Guidance please, what to do on a relatively new truck.

[STXDriver98544]

Hey guys, I bought a Sterling Metallic '14 F150 this past weekend, the truck has 20k on the clock, and I'd like some guidance and recommendations on what steps to take on getting the best shine on relatively new paint. The paint is in flawless condition, no swirl marks, scratches, no dullness or anything like that. What I'd like to know is would a clay, seal, and wax give it the absolute best shine since its newer paint, or would a polish be necessary after the clay? What products have you guys found to work best on that color, what makes it pop the best? Thanks.

 

[hoamskilet]

a light polish never hurts after claying. If you haven't done so already, grab a single diode flashlight (if you don't have one, the l.e.d. light on your phone can work) and take a look at the paint in your garage with the lights off. That's a good way to really determine if your paint is truly flawless (it's common for cars right off the showroom floor to have light swirls and/or marring)

If it was me, I would use some HD Polish and then seal or wax it.

As far as making colors pop....some say the waxes make a difference, but really it's all in the prep work.

Waxes and sealants are so subjective. What's the goal? Do you want to wax often? Or lay down a long lasting sealant?

 

[DHG1078]

I agree with the above, you probably "need" a light polish. As far as the final protectant, I recommend using a ceramic coating like Cquartz. They are far more durable than a wax and still give the same shine, imo.

 

[STXDriver98544]

I'll do the light test, you're probably right on the light swirl/marring, because I'm sure they ran it through their dealer wash, and no telling how many times the previous owner ran it through the car wash.

My goal is to lay down a long lasting sealant since it'll be a daily, it gets parked in the garage and parked under cover at work so it doesn't see a lot of sun exposure. I just wanted to lay wax on top of the sealant to get a little extra shine and protection on it's first detail. I understand the products can be extremely subjective and it's all in how much time you want to put in prepping and then doing all the steps. Is HD's sealants and waxes good to get also or do they just have a good polish.

 

[hoamskilet]

HD Poxy is a nice wax and I had their Nitro Seal on the Ram I had for over a year and it had plenty of life left in it, looked great, and made regular washing a breeze

 

[STXDriver98544]

Ok good deal, I'll look into picking up HD's line of products then. So what's yalls opinion on how they say Cquartz should "be applied by professionals only", is it like any other sealant, or is there something different about it.

 

[DHG1078]

Ok good deal, I'll look into picking up HD's line of products then. So what's yalls opinion on how they say Cquartz should "be applied by professionals only", is it like any other sealant, or is there something different about it.

It is applied differently. There is a "Cquartz finest" that only dealers can apply, but there are a couple versions you can buy and apply yourself. There are also other companies that sell similar products, but I have had good experience with Cquartz.

Plenty of vids on youtube to watch, but basically you put a small amount on an applicator, apply in a particular pattern until it begins to flash, and then wait. After an hour or so you can either buff it or apply a second coat. The hardest part is just making sure you buff it out good and knock down all the high spots. Very user friendly.

It has lasted me two years with proper maintenance washes and an occasional detail spray Cquartz sells that they call "reload."

 

[hoamskilet]

A lot of people like Cquartz. Optimum Gloss Coat, and Pinnacle Black Label coating are a couple I would suggest looking at as well

 

[STXDriver98544]

Thanks for the help gents. Lookin forward to waking up at sunrise and making a full day out of it here in the next couple weekends. I'll get some pics up after I finish her.

 

[black92]

As far as a sealant, I'm a big fan of the Black Fire Crystal Seal that I applied to my MKS. Very, very easy to apply and made the car look damn slick! I also used Chemical Guy's VRP to dress the tires and it's holding up great with a nice satin finish. Here's my car after M205, BFCS and VRP. Next year I will do M100/205 to correct some deeper scratches that 205 wouldn't get.

 

[STXDriver98544]

Man that's a good looking MKS good work. I was going to do my whole truck by hand, but now I'm thinking about getting the Porter Cable 7424 on Amazon with some pads. Are the line of Chemical guys pads that are on Amazon a decent buy? I know pads can be like the wax's and sealants where it's all personal preference and I've read where most people just try them all. If there's a better bang for your buck set of pads out there that are just as good let me know, the Chemical guys comes with 8 pads for 40 bucks, I guess that's not too bad at 5 bucks a pad.

 

[black92]

Man that's a good looking MKS good work. I was going to do my whole truck by hand, but now I'm thinking about getting the Porter Cable 7424 on Amazon with some pads. Are the line of Chemical guys pads that are on Amazon a decent buy? I know pads can be like the wax's and sealants where it's all personal preference and I've read where most people just try them all. If there's a better bang for your buck set of pads out there that are just as good let me know, the Chemical guys comes with 8 pads for 40 bucks, I guess that's not too bad at 5 bucks a pad.

FWIW, I use a Harbor Freight DA and pads because I'm a cheap ass. I recommend the HF DA if you only do this once in a while and any brand name pads have to be an improvement over the HF versions.

Read here: http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...tion-101-the-(semi)-complete-thread-for-Noobs

 

[STXDriver98544]

Ok, I got a HF DA on order it's hard to beat that 20% off on top of the 59.99 I think is what it was, got a bottle of HD Polish, I think I'll give Black Fire a try and finish with that. My question is, like I said the paint has very light swirling, would a white pad with the HD be enough? Or does a orange pad combined with a light polish finish really well? I'll probably order the orange, white, black/red pad set anyways but I was just wondering if white would be enough to handle it.

 

[DHG1078]

Ok, I got a HF DA on order it's hard to beat that 20% off on top of the 59.99 I think is what it was, got a bottle of HD Polish, I think I'll give Black Fire a try and finish with that. My question is, like I said the paint has very light swirling, would a white pad with the HD be enough? Or does a orange pad combined with a light polish finish really well? I'll probably order the orange, white, black/red pad set anyways but I was just wondering if white would be enough to handle it.

You will have to do a small test area to be sure. Every manufacture's paint is slightly harder/softer than others. In your test spot, always work from least aggressive to most, and only go as aggressive as needed.

I haven't used that polish, but a good light polish should finish nicely with either pad.

 

[STXDriver98544]

You will have to do a small test area to be sure. Every manufacture's paint is slightly harder/softer than others. In your test spot, always work from least aggressive to most, and only go as aggressive as needed.

I haven't used that polish, but a good light polish should finish nicely with either pad.

Ok awesome.

 

[1Kona_Venom]

I tell everyone...wash your vehicle wipe it down and it looks really clean, right? Now put your hand in a ziplock sandwich bag and run your hand down the fender......should feel like 200 Grit sandpaper. Those all the contaminants you cannot see.

Claybar, Polish and seal.

Claybar is important because as with everything, 80% of the finished look is in the "prep".

 

[blue 07]

I detail on the side, full paint corrections, sealant/glaze/wax applications, etc. I do a lot of high end cars, and would like to give you a suggestion. I see that you haven't purchased a clay bar. Detailing 101, you have to clay bar first to remove contaminants, light oxidation, etc. if you don't your going to machine all that into your paint and the scratches will get worse. You need a clean surface to work with to get great results. If you have never used a machine on paint, test your skills first on a very small panel on your car (your trunk is a good place to start ) or practice on your daily driver etc FIRST ! It takes a lot of practice to start using a machine on a car and a lot of hours and practice to perfect it. It can also get expensive, if you buy all the right stuff ! You need different compounds along with the pads as well. Remember one thing, keep the machine moving, don't stay in one spot to long till you get better with the machine. The machine you purchased will be hard to burn paint with since its an basic polisher not a forced rotation polisher, etc. Use high end products to get high end results, if your looking for perfection. You also need very good towels. Not the 20 pack from your box store!! There is detailing like most people do , and then there "detailing" done by perfectionist like myself, depends on where you want to take your vehicle. I use Adams Premium Car Care products for all my detailing. I've used and tried them all, Adams is by far the easiest to use and the shine and protection are outstanding. Here's some pics for you. I guess I can only post 5 at a time (?)

 

[92LX302]

I had great results with Blackfire's products on my Sterling Grey 2013 GT:

IMAG0061 by Maxime Sonier, sur Flickr

IMAG0057 by Maxime Sonier, sur Flickr

IMG_5122 by Maxime Sonier, sur Flickr

 

[blue 07]

If it's your daily driver, I would recommend you to put a coat of sealant on it first (after your done with the machine work you said your going to do) to give it some protection from the hot sun in Texas and then a coat of glaze to add some real shine and than a coat of wax. The sealant should last about 6 months since it bonds it self to the paint, the glaze will give it even more shine and fill in some very minor imperfection and then the wax will add more shine and protection of the paint. Check out Adams Car Care Products online when you get a chance, its all I use !!

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[STXDriver98544]

Thanks for your help buddy, look in my OP, I mentioned claying, I don't intend on skipping that step, as for sealant, I decided to go with Cquartz. As for now I'm going to see what results I get with a simple clay, polish, and seal. If taken care of properly Cquartz can last a lot longer than 6 months. Everyone has their own special way of getting results, but I'm not going to go too wild on my first detail with waxes and glazes, I'm going to keep it simple and go from there. I've gone over the entire truck with a single diode and have determined that a light polish will be enough. I have a few things left to buy but I'll be doing it in the coming weeks and I'll get pics up.