other than many post-trip vacuums and an occasional drive-thru wash, truck hasn't had a decent detail. what products or places (denver, co) do you recommend? i don't mind taking a couple of days to get the job done myself, but i want to use the right products from the start. and, if there's a place that's highly recommended, i don't mind dropping it off either.

the truck is garaged about 50% of the time (usually depends on who gets home first), so i want some extra protection.

thanks in advance.

 

Superiorcarcare.net is a forum sponsor. Somehow they are associated with Autogeek.net. I have purchased a lot from Autogeek.net. they have a great forum. Look around there.

As for what products, it all depends upon what condition your paint is in , budget and time.

For a start look at the flowchart here http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

 

Here is all you need right here: Zaino Store

 

There's some great "new(er) technology" that will let you get awesome results on the paint doing your own work. For years, the best results came from wet-sanding, and then a diminishing abrasive applied with a wheel. There was significant risk of burning through the clearcoat if you didn't know what you were doing. The safer alternatives like clay and compounds with an orbital mostly left you with a process that used a heck of a lot more elbow grease to get only mediocre results. That changed with the introduction of "supermicro abrasives" several years ago. With a DA polisher and a supermicro compound, you can even take out 1200 grit sanding marks relatively safely. Even for many pro detailers, the compounds have even made wheels something they hardly ever use anymore. What I suggest for DIY, is a DA polisher and Meguiars 105 compound, followed by 205, and then your choice of LSP. It's a simple enough protocol you don't have to invest in a ton of products and stages, but the results can be very good.

Besides the paint, you probably just need an air compressor with a blow gun, some small cleaning brushes, and a few products you'd be using on a regular basis anyway: wheel cleaner (I like Sonax), an interior/trim detailer, a leather cleaner/conditioner (I suggest Einsetz), a glass cleaner (I suggest water with a little denatured alcohol, and fine steel wool for hard water stains), a rubber dressing (Einsetz again), and a tire dressing. The carpets should be covered with a rubber floor mat and the exposed areas probably won't need more than a vacuum and compressed air to blow the debris out.