New Taco - Wax?

I don't think its a Hawaii thing. I don't think any shops will be willing to sell pro level coatings for consumer use.

I have the PC polisher. When it breaks I plan on getting a rupes of some sort.

 

Ceramic

 

I have been detailing car for 38 years with a full time shop for 3 years then as a part time side business while I was with the city and retiring 10 years ago, the last 35 years, done thousands of cars, boats, mc and aircraft. Been using great products that have come and gone, Ceramic coatings I have done, along with other types of sealants. I have used the best and to this day I have never seen a product last more than 15 months. I will post a pic of my 1999 4Runner that has had old fashioned Simonize paste wax since new and I will continue to use is per the org. owner. Its hard to beat as I have Graphene on my 2018 Tacoma and it looks better than new, but it stays in a climate controlled garage. Some paints do better with certain sealants than others. Its all in the prep and one thing that hurts a good wax job is the heat will break it down. Its just my opinion and if your paint stays shinny, looks great, has protected the paint from sap, bird droppings, acid rain and hard water without fading then your doing something right. If you keep up on it then even the cheap wax is better than nothing. Your paint is like your skin as it needs to be cared for with wax,oils and the pigment needed to keep it from drying out. I still detail about 5 vehicles a month, I have two friends who are the owners and they make a great Cermaic coating for business and use their products on certain vehicles. I will not release their business name of the company because I want to be fair and impartial. Here is my 99 sr5 4runner with simonize paste wax that has been used since day one by the orginal owner.

 

Wax and edges of plastic sheets at the bottom of the truck is a problem.

 

I have had good luck with Adam's products for the exterior over the years and multiple vehicles. Recently did two cars with their clay, detail spray, and hand polish, swirl remover and wax. Tacoma got clay and americana wax. The dbl soft microfiber work well too. The ceramic products are turning out to be good stuff, have not tried them yet.
https://adamspolishes.com/

Interior, I use Nextzett products like the plastic deep cleaner, lederpflege (leather) and cockpit premium
https://www.detailersdomain.com/collections/plastic-and-vinyl

 

This is outstanding work!

I've always been pretty diligent about keeping my autos clean and got into detailing them about 10 or so years ago. I've tried different products, mostly wax and a few synthetic/modern products. I keep going back to Collinite or FK1000p. They aren't expensive, not that much work, and the results rival more expensive products. mds08 is spot on when he says the prep is most important. Not long ago a guy walked by my wife's car and said he'd been trying to find a car like hers, a 2012 Mercedes GLK, for a long time and had never seen one in such good shape. It had

$40 Collinite 915 Marque D’ Elegance Wax-Premium Carnauba+Polymer Concours Sealant. Show Car-Deep Shine & High Gloss + Durable, Long-Lasting Paint Protection for Cars, Trucks, & Motorcycles (12 fl oz)

Collinite 915 on it at the time. Mercedes paint is hard, so it holds up well but difficult to buff. The opposite is Volkswagon which in my experience gets swirls the first time you wash it, but buffs easily. I've found the paint on my Tacoma in the middle. I have some road rash on the front I've touched up, but all in all not bad for a 2018. I don't think there is a coating that will keep that from happening other than maybe film. Good luck keeping yours pristine.

 

Thank you and the 4Runner has 276000 miles and drives, runs and looks better than new. I swear it looks like it rolled off the showroom floor. People are shocked when I tell them the mileage.

 

Wash and wax weekly!!!??? It's a truck, not your crotch.

 

Wait, I think I see a spec of dirt on it! Haha. Amazing. Looks wonderful. That was one of the best vehicles toyota put out with the exception of the brakes on it. I think they upgraded them for the 99 year. I used to have a 97 4runner and the paint on it was so much more durable than Tacomas these days. Probably due to less stringent EPA requirements...

I used to use fk1000p. It's a solid wax, super easy to use. But I found if I'm going through all that work, I would rather use a ceramic that's way better all around.

 

Macguires works for me. I use it on my RV too

 

The brakes have been solid, I had a 98 Limited, 99 SR5 and a 02 Limited all over the last 20 years. All 3 had no issues with the brakes but the sunroofs all had issues, the reason I sold them that leaked or motor went bad. Never again was I buying a 3rd gen 4R with a sunroof now that they are hitting the 20 year mark, your asking for trouble however my Wife's Limited has a sunroof and my 18 Tacoma I didn't want it. Now this one owner SR% came without the sunroof and I was all over it trying to snag it from thr org. owner. Now I'm doing the front brakes as I have warped rotors, other than that I swear it's like a new vehicle and the condition is showroom new looking!

 

Thats great if you have the confidence to be able to accomplish what some of the pro's can do. I'm all for it. I always thought my wax jobs were decent, but after a few months not so much. Its like washing our prius with the turtle hybrid wash....looks great for a few months then your back to square one. I've seen some of these ceramic liquids in their bottles...their intriguing, but i have limited knowledge how to properly apply them without ****ing up. The prep work, i can do.

 

If you can do the prep you can do a ceramic coating. Look into gyeon pure evo. It was one of the easiest coating I've used. Wipe on, wipe off.

 

Usually from my past experience being that easy of a job, it won't last.

 

Im a vanner from the 70’s always used turtle wax…

 

Did you ever find anything like this?

 

Not for body panels but I just ordered the protech package for the plastic screens

 

Really wish people would include their location in their signature. Location/environment is critical to assess the validity of a response to one’s own situation. Post on effectiveness of wax in Hawaii has marginal value to my situation in Montana - let alone rust belt. I have Griotts 3-1 spray on ceramic and it lasts about 6 months - for me.

 

Makes about as much sense as the old magazine ads saying most doctors prefer Camel cigarettes

 

Hey fellow 406!

For me, I based my selection on the results of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYxKQwZah1s

Not a very large sample size, but at least I know what I'm getting for the money I'm paying.