New Taco - Wax?

Turtle Wax

Grandpa used it on his truck, Dad uses it on his car, now I apply it to mine every 6-8 months.

Just wax on w/ the provided pad, and wax off with some buffer from Facebook Marketplace. Takes awhile to do, but it seems to hold up to a whole lotta bushwacking!

 

Ceramic spray coating by HydroSilex

 

two coats of Jescar Powerlock + and top with Sonax Ceramic Spray Sealant with every wash. You’ll essentially have the same amount of protection that a professional ceramic coat for a fraction of the cost, the only downside is you have to reapply more often. The Jescar by itself will last a season but I found that topping it with the Sonax ceramic spray prolonged the life.

I recommend not doing a 2 stage polish in these trucks. The clear coat on them is extremely thin…I’ve owned 5 Tacomas in a very short span of time and all of them had sub 4mils (about 100 microns on average) of paint and the Lunar Rock I had was almost a consistent 2mils (about 70 microns). I personally would live with any swirls and scratches in the clear coat and only do a polish before you sell it or at the most once a year. A light polish can take off maybe 1-2 microns but a 2 stage with a heavy cut compound can take out almost 10. You don’t have that much clear coat to spare.

Learn the two bucket method and stick with a good sealant and your paint will last and look good just as long as the truck.

 

You're kidding right?

 

I’m sorry but how does wax causes more problems?

 

Would you mind sharing the cost to have the truck coated?

I use

$19 Collinite 476S Collinite 476 Super Doublecoat Wax-Carnauba + Polymer Sealant - High Gloss Shine + Ultra Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long-Lasting Paint Protection for Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles (9 fl oz)

Collinite 476S btw.

 

Wow, so a few heavy two stages and no paint left? Sheesh. What’s the most conservative way to keep it looking good?

 

This is super dumb but… any “how to” guides out there on just how to clean/wax/coat a truck properly? Towels, techniques, products etc? If polishing removes / reduces the clear coat then I’m never doing it.

 

Get it ceramic coated. Then you won't be doing a whole lot to it for a few years. Or do the 3 in 1 griots.

 

For sure. I want to find someone in his houston who can do an excellent job. I don’t trust myself to do it correctly.

 

If yours is electric lime don’t worry about it. It’s similar to MGM where swirls don’t really show up unless you put an LED light right up to it. Just a sealant to help with UV and any chemicals from the road and you should be good to go

 

I’m north of the 49th in Ontario, Canada but it cost me about $1,000 for the 7 year pro plus and that was in fall 2017. But that’s for a professional Opti coat licensed detailed to apply it. Which means it’s also warrantied which is what I also wanted.

 

Detailing a car is very personal and very opinionated,,,,meaning everyone does it a little different, find a way that YOU enjoy and takes the amount of time that you want to put into it.
Being a new truck, get yourself a soap made for car washing, a bucket to be used only for car washing, some microfiber towels and wash mitt. Get a paste or liquid name brand sealant and have fun. If you are new to washing cars I would not start with applying a ceramic coating. Do not use the same washing mitt or towel on the tires or enigine and then use it on the paint. Search YouTube for Car Detailing. Watch for how they do it,,,lol try not to get drawn into buying their products,,,lol I know this first hand. It would also be helpful to join a Car Detailing forum. Best of luck and enjoy your truck.

 

Good answer.

 

There’s a whole forum on detailing cars here on TW .

 

That’s really good! Is that because of the metallic sparkle?

 

Noted

 

I think so! My MGM doesn’t show anything and I haven’t been particularly careful. My midnight black Tacoma on the other hand showed even the tiniest swirl and I took METICULOUS care not to swirl the paint

 

476 is a great wax. I typically use the 845 as it's a liquid and is easy to use with my DA. I'm lazy and the less work the better

 

My new 2018 Tacoma had rail dust all over it. Tiny little rust spots all over the paint. So I went over it with the clay bar to remove those spots. Then waxed it like I do any other vehicle.

I like griots or turtle wax ceramic coating. They claim 6-12 months coverage, but I find every 3 months is more appropriate for another application.