If I rub my hand on the truck some of the color will show on my fingers. I'm looking for a way to seal it, protect it, and shine it up a bit.

I was thinking wax but do I need to do anything special first? This is probably original 1981 paint. In the store I saw some pre-wax cleaners but are they safe for paint this old?

I'm not sure what the best thing to do is.

 

When do you plan on refinishing it?

Your original paint is oxidizing or more simply beginning to fail, color & pigment-wise anyway. I don't know its worth the effort or expense trying to save it, not if there are sincere plans on new paint sometime soon.

I would look carefully at the lower panels for rust---that's important to deal with before the new paint goes on.

 

There are many cleaner waxes on the market ,that will remove oxidation and leave a nice shine.
Use carnuba wax to seal it up .
Oxidation is a normal byproduct of single stage paints of the past.

No special procedures are required when refinishing the paint.

 

But make sure you use a cleaner/deoxidizer product (also called cutting compound) first. If you just wax over the oxidation it'll make a mess.

 

Thanks all. I'll make sure I use a cleaner first.