What am I supposed to do about keeping my truck clean and looking good?

I was going to look into Zaino, but from what I understand it needs to be put on in the warmer temperatures.

I was wondering if it were possible to cover the entire truck with the rainX stuff or something similar Then the water would never stick.

 

I use Meguiar's Quick Detailer Mist and some microfiber towels in between washes. I only wash the truck at most twice a month.

I also use Eagle One Wet Wipe and Shine, and have great results.
From experience, I did mist my old truck on its hood once with RainX and it worked well on making sure the water is moved. BUT, it looked crappy when it dried, short to say I will not do that again.

EDIT: The greatest thing that you can do is, wash / rinse it down at night before you leave it for the night. That way, dirt does not accumulate that much.

 

Unless you have a garage it becomes really tough to keep it clean and looking good.

His edit point about rinsing after driving is a good one. After every trip in the winter you should at least rinse the truck to get off the road dirt, oil, etc. This will make it easier to clean when you do wash it and prevent foreign substances from penetrating the wax, Zaino, paint, whatever you have on there.

Definitely go the Zaino route once the weather is a little warmer. I think if you use the ZFX you can do it in colder temps. HD356 used it on his truck. I did not but I did mine on a warm day.

BTW, sorry to hear about the ticket. Sounds like you were picked on, IMO.

 

Yes...winter IS upon us...now I have to wear a jacket when it drops down in the low 60's The weather down here is great !

 

Bill, I have to admit I am probably a target (considering my licence and exhaust etc)

I will try rinsing, but I don't have the time to do it (2 jobs makes sleep hard)

Maybe I can get Josh to come out and give me a "once over"

 

that'll cost a pretty penny. the flight across the country and back, and my detailing rates for cross country! LoL!

Anyway, how cold is it out there now in CA? I've put zaino on when it was about 40-50* out before and its fine with the zfx.
I try not to drive the truck in the winter unless the roads are clear and salt free, or i absolutely have to, and in that case, the truck usually ends up looking like this




No shine whatsoever after that nice salt spray from the roads. LoL
those are from 2 years ago, its 1st snow storm.

 

just looking at this pics makes me wish spring would get here faster. they are calling for snow tomorrow, hope i don't wake up and see this out my window





LoL, but she usually jsut sits in the drive. If i do have to drive it and it gets nasty from the salt, i'll take it up to the car wash. If i don't have time for that, i'll get a bucket of warm water put on some rubber gloves, and go outside and wash just the chrome to get the salt off of it, even the inside of the rims. then once spring rolls around, i put the truck up on ramps and jack stands and i get under neath her and wash down everything in my reach by hand.

I really hate the snow, i'm dieing for spring to get here and it hasn't snowed yet this year. LoL. It was 9* out though today, and tomorrow is supposed to be even worse.
The only good thing is i'll have a chance over the winter to save up and get some new mods for next car show season! LoL

 

It hasn't been too cold out here. . .actually it will depend who you ask:

San Francisco 40 somtimes 70 others
Benicia where I live 50s to 70s
Mountains low 20s (I think) up to 60s
So Cal I have no idea (warmer than Nor Cal usually)

As far as snow is concerned, I love to snowboard but it does not snow where I live. So any snow uncleanlyness is self inflicted.

EDIT: I just washed my truck at lunch (who needs to eat anyway?) and I feel better. I didn't have time to dry it properly, but 120 mph can dry stuff quick

Is it bad that I just got a speeding ticket and I am back to driving fast (with a purpose)? It was out in the middle of nowhere, where I know there aren't too many law enforcement vehicles.

 

I too love the Mequires Quick detailer... But for my first wax job I took it to tha local detail shop and had them apply a basecoat of Mequires Gold Class. They applied it to every painted surface. (doorjabs, truck bed) These guys really rock on their details...they also seem to have taken "a shine" to my HD. Now i'll just quick detail it to keep it looking nice and have it detailed once a month.

 

4WL HOGG, you can Zaino at those temps with ZFX. Once you do the initial process it is very easy to maintain. I use the Gloss Enhancer after each wash and usually put a coat of polish on once a month. You can put it on the whole vehicle at once and wait a little while for it to dry then take it off. No wax residue.

 

yeah, you guys are spoiled man those temps are perfectly fine for zaino. I'd say anything above 50 degrees is fine. I've got 9 coats on my truck so far since i started using zaino in aug/sept. I did the last 2 coats like 3 weeks ago. That'll be it until march unless we get a freak warm weekend sometime in january or february. But i don't see any problems with going that long, zaino's really durable.
I just wash the truck when it needs it, which is about every 1-2 weeks in the winter, then hit it with the Z6 quick detailer after every wash. Looks like it was freshly polished
but like bill said, after the initial process, its a breeze.

 

For those of you that take your trucks to get detailed, how much do you pay?