GA Tacoma Owners BS Thread

That's rad!

 

You might as well just post up the for sale stuff here. I want an RTT too, but I also want a winch and my fridge back

Sad part is, I'm not even sure I'm going to be keeping the Tacoma. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work with the family. One of those "why spend money on something you aren't keeping" but also "I want to keep it and keep modding it" situations.

#FirstWorldProblems

 

For y’all that use buffers/polishers for your vehicles, what would you recommend as far as which buffer and what pads and such to get? Any special methods, techniques, tips/tricks? I’ve never had one before but I really wanna start doing that soon. My shoulder can’t handle waxing the whole truck by hand anymore.

 

Mine is 7 years old so I'd love to give it some TLC, too.

 

FYI with advancements in liquid waxes and sealants lately, the wax on/wax off hand buffing method isn't really necessary anymore unless you're using polishes for paint correction etc.

Believe it or not Turtle Wax Seal N Shine is legit top of the line liquid ceramic wax that beats out other paste & liquid waxes that cost 3-4x as much. All you have to do is wash your vehicle, dry it, then apply the Seal N' Shine the same way you would Windex. Just spray on & wipe off with a microfiber towel with no buffing. It stands up to all kinds of torture tests, too. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENXJ9KvPEd8

I've used paste waxes, liquid waxes, sealants, and quick waxes. Seal N Shine has been outlasting all of them.

I'd definitely recommend it over investing in polishers and what not unless you're doing paint correction.

 

What is your budget and what are are you trying to do? Are you trying to remove defects or just apply wax/sealant?

 

Hmmm, that looks pretty easy! I’m not real concerned about paint correction. It’s not perfect, but it’s not bad enough to concern me. How long does the Spray and Shine normally last on your stuff? I’ve used the Meguiars Hybrid spray before and it lasted pretty good, but it required a reasonable amount of buffing to get it just right. Or maybe I was doing it wrong, who knows.

Really just to apply wax. The truck is less than three years old, and I’ve been good about keeping it clean and doing at least 1-3 coats of hybrid wax a year, so the paint is still pretty good. Normal wear and tear from 35k of Atlanta traffic, but it’s nothing I’m worried over.

 

Get one of these. They work great and can even do some light paint correction.




You will need to buy 5.5" foam pads to go with it.

Lake Country makes great pads (the HF ones are garbage) The black pads are the softest and will work great for applying sealant using low speed.

You should only need about a quarter size of product when using a modern sealant. Apply it and then wipe it off with a clean microfiber.

 

@BYJOSHCOOK made those spacers for my bump stops. Hopefully 1/4” will keep the tire out of the inner fender when I send it

 

This is a road that I've gone down recently. I bought the Bauer DA polisher from HF at $20 off retail plus another 10% off coupon for Bauer products. Then I bought the Griots garage pad and it did wonders on my Father in Laws hood. Not as good as I was hoping, but better than he thought was possible.

Then I ordered the Chemical Guys pad pack on Amazon for $25. That's got to be the best bang for the buck.

What blows my mind is that you have to clean the pad before you are done using it. Like after every panel, or half of the hood. Otherwise, the foam gets too soft to do any correction.

Anyway, back on track....I went down this road because I noticed a bunch of scratches on my truck and I have no idea how they got there. They aren't from trails or anything on the road. I'm thinking my kids somehow, but some are too high for them to reach; and they aren't deep enough for it to be anything malicious. So I wanted to get a DA polisher to do some minor paint correction.

If you just want to apply wax and you want to keep it old school, maybe look at just an orbital buffer. I've always used one of those to apply paste wax, which I prefer to liquid wax. Apply with the buffer and remove by hand. This will also help remove some light scratches if you use a cleaner wax. You can also use a DA polisher to apply wax. The Chemical Guys pack comes with a medium/heavy cutting pad, a softer polishing pad, and an even softer wax applicator. I've heard the cleaner that comes with it is worth the price for the kit alone.

My official recommendation is the DA Polisher and the Chemical Guys pack. It should be noted that I'm generally NOT a fan of the chemical guys products.

There is truth in this statement. If you want easy, just get one of the new ceramic hybrid spray coats. Spray it on and rinse it off. Seems to work pretty well. I'll probably go this route after I do the paint correction on my truck.

My one correction here is that you want 6.5" pads. The 5.5" pads will be too small for the hook and loop backing that comes with it. I've read that getting the smaller 5" backer will improve results, but that's added cost. The trade off is the 5.5" pads are less expensive. I've read that it is recommended to have multiple of the same pads for each use.

 

One way to find out!

 

Forgot the “Hold my beer” part.

 

I'd comfortably say 4-6 months with the caveat that my truck isn't a daily driver, but it does sit dusty or dirty for weeks at a time. My first application of the TurtleWax was around September, thoroughly washed the truck once around late October, then washed again this past weekend. Through all of the dust, pollen, mud, and rain from the early part of this year it was still beading well enough that I barely had to dry the truck off when I was finished washing it. Color me very impressed.

Previously I used Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Wax, but they stopped making that when they released the Seal N Shine. The ICE Liquid Wax did give the paint a more wet look right after application, but after 2-3 months it needed a full reapplication unless you fast wax after every wash.

 

Is

Turtle Wax 50984 ICE Seal N Shine Hybrid Sealant Spray Wax and Coating with Microfiber Towel, Insane Water Beading with Paint Protection, Carnauba Infused for Ultimate High Gloss Finish, 16 Oz.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NW9X6BX the stuff?

I don't wash my truck often enough but actually have time to now and would like it to look nice for more than a few days. I used to use some weird spray wax stuff, but that never stayed long.

 

That's the stuff! Walmart and pretty much everywhere sells it. I think I gave $8 for it at Walmart last year.

 

Never heard of this stuff, but I've been looking for this exact type of solution... Super simple, fast, cheap, and fail (fool) proof... Just bought some!

 

I’ll find out at Coppinger this weekend

 

Even though it says 6", the backing plate is 5.5in and will accommodate 5.5in pads perfectly. Or maybe mine has a different backing plate that I put on years ago and forgot

Either way, it looks like HF has new 6in pads that appear to be better quality than the old ones.

 

6.5" pad that I bought fit mine perfectly.

 

It's legit. Like I said use it just the same as you would Windex. 2-4 wide sprays per panel, wipe the entire panel down with a microfiber. When you're done flip the microfiber over and hit it once more with the dry side. Do one panel at a time. You'll be done in like 10-15 mins.