Cleaning - this is going to be an adventure

[Nolacyber]

Got up this morning prepared for the task of cleaning a weeks worth of fingerprints and grime. Also prepared to put a coat of Protectaclear.

Power sprayer - put on a layer of Dawn suds. Scrubbed with microfiber towel. Power washed off. Generally big improvement but noticed there were stains that weren’t removed. Reapplied soap and rinsed - no effect on stains.

Noticed that Tesla quality control had marked areas of imperfection using pointed sticky notes. You could see exactly where the sticky notes had been placed. Maybe 20 in total all over the truck. Soap had no effect, rubbing alcohol had no effect.

Barkeepers friend removed all traces - but you could tell which panels had barkeepers friend applied. Didn’t have enough BF to do entire vehicle.

read Protectaclear instructions carefully and realized that it’s a surface treatment and won’t remove imperfections - so I suspect if you’re not happy with the way your ss looks you’ll encapsulate any imperfections. Also they state there is a 4 to 5 day cure time - so no Protectaclear at this time. Maybe if I have a bunch of time before I’m leaving for a vacation.

Barkeepers friend produces a nice even finish. It was also obvious that the Tesla detailer had used something on the surface - water was beading when washed.

The truck is a crowd stopper but the number one comment is - look at the stains - tough surface to keep clean.

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[agordon117]

Got up this morning prepared for the task of cleaning a weeks worth of fingerprints and grime. Also prepared to put a coat of Protectaclear.

Power sprayer - put on a layer of Dawn suds. Scrubbed with microfiber towel. Power washed off. Generally big improvement but noticed there were stains that weren’t removed. Reapplied soap and rinsed - no effect on stains.

Noticed that Tesla quality control had marked areas of imperfection using pointed sticky notes. You could see exactly where the sticky notes had been placed. Maybe 20 in total all over the truck. Soap had no effect, rubbing alcohol had no effect.

Barkeepers friend removed all traces - but you could tell which panels had barkeepers friend applied. Didn’t have enough BF to do entire vehicle.

read Protectaclear instructions carefully and realized that it’s a surface treatment and won’t remove imperfections - so I suspect if you’re not happy with the way your ss looks you’ll encapsulate any imperfections. Also they state there is a 4 to 5 day cure time - so no Protectaclear at this time. Maybe if I have a bunch of time before I’m leaving for a vacation.

Barkeepers friend produces a nice even finish. It was also obvious that the Tesla detailer had used something on the surface - water was beading when washed.

The truck is a crowd stopper but the number one comment is - look at the stains - tough surface to keep clean.

Did you buy the cybertruck kit? or just protectaclear coating? One spray bottle of barkeeper's friend MORE (included with kit) should be way more than enough to do the entire vehicle.

Also, yes, it's just a clearcoat. One with helpful properties for this kind of application, but it will not hide anything you aren't happy with. You will want to do the entire truck in barkeeper's friend, then remove it with windex, and remove any film left behind with isopropyl alcohol (per the instructions they provide). Then when you're happy with the panels, apply the coating.

4-5 days is full cure, they report that it's dry to the touch within hours. If you get bugs stuck in the front panel (for example) because you didn't wait long enough and they made it through the dry layer, you can strip the panel with xylene and do it again. Normal driving should be fine without waiting 4-5 days, but I wouldn't take it through a carwash until that time has elapsed.

 

[Mini2nut]

I think a thorough cleaning of every panel using BKF would prep the surface for ProtectaClear. The vendor has a video on their prep and application recommendations.

Whenever my non-FS CT arrives I plan on setting aside an entire day to prep and apply 2 coats of ProtectaClear.

 

[ProtectaClear]

If you do BFK and Windex you should do the whole truck, then when ready solvent wipe and ProtectaClear. It is ok to drive after a few hours but is delicate for 4-5 days, so don’t wash it, or scratch it. But after that you are good to do whatever.

 

[BLU-UFO]

Has anybody used a Clay Bar to assist in removal of any surface contaminants?

 

[Gigahorse]

Got up this morning prepared for the task of cleaning a weeks worth of fingerprints and grime. Also prepared to put a coat of Protectaclear.

Power sprayer - put on a layer of Dawn suds. Scrubbed with microfiber towel. Power washed off. Generally big improvement but noticed there were stains that weren’t removed. Reapplied soap and rinsed - no effect on stains.

Noticed that Tesla quality control had marked areas of imperfection using pointed sticky notes. You could see exactly where the sticky notes had been placed. Maybe 20 in total all over the truck. Soap had no effect, rubbing alcohol had no effect.

Barkeepers friend removed all traces - but you could tell which panels had barkeepers friend applied. Didn’t have enough BF to do entire vehicle.

read Protectaclear instructions carefully and realized that it’s a surface treatment and won’t remove imperfections - so I suspect if you’re not happy with the way your ss looks you’ll encapsulate any imperfections. Also they state there is a 4 to 5 day cure time - so no Protectaclear at this time. Maybe if I have a bunch of time before I’m leaving for a vacation.

Barkeepers friend produces a nice even finish. It was also obvious that the Tesla detailer had used something on the surface - water was beading when washed.

The truck is a crowd stopper but the number one comment is - look at the stains - tough surface to keep clean.

How long would you say the process took to get it from filthy to clean and ready to protectaclear coat?

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