As thought about in another thread, lets list everyones tips and tricks that are somewhat different from the norm. Hopefully this can be stickied by RP if we get enough good ideas. So if you have a tip or trick, please post them.

 

1. Paint your frame. Rust Oleum and/or rubberized undercoating work wonders here
2. Paint your wheel wells. Again, Rust oleum is great (for the back, you can get it in the relative color of your existing wheel well paint), and rubberized undercoating is excellent (for the front).
3. Polish out your toolbox. Often times the most neglected part, which has the most potential to really shine. Yes the diamond plating is a PITA, but it's worth it. Good products for this are: Megs Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum polish, NXT All Metal Polysh, etc. (Search!!!)
4. Paint your brushguard. These often look great new, but fade to a greyish color, yet have the potential to look stellar. Rust Oleum here is great.
5. Paint your plastic trim. Do a search. I won't go into detail on this one, but it, like these others, is a HUGE improvement, and with little work.
6. Clean/Paint parts (or all of) the engine bay. RP's pic (along with several others) shows what an engine bay COULD look like. Most of the time, the weekend details only cover paint, interior, and tires/wheels...
7. Use Plast-X. Don't be afraid to use several applications. The 3rd brake light and headlights are common culprits of being dull looking.
8. Paint the inside of your tailpipe. I did this, as have others. The visible part of the inside of the tailpipe really looks nasty. Take some Rust Oleum High temp Oven/grill paint and get-r-done. Looks really sharp. Dont do the outside- it will chip and look GROSS.
9. Paint your brake calipers. The kit at any auto parts store is around $15, and it makes a world of difference. It turns them from that rusty color to a nice glossy color. In my case, I did black because I don't have the truck to back up a showy color. (V-6, 4x2, XL, stock rims)
10. Paint your rear axle/differential and other underbody parts. This is the most visible part of your truck from cars behind you, and I'm telling you, you will get many compliments off of this. Rust Oleum (I know, I'm making them rich) is great here.
11. Use Vinegar and water to remove water spotting. Or Bar Keeps Friend and water- do a search.
12. Use a pencil eraser to remove wax residue uhhh...self-explanatory
13. Pencil erasers safely clean dirt off of leather!
14. If hail is coming your way: (and you have nowhere for your truck to be safe) get rope and some blankets. Tie blankets to truck, being careful to not allow the rope to chafe paint. Hail problem solved.
15. Dress your weather stripping in your doors (and windows...) Use a quality dressing (ie: HD, Natural Shine, etc) and apply. Keeps them from cracking and such.

Here are a few from the last similar thread and others:

PLEASE ADD ON TO THIS!!! (We would love a sticky to me made, RP )

 

condition leather, um if you have running boards/ nerfbars etc. maintain those as well, other than that i think that f150sport nailed it

 

A tip that is often overlooked but works great for me. Cut down the pressure of your water hose to a trickle and sheet the water off of the vehicle by going over it again. Maybe not a trick to most of you, but no one around here knows how to do that. It's amazing how much this cuts down water spots for those with hard water.

jrbhc8

 

OLD T-SHIRTS!!!!!!

for removing and buffing polishes and wax to a shine I use old cotton t-shirts. all to often I find the more expensive cotton towels and microfiber towels end up getting hard, scratchy and just not too soft after a few washes

 

styxnpicks,

Sorry, my first tip would be DON'T use old T-shirts for removing/buffing polishes or waxes. Use ONLY the highest quality MF towels for these tasks.

Second tip... wash MF towels in hot water with the minimum amount of detergent required to get them clean... and no fabric softener. Then, make sure they are thoroughly, thoroughly, thoroughly rinsed out... I mean THOROUGHLY. Use some vinegar in the rinse if necessary to help release the detergents from the towels.

If you don't get all the detergent out, the towels will get "hard" and "scratchy".

 

Put on whatever polish you use to clean your exhaust tips. Drive around and do the days errands. Then come home and buff off. I have had great success in keeping my tips very very clean in doing this.

 

Make a card bored cut out of your rim size, so you don't get any over spray when applying your tire dressing.

 

Gel type tire dressings goes on much better with Eagle One Tire swipes or some similar foam applicators.

Little foam paint brushes are very good for applying trim dressings, like Meguairs #40. And Showroom Trim Restorer.

Always apply some snythetic wax on your chrome. Especially wheels, so the brake dust comes off much easier. Meguiar's #21 or NXT 2.0

Tic

 

If you smoke in your vehicle, go get some "Odo-Ban" from Walmart and mist it lightly on all fabrics - carpet, headliner, seats (if applicable). Also, after washing out the ashtray, dribble a little into it. Put a scented fabric softener sheet under the seat.

 

To add to this, buy an automatic air freshener dispenser thing from wal-mart. I put a small one in my truck on the highest setting and it always smells fresh in my truck - with no work on my part. The cartridge is still squirting strong after 2 weeks on the highest setting.

Tip: I put some velcro on it and attached it to sub enclosure. (Carpet acts as the other half, just make sure you use the right side of the velcro, the poofy side, not the thin side.)

 

On the highest setting, 2 weeks is about all you are gonna get out of a cartridge. The cab of a truck is so small compared to a room in a house you might as well crank it down to minimum and get 2 months instead of 2 weeks. That's still a blast every 30 minutes.

 

My next one will be turned down. I wanted the initial one to put lots of cover over the stench..

 

Using a buffer, wax your windows (not the windshield, or anything that gets touched by wiper blades).

Duplicolor truck bed coating makes a great black cover for valances and bumper covers.

Put some baking SODA in your ash tray. Even if you don't smoke it will absorb odors (like in your fridge) and if you do it instantly puts out cigarettes. Additionally if you get pulled over it makes a fun conversation piece. and when you vacuum your truck just vacuum the baking soda up and refill.

you can wax your rubber trim, not the plastic. It will keep it shiny longer than armor all or other common dressings(not to include poorboys or back to black etc...) you will need a toothbrush to clean out the edges when your done. if you are using a buffer for this turn it to the slowest setting and use very little pressure. this mostly applies to the trim surrounding the windshield.

You can increase the "wow" looks your truck gets by getting a simple folding lawnchair and having your wife lay out in the sun wearing a bikini.

 

1 - Don't be afraid to LIGHTY spray out your engine bay with water to remove dust. I always clean it every other time I wash my truck. In between washes, I dust and detail it. I was cautious of water in the bay, but I've had my truck 1 and 1/2 years and I have no problems with electricals. I crank the engine up after the spray and it dries in no time, then I detail.

2 - Buy a set of clear floor mats to cover your carpeted mats. Believe me, they will save the life of your carpeted mats and keep them clean like you wouldn't imagine. - Og