Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

[woof37]

First of all, I have to say that this is the best smiley I've ever come across on any forum. Ha!




Awesome. But I'd love your advice on my problem if you care to give it. First of all, I know a little bit (emphasis on "little" here) about paint care, but not a ton. I clay and use NXT on my girlfriend's '08 Accord every quarter or so, and I have a dual-action polisher I bought in '03 (still good?) that we use on her car. Really good little tool there. As to my truck...

I have a 2000 Tacoma in white that has never been waxed. It has minor chips in the hood and lower door panel that I was thinking I'd just get a paint pen from the dealer and fill in somehow. In addition, there is what looks like black mold spotting in places on the roof and around rear windows in the X-cab. It's not horrible, but it is there. My local Toyota guru says that the paint is salvageable and that he wouldn't paint it...so, what should I do? My instinct said to get a paint cleaner (fine cut? heavy cut?) and use that first, then follow with something else...what, I have no idea. I would appreciate any care paths youse guyses would suggest.

BONUS POINTS: it has 16" Landcruiser wheels on it, and the center caps are a milky yellow because most of the paint is gone. What should I use to repaint those things? I really have no clue.

Thanks a ton folks.

Cliff

[Andy M.]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

Welcome to MOL!

What processes are you using on the Accord? Most likely you will use the same process on your tacoma. Maybe we can redefine it for you.

Andy M.
MOL Moderator

[FRS]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

[woof37]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

Thanks guys, I appreciate the friendly greeting.

Current processes on the Accord. First, I wash it. Second, I clay bar it (been using whatever I can get at Autozone, which was Mothers last time I think) and then buff out any residue with a microfiber. Third, I apply a little NXT with the polisher, let it haze, and then we remove/buff it with thick terry towels and microfibers on trouble spots. That's about it. But her paint was pristine from day one since she bought it new and didn't need any paint cleaning. It probably does now though.

I have a bottle of Fine Cut and a bottle Medium Cut sitting around unused if that helps any. Oh, is there another NXT version? I bought mine when it first came out.

[mujjuman]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

Yeah there is NXT 2.0, and I think its better than the NXT 1.0
I recommend Meguiars clay bar kit, rather than Mothers. Not because this is a Meguiars site, but I have used the Mother's clay and the detailer and I really didnt like it. My cousin bought it recently and I used it on his car.
The first and only clay bar kit I use on my car is from Meguiars and would not use anything else.

I'm not an expert, but your method sounds good. But for your Tacoma, which might need a bit more work, I would recommend using something like ColorX or another kind of polisher before NXT.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

I recently detailed a 99 Escalade. The current owner since 04, has never waxed it. He doubts the previous owner cared for it much either.

Well I just followed the regular process. Everything worked well. That is the best advice i can give you. You should be fine.

Once you get to paint correction, I would do a test spot, and dial in your process.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

Thanks guys, I appreciate the friendly greeting.

Current processes on the Accord. First, I wash it. Second, I clay bar it (been using whatever I can get at Autozone, which was Mothers last time I think) and then buff out any residue with a microfiber. Third, I apply a little NXT with the polisher, let it haze, and then we remove/buff it with thick terry towels and microfibers on trouble spots. That's about it. But her paint was pristine from day one since she bought it new and didn't need any paint cleaning. It probably does now though.

I have a bottle of Fine Cut and a bottle Medium Cut sitting around unused if that helps any. Oh, is there another NXT version? I bought mine when it first came out.

Hi woof37!

First off, welcome to MOL

As for your situation, I wanted to clarify something just in case... you mentioned what I bolded in your quote - do you mean you use the microfiber to remove streaks of claybar residue left on the paint? Or just the streaking of whatever lubricant you used?

If you are getting streaking of actual clay bar on the paint, you need more lubricant. You definitely want to lean on the side of excess spray, rather than being dry. The easier the clay bar can slide around, the better. A lot of people assume less lube means the clay is grabbing more, but it is actually the other way around. Who knew?

As for the rest of the situation, you might want to start with Ultimate Compound as this product will help to remove a thorough amount of "dead" paint, some swirls and scratches, and whatever has built up on the paint that the clay misses.

After that, inspect the paint, and either follow it up with SwirlX to refine the finish, or use a cleaner wax like ColorX for a little more cleaning action and some protection.

From there on out, NXT 2.0 to maintain the surface is great, along with either Ultimate Quik Wax or Ultimate Quik Detailer to maintain the finish after washing.

[woof37]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

This is fantastic info, guys. I really appreciate the great responses.

Mujjuman: Megs clay it is. Now to find it locally, heh, right. Think I'll be ordering online somewhere. I've read several posts on people using ColorX...what really is it for? Naive I know. Hard to get a handle on specific applications when there's so many overlapping products.

JA Michaels: now to find my "regular" process. Understood on the paint correction test spot.

Mark K: streaking from the lubricant, not the clay bar. I'd always been unsure if I was using too much spray, so good to know I wasn't. I will toss the "cut" cleaners and track down some Ultimate Compound. As to your second suggestion, which route should I go? I don't guess I really know which each should be used for. The paint just has no shine to it, if that helps. 10 years of Mississippi sun couldn't have been good for it. NXT 2.0 it is! Nice to know I've been doing at least one part of this right.

Thanks again folks.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

This is fantastic info, guys. I really appreciate the great responses.

Mujjuman: Megs clay it is. Now to find it locally, heh, right. Think I'll be ordering online somewhere. I've read several posts on people using ColorX...what really is it for? Naive I know. Hard to get a handle on specific applications when there's so many overlapping products.

JA Michaels: now to find my "regular" process. Understood on the paint correction test spot.

Mark K: streaking from the lubricant, not the clay bar. I'd always been unsure if I was using too much spray, so good to know I wasn't. I will toss the "cut" cleaners and track down some Ultimate Compound. As to your second suggestion, which route should I go? I don't guess I really know which each should be used for. The paint just has no shine to it, if that helps. 10 years of Mississippi sun couldn't have been good for it. NXT 2.0 it is! Nice to know I've been doing at least one part of this right.

Thanks again folks.

Hi woof37,

the Ultimate Compound sounds like the right tool for the job if you have 10 years worth of oxidized paint to remove. It should fairly quickly - all things considered - remove the dead paint and start to reveal some true color underneath.

Now, sometimes UC will leave the finish ready for wax, but often times you will need a gentler product - a polish - in order to remove whatever minor hazing it may have created. SwirlX is your most readily available and latest and greatest product for that job.

Then, ColorX is a cleaner wax, meaning it has a very light polish, cleaners and wax in one bottle. You can use ColorX or any other Meguiar's cleaner wax to follow the SwirlX.

After that, just use the normal wax or sealant of your liking.

[woof37]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

Hi woof37,

the Ultimate Compound sounds like the right tool for the job if you have 10 years worth of oxidized paint to remove. It should fairly quickly - all things considered - remove the dead paint and start to reveal some true color underneath.

Now, sometimes UC will leave the finish ready for wax, but often times you will need a gentler product - a polish - in order to remove whatever minor hazing it may have created. SwirlX is your most readily available and latest and greatest product for that job.

Then, ColorX is a cleaner wax, meaning it has a very light polish, cleaners and wax in one bottle. You can use ColorX or any other Meguiar's cleaner wax to follow the SwirlX.

After that, just use the normal wax or sealant of your liking.

Awesome. I can do that. Thanks a ton Mark and all. I will try to remember to take before/after pics if possible.

[FRS]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

.. all the above and please don't touch medium cut by hand. Herewith my bad experience http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43038

[woof37]

Re: Toyota Tacoma, never waxed...advice?

.. all the above and please don't touch medium cut by hand. Herewith my bad experience http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43038

Whoa. Hate that for you my friend. Looks like you recovered nicely though. I apply my existing product with a PC, so I should be able to avoid your problems. Thanks for the heads-up.