I have a ingot silver 2011 F150.....I've seen some posts that say not to use silicone wax on vehicles with clearcoat (I assume this is the candy red and premium white?). Any opinions on what is compatible with my silver? Thanks for your input......

 

Try Turtle Wax Ice, it comes in either liquid or paste and it does a very good job. Very easy to go on and buff out. If you go to their website they show you the best way to use it.

 

Responding to your statement I bolded...most of all modern vehicles have a clearcoat. To my knowledge, all F150s come clearcoated from the factory.

As for wax. I have had great success with Mother's SynWax. Goes on easily, comes off easily, and lasts through multiple washes.

 

Well, that's a lttle bit of bull pucky. Wax whether it silicone or carnuba, there are two types, good quality and ok quality (alothough there are some very high ends products out there too).

With regards to carnuba, if they say 100% carnuba they are being creative with wording because although it may contain 100% carnuba, the total content of carnuba in any wax is 30%- any greater and you couldn't apply it to the vehicle.

Here's my recommendation......

The paint was already detailed by the dealer or dealer center prior to your recieving the truck. New paint typically has somes flaws but after 6 months, most will shrink away (so to speak)- Yes, I would wait at least 6 months befor touching it- unless we are dealing with a special circumstance (environmental, etc.).

For a very nice, long lasting silicone wax.....

3M Show Car Shine. It has a mild paint cleaner, polish and apply's easily by hand or machine and wipes off very easily. I have used this for 20+ years and it works very well, nice deep shine.

For Acrylic Paint Sealant.....

Pro/BAF P-73-Q PROFECTION™ PAINT SEALANT. Very high quality product with moderate level of polish to bring paint to a very high shine. Excellent durability, protection (uncluding UV, environmental) and removes easily as well. Can apply by hand or machine. Although not recommend by the MFG, on dark colored paints I apply a silicone wax over this after waiting 1 week to ensure complete curing, for a deep shiine.

For Carnuba wax....

Pro/BAF P-35-Q SATIN CREME. This does not have any polish or cleaner in it but, is an acrylic resin/carnuba based wax that combines the best of both worlds in terms of paint deep gloss and durability (6 months plus as compared to conventional carnuba which is 2-3 months).

also...I have used by by request, Griot Garage Carnuba liquid wax....a moderate level of polish/cleaner that did apply and remove nicely and left a nice finish.

Fyi.....

Ford/GM/Chrysler/MB/Porsche all have service directives that specifically refer to paint correction/contamination procedures and clay bar is not a referred procedure and specifically identified as a method which only removes the surface level paint contaminants and as such, the "root' of the contaminant remains continues to destroy the paint from underneath the surface layer of the paint. There is little no reason for using clay bar on a new paint.

Just remember, Mequire's clay bar (which is one of the lowest quality products available IMHO) is rated at approx. 3500 grit. There much better clay bar products out there rated at much finer grits- so if you are comfortable and believe your paint needs to be wet-sanded, and that is the only and safest way to correct the flaw/issue, then do so but remember, for 90% for all paint contamination issues there are products designed to relieve/remove/neutralize the contaminants without reducing the mil thickness of the clear coat

These procedures date back to 1990 and are still published in current oem paint maintenance publications/service manuals. PM me for a copy.

 

only one I will ever recommend is zaino.
Application: Zaino Store

Lasts for over 6 months and still beads, makes your car reflective, and is easy to use. spend a weekend to do it properly, and leave it go for a while. To strip the old wax read the directions on zainos site.

Here are some pictures of my wifes new focus after zaino







also the reason you want to clay bar your car when new is due to rail dust.

 

Zaino fan here.

Only stuff I use.

 

Meguires products is all I use on my Ingot silver.....

 

I really like my Collinite 885/915! Just plain old wax with Carnauba and no polish/abrasive.
Collinite says that 885 and 915 is the same thing, just different labels. I began using it when I saw a 35 year old Bertram 30'ish foot power boat that looked better than most year old boats. When I learned how old it was the first question I asked its original owner was "how" and "what". He gave me a lesson on the care and maintenance of gelcoat that included the warning "do not over (ever?) polish! Clean and wax does what needs to be done..." Our boat has been given the same treatment for the past 6 years and it looks awesome!
I'm basically applying the same formula to my truck. I'll tell you how it looks in 10 years or so...
Interesting about the clay though. It does make the finish seem smooth but I'll stop using it now! I only did it once though.

 

I like Ardex Topaz. It goes on & comes off easy and lasts a long time.

 

I always used Wax Shop liquid wax on my Mustang until it got almost impossible to get anymore. I now use Mothers Carnuba wax on my vehicles. Today's factory paint jobs are very very thin and I would never use a clay bar on one of them. They remove dirt as well as paint.

Here is the Mustang that I bought new and it never saw a garage until the last few years, all original paint that Ford put on in 1988. Still shines great.

 

Unfortunitely, clay bar does not remove raildust from what I will call "paint pores" or minature pockets in the paint, as a result, the microscopic contaminents remain, are sealed in by the wax and 3-8 years later, many conditions begin appearing ranging from rust/black-like spots, bumps that feel like overspray but are not, limited peeling of paint, etc.

There are also specific solutions that are recommend specifically for industrial/environmental contaminents that are specifically recommended by all the oems for this - and any auto paint supplier has these in stock (typically). Ford, GM, Mecedes all have these specific directives dating back to 1990, including written directives as to why clar bar should not be used to remedy these situations. I can send you a copy of a couple of different ones from the Ford oem service manuals if you pm me.

 

Not all carnuba wax is created equal as some may only have a very small amount of carnuba in it. What ever wax one chooses, just make sure it has no abrasives in it. I personally recommend liquid wax over paste wax, but people should use what they like and are used to using. The wax I prefer is Collinite (spelling?), been using it for years and is well known in the boating community. I also like to use a wash and wax car soap (Repo wash from Ardex) that helps to keep the waxed protection, also keeps the windshield beading up.

 

Where did you see or hear this? I've clayed hundreds of cars and never seen any paint on the clay bar.

I've been detailing cars for 20 years. If you really want your wax to look good you need to properly prep the surface, which means claying and polishing. Polishing is where the real work is. You gotta have a buffer and know what you are doing. Start out with an orbital buffer. Rotary buffers should only be used by pros or experienced detailers.

For light colored paint like silver you won't be able to tell much difference between synthetic or carnauba wax. So I would go with a synthetic wax, which usually has longer lasting protection. If you want to add a little depth to the finish then you can top the synthetic wax with a carnauba wax the next day.

 

go to autogeek.net for information.
Has very good, maybe too meuch information about detailing.
I have used zaino products in the past and they are probably the best, but, they are very detailed and long when applying.
I have used claybars in the past and have nevery seen any paint removed when using them. An old detailing trick is to use the clear wrapper from a pack of cigarettes. take the wrapper and run it between your finger and your paint and you can feel the dirt and pigments before waxing or claybar and then use it afterwards. You'd be amazed
Just my 2 cents, maybe not worth that much

 

Autogeek is awesome, just found out about them last year my buddy pwrstroke97 here recommended the Wolfgang 3.0 paint sealant I have been using. Very good product, pricey @ $40ish but I have done my truck 2x and the wifes X5 1x and I still have 1/2 bottle so it goes a long way. More detailing info than I will ever need!