ebelen1

I'm too lazy so I went to a local detail shop. They first claybar the truck and then use some rubbing compound to smooth out the paint and remove any crap that's built up over time. They then polish it and wax it to seal out the bad stuff.

Here's where I also got my money's worth from the detail. The guy told me to only have the truck washed once every 3 - 4 weeks. I used to do this more often. In fact, he recommended to never use a car wash but again, I'm too lazy. How then do you keep the sucker clean? Use Maguiar's quick detail at least once a week and as needed (for things like bird poop). Every morning, dust it down w/ a California duster and it stays shiny and clean all the time. I've had people ask me if the truck was new b/c of the paint job. If you come really close, there are a bunch of nicks and such but from afar, it looks pretty good.

tc

If you followed this advice up here, your truck would be a frozen lump of rust in about 2 yrs. LOL

Bob_98SR5

What is....


rubbing compound- the most abrasive of the car cleaning products. think of sandpaper: its a 60 grit. use only in emergencies. this product will level out the clearcoat to the dip in noticeable scratches that have not gone down to the paint level. again, use sparingly!

polish- the least abrasive of the car cleaning products. think of it as 220 grit. polish also has chemicals in it that provides the gloss back to your paint. i am not a chemist, so dont ask what chemicals. ive read in some autopia threads that it adds "nutrients" back into the paint for non-clearcoated paint. im not so sure about that, but as i understand it, it fills in the little pits and hairline scratches which provides an even surface and gloss back to the clearcoat and/or paint (if you dont have clearcoat)

glaze- its what they use on krispy kreme donuts. duh!

wax- this protects your polished finish from the elements. wax *does not* give you that wet, glossy look. only polish does

claybar- removes surface contaminants. this is about the best way to remove the little embedded parts of whatever off your vehicle's finish.

HarrisonP

I agree, rubbing compound is very harsh on the paint, but it was my last shot at bringing it back to life. I don't know what effect it had on my clearcoat as it had started bubbling when I got the vehicle. That just got worse as time went on. It seems that toyota's red paint has a horrile habit of fading badly if not taken care of. Some of the ones I have seen around here are very bad.

Sosborne

I use both Griots Garage Best of show wax and meguirs Gold Class. I find the best way to get the read back is to use a good rubbing compound along with a clay bar. Then use a quality polish and finish with wax.

Scott