Preferred exterior car wash products & method?

[morsk]

Feel a bit silly putting this topic together, but, which products and methods do you prefer to wash/detail your vehicle (exterior)?

One can really get in the weeds of the detailing world, and I recall seeing some very impressive detailing setup photos from 4R6G users, so I'm sure there's a wealth of knowledge in here.

I used to be a rinseless/ONR user in the past, but I am thinking of moving away from this method. My 4R has a ceramic coating, so I'm thinking of going the 2-bucket method, buying some grit guards and soap (not sure of brand), maybe a foam cannon attachment to a garden hose (not sure of brand or product here either), along with some fresh microfibre towels.

What say you? Looking for the most simple and effective method that will get 90%+ of the results without 1,000 steps and products.

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[ToYoDaMan]

For a home setup,

Rinse , Adam’s Mega Foam Car Wash, Adam's Polishes Car Wash Shampoo,

3 bucket system with grit guard, one bucket for Adam's Polishes car wash shampoo paint body only, one for car wash mitt (rinse only), and last bucket for wheels only.

Rinse off and dry with dedicated towels.

there are other methods that are more meticulous, but this method works for me and doesn't take hours to complete.

 

[Nodak]

car wash with brushes

too old and lazy to care (i did the same with my 2014 and the paint held up fine)

 

[mfoga]

car wash with brushes

too old and lazy to care (i did the same with my 2014 and the paint held up fine)

But have you heard how shitty the new paint is

 

[CO/ZA]

But have you heard how shitty the new paint is

Japanese car paint is pretty much always shitty, maybe Lexus is better? IDK

For me I like 3D products and a foam blaster.

If the truck is dirty from the trail, I'll do a pre-wash at a touchless auto car wash before getting into the wash process at home next day or two.

 

[npats]

just dive into obsessed garage on youtube and their website!

 

[Twisted]

You're going to get 100 people telling you 100 different methods and each will say theirs is best. I can tell you mine, its not the best for everyone, but it is the best for me.

I polished with Griots Ceramic 3 in 1 so while it isn't a ceramic coating it works real good and seems to last a long time. Also helps keeping washes simple.

For starters I am fortunate to have good water with very low TDS. I use a basic cartridge DI setup to bring TDS to nearly zero and a basic Harbor Freight pressure washer.

90% of the time I foam Koch Chemie AF prewash or pump spray Bilt Hamber Touchless, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse. That is all and it gets everything 80-90% clean without touching the rig at all. No scratches. (I believe the Bilt Hamber works better but trying to weigh cost versus application, availability, KC available on Amazon, etc.)

If things are real dirty and I have time I still do the exact same as above but follow with a hand wash. At this point it is clean enough that I only need one bucket. I'll usually just use Mequires gold class as it is cheap and works great. If I have enough time to be a little more carefull I'll use Griot's ceramic wash to kind of top up the protection. I feel the Meguiars cleans better but the Griots leaves a better shine for what it is worth.

I've also recently started trying out Chem-X snake oil. I just foam it on and rinse it off. I don't believe it does much more for protection or anything over the product I already have applied but it hasn't hurt.

Best advice I can give, don't wash when it is warm out and for sure not in direct sun. If your rig starts out super dirty do a prewash and/or two buckets. People do more damage washing that not most the time.

 

[Blackie1]

I've got an Underground and have been using this:

https://www.chemicalguys.com/products/ecosmart-waterless-car-wash-wax-concentrate

It's been great and does a great job. I usually put some ceramic detailer on it every other cleaning and so far so good.

 

[SouthCoast]

I don't care, so I just use the local drive through car wash.

 

[NWRes]

Maybe I'm just lucky but I have not had a problem with our paint/finish or anything else. Ours is Cutting Edge. Weighed the pros and cons of different coatings and went with the dealer installed Zurich coating and the overlays in certain areas.

I am not a stranger to car finishes. Next to the 4Runner in the garage is a Saleen Mustang with a box full of trophies. Had a Roush too. All I have ever used on those were a clay bar and Meguiar's products applied with a Mother's Powerball. No swirls, ever.

I take our 4Runnner through regular car washes. I'm particular about which one. Strictly a Costco car wash probably twice a month. In between I hand wash with no particular products, just a clean mitt.

In a day or two I will hit the 21,000 mile mark. More than half of that was picked up on multi state sightseeing road trips. The first began with less than 1,000 miles on the vehicle. The finish has seen lots of dirt, bugs, sun, rain, desert heat, NW snow and some off road travel. The only blemish I can find is a rock chip in the windshield I picked up last year out of state on a patch of highway that was receiving a layer of chip seal.

It also has a Wescott pre-collar lift, a Warn winch and mount, and full Toyota aftermarket/TRD skid plates.

Again, maybe I am just lucky. This is just the latest in my string of FWD vehicles dating back to 1984 and likely my last.

 

[Nodak]

But have you heard how shitty the new paint is

toyota rolled out water based paint out to all major factories around mid 2000's

trust me my 2014 paint wasnt the greatest looking if you are picky about it, but meh, it was good enough.

it was garaged and washed on a semi regular basis mostly to keep bird crap off and other debris but i didnt go out of my way to maintain it to show room condition as some people do or dump a brick if there were swirls in the paint.

that was minor compared to some of the picks i saw of people off roading and the pinstriping they would get.

so yeah it doesnt matter, the quality of paints are not as robust as the old days so meh.

i remember toyota having big issues in the 2000's with white single stage color on vehicles that took almost 10 yrs to resolve.

 

[MikeK]

Feel a bit silly putting this topic together, but, which products and methods do you prefer to wash/detail your vehicle (exterior)?

One can really get in the weeds of the detailing world, and I recall seeing some very impressive detailing setup photos from 4R6G users, so I'm sure there's a wealth of knowledge in here.

I used to be a rinseless/ONR user in the past, but I am thinking of moving away from this method. My 4R has a ceramic coating, so I'm thinking of going the 2-bucket method, buying some grit guards and soap (not sure of brand), maybe a foam cannon attachment to a garden hose (not sure of brand or product here either), along with some fresh microfibre towels.

What say you? Looking for the most simple and effective method that will get 90%+ of the results without 1,000 steps and products.

I say stick with the ONR. My TH has PPF and ceramic coating and I use ONR or Opti Coat No Rinse for a mild ceramic boost.
I've been washing and detailing cars for years using the rinseless method since it's such a time saver, water saver, and back saver.
https://opticoat.com/products/opti-coat-no-rinse-16-oz

 

[Tarekith]

I’m a big Griots fan these days, seems to hold up as well or better than some of the more expensive products I‘ve used in the past on my BMWs and is cheap and easy to find. I used to ceramic coat all my vehicles too, but I stopped with our last two cars. I know I’ll keep my 4Runner fairly clean, so for me it’s FAR easier to get the same protection from a coat of Griot 3 in 1 every few months. I like the feel and shine from it better than most proper ceramic coatings too (unless you add a topper, which really isn’t necessary and at that point you’re doing the same work as a spray wax). Only takes 15-20 minutes to do the whole 4Runner.

I spend a lot of time on dusty forest roads, so first step for me to clean the 4Runner is going to a touchless DIY car wash bay. I only use the high pressure rinse, never their soaps or anything else, and just to get the worst of the mud, bugs, brake and cinder dust off. Then at home I’ll do a proper wash with soap, bucket, and MF cloths.

Instead of doing the multi bucket thing with grit guards, I just toss 5-6 MF clothes into the soapy bucket and only use one per side, top, hood, etc working top to bottom. Once a rag comes out of the bucket, it never goes back in (until they all get soaked in a bucket of clean water prior to washing machine). No worries about grit that way. Wash, rinse, then spray with Griots Speed Shine while I dry it off. Bit of lubrication while you dry it and you get a bit of gloss too. If I’m applying Griots 3 in 1 afterwards, I skip the Speed Shine.

Windows get a first pass with a MF cloth soaked in water and a few drops of dish soap. Gets all the crap and film off before you break out the actual glass cleaner (Stoners), and does wonders for preventing streaks. Using actual glass towels from some place like The Rag Company makes it ten times easier too, I’m a fan and always have some in the truck just in case. When the interior gets too dusty for me I use MF cloths and Griots Interior Detailer to wipe it down real quick. A little goes a long way. A damp cloth works fine too.

Also count me in the group that really hasn’t had many issues with the Everest paint on my 4R. It’s a LOT better than the black 2022 Tacoma ORP I had was, it’s holding up more than I expected with a little care. Far from the most durable paint I’ve had on a vehicle (BMW is pretty nice), but a lot less scratches than I should have given what I’ve done in it.

 

[get.outside.75]

I really like the Turtle Wax hybrid stuff. I’ve had multiple people ask where I got it ceramic coated.

Pure Wash
Hybrid Detailer or Hybrid wet wax after washing - still not sure which I like best yet
Hybrid Paste wax
Ceramic coat Spray, two coats once a year

 

[pmedicj]

Meguires ceramic wax and ceramic detailer is the easiest I have found and it does a fantastic job on black cars.

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