Critique my technique

[honda99ex]

Hi all. Newbie here. Been reading a ton of info on the site.

Background - I have a work SUV that has been neglected. Not washed very frequently in the past 3 years. Lives a tough life: used 24/7 - driving in hard pack/dirt roads 50-75% of the time, ton of annual miles. (Side note - I always chuckle when I watch the videos and they say "this car is filthy". Picture commercial grime that you can write WASH ME into, that's what my truck looks like). The truck is lucky if it stays clean 8 hours.... yes hours. Also heavily populated bird population so poop a problem. Especially since it gets burned in from the heat. Color is a metallic grey. I don't have a garage but access to hose generally available. Not really looking for show car level just advice on how to get most protection in the form of being able to rinse most of the filth away easily. I try to do a plain water rinse every couple of days to knock the heavy grime off.

I bought the autogeek foam gun here. Put it on the 1:10 setting. In the quart container I put 3+ ounces soap and 32 ounces water making around a 1:11 dilution. My soap calls for 1 ounce to 128 ounce. Fire it up and it suds like crazy and I'm giggling like a school girl. Beautiful right? literally 45 secs later the entire quart is used up! Am I doing something wrong? I literally didn't finish the entire truck!!! 16 year old boys last longer!!! What gives?

So I foamed like 3 quarters of the car and started a GDWM wash but the truck needs to be clayed bad so halfway through I changed to full on ONRWW rinseless. The surface was just tugging on the Microfiber so bad and the ONRWW was definitely better though it was still rough. I was actually really surprised at how effective ONRWW cleaned on the painted surfaces. I was planning on just quick detailing in between washes hopefully now every 2-3 weeks now that I found ONRWW. Are there issues with blending? With how life comes at me (kid, clients, weather, etc) I might only be able to do two panels per day.... Or more specifically, the bottoms of the doors, rear quarter panel and lifegate take the most dirt so can I just hit half a panel?

Also the ONRWW didn't really do a great job on the pebbled plastics of running board and trim. Can I rub with a brush on those or just use another product?

I bought microfiber clothes but I went for quantity over quality. I didn't realize how thin the ones I got were. But I need to do the GDWM so I don't re-dunk and was wondering what a good medium quality THICKER microfiber towel would be that I can buy in bulk but be cost effective? Or does it not matter how thick it is? It took me 16 towels to do the truck. It was filthy.

Finally I plan on claying at some point. Never clayed before. Thinking Pinnicle POLY clay. Not sure I will polish etc unless there is some easy way to go about it. The paint already needs some correction but I'm trying to keep costs in line. It is a work truck after all. The look doesn't matter as much as the protection if that makes sense. I wanted recs on a sealant. I was reading up on rejex but then it seems that curing has a lot to do with it's effectiveness and without ideal conditions ever I don't want to chance it. Meguairs NXT Tech Wax 2.0 seems like a candidate. I need simple.

Thanks
AC

[invested_detailing]

If you can swing it invest in some type of Iron X product to remove any iron particles bonded to the paint. Also as far as polish and waxing goes I would look into an all in one cleaner wax. That will give a little polish action as well as a layer of wax to make cleaning the SUV easier next time. Steps would be as follows.

1. Iron X type product to chemically decontaminate the paint

2. Foam and wash the vehicle using the aggressive method

3. Clay the car

4. Apply and remove the cleaner wax

Once the vehicle is decontaminated and has a coat of wax on it maintenance washes should take no time at all.

[Buster906]

Be sure to shake up the soap and water before you begin to foam wash

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[honda99ex]

Be sure to shake up the soap and water before you begin to foam wash

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I did but then I had to wait for the bubbles to recede... I guess next time I have to pre prep the solution? Still it was gone so quickly. Is that normal? Should I make like 3 quarts worth in advance so I can refill the foam gun?

[Buster906]

I did but then I had to wait for the bubbles to recede... I guess next time I have to pre prep the solution? Still it was gone so quickly. Is that normal? Should I make like 3 quarts worth in advance so I can refill the foam gun?

What brand of soap are you using? I have ONR, MEGUIARS WASH PLUS, CG WASH. OH, and I use distilled water in my foam gun

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[honda99ex]

What brand of soap are you using? I have ONR, MEGUIARS WASH PLUS, CG WASH. OH, and I use distilled water in my foam gun

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I just experimented with old Eagle One Nano Wash that I had. I could try with the BlackFire Sample that came with it.
It came out nice and foamy, just was short lived. (As in the contents in the quart jug were used up quickly which then started to just spout water)

I have the pin set as on this page
Autogeek Quart Foamaster Foam Gun FREE BONUS

The thing I did different was I put 3 oz and then i filled the quart container. Again due to my soap stating use at 1oz/1gallon.
On that page it put 2 oz but only another 6-8oz water. Is that enough water?
How long should the foam last? Help...


I use distilled on the quick detail spray I used but not in the foam gun.

[Buster906]

I recommend going to a local store and get a bottle of Meguiars soap. 10 dollars depending on where you go. Add distilled water and see what happens. Is there a soap line and water line on the foam gun tank?

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[honda99ex]

I recommend going to a local store and get a bottle of Meguiars soap. 10 dollars depending on where you go. Add distilled water and see what happens. Is there a soap line and water line on the foam gun tank?

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It is the Autogwek gun and there are no markings on for soap or water line....

So I went internet searching and for a Gilmor gun which i think this is, it was recommended that I back off to the middle setting and then for a soap with a 1oz/1 gallon the mix in the quart should be 8oz soap/24 oz distilled water. I'll try that to see if it helps....

[Buster906]

I have a CG foam gun with markings. I use setting 3 and can 3 quarters of my Ram

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[honda99ex]

If you can swing it invest in some type of Iron X product to remove any iron particles bonded to the paint. Also as far as polish and waxing goes I would look into an all in one cleaner wax. That will give a little polish action as well as a layer of wax to make cleaning the SUV easier next time. Steps would be as follows.

1. Iron X type product to chemically decontaminate the paint

2. Foam and wash the vehicle using the aggressive method

3. Clay the car

4. Apply and remove the cleaner wax

Once the vehicle is decontaminated and has a coat of wax on it maintenance washes should take no time at all.

I plan on following your method outlined except at

3. I was going to try a Nanoskin - medium then fine.... Thoughts on this vs. claying?

4. Do you think I can do something like Optimum GPS? I only have my hands, no equipment. I want something that works simply (on/off easily and not subject to heavy cure times/ideal conditions needed). Or should I go directly to a sealant? Once I get to the car to a cleaner state then I can do more maintenance more frequently to avoid heavy work each time...