We'll I just waxed my 03 Dodge Ram 4x4, and I thought I'd post them here for you to see. It took me about 6 hours start to finish, and I couldn't be happier with the results. I will warn you after I took 3 pictures, and the batteries on my camera died. one of them was really blurry but I'll post them anyways.

Following Steps were taken:

Washed - Meguiars Gold Class Car Wash
Clayed the Finish - Meguiars Quick Clay
Cleaned the Paint - Meguiars #9 Swirl Remover
Polished the Finish - Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze
Waxed - 2 coats of Meguiars Gold Class Wax

Washing and the clay was done by hand. #9, #7, and Wax was applies with a Porter Cable Polisher, and removed with a Microfiber towel. The second coat of wax was removed with a Micrfiber Bonnet over my Polisher.

As you can see, nothing touches my trucks finish but Meguiar's. And yes my Ram is Black.

Hope you like them.




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That looks great! I need to do the clay bar and swirl remover step on my wife's truck. She had a local shop detail it and it's horrible!

 

I need to get mine waxed badly...problem is I'm too lazy

I haven't wahed a car of mine since I was 16, over 12 years ago

I just need to find some kid who needs 20 bucks

 

Thanksfor the compliment!

The problem with most Car Wash Detailers is they don't have the right equipment for the job, and they buy the cheap bulk wax to save a dollor.

The Clay Bar is my best weapon in my aresenal. Most people don't understand that you have to clean your finish before you wax. If you leave any Water Stains, Tree Sap, or your standard Industrial Fallout on your car, you will just wax right over it and trap it onto your finish. Now that's were the Clay bar comes in. Here's a little test to see if your car needs to be clayed. Wash & Dry your car first, then place a plastic sandwhich baggie over your hand, now run your hand (with baggie in it) and feel the finish. You will feel bumps all over the hood. That means it's time to clay. Your finish after claying should feel smooth as glass. This step willnot remove swirls!

Swirls are the most common problem on your everyday driver. Just cause you can't see them from 5ft away, doesn't mean there gone. To remove swirls you have to remove a little bit of the clear coat (which is very difficult by hand). I use the Porter Cable 7336 for this task, and some Meg's #9 Swirl Remover. I can't begin to tell you how much nicer my Ram looks with out those horrible swirl marks.

Here's a before and after pics of my uncles vette I did 2 months ago!



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Thanks for tips on the procedure. I live in S. Jersey now and they salt the roads like crazy. Then the wind and rain kicks in... not good for the paint I bet. I hope to be able to do a thorough job of my trucks in the next few months.

Not a lot of places around here to get cars detailed - I'm used to 100's of companies doing this cheaply in South Florida.

 

No problem..

I know what salt roads can do to a finish[:@]

PM me anytime, and I could help walk you through the proper steps.

Jlgarza21

 

Looks like glass.... Wish I was that motivated..

 

Hey man, do you think you could send me a PM w/ proper instructions, Ive never done it before..

 

man that looks good. i have a black truck and haven't been able to get it like that. how much time did it take? how do remove the scratches?

 

We'll it took me total about 6 hours. Minus 1 hr for the washing part, half hour for lunch, and about 45 minutes to tape off. So a little over 4 hours of actually Waxing/Polishing. I was afraid of doing damage to my paint, and everyone I talked to said Black paint was the easiest to mess up with a buffer. So I've always waxed my truck by hand (about 2yrs now) and even though there was a hug improvement, I could never get it flawless. But when I did it by hand, it also took me about 6-9hrs.

I recently purchased a Porter Cable 7336SP at Lowes for $120. All the pro's use this machine, and they claim it's foolproof (can't burn the paint). So I bought the correct pads, and Pro-Line products and you can see the results. I will never go back to hand waxing again. The PC was in fact the best thing I have ever bought.

I'll show you a drawing that will help understand a scratch first, and what it means to remove it.

I use Meguiars Scratch X, and a Cotton Applicator.

1. Only work a small area at a time - about 6 inch by 6 inch area or smaller
2. You can apply using a combination of circular motions and straight-line motions (and with some passion behind it)
3. Work the product against the finish until it looks as you have almost run out of product.
4. Re-apply the product and repeat the above steps 2-3 more times

The trick is to work the product in until it just begins to disappear and to apply more than one application. You see, the ScratchX, like all Meguiar's Paint Cleaners, contain a diminishing abrasive, as you work ScratchX in, the microscopic diminishing abrasives gently abrade the surface removing small particles of paint. But as you work it in, these diminishing abrasives breakdown. Thus, they quit abrading the finish and actually polish the finish to a clear, high gloss. This diminishing action turned polishing action is a benefit to you because it enable you to work out defects without leaving scratches behind.


Note: You can rarely remove a bird dropping etching, or a scratch, from a clear-coated finish with one application.

Hope this helps!

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Here's another test to see if a scratch has gone too deep!
1st - If you can see metal of primer it's too deep
2nd if don't see metal - Clean the area and run your fingernail accross the scratch. If you fingernail gets caught in it's too deep to take out, if it doesn't catch then there's hope

If it's too deep the best you'll be able to get, is to improve the area with the steps I provided so that it's not as noticeable.