Hello all!

Well the day finally arrived. I picked up my new 4Runner on Wed. I bought an '02 SR5 in Black. I will post some pics soon!

Now it seems I have even more questions then I did before I bought it. Here are a few, and I’m sure I will have many more!

This is my first NEW truck, so I really want to make sure I take the best care of it. I have done alot of searching on the board for my questions, but in doing so, I have created even more questions and become confused. I am new to "taking good care" of my truck, because my last car was a POS. But my new Runner is s different story!

1. As luck would have it, it seems like my new 4Runner is the favorite spot for the birds to relieve themselves. What do you guys recommend to remove it?

2. Waxing -
a. Since this is a brand new truck, should I be thinking about waxing it before winter hits (I live in CT), or should I wait till the spring? How long is the factory finish good for?
b. I have read alot about Corey's method and the Griot's products. I think I will be trying them out first. I have also read about Zaino’s products. It seems like Zanio’s requires a lot of time to do. Can anyone shed some light as to which products would be better for my Black 4Runner? Mother’s, Pinnacle?

3. Polishing - Since my truck is brand new, do I need to polish or should I just use wax? I am worried about "hurting" the new finish of my 4Runner. I don't want to hurt the clear coat. My Black Runner does have a clear coat on it, right?

4. Swirls – I have read about these, but was causes them?

5. Claying - It seems like everything I have read so far, claying should be my first step (after washing of course). Corey seems to advocate the "power claying", but
I have also read many conflicting ideas on this. Has anyone had any problems "power claying". To me, it seems like there is a great possibility to do damage to the paint when using a PC.

I think those are the main questions I have for now. Thanks in advance!

--Mark

 

Madone:

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase. I think you'll get a better response if Corey moves this over to the main forum. I'l let him know. However, I can answer some of your questions here:

1) Bird bombs: I have a little sponge and a little squirt bottle w/ a mixture of water and car wash fluid (5:1). Whenever I get bombed, I get the sponge wet, dampen the bomb, let it sit and then wipe it off. You don't want to let the bomb sit b/c it will pit your paint. I got lazy a few times and now I can see spots and pits. You might want to invest in a good car cover if you don't want to go thru this alot.

2) I'd wax it right away. And I have a black 4runner too. I have tried so many products to get out swirls, etc. Black and dark blue are the toughest. I just ordered Zainos and I am still waiting for it to arrive. But from what I hear, they time and $$$ spent is worth it. On my black 4runner, I've Corey cabled it w/ multiple coats of polish and it looks really good but its alot of effort.

3) If its brand new, you just need to wax it. Make sure you wash it first w/ car wash fluid (NOT Dawn or God forbid, laundry soap as my parents used!)

4) Swirls- caused by using a cheap wash mitt (synthetic fibers) which hold dirt in the fibers. When you start washing your 4runner w/ this combination, you are literally scratching your paint w/ the dirt. Look at some black 4runners and you'll see the pattern and know what I mean.

5) I prefer hand claying. The Griot's power clay holder didn't do much for me.

Bob

 

Thanks Bob for the info.

I am still undecided as to which way I should go....Griot's, Zaino's, or something else.

But mainly what i am looking for is a great wax (or polish in Zanio's case) that will keep my new Truck looking new.

My 4Runner is my everyday truck, and it will be seeing some woods time this fall during hunting season. So I really want to put on something that will help protect the clearcoat from those killer branches that seem to attack the truck.

Corey, has the BOS saved your truck from these such attacks?

Thanks
--Mark

 

Hi Madone. I don't have a problem with bird shiest on the rig.
It gets crapped on a lot since I park under a tree, but the BOS wax protects it.

I don't always see the bombs on the roof until it's rig washin' time.
But they wash right off and leave no marks. The BOS wax really protects.

But if I see some on the sides, I take a rag and some Griot's Speed Shine (the stuff you lube the clay bar with) and wipe it gently and it comes right off with no sticking.

Swirls, as Bob mentioned, you need a good wash mitt.
I bought this one from Griot's awhile back.



So far it's the best mitt I have owned and used since 1975.
It won't introduce any swirls.
Also make sure your wipe down towel is not introducing swirls.
I rave about a new one that I bought a few months back from Griot's.
It's linked near the top of my wax page.

If you do decide to get Porter Cabled, the cool thing is it can't make swirl marks, It does just the opposite and gets rid of them if you use the Griot's pad system.
Orange for polish, red for wax.

Not sure if you have seen my video or not, but I have one of me pressing down hard on my paint with the PC on my detail site.

Also check out CTapia's comments on the PC system. His link is on the bottom of my wax page. He to has a black 4Runner.

A rig should always be clayed before you wax or polish. It gets rid of the airborne containments that have etched into your paint.
I like the setup I have with the pad that goes on the PC.
I have gotten real good at it, and I don't have to clay anything at all by hand anymore.
Same when putting on the wax too.

It's really up to you if you want to invest the $$$ in all the equipment or not for the PC and stuff.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it the same exact way.

I hear the Zaino is very good, but I don't have the time or patience to put it on in the steps they mention, plus after using a PC, you never want to go back to a hand jobber again.
It's practically effortless to use the unit.

When Todd and I did his 4Runner back in April, we did all 3 steps with the PC.
Clay, polish, and wax.
It took the two of us less than two hours to do the whole rig.

I can power clay and wax my entire rig by myself in about two hours also.

Hope this helps you. Have fun whatever method you choose, and then sit back and admire your work.

 

Thanks Corey!

How about the Brush attack protection?

As an aside, I was looking at my father's truck yesterday...and boy he's got some branch scratches. I'd like to keep these to a minumum if at all possible...or at least protect from it as much as possible.

--Mark

 

I get those too on trails, but they dig into the wax first.

The small fine scratches they do leave come out when I use the Porter Cable.
The unit with the red pad and wax take out the little fine scratches I have found.

Now since your rig is black, they may show more.
My 2nd car was black, and I can rememeber how hard it was to take care of it.

They did not have all this fancy stuff back then like the PC, so I used Classic car wax, or Turtle Wax.
Had tons of swrils marks too.
That was back around '79 or so.

That is also a reason now why I am on my 3rd white rig.
As far back as I can rememeber, my dad always had a white car.
Very easy to take care of.

You are just going to have to be extra carefull with the darker color, especialy while wheelin' it.

Also check out this detail forum.
http://www.autopia.ws/index.php?s=

They are as anul about detailing as we are about Toy's.
Both the PC & Griot's get high praises over there, as well as the Zaino system.

Also see what they have to say about the Speed Shine.
http://autopia.ws/forums/showthread....threadid=14649
Yeah, I had to throw my 2 cents in too.
Corey