5th Generation Cleaning, Detailing, Waxing. #CleanCarDay - Show off your cleaned Ex

[NickyB]

Looks good! I'm jealous, there's hard water spots allover my windows and black trim, as well as the Chrome trim across the back of the car, that no one can seem to get off. I doubt anyone but me notices it, but looking at how clean yours is made me a little jealous.

The water where I live is extremely hard. At my job we have a 2015 Ford Explorer and the whole exterior is wrecked due to hard water spots. Its so bad they wont even come out now (granted I havent tried as hard to clean it as I do my own vehicle) but we find drying it is a big piece. If they arent to the permanent stage I'm sure theres a few products out there that might be able to help. I've always dried my vehicle and wax it often (detailer, quick wax, actual waxing, etc.)

NickyB I'm glad to see someone who is more OCD than me......we need to form some sort of Explorer Sport OCD Owners Sub Forum!

I also just discovered the Meguires Ultimate Cut M105 myself and it is nothing short of amazing when removing scratches, especially on Shadow Black.

I'm really interested in the new product you're trying for the plastic trim, Sonax Plastic Care, up here it rains a lot and when I detail eventually the rain shows run marks all down. the plastic trim. It would be nice to have a product that soaks into that trim rather than sit on top and get washed off by rain.

Granted its only been only about a week but I have washed it once since then, and we had two rain storms since then. So far the trim still looks great. Its faded slightly but nothing compared to how the Ultimate Black usually fades. I'll post a pic in a little bit. Still haven't tried their wheel cleaner or bug and tar remover yet.

I have a clay bar "disc" by Chemical Guys that attaches to a random orbital that I use. Cuts down time tremendously!!! It's harder to use in tight spots, but it does great on the doors and hood. Definitely recommend if you hate clay baring like me lol and its reusable (which is also great if you happen to drop it)!!!

https://www.chemicalguys.com/Clay_Eraser_Disc_Blue_Fine_6_inch_p/cly_511.htm

I'd like to get that someday. Clay baring is miserable in my opinion. More money than I want to spend at the moment though.

 

[NickyB]

Trim is still dark and evenly coated. Up close pic shows there are no oily spots like some cleaners leave behind after getting wet a few times. There is dirt which are the white spots you see on the close up

 

[Sgt1411]

Are those Sound Off MForce in the grill?

 

[Lantz]

$40 for a clay disc?...........that's expensive, you can get a lot of clay bars for that $$$$

If I had a little Mustang, then yeah, that would be expensive to clay bar, but a vehicle this big takes a very long time. I think it's worth it. It's reusable, so it's not like I'm getting a couple of uses out of it and then throwing it away. I guess it could be a different story for you though. I live in Texas, where you completely melt if you spend more than 3 minutes in the garage, so speeding up the process is worth it.

 

[Sgt1411]

If I had a little Mustang, then yeah, that would be expensive to clay bar, but a vehicle this big takes a very long time. I think it's worth it. It's reusable, so it's not like I'm getting a couple of uses out of it and then throwing it away. I guess it could be a different story for you though. I live in Texas, where you completely melt if you spend more than 3 minutes in the garage, so speeding up the process is worth it.

Yes, I can see what you mean, I was in shock when I experienced my first AZ summer garage day and the thermometer on the garage wall said 118F......I'm sure all my neighbors were laughing their butts off at the knob from Canuckastan in his AZ garage.

I know for sure they were laughing when I was washing the driveway off with a hose and one of them said "Hey you know we have to pay for water here right?.......

 

[peterk9]

Yes, I can see what you mean, I was in shock when I experienced my first AZ summer garage day and the thermometer on the garage wall said 118F......I'm sure all my neighbors were laughing their butts off at the knob from Canuckastan in his AZ garage.

I know for sure they were laughing when I was washing the driveway off with a hose and one of them said "Hey you know we have to pay for water here right?.......

Despite the temperature I think parking in the garage is the smart way to go but I'd leave the garage doors open. It keeps the vehicle out of the harmful rays of the sun and keeps the interior cooler than if parked in direct sunlight. It may also lessen the amount of airborne contaminants from settling on the finish.Now if you were going to work on it, that might be another matter.

Peter

 

[jonnoriega]

I didn't see anything about the 5th Gen Ex and those who love to wash, detail, and wax it to show it off as we cruse down the road. The weather up here in the Northeast has been more than favorable and I've taken advantage to do my annual super in depth detail of my 2016 Ex. Feel free to show yours off or add in your advice. I'm going to tell you guys the products I use just incase everyone is wondering. Most are available in stores, some I had to order online.

1. Quick Cleaning of Windows with Windex
2. RainX applied via a random orbital buffer to all exterior windows including sunroofs
3. Cleaned rims with Mothers Wheel and Tire Cleaner. I had just purchased Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus but it did not arrive yet. Cannot wait to try this stuff out. Will give feedback once I use it.
4. Wash the Exterior - Meguiars Ultimate Wash and Wax
5. Dry it off (don't forget to clean your door jambs)
6. Interior Detailing of all the leather components - Meguiars Ultimate Leather Balm
7. Interior Detailing of all the plastic components - Meguiars Supreme Shine
8. Interior Windows Cleaned with Ammonia free Windex
9. Vacuumed all carpeting
10. Little Tree Black Ice Vent wrap for all front vents
11. Full clay bar treatment of the exterior. This year I used the Mothers kit as it was on sale and more clay is included. I probably will not go back to the Meguires clay kit. Meguires clay is very hard and I found it would rub off and would be a pain to remove it from the body. I was very impressed with the Mothers Clay Bar Kit. Only down side is that it didn't come with a case to put the clay in afterwards.
12. Meguiars Ultimate Compound was treated in areas with scratches. Nothing too deep fortunately. I use a random orbital buffer to apply this, I find it works well although some find it "unconventional".
    
13. Thankfully the 2016 is looking good, no need to apply SwirlX or ColorX.
14. Polished all exterior with Meguiars Ultimate Polish using a random orbital buffer.
15. First coat of wax applied with the random orbital buffer using Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. First time using this product; I used to use the paste. Highly prefer the liquid because if you happened to make contact with any of the black rubber or plastic trim, it didn't turn it white; in fact it was neutral in terms of the effect on it.
16. Waited just over 24 hours and applied a second coat of wax using Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax #26. This was my first time doing two coats of wax. For those who don't know, all of the Meguires Ultimate products are full synthetic which means it will last longer and most agree that it gives a "better" appearance. (Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder). I believe that the two coats did give the vehicle a really nice shine and makes the metallic paint really pop.
17. All of the exterior rubber was treated with Mothers Back to Black. I think I will be fading out this product only because it leaves a sheen if it touches the body. I was uncertain about the rubber at the during the test of my new product. See next bullet.
18. All exterior, unpainted plastic trim was treated with Sonax Plastic Care. First time using this product and I think it looks great. I don't know of its longevity at this point but will update at some point. On the large areas I applied with a random orbital buffer, hand applied everywhere else. This product is really nice. Highly impressed so far.
19. A light coat of Mothers Power Plastic 4lights was hand applied to maintain the lights supreme appearance.
20. I'm not sure why I did this but decided to apply two different coats of tire shine. First one was Meguires Gold Class Tire Gel. Once that dried I applied a coat of spray on Meguiar's Ultimate Tire Shine (make sure to use your card board to keep the spray from hitting the trim after cleaning like this lol).
21. Yup, have to do it after the winter. Pop the hood and clean the engine compartment. First step I do is use hot water with a splash of Dawn to clean the heavy dirt off everything. I'm not a fan of power washing the engine compartment because I have had a work vehicle damaged due to the intensity of the spray.
22. Once again, highly impressed with Sonax's products. I would be willing to buy a few more. Used Sonax Engine Cleaner and let sit for the recommended 3-5 mins. Used hot water to wipe off the engine cleaner and continued. Extremely clean! Could have stopped there because the cleaner did give a slight shine to the plastic components under the hood.
23. Last, I used Meguires Quik Detailer and shined the plastic components. Never have done this before to be honest. Didn't think it would be a bad idea. I just hope dirt and grime doesn't stick more aggressively to it. Will update with that.

Most people have their rituals on how they clean their car. I love keeping my car clean to show it off. Maybe this was advice to someone, maybe not. Just felt like contributing lol.

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

2016 Ford Explorer Sport

• NickyB
• April 13, 2017
• clean detail meguires mothers shine sonax vacuum wash wax

Full Detail of Everything

I had my car detailed several months ago. They used a clay bar first to remove all the dirt, grime, etc. and then used a proprietary carnauba wax treatment. It took 4 hours to do and cost me $175. Below is the photo of my car right after the detail work and below that is a photo now (added some new vinyl wrap) and about 2 thousand miles and about 10 full service car washes later and the carnauba wax job has held up pretty nicely. I love black cars but they are the harder to keep clean. The only thing that's driving me crazy is the dead bug marks on the front bumper and grille. I spent an hour cleaning it and there's still bumps on it!!! I got some great tips from other forum members and will apply those to my XPlatinum tomorrow.

 

[Sgt1411]

Those wheels make it all come together, why Ford decided to go with gray painted pockets on the 16/17 Sport wheels is beyound me. I liked my 14 Sport black wheels much better. Why sell the Sport with an OEM black out package and then provide grey painted pocket wheels? My sources say it was to change it up and freshen the look to coincide with the front/rear clip update but doesn't do it for me.

 

[Halwg]

Another cleaning post, woop dee do!

 

[Summers22]

^^^Why comment if you dont care for the thread?

 

[Nasty]

Another cleaning post, woop dee do!

Why don't you create a new thread and tell us about your problems? Some of us might be interested.

 

[Summers22]

Why don't you create a new thread and tell us about your problems? Some of us might be interested.

I am guessing that would be a rather lengthy thread........

 

[Sgt1411]

Why don't you create a new thread and tell us about your problems? Some of us might be interested.

LMAO

 

[Sgt1411]

Another cleaning post, woop dee do!

I actually get a lot of good information on new products from these threads. I also like seeing the results of other people with OCD cleaning their Explorers. These detailing threads are not only informative but therapeutic.

 

[jonnoriega]

Another cleaning post, woop dee do!

@Summers22 and @Nasty asked you a question. No reply?

 

[Summers22]

I just dont get it. There are 2 members in particular that are always so negative. Why be here?

 

[fexntex]

I washed and waxed my '17 Sport today, but since it's black, it didn't stay clean long enough for a picture.

 

[peterk9]

I washed and waxed my '17 Sport today, but since it's black, it didn't stay clean long enough for a picture.

Welcome to the Forum.
"since it's black, it didn't stay clean long enough for a picture."

Peter

 

[Sgt1411]

I washed and waxed my '17 Sport today, but since it's black, it didn't stay clean long enough for a picture.

LMAO because on the West Coast if you want to see it rain all you do is wash your car and then it rains 15 minutes later. In March it rained 23 days out of 31.

So after I wash mine I just sit and stare at it until it starts raining.

 

[Nasty]

I think the next time I wash it I'll be sure to post pictures and talk about the products I used. So thank you thread for the motivation to clean the ole girl up.