First time in the rain today.

[Cybertruck26]

Sorry bad post by me…my actual question is…does a traditional automatic car wash clean the Cybertruck at all or does it make more stains etc.??

Just ran mine through yesterday. Even with lightbar it goes through and comes out great! That said, it rained today... so that sucks.

Best vehicle I have ever owned.

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[Docedward]

I’ve been through 3 car washes. The first was fine. Cleaned up well. Second (Buccees) was meh- 30% of dirt remained in spots. . Third ( yesterday) was miserable. It was too heavy for the equipment and kept getting stuck. When a brush would start cleaning, the equipment pushing the car through would slip like I didn’t have it in free roll (but I did - in Carwash mode with free roll) If someone were to have been behind me it would have been a significant issue. It slipped back 3 times. In the end the last 30% of truck didn’t get rinsed or dried. It was like the equipment was made for a car not a truck.

I’m NOT OCD about my truck or cars but I do keep them clean. I bought the Cybertruck clean pack from Tesla and use the waterless and glass cleaner multiple times weekly. The Stainless makes it orange. The interior is great as well. I have used Windex and that Sprayway (the best) window cleaner and I’ve used Barkeepers friend.

I use Sprayway on the Alabama bugs that collect on the Frunk in the front spray- leave for 3 min and wipe. That said, the extent I think I’m gonna do is either a carwash every couple of weeks or a quick sponge bath monthly. Waterless Tesla and Sprayway as needed.
For the crappy plastic and the vault gone wild with white streaks, I’m still searching for better solutions.

Here is my before and after with 303 plastic clean and restore (blue bottle): before (power outlet side) after (passenger side) and tailgate. After 24 hours, the plastic is a little less “new” looking but not quite back to complete white streaks.

I’m finding that the 303 takes multiple applications for it to decrease the plastic fade by 50% and I don’t know how long this will last but I suspect this is a fruitless labor.

 

[RAY INGRASSIA]

Gosh, too much stress on CT cleanliness. Heck, it's just a truck, not a Limo. I just hand wash it with a ceramic car wash once a month and just hose it down in between when needed. No stress, not much effort and more time just to enjoy the ride. Ease up folks.

 

[DaBagBoy]

Potential buyer…learning.

So, i assume with CT, no automatic car wash like regular cars? Just Windex / Sprayway and microfiber cloth?

I use a spray car wash routinely, i.e. "touchfree" Works well enough, but even the air dryers need some help with a towel and Sprayaway to get any remaining water spots.

Sorry bad post by me…my actual question is…does a traditional automatic car wash clean the Cybertruck at all or does it make more stains etc.??

Define "traditional automatic"?
I'd stay away from brushes and mats, I prefer touchless near my home. It definitely won't "make more stains" but depending on the water and drying process it won't be perfect.

 

[Dangerous]

I did BKF/Windex/8 Yr Ceramic coating and my CT just stays clean. I love to watch the water roll off of it and if it gets bird droppings, etc I just hose it off and blow dry. When I want it absolutely immaculate I wash it with a ceramic shampoo and blow dry it. I couldn't be happier with the results

 

[klm2klm2]

Potential buyer…learning.

So, i assume with CT, no automatic car wash like regular cars? Just Windex / Sprayway and microfiber cloth?

I run mine through automatic car washes frequently. And not touchless car washes either. I first put the truck in Car Wash mode. The vault is usually completely dry afterwards. I love my CT.

 

[REM]

Holy water spots and streaks after getitng back in the garage and drying. So now i gotta windex the entire vehicle again.

FML so this is a every time it rains thing?

Your obsession over minute spotting will probably fade in a few weeks. I'm 5 months away from 1 year ownership, and have washed it maybe twice; and each time I felt like it's the easiest vehicle ever. Just now got around to cleaning the interior, and that was a breeze as well.

Maybe you live in a highly dense urban area and are experiencing acidic rain? Here in the countryside the rain is actually responsible for doing the most cleaning on my truck.

Otherwise, you can deep clean and ceramic coat your stainless:

 

[Tecyber1]

Wasn't much rain, just drizzle if that.. I had just wiped the truck at 3am for the day, so regardless i wasn't happy. I figured it was supposed to stop before 9am, i was wrong...

Holy water spots and streaks after getitng back in the garage and drying. So now i gotta windex the entire vehicle again.

FML so this is a every time it rains thing?

Easy fix: Wrap It! haha!

 

[ThatGuyBo]

Your obsession over minute spotting will probably fade in a few weeks. I'm 5 months away from 1 year ownership, and have washed it maybe twice; and each time I felt like it's the easiest vehicle ever. Just now got around to cleaning the interior, and that was a breeze as well.

Maybe you live in a highly dense urban area and are experiencing acidic rain? Here in the countryside the rain is actually responsible for doing the most cleaning on my truck.

Otherwise, you can deep clean and ceramic coat your stainless:

To add to this, even the foaming BKF is counterproductive to use. It's Oxalic Acid, all it does is cause the steel to turn a golden/brown hue.

 

[REM]

To add to this, even the foaming BKF is counterproductive to use. It's Oxalic Acid, all it does is cause the steel to turn a golden/brown hue.

I haven't noticed any tinging while using foaming BKF, but then again I have only used it twice (and with great success). Followed up with iron deposit remover using a synthetic clay towel.

Has kept my truck super clean.

I think if people are getting a coloration, it's due to leaving residue on the surface. this is my process for a deep clean:

1. water rise.
2. foam the truck and let it dwell a couple mins; don't touch.
3. water rinse.
4. remove stuck on bugs/tar.
5. foaming BKF (if you want).
6. iron remover with clay towel.
7. water rinse.
8. foam with soap and perform touch wash.
9. water rise.
10. towel dry.

 

[HaulingAss]

Potential buyer…learning.

So, i assume with CT, no automatic car wash like regular cars? Just Windex / Sprayway and microfiber cloth?

Some Cybertruck owners swear by automatic car washes but the closest I've got to that are those big open bays with pressure sprayers. They work really well too. But most often I just wash it in my driveway with a bucket of soapy water like I've done with all my cars. The difference is I don't have to be as careful about not scratching it.

Between washes I might do a touch up with Sprayway but most of my time is spent on getting the glass clean, not the metal.

Contrary to the OP, my Cybertruck looks better after it's been parked in the rain. It rinses all the dust off and just shines. Driving in the rain is like any other car, it gets coated in road spray.

 

[REM]

Contrary to the OP, my Cybertruck looks better after it's been parked in the rain. It rinses all the dust off and just shines. Driving in the rain is like any other car, it gets coated in road spray.

Same; my truck has always come out cleaner after rain. fingerprints and smudges are gone without intervention.

On the topic, I have seen actually less fingerprinting over time as compared to when I got the truck new. I think it's because I have mostly washes away all of the oil from the manufacturing process. This is probably something new owners are not aware of.

 

[ThatGuyBo]

I haven't noticed any tinging while using foaming BKF, but then again I have only used it twice (and with great success). Followed up with iron deposit remover using a synthetic clay towel.

Has kept my truck super clean.

I think if people are getting a coloration, it's due to leaving residue on the surface. this is my process for a deep clean:

1. water rise.
2. foam the truck and let it dwell a couple mins; don't touch.
3. water rinse.
4. remove stuck on bugs/tar.
5. foaming BKF (if you want).
6. iron remover with clay towel.
7. water rinse.
8. foam with soap and perform touch wash.
9. water rise.
10. towel dry.

It’s chemistry. Oxalic acid causes the golden hue people have been complaining about through exposure to iron, moisture, and sunlight. Unlike other options, it’s toxic. It needs to be neutralized after application or entirely removed to prevent discoloration and because of that is pointless as there exist less involved processes to achieve what people are using it for.

Citric acid creates the silver hue people want and passivates the steel.

 

[REM]

It’s chemistry. Oxalic acid causes the golden hue people have been complaining about through exposure to iron, moisture, and sunlight. Unlike other options, it’s toxic. It needs to be neutralized after application or entirely removed and is pointless as there exist less involved processes to achieve what people are using it for.

Citric acid creates the silver hue people want and passivates the steel.

I don't think it's a fair assessment to say that the golden/brown hue is undesirable, but yeah most people probably do want more of a uniform silver color.

 

[scottyah]

It’s chemistry. Oxalic acid causes the golden hue people have been complaining about through exposure to iron, moisture, and sunlight. Unlike other options, it’s toxic. It needs to be neutralized after application or entirely removed to prevent discoloration and because of that is pointless as there exist less involved processes to achieve what people are using it for.

Citric acid creates the silver hue people want and passivates the steel.

Have you tried it? Citrisurf 77 will 100% turn it golden, and bkf turns it silver. Not sure if the "citri" in citrisurf means something else, but I'm kinda thinking you have these reversed. I didn't do a good job with the citrisurf and you can see the spots I missed that lack the golden hue lol.

I plan to do the 8yr ceramic thing once Pan The Organizer restocks and my m18 polisher arrives.

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