaner on rims and clean with brush, rinse off, foam entire truck, go over with hand wash mitt, pressure rinse off and dry. Wax or clay bar if needed.

I use Meguiar’s Gold Class, but always been curious about chemical guys products. Usually wash about every 10-14 days depending weather and time of year.

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[OGMix376]

Sorry I don’t have any good advice here..

I leave my truck out in the rain or spray it with a hose ?. I’m curious about this too my truck needs a bit of a spa day once in awhile..
Oh I use fancy glass cleaner to clean the windows and mirrors….but I don’t think that really counts..
you have a pretty extensive exterior process.
I’d like to know what you do for the interior detailing/cleaning.? (Serious question, my seats need love and vacuuming and then using this meguires car interior cleaner leaves a greasy feel I don’t like.) so if you have any tips on good interior products.. I’d appreciate it.

 

[Canadian Ranger]

I only go at it a couple times a year, other than the occasional stop at the local car wash.
Home detailing I use Turtle Wax products....wash and polish, and use other brand of ceramic spray, window cleaner and interior cleaner.

 

[Grandaccess]

Once in over 2 years and not by me LOL I had some body work done and when I got it back they washed and waxed it and detailed the inside ....

 

[GhostStrykre]

Curious how often and what method everyone uses to wash their Ranger?

I use a pressure washer and foam cannon. Pre-rinse entire truck, spray wheel cleaner on rims and clean with brush, rinse off, foam entire truck, go over with hand wash mitt, pressure rinse off and dry. Wax or clay bar if needed.

I use Meguiar’s Gold Class, but always been curious about chemical guys products. Usually wash about every 10-14 days depending weather and time of year.

once or twice a year i follow your method, generally. i have an electric pressure washer with a lower PSI that is friendly to automotive paint.

rinse >> foam canon >> two bucket method soap with a wash mitt, rinse and dry.
then i typically use a clay bar with quick detail wax/spray, i follow that with a detailing wax (not a fan of meguiar's gold -- i thought it was extremely difficult to wipe clear -- but i actually use meguiar's NXT tech wax 2.0) which i let dry and wipe clear. then i run over that with the quick detail spray one last time.

i'm always trying different products with the tires. the SUPER shine products are too much for a truck imo. i prefer a more matte finish here. i'd love to hear other people's suggestions on what they use.

interior i vacuum out, then i use 303 interior cleaner followed by 303 interior protect wipes. does a great job at breathing life into the various plastic-like interior surfaces.

i have cloth seats. my wife uses some product called Bio-esque cleaning in our house ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/reviews/BIOESQUE-1-Qt-Botanical-Disinfectant-Solution-BBDSQ/310650027/1 ). it has a pleasant clean smell to it, and is supposedly a very safe cleaning product. i've been thinking about spraying it on my seats to try and clean odors (i'd leave the doors/windows open after to allow it to dry). i'm guilty of bicycling for exercise or going for runs in metroparks and then hopping into my truck to drive home. so i need to stay on top of it to prevent the cab from smelling like a gym locker.

 

[simplynewt]

I have been using the Rain-X waterless car wash and microfiber hand towels. The tires are sprayed with Cover-All which is found at O'Reilly. The windows are done with a generic window cleaner and the windshield is treated with RainX.

The frequency is less desirable. I live in the south where the pollen from pune trees makes washing your vehicle useless.

 

[Willier]

I’ve got a monthly plan with local car wash…Run the truck through once or twice a week and have them also do interior every couple of months…

 

[veedubtuner]

I use mostly dura-coating products as far as coatings (Tire shine, ceramic coat, trim coat and glass coat), so maintenance is easy. I have access to wash bays at work so I usually wash it there if its really dirty, but I don't know what soap they use. I have a pressure washer and foam cannon at home, if I happen to wash at home I use Adams Polishes foam cannon suds and for hand washing, something like Meguiar’s soap I get at Walmart.

 

[veedubtuner]

I’d like to know what you do for the interior detailing/cleaning.? (Serious question, my seats need love and vacuuming and then using this meguires car interior cleaner leaves a greasy feel I don’t like.) so if you have any tips on good interior products.. I’d appreciate it.

I have "staycation" coming up and a full detail is on my list of things to do. My Process as follows.

1. Strip wash, removes old product and gives a clean surface to start with.
2. Clay bar to remove any road grime and fallout.
3. Then normal wash.
4. Use Dura-coating tire cleaner and scrub tires.
5. Blow dry the entire vehicle, nothing more annoying than doing a detail and getting residual drips every where ? .
6. Polish vehicle with Adams swirl remover.
7. Tape off trim, them apply ceramic coating.
8. Tape off vehicle, then apply trim coating.
9. Apply Glass coating.
10. Polish headlights, apply coating.
11. Then apply a liquid wax (left over from my friends defunct company Kleen Freaks USA).
12. Apply Dura-coatings tire coat.
13. Wipe down interior with Kleen Freaks interior cleaner (smells sooo good ?).
14. Clean glass inside.
15. Vacuum entire vehicle.
16. New air freshener ?.

 

[YaBoiNewton]

Curious how often and what method everyone uses to wash their Ranger?

I use a pressure washer and foam cannon. Pre-rinse entire truck, spray wheel cleaner on rims and clean with brush, rinse off, foam entire truck, go over with hand wash mitt, pressure rinse off and dry. Wax or clay bar if needed.

I use Meguiar’s Gold Class, but always been curious about chemical guys products. Usually wash about every 10-14 days depending weather and time of year.

Regular garden hose with a spray nozzle to get off mud if there is any, then I do a rinseless wash of Optimum No Rinse and the Optimum red sponge. Mix up the no-rinse, wipe on the panels with the sponge, dry with a Rag Company Liquid8r towel. Optimum Power Clean and a Jersey scrubber from the rag company for bugs on the bumper. Bugs just melt away. This is the most efficient wash process I have ever used. Truck comes out nice and pretty and swirl free.

Chemical Guys has some good stuff, like the Nonsense all purpose cleaner or the silk shine dressing, but Meguiars products are way better. I have switched entirely to Optimum No Rinse to simplify things. Even use it to clean the interior. Just need a good drying towel and some good microfiber towels for everything else. The Costco yellow towels are pretty good.

 

[Dunedain Ranger]

I run it through the same local carwash about once every month or six weeks, and on that day I vacuum and clean the inside with Armor-All cleaning sheets and protectorant sheets; I've done this since I got the vehicle in Feb of 2020. This process works for me. Use a sunshield on the front dash religiously rain or shine. That Lightning Blue really pops afterwards.

 

[jmkiser]

Do yourself a favor and try https://a.co/d/d165RqD Chemical Guys Extreme Body Wash and Wax.

I bought a small 16oz. bottle at Walmart and this product is the Cat's Ass!

I'm a diehard Meguiar's enthusiast, but when it comes to car wash soap I think Chemical Guys has the advantage. For polish, etc., I'll stick with my Meguiars.

 

[JohnnyO]

Basically my truck gets washed whenever it is dirty unless, say, it's going to rain tomorrow and then there's no point. If that means two or three times a week then it gets washed two or three times a week. I have a rain barrel setup with an electric pump I use in the summer to keep my water bill down. In the winter I mostly use a touchless drive-thru car wash.
I wash it with whatever car wash is on sale at Walmart and a microfiber mitt.
Dry it with a California Water Blade and touch it up with a chamois if I'm feeling cute or have a show.
Scrub the tires with Black Magic (formerly Westley's) Bleche White. Finish the tires with Armor All or if I have a show I use Cristal tire shine which is infrequently found at Walmart. Not expensive and lasts about a month. Purple spray can, if they have it buy two because they might not have it for a while.
Clay bar twice a year. In the spring I rub out the sides with tar remover first.
Like you I use Meguier's Gold Class wax. If I have a show I use a locally made product called RivStar Showcar Glaze. Straight liquid carnuba, pours out like water, easy on easy off. Doesn't last long but puts on a hellacious shine. You might be able to mail order it. RivStar makes a spray detailer too but it stinks to high heaven so I don't use it real often and wear rubber gloves and throw the cloth away when I do.
Wheel cleaner, whatever is on sale and scrub them with a Wheel Gerbil brush from Amazon and a lug nut brush. If I have a show I'll sit down with a beer and a nice cigar and wax the wheels.
For the flares, bumpers, door handles, and mirrors I use Mother's Back To Black.
Truck is driven 20,000 miles a year in shitty Pennsylvania weather and last year it got 3rd Place in the late-model Ranger class at the Ford Nationals in Carlisle, PA. [/shameless bragging]

At a local show last year and it had about 85,000 miles on it at the time.

 

[Friday yet?]

Two years old this past February. If memory serves, I’ve hand washed it twice and run it through a car wash, hmmm, maybe four times? I do try to keep the interior pretty clean.

Funny. As a young man my first new car got washed every week, or more if it got dirty. And waxed once a month. ? My Dad used to tell me that I was going to wash the paint off of it. Times do change.

First new car: 86 Mercury Cougar. Ordered it when I came home out of the Army. Black. Red interior. All the bells and whistles. 302 with fuel injection. First year for the fuel injection. Paid $16,003. How do I remember that at this point?! Loved that car. ?

 

[subquark]

I usually wash it 4 times a summer and graphene it twice. In the spring, I do an under carriage rinse. I also rinse the under carriage with the summer washes.

Then I'll typically foam and rinse 2 or 3 times in between the "full" details - just to knock off the big dirt.

For the full detailing, I blow out the interior with air gun, pull out the front seat matts to foam and rinse them (rears are covered with tools), then dry microfiber towel the dash, steering wheel, etc.. If the dash is bad, like tree pollen, then a slightly damp microfiber. Use a damp towel on the inside of the doors (mainly for dog snot!) and sills.

I do the glass with water and a triangular mitt on a short handle. Then vacuum the seats and carpet. Rear is set up for Kota, and that bed gets vacuumed and his blanket washed. I use 303 Aerospace Protectant on inside doors and dash.

For the exterior, I blow out the BedRug and usually leave it at that. I have foamed it in the past, but it lowers the Hoover Dam levels to try to rinse all the soap out of it!

Then, the body - I foam cannon first and let dwell for 5 minutes. Rinse and apply rust remover and let dwell 5 minutes. Rinse, then foam again. Then 2-bucket method using a Mitt on a Stick plus hand microfiber towels. For the wheels, I use a Brake Buster spray and stiff brush.

Depending on air temp, I might use the Ego blower with a stubby tip and the Vornado on the air hose. The Vornado does good for door handles, grill, lights, tailgate, wheel well trim, etc..

Then 303 Graphene in small 2 foot sections using a microfiber sponge and tons of microfiber towels.

Then 303 Aerospace Protectant on all exterior plastic and tonneau cover. I should mention that I'll pressure rinse the underside of the tonneau cover to get all those long hinges on the Bak Revolver, and then dry silicone lube them too.

I also remove and clean the B&W ball mount in the spring, greasing with white lithium.

I usually don't dress the tires, but Kate did once. I'm just not THAT dandy of a boy! =p

Speaking of, I also spray Fluid Film on the front chain. =p

Oh, I also foam and rinse the engine. This summer I'm gonna spray the engine bay with the bittering agent I got last year, hopefully that stops mouse snacking!

at least 3 hours cleaning the most important part of ANY Ranger ...

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