How And When To Wash A Black Truck In Texas

Owning a black truck in Texas is a wild choice. If you also have a darker-colored interior, you choose style over function.

In the sweltering Texas sun, lighter-colored cars reflect more sunlight and infrared radiation. That means they absorb less heat, and the interior will be cooler.

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You will rarely see a black fleet vehicle in Texas unless it's a limo or car service. There is a reason white work trucks vastly outnumber any other color.

How Much Hotter Are Black Cars Versus White Cars?

According to Autotrader black trucks being significantly hotter inside than white trucks is not just an old wives' tale. Their test showed a black truck is almost 20 degrees warmer inside than a white one after being outside on a 95-degree day for 2 hours.

I know all this, and yet I almost always buy black trucks. When a black vehicle is clean and fresh it just looks so good, what's a little sweat?

Black Cars Take Twice As Much Soap As White Cars

I had an old manager who was not too keen on a new station vehicle purchased in black. Our classic rock station had bought a black Chevy cargo van.

He told us it would take twice as much soap to wash it. We laughed about that for years but looking back, he likely meant that you will have to clean the van more often.

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White and silver vehicles usually look pretty good between washes no matter the weather. A black truck driven in the rain just one time will be covered in white-grey road grime.

Wash Your Black Car On A Cloudy Sunday Before A Sunny Week

Since black trucks hold heat, if your vehicle has been outside all day in the sun, don't wash it. Washing a black truck in the sun is an act of futility.

If it's hot enough, you could get dried soap on your paint and/or hard water spots because it is drying so fast, that you can't keep up. Put your truck in the shade or garage hours before you wash it.

Early morning is the best time to make this happen. The sun hasn't done its thing yet, and you have some time before the sun is directly overhead causing you issues while detailing.

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There are even specific car wash soaps for black vehicles. I recommend trying one of them and taking the above precautions.