Complete Detail - New Truck

I bought a new truck a couple of weeks ago and want to give it a good detail to make it easier to maintain it’s appearance and I could use a little advice if anyone has some to offer.

FWIW, it’s midnight black metallic and I’m a complete newbie when it comes to caring for the exterior of a vehicle in any appreciable way (never owned a vehicle in good enough shape worth worrying about it beyond trying to prevent rust and giving it a decent wash).

Also I’ve searched and read what I could of the stickies and found a lot of useful information, but I’m still unclear on some things and wouldn’t mind more up to date advice.

I plan on washing (Meguiar’s gold), claybar (Meguiar’s kit), machine polish (at least a few fine scratches I hope to get rid of), and “wax” (Meguiar’s nxt 2.0 maybe).

My biggest uncertainty is polishing. I don’t really understand how many steps I need here. How many different products/pads should I use. I just want to get some fine scratches out before I put a sealant on.

If anyone has better suggestions on any of the above I’d like to hear it. Also, if it sounds like I still have no idea what I’m doing or saying feel free to give me a smack on the back of my head.

 

Try here. I used it when I started. A lot of good detailers here.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/detailing.32/

 

Thanks, I thought I posted to that forum, but I can’t seem to see where my thread is posted. Anyway I’ve searched there as well as I could and read as much of the stickied threads as I could bear (some are quite long) and I’m still somewhat lost.

 

6 pads for the polishing session would be good. 4 at minimum. I'd pick up something like Meguiars Ultimate Polish or Ultimate Compound. The compound might even finish up ready for a sealant.

I'd use Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax rather than NXT. It's newer technology and will last longer.

I might suggest picking up some McKees 360 all in one from Autogeek. Knock out the polishing and sealant in one step. AIO products have come a long way in recent years. The 360 has an incredible amount of corrective ability for an AIO and the sealant has respectable longevity. Get a spray sealant (like Duragloss Aquawax or McKees 10 minute paint sealant) and boost the protection after washes and you might stretch that 360 protection out all winter. Heck, if applied monthly, those spray sealants will protect you all by itself.

 

I'm still fairly new but this person seems to know what they are doing. Autogeek has some good videos for just about everything. I use all Griot items and so far have only needed the Finishing sealant topped with Jetseal. May not be the perfect combo to many but works really well on MGM.

 

Thanks, this was exactly the kind of information I was looking for (a lot of whar I found seemed a little outdated), I’ll definitely take a look at the McKees.

As for the polishing, would it be the compound then the polish? One or the other or does it depend on the amount of work the paint needs? This has been one of the more frustrating concepts of detailing I’m trying to wrap my head around.

Thanks for you help.

 

Thanks. I’ve seen Autogeek videos mentioned a couple times now, I’ll have to look into them a little more, their product descriptions/reviews are excellent. I’ve seen griot mentioned a few times, just a little unsure of what they were offering, but it’s reassuring to hear a good review.

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

Rule one: If you can feel a scratch with a fingernail, aim for improvement, not complete correction.

Rule 2: least aggressive methods first.

The only way to really know what you need is to do a test spot. But as far as order goes, yeah you compound first, and if you're left with a haze, then polish. But today's modern abrasives (compounds) often leave you ready for a last step product (wax or sealant). But often, as well, polishing is necessary after compounding.

It really depends on how much time and money you want to invest. It's nice to have an assortment of pads and polishes to do a test spot. And then choose your plan of attack. But that's not realistic for many. As such, if you're just trying to clean up a daily driver, I often recommend getting 6 polishing pads and one pad for wax/sealant application.

Then you can either polish and seal or apply an all in one. In this regard, you're not getting 6 compound pads and 6 polishing pads (and shooting in the dark as to which pads to get). And with this approach, your not going after every scratch and focusing on trouble spots, and trying to end up with a scratch and swirl free vehicle. You're simply brightening up the paint and getting rid of some wash induced swirls. (Essentially eliminating the compounding step plus having to clean up the haze with a polishing step, followed by sealant application.)

Now, if you're willing to get a bunch of supplies and products, then you can approach things a little differently. But for daily drivers I like to keep it simple. Even keeping it simple is several hours of work.

 

The Griots Boss System is a good one. As are the Boss pads. I'd recommend using the newer thin pads like Griots Boss or Lake Country Thin Pro.

Are you willing to place an Autogeek order and get some pads and supplies? Or are you trying to do this with products you already have plus some local big box store products?

 

Something else to keep in mind-- some cleaner waxes and cleaner sealants don't have an abrasive component. They're strictly chemical paint cleaners, and good ones at that, but they won't correct swirls.

Other cleaner waxes and cleaner sealants DO have abrasives and offer some light corrective ability. I believe the Griots finishing sealant has some light abrasives.

 

I does and will take out minor swirl mark's left from washing and seals at same time.

 

Good to know. I'm not knocking the product, but I'm fairly confident the McKees 360 has more corrective ability than the Griots and will last longer as a sealant. I say this only because I've been blown away by both of these characteristics in the 360, and I've used a lot of AIO's. 360 is an incredible product. It's been my go-to for about a year now.

I was even able to remove some stubborn water spots on my hood by HAND with the 360.

 

Good to know as I'm new and just went with all the same products to start. Ivecseen good reviews for Mckees and will have to give it a try. Thanks for the info.

 

I've tried probably 15 different McKees products and was more than impressed with every single one of them. The HiDef paint sealant is totally awesome. Sooooo easy to apply and remove and great gloss, tough as nails. 10 minute paint sealant is great. I might move to it applied monthly in place of traditional sealants simply because it's so quick and easy to use. Spray on, wipe off like windex. And you're done. Great beading and shine. The Fast Interior Detailer is also a super product. Matte finish, nice smell, and no streaks or uneven finish.

Nick and the boys at McKees wouldn't put out a product that didn't rank right up there at the top of the pack. That's just how they roll. True professionals. And no, I'm not a rep. Just someone that's followed the AG forum for a long time and has learned a ton over there.

 

Rule of thumb for paint correction is 1 pad per panel. The Tacoma has 12 if you include the bumper in it's own panel.

I have recently learned the value of respecting that rule. This year has been crazy for me and I have been unable to keep up with detailing the Tacoma and Jeep as well as I normally do. I went over a year without clay barring the vehicles and my truck was probably in the worst shape because I did run in through a couple auto washes *slaps hand* over the summer stripping all my protective coatings I normally maintain. Long story short even with diligent clay barring the truck as so filthy when I went to lay my sealer before the winter (of which I normally only use one pad for that step) I ended up causing some hollograming on my paint. Not too much of a big deal since I have a white truck but on a black truck that stuff will be incredibly visible.

I have detailed a few vehicles on the side and when I work with anything black I take super extra care when washing, drying, and polishing just because it will show any tiny mistake you make.

Clean pads obviously do a much better job at paint correction but are also easier to clean and maintain long term. Over using pads wears them out faster because it gums them up with product. Plus it increases the risk that if you do get some contamination in a pad because you miss a tiny spot with the clay bar, you limit that mistake to a single panel and not half the truck.

You have a good plan if you go for a two bucket wash with a pre-detail soap that strips waxes and sealers, then do a really good clay bar, simple paint correction, and then a sealer. You should be set with that plan.

I have a bottle of Chemical Guys AIO Polish and Sealer, and if you just have some minor swirling you need to correct it's a good product for doing two steps in one.
Their V38 Final Polish is enough to help with minor swirling.

A tip for doing this for the first time: DO NOT lay sealers or waxes over any black plastics of rubbers. If you aren't a careful person like me... tape off these parts so you don't accidentally get sealer in them. It will clog up the black plastic and be a bear to get out.

 

Thanks again for your help.

So I would really like to aim for as much of an improvement as I can without being a perfectionist about it. Like I said, there are some minor scratches I hope to clean up and just get the paint in overall good shape before I put a sealer on. I’m perfectly fine with setting aside most of a day to work on it I just don’t want to spend much longer than that.

I’m thinking compound then polish if needed (you mentioned maybe not needing a polish unless there was a haze, does this mean the paint just not looking as clear as it should). Then a sealant like Meguiar’s ultimate and then a spray sealant like the McKees you mentioned ( does that need to be applied directly after the sealant or would it be okay a little while afterwards with a wash beforehand).

On the other hand, if I decided to go with an AIO like the McKees 360, does this stand a chance at correcting scratches? The ones I noticed aren’t swirls, but are very fine, possibly caused by something abrasive when it was washed.

On your last question I’d rather try to do it with products I already bought or can purchase at big box stores, only because I’d rather do it as soon as possible and don’t want shipping to add on more time. But if there’s something that can’t be bought locally at a decent quality I wouldn’t mind ordering it.

 

Thanks for the tip about the pads, especially about not messing up the whole truck vs one panel. Makes a lot of sense but not something I would have thought of. Also I had heard the bit about waxes/sealants messing up the look of plastics, what do you tape them off with? Painters/masking tape?

 

I'm sure he will give you a better answer on the polishing part but the tape is always a good idea. They also make automotive detailing tape that works better than painters tape on plastic and rubber. It just holds better.

 

A haze after compounding can be varying. It could actually look cloudy/dull or it could be almost unnoticeable (basically, just not as "clear" as it's absolute potential).

As far as a sealant and booster product goes, yes it's totally fine to apply the sealant and then use the spray sealant after the next and successive washes.

If you've got more than just wash/dry induced swirls, and you want to get rid of or improve them, then you're probably going to want to use a dedicated polish (or compound) and follow it with a sealant. But keep in mind-- you're looking at several hours of work going that route. Not trying to scare you, just the facts. Polishing a vehicle correctly (slow pass speed and multiple passes) can easily take 6-8 hours. Maybe more if you're new to paint correction, as you'll spend some time getting your process dialed in.

In your case, I'd very much recommend using products that are NOT diminishing abrasives. Meguiars proprietary SMAT products (super micro abrasive technology) are nice because you can stop anywhere in the buffing cycle. Diminishing abrasives must be worked through their entire buffing cycle to work correctly. As a beginner, stick with non-diminishing abrasives.

To be honest, if you want to do this in a single day (let's say 8 hours), I'd recommend the McKees 360 route. Yes it can knock out some fine scratches. At the very least it will improve them. It will without a doubt correct swirls. It's a super easy product to use. You buff until it disappears and then wipe the remaining residue (there won't be much). And you're done. You could top immediately with the McKees 10 minute paint sealant, but I'd wait until after the first wash.

I only suggest the McKees route because it seems much more realistic to me to get it all done in a day. Compound/polish/sealant in a day... I'm just gonna say no, that ain't gonna happen. Especially if you're new at the game and unfamiliar with the products. Haze the paint with a compound and you could und up with your hands full really quickly. If you go with an all-in-one, you'll get a feel for how the pads/products work, you can stop any time you want to, and you'll probably still be really content with the results. Once you know what you're doing, next time you can go in for the kill and know exactly what you're up against.

But if you're dead set on trying to get those scratches out, I really don't think the Megs Ultimate Compound is gonna haze your paint and may well end up ready for sealant. Only way to find out is to do a test spot and see if you like the results.

IMPORTANT: do a test spot. Pick one panel and do it start to finish, no matter what method you decide to go with. Learn exactly what it takes to get the results you want BEFORE attacking the whole vehicle.

I don't mean for any of this to sound intimidating. This should be (and is) FUN! And it's not difficult and you're not gonna ruin anything with a DA and Meguiars UP/UC.

 

They make automotive tape that works the best because it sticks better but you can use painters tape. Painters tape can be hard to stick to plastic although it sticks to paint fine.