Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

[ChevyNick]

Hey guys. Where I work, we have 2 company vans.
1. 2003 Chevrolet Express 2500 (236,000 miles) Maybe washed 3 times total?? (Weird brown metallic color??)
2. 2010 Chevrolet Express 2500 (50,800 miles) Taken through the Drive Thru on weekly basis. (White)

As you can see, these vans, especially the older one, have been very neglected. When my boss bought the "new to us" 2010 van, I immediately encouraged him to get a yearly pass to the local car wash in order to keep that thing looking good (top of the line wash). I did not want this newer van to go down the same path as the older one did (neither did he). If you really want to hear more about this story, inbox me.

What I plan on telling my boss is to send me down to the local auto store with the credit card and I will buy the products we need to keep these vans looking good, and more importantly making them last longer.

My question for you guys is, would you take a special approach when tackling these 2 vans? I know they will need to be clayed as a start. I am NOT looking to remove swirls. What I would like to achieve is just to "clean" the paint, enhance the gloss a bit, and get some protection on it.

So which products guys?
1. Clay of course..
2. Cleaner Wax maybe? Is there maybe a better option as far as the cleaning step goes? (Must be available to the consumer please)
3. Ultimate Polish? (to revive the color, especially on ol faithful with 236k miles.)
4. Ultimate Wax?

Again, I am not going for a swirl free finish by any means. I plan on waxing these 2 vans on a regular basis now as long as this all works out. I have a GG6 D/A which I will be using on these vans.

[Tuck91]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

Are you buying locally only, or plan on placing an order at a store online?

Regardless, to keep things simple:

For washing you can pick up some Gold Class Shampoo, or NXT Generation Car Wash if you can find it. A Gold Class wash alone makes paint look a lot better. Pick up a couple of sponges, wash mitts, drying towels, & some wheel/tire brushes as well. Also pick up a decent degreaser that is dilutable & cost effective. Something like Purple Power or Greased Lightening. You can use the degreaser to clean the tires & wheel wells. But dilute it down lower to clean interior panels or trim.

For cleaning the paint I would pick up a Smooth Surface Clay Kit & some A12 Cleaner Wax or ColorX. Claying will remove the above surface contamination & a cleaner wax will clean & cleanse the paint.

A cleaner wax will offer some protection, if the budget allows, pick up a stand alone product such as Gold Class or NXT Generation Tech Wax.

You may want to pick up odd and end things such as tire shine, glass cleaner, etc.

[Underdawg736]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

If you can find it, I would grab some DC Paint Cleaner, it was discontinued and replaced a year or two ago by SwirlX but I'm sure some of the non chain ma and pa shops may still have some. The DC Paint Cleaner is awesome at cleaning up neglected paint, it's what I started out with on my 2 ambulances. I know your not looking at getting rid of the swirls but even thinning them out with a pass of UC will make a noticeable difference!

What are the vans used for?

I just inherited two para-transit vans that are mid '90s Ford Econovans with close to 300k on the clock. These vans have seen wax maybe twice in their lives and that's it! I did one already (took me a week) that came out pretty good, I don't go for a swirl free finish, especially with what my vehicles deal with but thinning the swirls out a good deal definitely makes the vans easier on the eyes!! I haven't tried UP or UW yet so I can't offer any advice on them, M205 and NXT 2.0 works really well for me. Like you said. clay is a given, you may be better off getting some of the blue mild clay as it's get the contaminates off a bit quicker then the consumer clay....you can pick them up at Pep Boys and Advanced Auto.

I do 2 full details on my rigs (one early spring and one early autumn) and 2 mini details (mid winter and mid summer). The full detail gets....well....everything top to bottom and inside out and the mini is just clay, spot correction on scratches and stuff and wax.
Do you have any pics of the vans?`How bad are the defects?

[FIREdawg]

Just regular upkeep and no swirl removal?

May I suggest M66? One gallon jug will keep those vans in good shape. It's like ColorX in that it's a cleaner wax. Will help with oxidation and is a quick one step. I copied this from Autogeek.net:

"This isn’t a quick detailer in the traditional sense, but the name does fit. Meguiars Mirror Glaze #66 Quick Detailer removes oxidation and blemishes while restoring gloss. Plus, it adds a durable layer of wax protection. You can give your vehicle a complete detail in about half the time of the two-step polish-and-wax process."

[Murr1525]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

Yeah, I would think #66 or D151.

[Tuck91]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

I think he is looking to just spend $100 locally on some stuff a couple times a year.

[ChevyNick]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

Are you buying locally only, or plan on placing an order at a store online?

Regardless, to keep things simple:

For washing you can pick up some Gold Class Shampoo, or NXT Generation Car Wash if you can find it. A Gold Class wash alone makes paint look a lot better. Pick up a couple of sponges, wash mitts, drying towels, & some wheel/tire brushes as well. Also pick up a decent degreaser that is dilutable & cost effective. Something like Purple Power or Greased Lightening. You can use the degreaser to clean the tires & wheel wells. But dilute it down lower to clean interior panels or trim.

For cleaning the paint I would pick up a Smooth Surface Clay Kit & some A12 Cleaner Wax or ColorX. Claying will remove the above surface contamination & a cleaner wax will clean & cleanse the paint.

A cleaner wax will offer some protection, if the budget allows, pick up a stand alone product such as Gold Class or NXT Generation Tech Wax.

You may want to pick up odd and end things such as tire shine, glass cleaner, etc.

I plan on just buying locally (Advanced Auto Parts / O'Rileys). So you think the Cleaner Wax will be good? Is it better than Color X or about the same? And I was thinking using Ultimate Wax as a last step because I have read on here it has a bit more durability?

If you can find it, I would grab some DC Paint Cleaner, it was discontinued and replaced a year or two ago by SwirlX but I'm sure some of the non chain ma and pa shops may still have some. The DC Paint Cleaner is awesome at cleaning up neglected paint, it's what I started out with on my 2 ambulances. I know your not looking at getting rid of the swirls but even thinning them out with a pass of UC will make a noticeable difference!

What are the vans used for?

I just inherited two para-transit vans that are mid '90s Ford Econovans with close to 300k on the clock. These vans have seen wax maybe twice in their lives and that's it! I did one already (took me a week) that came out pretty good, I don't go for a swirl free finish, especially with what my vehicles deal with but thinning the swirls out a good deal definitely makes the vans easier on the eyes!! I haven't tried UP or UW yet so I can't offer any advice on them, M205 and NXT 2.0 works really well for me. Like you said. clay is a given, you may be better off getting some of the blue mild clay as it's get the contaminates off a bit quicker then the consumer clay....you can pick them up at Pep Boys and Advanced Auto.

I do 2 full details on my rigs (one early spring and one early autumn) and 2 mini details (mid winter and mid summer). The full detail gets....well....everything top to bottom and inside out and the mini is just clay, spot correction on scratches and stuff and wax.
Do you have any pics of the vans?`How bad are the defects?

The vans are used for deliveries to our customers. They typically haul skids of small machine detail parts in the back of them. I don't have any pictures at the moment. I don't really remember seeing any severe defects. Just lots of tar on the back doors and the older van is beginning to rust on the bottom. The paint is just really rough and grimy feeling. Maybe I should just use UC, but I fear that it would end up looking worse because you'd see RIDs everywhere instead of uniform swirls? Im not really sure...

Just regular upkeep and no swirl removal?


May I suggest M66? One gallon jug will keep those vans in good shape. It's like ColorX in that it's a cleaner wax. Will help with oxidation and is a quick one step. I copied this from Autogeek.net:

"This isn’t a quick detailer in the traditional sense, but the name does fit. Meguiars Mirror Glaze #66 Quick Detailer removes oxidation and blemishes while restoring gloss. Plus, it adds a durable layer of wax protection. You can give your vehicle a complete detail in about half the time of the two-step polish-and-wax process."

I just feel that it would be easier to buy consumer as opposed to professional since this would be through the company. It's easier to just go to the consumer store ya know.

[Tuck91]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

If I had to choose one over the other it would be tough.

A12 Cleaner Wax applies & removes easier while the ColorX has better cleaning ability and needs to be worked into the paint lightly.

They are both nice products and either one will serve you well.

I have not used the Ultimate Wax so I cannot comment on that.

[FIREdawg]

You can always order a jug of 66 from Advanced Auto or a consumer store. But if you're going to buy this through your employer, it make more sense to buy in bulk. How much product would it take for two vans and how much would that be. Employers always like to hear you are thinking of saving them money.

[ChevyNick]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

If I had to choose one over the other it would be tough.

A12 Cleaner Wax applies & removes easier while the ColorX has better cleaning ability and needs to be worked into the paint lightly.

They are both nice products and either one will serve you well.

I have not used the Ultimate Wax so I cannot comment on that.

Mmmm I may just go with the Cleaner Wax...

Thanks for your input guys, if this all goes through, I will take pics and post them in the related forum area so you guys can see the "difference".


EDIT: Good point FIREDawg, my boss is all about saving money lol.

[Tuck91]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

I would love to see pics of these workhorse vans after you give them some work.

PS: Go with the ColorX, it will work better on the older one.

[Murr1525]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

Yeah, dont go with the regular red bottle Cleaner/Wax.

[ChevyNick]

Hmm so I slept on these decisions last night, and I am thinking now it may be easier to buy online. Since I will be needing him to supply me pads, buying online sounds much easier. I don't think he will have a problem with it.

So if we go the online route, you guys suggested M66 and so this M66 can be applied by D/A? How is D151 compared to M66?

[Murr1525]

Re: Maintaining 2 Company Vans... Opinions Please?

Yes, M66 or D151 can be applied with a D/A. D151 is a stronger cleaner than M66.

[ChevyNick]

Ok I may just go with D151. Any application tips? Do I just work that similar to how I would Ultimate Compound?