How I Get My Frontier Body Clean and What I Use...

[Coldfire]

What do you guys recommend for cleaning the chrome? For example, the bumper. Some bug splatters give me a hard time and I feel it could be shinier.

Also, what did you use on the tires. Those tires in the pics look super shiny. I use that wet and black stuff, its never that shiny.

[kilago]

I wonder whats on those tires too...they r super shiny.

[NWFlorida_Frontier]

Originally Posted by Coldfire

What do you guys recommend for cleaning the chrome? For example, the bumper. Some bug splatters give me a hard time and I feel it could be shinier.

I use Mother's Chrome Polish and it works pretty good.

[masteryoda13]

I don't use anything on my tires...they would look good for two seconds and then be covered in dust.....

[Aussie_STX/Frontier]

[quote=Coldfire]What do you guys recommend for cleaning the chrome? For example, the bumper. Some bug splatters give me a hard time and I feel it could be shinier.



I remember when I used to show cars , a old guy at a show had the shiniest chrome on any car I had seen. After a bit of coaxing and a few glasses of the amber fluid, he told me all he uses is Vaseline. He smears a thing layer on the chrome and leaves it in the sun, until the vaso melts. Then he buffs it off. It brings up the chrome like a mirror and also protects the chrome from any surface rust or stains. I tried it on the car I had at the time ( i'm talking back in the late 80's) the chrome looked awesome!!

I haven't as yet tried it on my truck.
It's worth a go !!
It's cheaper than the chrome and metal polishes that are around!!

[Aussie Frontier]

Hey I would just like to know where in Aus you can wash your truck let alone twice a week lol.
I have found the best way to keep a car/truck clean is as follows
Once or twice a year I toatlly clean the vehicle and give it a good polish using Maguires Polish. I have found a great polish to use is maguires Colour Boost. It gets rid of any minor swirl marks and any crap like sap etc that has been a little stubborn. After that a good coat of Maguires Detailing Spray on Wax. If you pay alot of attention to detail and make sure you have done every part paint and buffed it all of properly then it will stand you in good stead all year.
When it comes to washing I use Mothers Californian Gold Wash.
First wet the full car/truck down when in the shade with a mist or light spray. Keep the full vehicle wet for about 5 minutes to allow the water soak right in.Once thats done turn on the hose to as much pressure as you have and go over the full vehicle blasting the panels etc making sure you cover everything. This will remove any surface dust dirt etc.
Now that youve totally soaked and blasted your vehicle and yourself your ready to wash.
Always start at the top and work your way down. Never let the sponge touch the ground.
once all the panels are done move onto grill and trims etc. Best way to dry the car is actually let gravity do the hard work for you. If you pour water on a panel thats well polished the water will run off in sheets due to gravity n some scientific principals but hey it works.Once youe panels have started to dry then its time to dry off the panels with a chamois. Only use a real chamois not a synthetic jobby. Always found the real deal works best. Once the panels etc are all dry go rinse out the chamois completely ready for next time .
Last job of all is the wheels. Use the spone etc to wash down the wheels and then rinse them off.
As for tires a little dishwashing detirgent on a small scrubbing brush will clean all the crap off your tires. Beleive it or not even some degreaser on the rubber will get out all the oils n dirst from your tires making them look as good as the day they were fitted.Brings up white lettering a treat too. I never bother using anything on my tires and they always look like brand new. I first used to do this to make my tires look good as they were ususally bald but mostly noone looked at the tread as the sidewalls looked like new.

Bottem line
I constantly get abused by friends saying my truck is a street show pony and always clean. Funny thing is its usually not that clean but because the hard work of polishing is done properly then the shine will show through all bar a full cover of mud

Hope it help

Oh yeah almost forgot

For Bugs Guts that try to stay after washing get a cloth with some diluted car shampoo and lay it over the problem guts. Keep it moist for about 20 mins half an hour and then try washing it off again. The other way is to wash them off after you have been driving in the rain if that ever happens.
If you apply a good dose of polish wax etc on your painted bumpers and even rims then the crap will wash off ever so easily .I may have even been seen at times giving my chassis rails a bit of a wax lol hey when I clean I clean lol
However my Gen II 4Runner looks like the chassis never seen any mud . A good coate of a good wax will keep things shiny and stops crap sticking as easy

[Zero Six LE]

Originally Posted by FitzIngarage

I was reading something last night on a care care forum and someone said to always wash the dirtiest area first -- the wheels and tires. "Wow", I thought, "is that stupid advice or what?" Schyeah, right -- load up your fresh bucket of suds with gritty wheel dirt, THEN wash the body? Arrrgh. I always start at the top and work my way down, doing the wheels and tires LAST and with their own ugly wash mit that I use only for wheels and tires.

I always wash my tires and wheels first. Since I'm using tire cleaner and wheel cleaners I don't worry about the wash water in the bucket. I use a sponge and brush to clean the tires and wheels. After rinsing them I start at the roof of the vehicle to wash it. When rinsing time comes I flood the soapy water off so most of the suds and water roll right off the paint and glass. Drying time is greatly reduced using the flood method over bleasting the soap off with pressure.