Winter wash advice: quad cab pickup

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imported_Lightman

New member
Hey guys. I would love to hear your thoughts on a possible winter wash routine for my truck. While I currently prefer my chenile mitt and buckets, when it's freezing out I need an easier/quicker solution. My truck is parked outside 24/7 and is 7'2" tall. It's black, and during our winters it's typically grey or nearly white there is so much salt and crap all over it. It's too big to reach the middle of the hood without a stepstool. I guess I'd like some sort of BHB or brush of sorts that I can clean the paint with and has minimal marring/swirling. Being huge and black, often daily driven and worked hard, it's pretty unreasonable to expect a perfect swirl free showcar finish all the time. Especially with ice freezing and sliding off my paint all winter..Trying to find a nice balance between minimal damage and quickness/ease of use.



When the truck is that filthy and salty, I have been thinking a foam gun presoak might be a good idea in theory (if presoaks actually do work and truly loosen stuff), however I'm a little scared that the few minutes the suds are presoaking will damage/diminish my LSP. I use Griot's wash soap. I've been wondering if a bhb and foam gun should be in my winter arsenal.



Right now the truck is ready to face the winter with ksgx3 and cg 5050 x1. Hoping the first coating of salt doesn't just melt it right off! Finished winterizing with updated pics on my old thread a day or two ago. Pics here - http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/79703-winter-prep-04-cummins-powered-ram.html
 
I just put down 3 applications of ksg and one of cg 5050 wax, I hope to not have to add any more wax this winter!



I don't think I want to do any sort of onr or qew type wash because the truck will be extremely dirty..I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that on black paint for fear of marring/swirling.
 
I'm planning on using ONR (Optimum No Rinse). When the ride is really dirty, or when it's really cold, I plan to take my 1 gal pump sprayer (with ONR mix) to the coin-op. I'll spray with the ONR mix, then use the coin-op set on RINSE to wash it... This way I do NOT use the coin-op soap which is harsh and will more quickly reduce the durability of my LSP.

(Note: I have only done about 6 ONR washes, but the stuff has me sold - so much so, that right now I question if I'll go back to wet washes in the driveway come spring.)
 
Abbeysdad do you really think that just presoaking with onr and high pressure water will remove all the dirt/film? In my experience I've needed a mitt or something actually touching the paint's surface to actually get it clean..
 
Meguiars has some nice brushes on longer handles. They have a synthetic mitt type as well as a soft brush. Check your local biglots, they have some really good deeals on the body brushes. The biggest issue will be running water when it is below freezing.
 
Lightman said:
Abbeysdad do you really think that just presoaking with onr and high pressure water will remove all the dirt/film? In my experience I've needed a mitt or something actually touching the paint's surface to actually get it clean..
Click to expand...





I think Abbey has a valid suggestion. I've used this routine before when I could not wash due to severe icing and cold temps. I misted the entire vehicle with QEW and quickly rinsed. While it was not perfect, it was a heck of a lot better than just rinsing alone. These no-rinse products (QEW, Optimum) have some novel cleaning abilities I haven't seen elsewhere.





Do you have a spray car wash nearby? I used to carry my wash mix (plastic 3-gal. bucket w/locking lid) to the spray car wash, rinse, hand wash and rinse again. It was the best possible solution at the time as I had no access to outside water/hose during winter months.
 
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