How to preserve original paint as long as possible?

I own a 2011 Tacoma TRD and the paint shines decently. However, it's starting to get "freckles" on the hood and paint on the top of the cab is pretty dull. Other than NOT parking it in the sun, is there anyway to keep the paint intact and shiny as long as possible?

 

The freckles mean is hasnt been maintained the best, but being this old it's been decently maintained. Those freckles are contaminates in the pores of your paint and you want to deal with them before they reach metal and it causes the paint to start to flake off. Your best bet would be a clay bar, which should remove those freckles, and then a coat of real wax. I mean real wax, not spray on. Wax is used to seal the pores of the paint. Repeat with that real wax every 6-12 months. The 6 months is for the roof and hood, and every 3 months for red vehicles. These areas are exposed to the sun the most and also exposed to things like bug and tar solvents from windshield washer fluid which will slowly dissolve away the wax. This method can leave paint looking like new for decades.

 

^^This^^

My 2011 is parked outside 24/7/365. Claybar annually, paste wax in the spring (2 coats on roof and hood) and spray wax in the fall in prep for winter.

 

Had my 07 since new... clay bar every couple years and paste wax twice a year. Also, try to wash before bird shit and bugs take ahold. Spent first half of it's life outside... now garaged.

 

My 2015 (bought new in October 2014) gets a clay bar and a very high quality paste wax every six months. Other than rock chips, it looks great.

 

After clay bar and wax today...

 

Garage it and wax it a couple times a year. It’s as simple as that. You can apply all kinds of crap to the finish but bottom line garage and wax .

 

https://wolfgangcarcare.com/

These products are the best I ever used and I worked in detailing back in the day.

 

Wax vs ceramic? Nano bond had awesome results on project farm. It won second for ~$30 next to some +$100 ceramic product?

 

Yes. Put Durabak smooth Tan or something.

 

I clay bared mine once. I just keep it in the garage. don’t use windshield wiper fluid because it will eat away that clear coat.

I did get it detailed once and had some of the black finish put on it.

I also have a 2011.

 

How long does it take you to clay bar your Tacoma?

 

I would say a couple of hours? Because it is done every six months - it's not too bad removing stuff in the paint.

 

I have an '11. I use NuFinish 2x/year. Truck looks fine after the treatment. I won't win any awards at the Concours, but the surface shines and keeps beading up all year. It's a truck which I use like a truck and personally, I can't understand the OC attitude about having the shiniest truck. I rather spend my time on keeping the mechanics in shape.

 

On my last Tacoma I had some clear coat starting to fail, so I put a wrap on just the hood and roof. Looked awesome and when I peeled it off years later it looked the same as when I did it
Cost was about 70 bux at the time in materials

 

I usually wax mine with

$19 collinite 845 insulator wax-easy to use carnauba+polymer wax sealant-high gloss shine+durable hydrophobic beading & long lasting paint protection for cars/boats/trucks/rvs & motorcycles (16 fl oz)

collinite 845 spring and fall, and wash it about once a week. Sometimes i use meguiars quik wax after washes. The collinite is the longest lasting wax i have used. Water is still beading when the time comes to re-wax. Today, i washed, Clay bar'd, and waxed it. It has a mirror-like finish, and is smooth as glass. I havent clay'd it in several years, so today i decided to give it a nice cleaning. After washing it first, the clay was still dirty brown after i finished. Mine is a 2010 and looks mint. Like many on here, i want it to last. Newer vehicles are too expensive today, and imo they are not built with anywhere near the quality of these 2nd gens.

 

Park in a garage all the time is the only way too keep the paint looking good on a Toyota,as they use crappy paint.