*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

I had a "buddy" take his SWB truck out mudding and wasn't able to make it to the car wash to get the globs of mud off of it before the sun baked it on. This was about a year ago. There is what appears to be oxidation in the clear coat. We tried a clay bar to no affect. Medium rubbing compound on an orbital buffer didn't do crap either. Meguires paint renewer/restore hand applied with a microfiber seemed to work some what well but I...I mean he was wondering if there was something better on the market. There are quite a lot of spots to clean up, as in all over the truck, so doing this by hand could take a month. Thanks for any advice.

 

best way to get 15 years of miscellaneous bullshit out of interior carpet?

 

Try some Menzerna Super Intensive Polish with an orange or yellow pad using the buffer.

An extractor would probably do the trick but they are expensive.

You might want to try Folex first. LOL You should be able to purchase Folex from your local Home Depot.

 

cheapest and DIYish

I use a APC and the LGM ... Folex for the really really bad stains


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0EkMjZK8OE&list=UUYNy3AAaDflz5ZVv3sqF4lg&index=4&feature=plcp

 

Holy cow! I'm only as far as page 20 on this thread. There's so much to learn and try. I've never done anything that has been this involved with a vehicles finish. I'm looking forward to doing the Wash, Clay, Polish, and Wax or Seal to see what kind of finish I can get. The paint is the Radiant Red I think it's called. It shines after going through a touchless carwash so I'm curious as to what I can make it look like with some effort put into it.

Greg

 

Greg, take a look at the red F150 the before and after on the outside is what it is close to what it will look like when your finished. It was buffed, polished, and waxed. Also, when you wash your truck, I would hand wash it before you buff, polish, and wax, otherwise when you buff it, it will leave swirl marks from the dirt that is left on your truck. The "touchless" car washes use pressurized water to "blast" the dirt off your truck. If you get at the right angle, you can see the circles from the water that "washed" your truck....

 

I missed the f150 somewhere. Where was it.

 

About midway. It is after the white silverado and before the black tundra
here's the link again.

 

Red shines up very well.

 

NICE....I'm looking forward to a good weekend when I have everything ready to go. The before pics are about how mine looks on the outside.
I'm going to have to do mine by hand. At this moment getting any polisher is not an option since funds a a little low.

Greg

 

Try the Mothers system. It works pretty well for hand applications.

http://www.suprasport.com/Mothers-Ultimate-3-Step-Wax-System_p_495.html


You can also use a claybar first making it a 4 step process.

 

I have the Meguiars clay kit that I found at wallyworld.
I just placed an order to Autogeek for Megs Gold class, Scratch X, #26 paste wax, and Wolfgang polish and wax applicators along with the 3 pack miracle towels. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I can try this. Any suggestions or tips before I start this adventure? I did try the sandwich bag trick after it was washed and it DOES feel like sandpaper. I took some picks to compare it after it's done.

Greg

 

Greg:
Do not be afraid to put some muscle behind the pad when using Scratch X. You really gave to work it in to remove the swirl marks. A light application will not remove them.

 

My son just purchased a 07 Radiant Red TRD Sport DCSB (yesterday). It appears the previous owner never waxed the vehicle or if he did it may have been the spray wax at the gas station car wash. Overall the paint looks pretty good and I have no doubt after clay bar and a couple of good hand waxing the paint will look good if not very good. I have a question, the color matched bumpers and door handles look faded, I'm sure it's a combination of painted plastic, the elements and lack of care. What are our chances of bringing these back to normal or near normal?


He got a killer deal on this truck, body is a 7.5 to 8 out of 10, minor rock nicks and so on, paint is a 6 now but after some care I think it will make a comeback to a 7.5 or 8. Interior is clean, no stains or tears. 27,000 miles, 5 trips to the dealer are noted, once every year. Carfax is clean.
My son is the IT manager for a Honda dealer and the General Manager is going to let him have it for what they paid on trade in plus the inspection and service fees. $18,500. Not bad. He has already used the overhead compass repair thread, hope to get him on here shortly, maybe help out in the Off-Topic Technology section.

 

Actually very good chance to restore the bumpers and door handles.

Do you have any polish on hand?

If not you should try some Megs Scratch X applied with a foam pad. I would only use rubbing compound as a last resort.

 

I'll give it a shot, thanks.

 

You were right, came right back. Hit it with some cleaner wax I had to see how it would do, wow, looks like it will be fine. Going to claybar and wax this week. I'll keep you posted. The bumper is single stage paint, a lot of color came off on the rag, not on the fenders or door handles. Is the bumper a repaint or were they done without a clear coat?

 

Sounds like a repaint with no clear. I would not use any additional abrasive cleaner wax on the bumper is you are happy with the shine now. I would however use a sealant to seal in the finish then apply a wax top coat.

Also I would use 2 to 3 coats of the sealant before applying a wax.

 

Lol I just did something similar. I got the meguiars complete care kit from Amazon.

 

thanks for posting!