Well, because this wasnt in the faqs section already, i will start it here. What is your favorite brand/type of polish and/or wax? also what are your preferred methods?

Ive got the whole weekend off, with the wife gone out of town, and I have two projects set aside for myself.. clean out the garage, and detail the living hell out of the truck. I have already started on the truck, got the interior done, and a quick wash of the exterior. I have set aside all day tomorrow to wash again, clay bar, rubbing compound on a few minor scuffs and scratches, polish, then wax. you guys got any pointers for me on all this? i always used to just pay someone to detail it for me, and never got the results i was after. now its time for some good ol elbow grease, and time.



and speaking of the faqs section... what the heck happened to all the DIY threads that were in there?!?! its a little upsetting to me that they are gone, i liked them there.

 

i never touched polishes or anything with my truck yet.. was actually waiting for a thread like this to happen Lol. but I know on my friends mx bikes and my mx quad we use this stuff called flitz it worked super good. made the chrome on our bikes look like mirrors.. you would have to wear sunglasses when you were looking at them.

 

I use McGuires for everything, good stuff and it smells pretty good too. Just take your time in a shaded area, truck needs to be cool. Section by section buddy.

 

i just found this tidbit from hammer while searching around.

maybe him or others can chime in on some techniques and pointers.

 

true that. Lol
my moms old infiniti qx4 was always shiny.. but I took it to the car wash like literally everyday. Lol

 

I haven't waxed my truck in a while, after I get over this H1N1 **** I plan on claybaring my truck for the first time...I mainly use the ICE detail spray, it works great.

 

fukken wax check it out lol
http://www.fukkenwax.com/

 

+1! their 'plasticX' works great on cleaning up your headlights and taillights

 

I use meguires all the way too. Their next generation tech wax 2.0 is great! So is the ultimate compound they make. I like to wax in the garage or at least in the shade. Just read the instructions and you'll be fine.

 

OK, no big secrets here except maybe one. Every three months or so when I give it the full detail, buffed on wax, etc. I wash it with a pressure washer and soap, same as always, but when I'm done, I wet a couple rags with rubbing alcohol and go over the whole vehicle.

Been doing this forever and has never caused any issue on any part of the truck, paint, rubber, plastic, etc. Poor man's answer to the clay bar. Takes off everything - old wax, bird crud, sap, bugs, pollen, etc. Everything that a regular washing won't touch.

If you think about it, every "stick on" thing for a vehicle comes with an alcohol wipe to get the area perfectly clean.

Then I re-hit it with the pressure washer to get rid of any alcohol, although it probably all just evaporates anyway.

Now is the time to take care of any scratches (I get a lot of small scratches from branches when out fishin', campin' and huntin'. Polishing compound (don't use rubbing compound - too abrasive) or any commercial deal made for it. I rub it on and let it dry to haze, then I have a small 1" battery operated buffer was part of a $19.95 "As Seen On TV" kit, works great to work it into the scratches. Wipe off excess with micro fiber towel.

Then it's time to wax the metal & Armor All (or equivalent) the vinyl, plastic, rubber, etc. For the diamonplate (bed rail, tailgate guards, toolbox) and all chrome is the only place I get brand specific. I use Flitz on those surfaces, works better than anything else I've tried, although Maguires' All Metal Polish is not bad and can be gotten in a regular auto parts store. The Flitz I gotta order online. I have a full set of tiny buffers, about 6 of them, imitation wool they look like, all different shapes that do great inside the rims, etc. Got them at a flea market for like $10 for the set and fit on a rechargeable drill.

I apply the wax with supplied applicator (I kinda like the carnuba based ones, but again, brand is usually whatever name brand that they have on sale. Buff with a small 6" buffer with a terry pad. The small buffer may take a little longer, but gets a lot of spots where a 10" won't. Hand do all the nooks. Wipe any excess off with micro fiber towel. There is a small tool auto parts stores sell, looks like a small pen knife, but instead of a metal, the "blade" is flexible rubber. This is used to get the wax out of nooks and crannies, around emblems, etc.

Nothing fancy and nothing anybody else doesn't do except the alcohol trick.

BTW, wipe down the wiper blades with alcohol as well, you'll get 2-3x the life out of them.

To do it right, it's gonna take you 2-3 hours easy, then at least an hour to detail the inside. But at only 3-4 times a year, it's not bad to dedicate half a day or so to keep your vehicle looking like new.

In between this full detail every 3-4 months, I'll pressure wash either when I return from "playing" if it's dirty or about once a month. My pressure washer has an auto soap feeder, which I use, but also when wet and soapy, I hit it with a soft sponge in a bucket of soapy water. Rinse and wipe down with a chamois (yeah I got the Cham-Wows or flea market $1 each clone, anyway, works good. Then hit the metal surfaces with a quick "in between waxes" type of spray on polish, any will do, but I kinda like the Eagle One Nanowax and find that Advance puts them on a buy one - get one free sale quite often. I'll usually buy three and get three free and the six bottles will last me about a year of doing the truck and the Jeep in between thorough details and buffed on waxings. If the wheels are dirty and it's gonna be a while till I do a full detail wash, then I'll hit them with a spray on - hose off wheel cleaner.

This monthly "in between detailed wash" usually takes me about an hour and a half or so per vehicle.