never waxed before? Tips and help

I would stay away from dish soap on auto paint.. never use it .. not even once.

They make dish soap for dishes and car soap for cars.

 

Thanks for all the info guys, I don't want to spend to much on this. Id love to but I don't have a job and my dad is paying for all of this. He would crap himself if I spent $100 on this.

 

If you want to strip off any old wax or sealants - dish soap is the most effective inexpensive way to do it - but if you have a better alternative - please share your opinion, because "car soap" won't do it.

 

Here ya go, no where mentioning dish soap.

Read #1 myth debunked.

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Old-Car-Wax

http://cleanmyspace.com/10-car-cleaning-myths-debunked/

 

Thanks I think I'll stick with a recommendation that comes from someone that makes and sells car wax, not a wiki that anyone can create. Since I use dish soap whenever I need to stop off old wax, and know it works, I'll continue to use that method.

But let us know if the wiki suggestion works.

 

I was an auto detailer from 19-27 and ran a shop for 4 of those years thanks. I know what to use and not to use on auto paint.

Enjoy your stripped clear coat.

 

I got the video going.

In the first couple minutes, instead of using nitrile gloves ($) you can use plastic grocery bags. Just put the bag in like a big mitten, feel and listen as you -lightly- wipe your hand over the paint. It will feel a LOT different after you clay.

I missed his pre-wash on the rims, dunno what product he used. When I get my snows on other rims mounted I will spend several days on my factory rims, in the garage, over the winter. Rims are a pain in the neck to get looking good because there are so many surfaces. For a quickie you might just do the painted glossy surface that shows and leave the back (inner) sides alone.

3:36 he is using about the same size clay lump I use when I am claying. Now bear in mind this is as S class mercedes. I talked to a Mercedes body guy once about doing up my 2004 GTO in Mercedes S class black. He told me 30 grand for the paint job. No tacoma is probably ever going to look as good as this MB is about to look, the paint alone cost as much as our base truck.

4:30, leaving the wash mitt at the top of the fender is brilliant. Do NOT let clay goop dry on your paint, it is the devil to get off after it dries.

5:30 Hmmph. He didn't show bar management in process. When the working surface of my "hamburger patty" gets dirty I fold the two dirty halves together and mush it back out to working size. I want to keep one side completely clean all the time. As I fold the dirt into the middle I got two clean sides again. FWIW I work with a rectangle shape, easier to mush back out to working size.

6:36 good points along the way. He musta spent a BUNCH of time on those rims. I should go back and see how far across the sky the sun moved from 0:01 to 6:36.

He didn't talk about directions or glass either. I do clay my glass. Keep it wet. The other thing is direction of strokes when clay bar used. Not circular motions is good. I like to do horizontal surfaces in strokes that run from bumper to bumper. Hood, windshield, roof, rear window all one stroke if you have long enough arms. The crease in the body work on my 2015 is barely an inch below the windows. Above the crease, front to rear. Side windows of cab, front to back, same direction as the airflow, front to back.

below the crease I like to clay up and down, pavement to sky - but there is a lot of swoopy-ness to the rear fenders, I kinda follow that big curve with the wash mitt and the clay bar and the wax applicator and the buffing cloth. Rear of tailgate, up and down. Swoopy thing at bottom of tailgate, left to right.

7:30, I wonder if he used those brushes on the wheels and din't clay them? I can't imagine trying to detail brake calipers on a vehicle I own without taking the rims off myself...

I skipped through the heat gun dent repair. In general this guy is good.

OP, your truck is going to look great with the products you have and some time investment. It won't be an S class Mercedes when you are done.

The good news is if you drive it for a couple weeks and the wax fades and you decide to commit to a sealant, stripping your fresh wax, claying a pretty clean truck and getting your first coats of sealant down is going to go a LOT quicker than claying for the first time in many years.

 

Hey guys, the box the clay is in has the spray stuff y'all are talking about and a rag. Can I use that rag to wax to or will I need another one?

 

Jesus man, Thanks for taking the time to do all of this.

 

The clay has spray stuff and a rag, do I need a different rag to polish and wax or could I use the rag with the clay?

 

Use a separate rag for each process.

 

Ok, thanks bud.

 

I did my truck this weekend after scratching it up pretty bad while camping days before. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I still haven't taken it out of the garage yet. It looks soooo good!

I went to the auto parts store and picked up a 6" buffer w/pads, Clay bar, cleaning wax, polish and wax.

-1st Step.
Washed the truck with dish soap to remove as much crap as possible.

-2nd Step
After washing and getting all dirt off (before drying) I went over the entire truck with the Clay bar. Paid more attention to the front end with all the begs and crap. Didn't move on till next step till the entire truck's surface felt like glass to the back of my hand.
Then I dried the truck.

-3rd Step
Applied the Liquid Cleaner Wax to a foam applicator and went over the entire truck with it using the 6" polisher/buffer.
Switched from the foam applicator pad to a microfiber one to take it off once I got back around to where I started.

-4th Step
Applied the Liquid Polish to a Terry applicator and did the same as I did with the Cleaner wax.
!!! (This is where I went wrong. I over read the bottle. Must remove the polisher IMMEDIATELY after applying! I ended up doing the whole truck before removing. I had to go over every panel again with the polish to RE-HYDRATE the paint and immediately remove after applying to each panel)
Removed the dried Polish IMMEDIATELY with a clean microfiber applicator using the 6" polisher/buffer.

-5th Step
Using a new Cotton Terry applicator on the 6" polisher/buffer, I applied the Liquid Wax and applied it to the truck and worked my way around the truck. Once back around, I switched to a new Microfiber applicator and removed the dried wax. Once completely removed, I did another pass /layer on the front end to help more with rocks/bugs in the future.

I am no professional, but I am extremely happy with the way my truck came out! It shines as if it is wet! I love it!

Read the instructions and take a bit of time and you should have the same results! Hope this helps you or anyone else who needs/wants help!

 

-Make sure the body of the truck is clean before pulling into the garage for wax
-Let the body of the truck cool (out of the sun)
-Take your time

 

What diameter pads are you guys using? I've never used an electric waxer. Always by hand. Seems to me it would take several pads to clear the wax off an entire vehicle? Once a pad gets covered in wax, isn't it useless as far as removing more wax? I generally use a 100% cotton bath towel and just move to a new section of towel as needed.

 

they have specific rags to use, Microfiber is one of the best type.. a bath towel? not my first choice..

 

You don't need a machine to apply wax or remove it. Typically use a buffer to correct paint (remove swirls, light scratches), apply a sealant, or glaze. There is no benefit to using a machine for wax since wax itself does not have any correcting properties in it.

THROW AWAY THE BATH TOWELS! Get some proper and microfibers for the job.

 

Others have pretty much got you pointed in the right direction. The only thing I will add is that if you're looking to correct many/deeper paint scratches by hand, get your arms ready for the most arduous workout you've ever had. When it comes to microfiber towels there are many grades nowadays. There are cheap general use, thicker pile ones for drying, spa/tiny fiber ones for wax sealant removal, etc. Use the proper ones for the task at hand. Also, if said microfibers have been used to clean wheels, mudflaps, windows, or fenderliners they can never again touch paint. The microscopic fibers in them when you use them to clean trap the dirt in the towel. No amount of washing will get all that dirt out. Then you use a towel to remove wax that you previously used to clean wheels and wonder where all these scratches are coming from. I have mine segregated into general use that never touch paint, and paint only towels.....then into different categories of product application or removal on paint. Also, if you're drier makes particularly good heat, turn the dial down to linen to dry your microfiber. A drier that gets pretty hot can, and will melt the polyester fibers together, making them rock hard and scratch the hell out of paint.

 

Solid tips! I would like a polisher to correct swirl marks on my paint. Anyone have any suggestions for a decently priced unit that will do a good job? Black is a hard colour to keep clean and prevent swirl marks, but looks beautiful when it is.