The Tesla Cybertruck's stainless steel body panels get dirty, discolored and show signs of "corrosion," but there's a simple two-step cheap method to fix these issues.
Stainless steel is nothing new. However, in the world of cars, its use on the exterior of a vehicle is rare. Therefore, there's a lack of knowledge regarding how to clean it once it gets dirty.
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Cleaning stainless steel isn't easy, but we've found a method that works.
Two products—Bar Keeper's Friend in liquid form and Windex—are all that's needed to clean the stainless steel body panels on the Tesla Cybertruck.
And yes, it gets dirty. There have been a growing number of complaints regarding the exterior of the Cybertruck. These complaints include fingerprints everywhere, discoloring of body panels and even some mentions of corrosion. Though stainless steel is highly corrosion-resistant, it's not corrosion-proof.
But these early examples of "corrosion" are not what some owners believe them to be. The image below captures "corrosion" on a Cybertruck right after delivery. This spotting on the truck is typically caused by rail dust embedding into the stainless steel or even environmental fallout that attaches itself to the truck's exterior.
To clean this off of the Cybertruck (as well as those fingerprints, discoloring, grease and grime) a new car-cleaning method has to be employed. A simple wash with some vehicle-specific soap doesn't work. Even a wash with Dawn dish soap won't get the job done.
In steps professional detailer Coleton of Out of Spec Detailing with a solution. Coleton tried all sorts of products, including some professional detailing stuff, as well as some more conventional products. In the end, he arrived at a two-step method (using two products) that both cleaned and shined the Cybertruck up with relative ease and solid repeatability.
As seen above, the two products are the liquid version (Soft Cleanser) of Bar Keeper's Friend and the original version of Windex. Bar Keeper's Friend is applied first in a circular motion using a bit of an aggressive buff. Then, after it hazes, the Windex is sprayed onto the Cybertruck and then wiped off. This second step is repeated until all remaining residue from step one has been removed. We should note that Windex does not list stainless steel among the surfaces that the product is intended to be used on, so use it at your own risk.
And just in case you are wondering about Tesla's official take on cleaning the Cybertruck and on corrosive substances, here's a screenshot from the onwer's manual:
