Who takes their truck through a car wash?

The first (and last) time I went through an automatic car wash, when I exited I saw that the back window had not been rinsed at all. Somehow it got missed and was covered in soap. This was a warm sunny day so I was in a mad rush to get home and hose it off. Since then, I bought a cheap Ryobi pressure washer that I use from time to time. I just need to get a nice foam cannon.

 

You can spend around 80.00....to get an MJJC Foam cannon Pro V2.0 or Pro V3.0.....or around 65.00 for a Griots Garage Brilliant Finish foam cannon...or around 100.00 to get an MTM PF22.2...all are really good and will give you very good foam.

Recently, my local Harbor Freight had their foam cannons on sale for 24.99 (regularly 32.99)....so I picked up 2 for just over 50.00. The build quality is surprisingly good, and the foam is excellent as well. Time will tell how well they hold up....but they are a good choice for the money

 

My brother in law owns a car wash so I just go there. Occasionally I’ll clay bar it or do a legit detail.

 

This is crazy, gang!

Hand wash here. Get ready for my technique:

1. Make her wet
2. Swirl gently with soft cloth and water to loosen everything up
3. Do #2, but with soap
4. Rinse away
5. Pictures!!!

She's very long, so it takes a while. But we have a good time regardless!

 

I wish I could do this three times a week but we’re both getting older, and she really isn’t interested in putting in this much effort anymore. I’m lucky if she gets wet like once a month anymore.
We’ll have to look into that “foam gun” thing though, sounds like fun..!!
Pictures….? She’d never allow that unless she’s really drunk…

 

It’s been a couple of years.

 

Hand wash only if you want to preserve the crap Toyota paint as much as possible. If you lease or don’t GAF then do whatever ya want.

 

I wouldn’t go to the dealership if all service was free.

 

Start with a less expensive foam cannon from Amazon. Check the reviews some are very good for the money. They do come in real handy.

 

Love Asian vehicles. But all their paint sucks. My acuras paint is embarrassing.

 

I try to stick to the tunnel washes in the winter. Midwest guy but otherwise rinseless washes. Light polish with a machine in the spring. Love my rinselees washes best thing invented in the detail world. Black paint thanks me.

 

Wife had an Infinity before the Tesla and that paint was horrible. We ended up painting the roof and back door before we sold

 

Is this what you would recommend:

 

I've had great luck with this cannon, pretty heavy duty construction and I think it was about $35.00 at the time.

 

That's the one. Be on the lookout for Harbor Freight coupons, too. Make sure you are using it with an electric pressure washer, as it comes with the 1.1mm orifice installed,

 

What soap do you recommend for a foam cannon? Preferably one that is readily available in stores.

 

I always wondered in what situation I might use that little tool. I couldn't figure out why it was even in my gloves box.

I hand wash and wax in the summer and high pressure spray in the winter to get the salt off. The wax usually makes it through the winter, fortunately.

 

Oh please, these are pickup trucks made for work, not classic cars with high dollar paint jobs. There are hundreds of of other things in life a lot more important than wasting time hand washing a truck.

 

That's precisely why I do a hand job. To save money!

 

$20.00 bucks a month for unlimited washes, your time is worth a lot more than that.

 

When I was married, I would put hours into it just to get out of the house away from my wife. I could listen to the radio and drink beer. And my truck always shined.

 

While you are correct in stating Tundras aren’t classic cars, I do believe you are incorrect on not caring for what you own. Work truck or not…

My family came from nothing and they taught me to ALWAYS care for everything you own. You can not predict the future and you may not be able to purchase or afford to replace it.

 

Hand wash with a foam cannon when time/ weather permits. Meguiars Quik wax (maroon bottle) with microfiber cloths.

High pressure soap/ high pressure rinse / and the “wax” setting inside of the wash bays when there are time constraints and or weather. Just started implementing the “wax” setting afterwards and believe it or not it does a halfway decent job. The wash bay is about 3 min from my house so what doesn’t “blow” off on the ride home gets handled with a 40V leaf blower.

 

If you end up in Harbor Freight...pick up a gallon of Meguiars Hyperwash.....an excellent all around soap. As far as I know, HF is the only place to get it off the shelf.....online prices are a lot more. WalMart is also a good source for shampoo....they ae selling some Chemical Guys soaps, which are decent. Also, check with you local Advance Auto Parts or NAPA...they have all expanded their detailing supplies

 

Not if you wash once every three years

That was a joke obviously. Now, to counter the point of car washes. They'll never get her as clean as you will and those high-pressure jets cannot be good for the cost. Even worse, those flubbery flutters that rub on your truck before rinsing.

 

I didn’t say I did not care, but time in life is not an infinite number and to waste it on hand washing, hand waxing, clay baring, qtip detailing, ceramic coating any vehicle is a huge waste of time. A vehicle is just a tool to get you from point A to B and to treat it like a precious jewel is foolish. It is a depreciating asset, that’s it.

 

There are some people ( myself included ) who enjoy washing and waxing their vehicle by hand . You’re correct that time is not infinite so why not spend some time doing what you enjoy .

 

I hand wash maybe 3-ish times per year in the warm season. The rest of the time I alternate between using waterless wash with ceramics to clean light dust and top off protection and touch-less machine washes that do a good job of cleaning heavier dirt but wear away the wax layer faster.

I am not 25 and single and childless and able to do a weekly handwash on a huge pickup anymore. I'm just not. Cars are fast and easy and I've done them more often when I've owned them. With my pickups I now consider it good if I get at least one solid hand wash and wax in in the spring and again in the fall. Touchless machine and wipe downs in between. Bonus if I get a solid wash in mid summer. That's life when someone in the house needs something from you every 5 minutes.

 

You’re probably wasting your time making your point in the detailing subforum.