So, I have been jealous of all you warm weather folks and your shiny clean trucks. So, I finally made some time this afternoon to clean the truck up.

Given that I am in an extreme cold environment, cleaning the outside of the truck isnt the simplest thing ever. I dont have access to a hose and everything must be done indoors. I figured I would share my process in case anyone else is trying to keep their truck clean in a cold environment as well.

A few general things to keep in mind-

1.) Make sure your garage has some kind of drainage. While this doesnt generate a ton of wastewater, you still dont want a mess you cant clean up.
2.) Be aware of the humidity this will create, and be prepared to deal with it. I have an HRV in my home, so it isnt much of an issue for me.
3.) Be prepared to spend time on this-not having a hose really slows things own. It took me a solid 3 hours to clean the outside of my truck.

With all that said, here are the supplies you will need-



They are (left to right)-

1.) "No Rinse" brand car wash detergent
2.) Eagle 1 brand PVD wheel cleaner (only if you have the PVD wheels, obviously)
3.) Armor All Extreme Shine
4.) Meguiars Quick Detailer
5.) Rain-X Glass Cleaner
6.) Turtle Wax bug and tar cleaner
7.) A dedicated and focused supervisor to keep you on point
8.) Not pictured-Westley's Bleach-White Tire cleaner

In addition, the tools you will need are-

1.) Lots of Microfiber towels
2.) Bucket
3.) Sponge
4.) Drying towels/shammy
5.) Garden Sprayer (I use the HDX branded one-http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2-Gal...2HDX/203585560)

The big difference here is the wash itself-you arent going to be rinsing the truck off. Rather, you use the following steps-

1.) Fill the sprayer and spray the truck with the "No-Wash" solution (water plus soap) to soften up any grime. I usually let it soak for a few minutes.
2.) Using a microfiber cloth, dip the cloth in a bucket of the no rinse solution and wash the truck.
3.) Using a good quality drying towel or shammy (depending upon your preferences), dry the truck.

It is important to note again that this is time consuming-so to ensure the quality of the clean it helps to do the truck in sections. My personal process is-

1.) Top of the cab from the window line up
2.) Front of the truck from a-pillar forward
3.) Side of the truck below the window line from the a-pillar back
4.) Tailgate and tonneau.
5.) Other side of the truck from A-Pillar back.

At this point is when I begin work on the wheels/tires-

1.) Apply the bleach white to the tires (only needed if you have OWL tires). Follow directions on bottle to clean tires
2.) Apply Armor All tire shine to tires, again following directions on bottle.
3.) While waiting for the shine to dry, take the quick detailer and do a walk around of the truck for any spots you may have missed.
4.) Once the shine is dry, take the wheel cleaner to the wheels. BE VERY CAREFUL what you use to clean the wheels-PVD can be damaged by stiff brushes. I use more microfiber towels here.

Once complete, you should have a nice sparkly truck-






Hope this helps someone out there who is trying to figure out how to keep their truck clean in the winter-I know it took me a while to figure out a good process.

 

Great write up. Love the dog helper. One thing I did was to have a hot and cold faucet installed in my garage. Winter gets cold here in Salt Lake City.