Paint care?
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 914
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From: New Braunfels, Texas
Paint care?
So, what do y'all do to take care of the paint jobs on your new trucks? Does it take several coats of hand-applied wax, or does the clear coat do a good enough job? The exterior of these trucks present a LOT of real estate, and while I am not lazy, I do shy away from what I deem to be unnecessary physical labor. I hate to admit it, but I tend to hit the brushless wash fairly often and pay for the Ultimate or Elite or whatever package. It knocks the dust off, at least. And then when it gets too much road grime, I'll spring for a hand wash and detail at my local manned car wash. Is that enough? Or do I need to bite the bullet and wax on/wax off?
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: WY
So, what do y'all do to take care of the paint jobs on your new trucks? Does it take several coats of hand-applied wax, or does the clear coat do a good enough job? The exterior of these trucks present a LOT of real estate, and while I am not lazy, I do shy away from what I deem to be unnecessary physical labor. I hate to admit it, but I tend to hit the brushless wash fairly often and pay for the Ultimate or Elite or whatever package. It knocks the dust off, at least. And then when it gets too much road grime, I'll spring for a hand wash and detail at my local manned car wash. Is that enough? Or do I need to bite the bullet and wax on/wax off?
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...all-using.html
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: WY
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 914
Likes: 1
From: New Braunfels, Texas
I see that. I bought my '06 used and it had it too, made me wonder if it had been repainted until I found out they all looked like that. That's what it reminds me of, though. Too bad it's not smoooth.
So, what is a clay bar? I have a neighbor that does body work for a living at the local Ford house, and then has his own shop at home. Was thinking of asking him what he suggests and what he'd charge to put a good finish on her. May still go that route too.
ETA - do have the black leather interior? I am really disappointed in the cheap route Ford took when backing the rear seats - fabric like the bottom of a couch! My '06 had carpet behind them, and the replacement costs on that rear seat is of one the things they factored in when they totaled her.
So, what is a clay bar? I have a neighbor that does body work for a living at the local Ford house, and then has his own shop at home. Was thinking of asking him what he suggests and what he'd charge to put a good finish on her. May still go that route too.
ETA - do have the black leather interior? I am really disappointed in the cheap route Ford took when backing the rear seats - fabric like the bottom of a couch! My '06 had carpet behind them, and the replacement costs on that rear seat is of one the things they factored in when they totaled her.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,783
Likes: 1
From: WY
I see that. I bought my '06 used and it had it too, made me wonder if it had been repainted until I found out they all looked like that. That's what it reminds me of, though. Too bad it's not smoooth.
So, what is a clay bar? I have a neighbor that does body work for a living at the local Ford house, and then has his own shop at home. Was thinking of asking him what he suggests and what he'd charge to put a good finish on her. May still go that route too.
ETA - do have the black leather interior? I am really disappointed in the cheap route Ford took when backing the rear seats - fabric like the bottom of a couch! My '06 had carpet behind them, and the replacement costs on that rear seat is of one the things they factored in when they totaled her.
So, what is a clay bar? I have a neighbor that does body work for a living at the local Ford house, and then has his own shop at home. Was thinking of asking him what he suggests and what he'd charge to put a good finish on her. May still go that route too.
ETA - do have the black leather interior? I am really disappointed in the cheap route Ford took when backing the rear seats - fabric like the bottom of a couch! My '06 had carpet behind them, and the replacement costs on that rear seat is of one the things they factored in when they totaled her.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Sterling Heights, MI
The clay bar is mainly used on older trucks that have some fad. It will bring back that nice new shine. As far as waxing, I have been trying to get a few coats on every couple of weeks since it was new and it sits outside all the time. Extra wax will not hurt anything and will make washing a lot easier too.
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Junior User
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Everyone seems to have an opinion on this, but here is what I usually do:
1. Try to only wash by hand, and use 2 buckets when you do. Rise the wash mitt in a bucket of plain water before you go back to the soap bucket to get more soap on the truck. I like duragloss car wash.
2. I let my paint cure about 30 days first (check the actual build date on your truck) and then I first applied a paint sealant from Wolfgang. I left that to cure 12 hours overnight, and then immediately applied a coat of Pinnacle liquid carnuba over the top of the sealant. Most agree this gives you the protection of the sealant with the gloss of a carnuba. The luster of the carnuba wax will gradually wear off, but hopefully the sealant will remain for protection until you can wax again.
Again, just my opinion, but I hope my efforts will preserve the finish for years to come. Avoid the car washes if you can, especially the brush type.
Good luck!
-Rob
1. Try to only wash by hand, and use 2 buckets when you do. Rise the wash mitt in a bucket of plain water before you go back to the soap bucket to get more soap on the truck. I like duragloss car wash.
2. I let my paint cure about 30 days first (check the actual build date on your truck) and then I first applied a paint sealant from Wolfgang. I left that to cure 12 hours overnight, and then immediately applied a coat of Pinnacle liquid carnuba over the top of the sealant. Most agree this gives you the protection of the sealant with the gloss of a carnuba. The luster of the carnuba wax will gradually wear off, but hopefully the sealant will remain for protection until you can wax again.
Again, just my opinion, but I hope my efforts will preserve the finish for years to come. Avoid the car washes if you can, especially the brush type.
Good luck!
-Rob
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 914
Likes: 1
From: New Braunfels, Texas
But if you like it, that's all that matters....
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,326
Likes: 18
From: Gilbert
I clay barred mine about a month ago, then followed it up (immediately) with a coat of synthetic wax and then a coat of carnuba. HUGE difference in the feel and look of the paint. Here's the items I used:
I used a Meguire's clay bar kit found at Autozone, then bought the following from Autogeek:
DG-105 - Duragloss Total Performance Polish (TPP) (sythentic wax)
CO-845 - Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 16oz. (carnuba wax)
GG-1010BL - The Grit Guard Insert - Black (guard to go in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket to keep dirt/rocks at the bottom and not in my wash brush)
I used a Meguire's clay bar kit found at Autozone, then bought the following from Autogeek:
DG-105 - Duragloss Total Performance Polish (TPP) (sythentic wax)
CO-845 - Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 16oz. (carnuba wax)
GG-1010BL - The Grit Guard Insert - Black (guard to go in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket to keep dirt/rocks at the bottom and not in my wash brush)
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,326
Likes: 18
From: Gilbert
I have 'em but they look almost identical, you really can't see the pop of the metal flake in the pics. The paint is smooth though, you can run your hands over it without your hand sticking to the truck (if that makes sense).
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,082
Likes: 1
From: Illinois
Interesting, I just ran out and looked closer at my truck and didn't find any orange peel (or at least I can't see it with the metallic white), does yours show orange peel on the factory paint job?