my truck is in great need of some exterior work and i know nothing about detailing at all. i wash it when it gets dirty, but i haven't waxed it since i bought it and i'm not sure if the previous owener ever did.

i've been reading some posts and am starting to become familiar with all the stuff involved. one question, i have a dewalt orbital sander, can i use this? i don't really have the money to by a porter-cable sander so i'll just do it by hand if my sander won't work.

whats a good thing to remove hardened sap and bugs caked on from highway driving? i'm hesitant to use anything like goo-gone on my paint. and in the past few months, i've accumulated some scratches when wheeling. i'm sure some can be taken care of with a good waxing, but some will probably need something else too. is there any type of rubbing compound i can use to try to take them out?

i looked through corey's detailing section and have decided that to do the job right especially on my truck, which hasn't really ever been waxed to my knowledge so is probably oxidized, i will need to wash it, get the bugs and sap off, fix the scratches, clay bar it, polish it, and then finally wax it. this sound right?

looking over the posts, i've picked up on names like zymol, meguires, girol, etc. what does everyone use? and where are the best places to get it all?

 

Do not use the orbital sander. It will not dissipate heat properly. Feel free to use goo gone on your paint. It is rather mild. In fact, I get frustated with it sometimes and move up to Goof Off, which is much more powerful and should be used with greater care.

www.griots.com

Start with the hand wax kit since you are on a limited budget. They will hook you up.

I have detailed cars for over 10 years and I am very satisfied with their products and service.

 

good thing i asked about the sander! i am checking out girot's and can't seem to find the specific 'hand wash kit' were you talking about the starter kit by chance? that kit would probably work for me, but what is the speed shine? i assume the clay bar can be held in-hand and does not need a holder or anything like that.

would i want to get some polish to take care of the oxidation, if so, which of the 3 polishes ? one more, whats the best way to apply all of this stuff? cloth, some sort of sponge, something else?

 

Griot's has a Detailing Handbook that you can download in PDF format, it will answer many of your questions.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/support.jsp

 

For everything you ever want to know about detailing, you might check out the Autopia forum.

Either the forum itself, http://www.autopia.com or the web site selling related products with a whole lot of how-to stuff http://www.autopia-carcare.com

Specific how-to example: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-tar.html

 

Since you aren't the sort of person who spends a weekend every few months cleaning and waxing his truck you may want to look at using Zaino's "polish" instead of a carnuba wax such as Griot's. The Zaino's product is easier to apply and may last longer than a carnuba wax.
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

 

i might check that out, cause i'd much rather be wheeling or riding my bike than waxing. anyone know of something i can use on the scratches? and thanks for all the input so far

 

For deep scratches you are going to need a good paint shop

For mild scratches the "bite" can be taken out of them by a good machine polish dude. I would use Polish 1 from Griot's.

For light surface scratches, you should be able to get those out with just about any decent product that has a polishing nature.

As you can see, everyone has their opinions. I have not tried Zaino, so I can't say how that is, but everyone here raves about it.

 

4x4taco, take some time to luke over at http://www.autopia.org/forums/index.php and take some time to look at the Reviews and Hall of Fame posts. Lot's of VERY good information. However, as with Yotatech, watch your wallet!

 

Zaino is great at small scratches (as Bob_98SR5 put it one time), and I am talking like the punny small barely able to see ones, but for bigger scratches...96 Runner, can't you just use a good polish? Man, why are the good detailers so freakin far away on this board, I would love to pay one of ya to come detail my car for me.

 

none of my scratches are too deep, some friends have told me to use a rubbing compound on the deeper ones, turtle wax specifically, any thoughts on that? and so a good polish (not waxing?) will take care of the rest if i understand correctly....