I drive quite a bit of miles a week back and forth to work, 900 +. Drive offroad, then leave my truck parked for 12 hours a day. So it builds up a LOT of dirt, dust, bugs and road tar. I wash it every week after i am off. Trust me, it needs it. I am wondering if I need, or it woud be recommended to, wax after each washing? I am really trying to keep my truck looking clean a new....its an 04, but it seems like its a dead end road. Would waxing after every wash (once a week) be the right thing to do? It takes me about 6 hours to fully clean wash and wax the truck and sometimes it doesnt seem like its worth it as it gets absoultly filthy a few days later anyway. Which is also a reason I am holding off on any mods (rims, body work and the such)Any suggestions?

 

First off, make sure your washing steps are in order. I'd wax every 3 months with a good synthetic wax like NXT because of the conditions, otherwise my personal favorite is the Gold Class carnuba or Zaino. Every wash it wouldn't be a bad idea to use a QD/QX in between waxing.

 

"How often to wax?" Whenever the hairs start to get too long for your significant other. OK, that was my smart ___ answer - but it is true.

For your truck, there are many things that influence the answer. For instance, one wash with the wrong stuff (like dish soap) will remove just about any wax. Many car wash soaps are actually fully capable of removing wax too.

For most folks that take care of a truck like it sounds like you do, about every two to three months - with decent care between washes - will do it. By the way, I wash mine about three times a week - generally just before it rains for some reason. So don't feel bad.

By the way, gotta love those regular cab short boxes!

 

I do a full detail every 3 months and try to wax (pure caranuba wax) once a month and that seems to be the ticket for me. I have a black screw and even when its dirty it looks good from 10ft away. As soon as winter hits it will be about 4 months before a full detail. Also after every wash I make sure I dry the water off so I dont get spots.

 

another big problem im having...i try all the "blue" drying towels, supposedly lint free....which all that little blue drying towel does is leave little blue lint all over my damn truck. What is a good drying method...b/c I always have water spots after every washing

 

I just gave my truck a wash and wax this afternoon actually. Following the wash and rinse, I take the spray nozzle off my hose and run the water straight from the hose over the entire truck, top to bottom. I find this helps to sheet a large percentage of the remaining water right off the truck, then I hit what's left with a microfiber drying towel. Seems to do the trick. I don't have water spots and I do have hard water.

 

I use the 'Mr. Clean Auto-Dry' after my wash and than use my back-pack leaf blower to dry it.

 

Can you wax to much i don't have a real life just lots of free time so i usually detail my truck about every two weeks.

 

ha when i was 15 and had a Explorer Sport I waxed it every weekend for nearly a year, then i found out how to wax, so it appears that thing was definatly protected lmao. But yeah every 3 months sounds lie a good time to wax. I use Zaino and love it. Haven't tried NXT yet.

 

yeh its way overkill but i just like doing it. I just want to know if its a bad thing. besides the lack of a personal life.

 

What quality are the MF towels that you have? Also, never, ever dry your MF using dryer sheets. Never had a lint problem, even with the cheaper ones I use on the dirty areas. And last, I never wash during the middle of the day. Get up early, find a good spot on the west side of your house, wash everything and pull 'er into the garage to hand dry; I've found that any sunlight allowed to hit the finish really sets the spots in. At least with our hard water it does.

 

I'll second the motion on the leaf blower. My neighbors think I'm nuts, but it does an awesome job. It also gets all of the water out of the impossible to dry places - like the mirrors. After the blower, I finish up with the Meg's yellow towels I bought at Advance Auto Parts. One towel finishes the whole truck - with no lint.

 

I have small Microfiber towels, I use 4-5 only for drying off the truck and they work great. No lint. There are other products like the waffle towel that I heard works very well but I use what I have. I use to use cotton tee shirts on other trucks but there is nothing like Microfiber towels. (thanks RP) I've learned a lot from this site.

 

If your going to wax all the time I would suggest start with a Syn wax and then keep waxing with a Pure Carnauba wax not a cleaner wax. Im trying this method right now on my black screw and its working great.

 

I personally use Meg's Water Magnet towels. I can use 1 to dry the entire truck. In the future, I will be 'graduating' to the leaf blower method as I don't care what my neighbor's think of me. I have one that is in his 70's and he uses his leaf blower to blow the pine needles off from the roof of his house and on his driveway