New Guy from South Louisiana

[RajunKajun59]

Hey guys,
Been lurking for a few weeks now, decided to sign up finally. Been trying to take care of my truck a lot more latley, I want it to last longer and look good at the same time. It's an 07 F150, Dark Blue Pearl, love the color.

So anyway, I am an old turtle wax guy, watched my dad and his brothers using it when I was growing up, and said hey, "if it's good enough fro their sport cars in the 80's and early 90's, then it is great for my truck." Boy it made Big Blue look great, then some swirl marks started showing, up. Bad washing technique I beleive, now that I have researched it. Was having problems hiding them.

Not really being familiar with the Meguair's prduct line, the only thing I had was the Gold Class leather cleaner and condition a friend gave me when he sold his truck. I researched some more, and bought some Ultimate past wax, and UC, some MF rags and Foam Pads. Till I get a good weeekend to work on her, I have been keeping her up with quick detailer after washes 2 -3 times a month, really makes the turtle wax last a long time, going on 3-4 months water still beads as good as the day I put it on.

This weekend I had a chance to try out the UC on a small section of my truck, to see if it was the right stuff. I took a 16'' by 6'' section of my hood and choose to work there, sprayed the area with the detailer, since it was recently washed and not to dirty yet, clay barred the area, then worked in the UC with a foam applicator pad and the handle from the headlight restration kit, then applied the paste wax.

This is where I got upset, I mean down right aggrivated. I looked at the section I worked to the rest of my hood, I said, "this aint good." This little section right here is gonna tease the hell outta me till I can work on the rest of the truck. I have never seen that deep and dark of a shine on my truck ever.

I guess in all this book and jumping around here, I want to thank Meguair's for giving me a new hobby, if I can ever find the time to persue it. Next on my list is a DA eventually. Right now at 28 I am getting really good at circular motions, and the gratificaion of the hard work, kinda enjoy it somewhat. I can say this even in braod daylight, the wax was easy on and easy off, just really amazed me, I know thats a no no but the truck is way to big for my garage.

Few questions, now that, that is done.
1) Is it safe to use the Gold Class leather cleaner and condition on a Vinyl tonno cover?
2) Does the glass cleaner do the same thing as RainX 2 in 1?
3) I think that is it for now.

[Murr1525]

Re: New Guy from South Louisiana

So anyway, I am an old turtle wax guy, watched my dad and his brothers using it when I was growing up, and said hey, "if it's good enough fro their sport cars in the 80's and early 90's, then it is great for my truck." Boy it made Big Blue look great, then some swirl marks started showing, up. Bad washing technique I beleive, now that I have researched it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7598756069207401372

Not really being familiar with the Meguair's prduct line, the only thing I had was the Gold Class leather cleaner and condition a friend gave me when he sold his truck. I researched some more, and bought some Ultimate past wax, and UC, some MF rags and Foam Pads. Till I get a good weeekend to work on her, I have been keeping her up with quick detailer after washes 2 -3 times a month, really makes the turtle wax last a long time, going on 3-4 months water still beads as good as the day I put it on.

UQD would be even better, and Ult. Quick Wax would be best after a wash.

This weekend I had a chance to try out the UC on a small section of my truck, to see if it was the right stuff. I took a 16'' by 6'' section of my hood and choose to work there, sprayed the area with the detailer, since it was recently washed and not to dirty yet, clay barred the area, then worked in the UC with a foam applicator pad and the handle from the headlight restration kit, then applied the paste wax.

Sounds good.

This is where I got upset, I mean down right aggrivated. I looked at the section I worked to the rest of my hood, I said, "this aint good." This little section right here is gonna tease the hell outta me till I can work on the rest of the truck. I have never seen that deep and dark of a shine on my truck ever.

Yeah, not too difficult is it.

Few questions, now that, that is done.
1) Is it safe to use the Gold Class leather cleaner and condition on a Vinyl tonno cover?

Safe, yes. Best choice, probably not. I would think the Ult. Protectant would be better.

2) Does the glass cleaner do the same thing as RainX 2 in 1?

No, the glass cleaner just cleans the glass. You would want the RainX Original after it, or other product of your choice.

[RajunKajun59]

Re: New Guy from South Louisiana

Thanks for the video link Murr, I watched one other a while back, and the ole boy said there is only one way to do a two bucket wash and that is my way. Do not dry you car with a anything but am electric leaf blower or air force master blaster. Seeeing this guy use a Chamois, and even recommend the same kind that I have,(Absorber) is a releif.

Thought of a another question whle I was out for lunch.

I plan on at least clay barring my truck 3 times a year, as I work around a lot of overspray. Is it Okay to use the UC then too, or will it be to harsh on the clearcoat? Maybe something like the Swirl X or polish? or will it depend on how bad the swirls are? Maybe once a year? Any Reccomendations? It is a truck after all, I know they will be back, just the amount of dust she gathers on a day to day basis, and the boat launches and roads areound here are not paint friendly.

[Murr1525]

Re: New Guy from South Louisiana

I dont think Mike gets called 'that guy' to often, but he probably would appreciate the anonymity.

If you just get overspray, but dont cause yourself any swirls, then there wont be any swirls to need removing. In that case, the milder cleaners would be fine. You can use the SwirlX or Ult. Polish anytime for regular detailing, they are quite mild, and even milder if you just wipe around rather than working in.

You might want to look into the Mild Blue Clay in the Pro line. It is a little stronger than the Smooth Surface Clay kit, and may suit your needs better, if you know you will be getting stuff on the paint.

[RajunKajun59]

Thanks for the tips man. I appreciate it. Will give the blue clay a try then. Lotta knowledge this place has. Good stuff glad I dropped in.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: New Guy from South Louisiana

This is where I got upset, I mean down right aggrivated. I looked at the section I worked to the rest of my hood, I said, "this aint good." This little section right here is gonna tease the hell outta me till I can work on the rest of the truck. I have never seen that deep and dark of a shine on my truck ever.

Geez, you had us worried there for a second! It's nice when the stuff inside the bottle actually does what the label says it will do, isn't it?

As to your two initial questions, Mat has already answered them so we'll just touch on the claying and compounding question a bit. Since your vehicle is so often exposed to overspray it sounds like routine claying will be in order for you, and that's fine. Claying should be done on an "as needed" basis, and it certainly sounds like you'll be seeing more "as needed" situations that is typical. But whether or not you should compound, polish, wax or anything else is also on an "as needed" basis. If you don't have swirls, then compounding is a waste of time. A light polish may still be a good idea, just to bump up the gloss level a bit before you apply a fresh coat of wax.

We always recommend giving the finish a quick evaluation in good lighting after every wash. If you don't see any below surface defects (swirls, fine scratches, etch marks, etc) then there's really no upside to using a dedicated paint cleaner. If you start to see a couple little marks here and there you know that the time is approaching where you'll need to do some light correction. Exactly when that is will depend on what you consider "bad" or "as needed". But if you get your washing and drying technique nailed, and you regularly use a good quick detail spray and clean microfiber towels to remove fresh contaminants, you'll go a long way toward keeping new swirls from developing, and therefore minimizing the amount of corrective work you need to do.

[RajunKajun59]

Thank you for the tips and advice.

[RajunKajun59]

Hopefully gonna get some work done on her this weekend. Just hope I can squeeze her in the garage.

[RajunKajun59]

I love your products, spent some serious time and energy this weekend using the UC by hand. I have pics on my home computer to post. So far looks a good 80% of my swirls and light scratches where removed by hand. The paint finish looks awesome, I love the wet shine with the ultimate past wax afterword. I mean WOW!!!!! I was blinded.

And, what a pleasure to use this stuff. It's the first time i applied wax to the whole truck, then let it sit while i rehydrated and rested for 15 minutes, and it still comes off as easy as it went on, and BAM!!!!! What a shine.

Now to keep it up and looking this way, and next time I need to do swirl removal, I am investing in a DA, my arm still hurts 2 days later. thank you all for the advice and tips, I assure they did not fall on deaf ears.

6:30 to midnight on Thursday: Wash, clay, and compounded hood and front quarter panels and front bumper.

7:00 - 3:00 on Friday: finished compounding rest of truck, wiped down with quick detailer, then applied ultimate wax.

These are some finished product images, the before and after swirl w/ halogen work lights are on my pc and will follow when I get home from the office.

Chris.

[RajunKajun59]

I can't get the pics to load on phone, will get them all at home.