Buff and Wax Your Truck

[Lefty]

No question about it, body and fender work is the most expensive part of your pride and joy. Rust is, of course, its worst enemy. It comes on slowly but surely. Once it gets started, it’s hard to stop. You can change your oil religiously, but it’s equally as important to keep the rust worm away.

There was once a time when Rangers were cheap and plentiful. But those days are gone. Yes, Ford still makes them, but their new newer versions are not at all like those old minitrucks we have come to love. Gens I and II may still be plentiful especially in the south and the west, but they are a dying breed. Let’s keep them on the road.

Wax is not just superficial. Nor is it cosmetic. Few of us want a pavement princess anyway. Wax is practical. Done right, it will last a long time. Those new “ceramics” are also easy to apply.

When it comes to ceramics, the sky is the limit. Some will last for a very long time. The kind that comes in a 1 oz bottle will do the trick but will cost a hundred bucks. Then again the truck is is not your wife’s Mercedes. It’s just a truck. Let’s get real world here. Let’s just do the basics.

Your friendly local parts store has lots of cheaper systems to choose from. You know all the usual brand names. Pick your favorite. They are all good. But they are not all the same. Once you choose a brand, stick with it. Do not mix and match. Turtle Wax is the cheapest and the easiest to apply. I put some on a year ago. It still looks good.

Here’s some things you might need:

• A clay bar kit, OR a liquid “clay bar” in a spray bottle.
• A cheap battery powered buffer or a buff pad.
• Buffing/polishing compound (there's a number to choose from, everything from deep cuts and scratches to very mild)
• A spray bottle of detailer
• A spray bottle of water
• A spray bottle of water and rubbing alcohol in a 50/50 mix.
• Some small microfiber towels.

​

Begin by washing. Dish detergent is okay, but just this once. It will help to strip off the remains of old waxes. Wipe down again with the 50/50 mix. Check old wax by spraying water on it. It shouldn’t bead up. It should form an even sheet instead. Use the 50/50 mix again if necessary, or just using rubbing alcohol straight.

Next deep clean, Clay bar the truck to remove stubborn contaminants like brake dust. Follow the directions. Or use spray clay bar. Let the product soak for a few minutes then wipe with a microfiber mitt, rinse, and dry. Spray clay bar also helps to remove wax.

Then buff. Put a few drops of polishing compound on the polishing pad and run the buffer back and forth with overlapping passes on a two-by-two-foot area. Wipe the compound off before it dries hard. Buffing should remove fine scratches such as swirl marks and even flatten out the paint job. Buffing will flatten the paint, make it more reflectant, allow for a deeper shine, and make the surface downright slippery.

“Wax” when finished. Follow the directions.

Maintain with an occasional detail spray after washing. A second wax is always good. Turtle Wax Flex can be used like a detailer on wet surfaces or on dry. This may sound like a lot of work, but wax repels water and dirt and reduces the need for frequent washes.

How about you? What do you do?

 

[ericbphoto]

I won’t argue about this.

But that isn’t me.

 

[sgtsandman]

I don’t get that detailed, even when doing a detail type cleaning. The paint on my truck is not show quality anymore due to off roading and hauling things but I do like to take steps to protect the paint and sheet metal.

So, when I do it, the truck will get cleaned and stripped with Dawn dish soap and dried.

Then clay bar is used.

The truck is the washed again with a waxing car wash and dried.

The final step is a couple coats of Nu-Finish wax.

I try to do this a couple times a year with a maintenance wash with a waxing car wash.

Since this is an all day process, I can’t do it more than once or twice a year. I just don’t have that kind of time.

 

[Lefty]

I don’t get that detailed, even when doing a detail type cleaning. The paint on my truck is not show quality anymore due to off roading and hauling things but I do like to take steps to protect the paint and sheet metal.

So, when I do it, the truck will get cleaned and stripped with Dawn dish soap and dried.

Then clay bar is used.

The truck is the washed again with a waxing car wash and dried.

The final step is a couple coats of Nu-Finish wax.

I try to do this a couple times a year with a maintenance wash with a waxing car wash.

Since this is an all day process, I can’t do it more than once or twice a year. I just don’t have that kind of time.

Once a year is probably all that is necessary. Nu-Finish might last that long depending.

 

[Blmpkn]

Something to note is that buffing needs to be done extremely carefully on new vehicles.

To "help save the earth"... manufacturers are putting much thinner coatings of paint & clear on vehicles.. the thinner coating of clear being the most important point here.. with that 'barely there' layer of clear it's really easy to burn through.

 

[Lefty]

That why I bought that cheap little buffer made by Bauer. It runs way slow, making it harder to burn through the clear coat. And yes, buff only once a year, less if possible. Use the least abrasive polish. And if you're feeling ambitious, put an extra coat of wax on (or two). That's why Turtle Wax makes Flex. Use it instead of detailer, and you will have a nice protective layer come winter time.

 

[gaz]

@Lefty ,
A factory automotive paint job is garunteed by warranty for 10 years but that is null and void as soon as it is waxed.

If you want your paint to last, clean it with the least abrasive means necessary, then you a good polish. After being cleaned and polished, water should sheet off not bead up. Water beading up is the source of what is known as concentrated cell corrosion. The water bead acts like a magnifying lense in ultraviet rays, concentrating the heat to the focus point and weakening it...hince deteriorated paint spot which eventually, sooner than 10 years will lead to it's failure.

 

[Lefty]

@Lefty ,
A factory automotive paint job is garunteed by warranty for 10 years but that is null and void as soon as it is waxed.

If you want your paint to last, clean it with the least abrasive means necessary, then you a good polish. After being cleaned and polished, water should sheet off not bead up. Water beading up is the source of what is known as concentrated cell corrosion. The water bead acts like a magnifying lense in ultraviet rays, concentrating the heat to the focus point and weakening it...hince deteriorated paint spot which eventually, sooner than 10 years will lead to it's failure.

Yup. Beading and sheeting is something to consider. As far as I know, graphene/ceramic waxes minimize beading and allow more water to run off in sheets.

Maybe I should have been clearer when I mentioned sheeting in the post. When waxes are stripped off a painted surface, water will cling to it in a sheet, but it will not run off as as quickly as if it had been waxed. Waxed or not, water beads will form on any surface, but a ceramic wax is a more slippery surface. Most water will run off in sheets, leaving some beads behind. That's why we dry cars with a blow dryer, a microfiber towel, and a detailer.

You might wish to watch this video about detailing brand new cars.

The creator recommends that a new car or truck should be detailed, explaining that the manufacturers leave those new cars out in the weather for a long time. He says that most get transported by ship or rail which will expose them to industrial contaminants. Transport by truck exposes them to brake dust. He also says that the dealers wash them hastily but do not remove these contaminants.

I have bought two new cars. The dealer finished one with paste wax. Apparently they saw no harm in doing so. Last year, after getting the Ranger painted, the shop buffed and waxed it, also using paste wax. Apparently they did not worry about ruining the finish they just applied. Last week I went with a friend to buy a car. Actually I asked the dealer about how they prepped it. He said they washed it and used a detailer.

You can polish a car 10-20 times with a buffer if you follow the instructions properly. The paint job will still look good and last a long time.

 

[sgtsandman]

I can see the argument for sheeting over beading. Beading means there is some surface tension for the water to cling to. Sheeting means the surface is too slick for the water to bead.

 

[Lefty]

I can see the argument for sheeting over beading. Beading means there is some surface tension for the water to cling to. Sheeting means the surface is too slick for the water to bead.

In a perfect world, painted surfaces should be so slippery that all of the water is repelled or runs off.

This is why the detailing industry recommends three steps. The first is clay bar to pull out imbedded microscopic contaminants like brake dust, making surfaces more slippery. The second step is buffing which flattens out or corrects paints and clear coats which are somewhat textured. This is because the spray process applies wet paint in tiny droplets or molecules that create a microscopic landscape of peaks and valleys. Also, when paints and clear coats cure, some chemicals and solvents will "gas off," cratering the finish ever so slightly. Those craters, peaks, and valleys are sometimes called an "orange peel" effect. Buffing uses a slightly abrasive polish which will smooth this out. The third step is a "wax" or sealant which will fill in any remaining imperfections and leave a smooth protective slippery coating. These three steps, clay bar, buff, and "wax" are more than cosmetic. They repel water as well as protect the finish from rain (which is slightly acidic), UV rays, oxidation, and chemical contamination.

But this is not a perfect world. After a wash or a rain, some water always remains in the form of either beads or sheets, depending on the coating. Newer products contain graphene and ceramics. Some have sheeting or "hydrophilic" properties, Some have beading or "hydrophobic" properties. A little controversy remains as to which one is better. A third group says it doesn't really matter. Both are slippery. Both protect. Both will last a long time, much longer than those old carnauba waxes (which had beading properties.)

One detailer explains. "Water sheeting or beading does not mean one is better than the other. You want solid protection and depending on the chemical formulation the surface makeup may be one or the other. As long as the protection does not easily wash away and makes the paint easier to clean, you know you have good protection. then the longevity of it is what makes it even better... Automotive paint protection is the resistance to UV rays, chemicals, etc over an extended period of time, not the ability to disperse water."

Water Beading vs Water Sheeting: What Does Protection Really Look Like? – Ask a Pro Blog

There is a lot of confusion out there on what "protected" paint looks like. Often times it is associated with those really high contact angle beading photos, and for good reason. That means there is a strong hydrophobic layer on the paint, which in turn helps with "self-cleaning"...

www.detailedimage.com

New trucks benefit from detailing, but old cars do too. A good sealant or coating is not the same as a clear coat, but it will still help.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I detailed high end cars for a well known place as a kid.

One of the best fine scratch removers is blue magic metal polish w/ a microfiber cloth sprayed down with fantastik. It very like a very non abrasive rubbing compound.

 

[Lefty]

I won’t argue about this.

But that isn’t me.

Understood!

I bought my first truck for $1,700.00. It was a hopeless case, already old and rusty. BUT it did its job and remained trusty for 20 years. A good truck!

There seems to be two schools of thought here on the site. One that doesn't really care about appearances and one that does. I like both.

Buffing and waxing is important because appearances do matter, not to all, but to some. Nowadays I own and run my own charity. I pick up donated goods, almost daily. A clean, waxed truck is important. It lets people know that the cargo is precious, that their donations will be treated with utmost care. Appearances also matter to my wife. She wants to get into a nicer looking truck, especially when we visit or just go out to dinner. She doesn't want to get dirty when she climbs in. Good for her!

Buffing and waxing is also important to my grandson. He doesn't know it yet, but someday that Ranger will be his. I want to preserve and protect the finish so that it will look brand spanking new on that special day when he gets his license. I'm pretty sure that when he is old enough to date, he won't want a rusty but trusty. He will want something cool,something made for fun. That first incarnation of the Ranger stepside was named the Splash for a reason. It was, and still is, a perfect little sports truck.

That's just me of course. A few others here would agree.

 

[gaz]

@Lefty ,
There are not multiple schools, it's not thought. A clean surface will sheet off water, if a substance is used that increases beading, it voids the manufacturer's paint warranty.

The auto companies know that applying wax and polymer coatings of any type voids their warranty, THEY DON'T CARE, because the mindless society get what they want, whether it's good for them or not.

I will concede that most people do not need to have been specifically and highly trained on advanced surface cleaning or the specific miriad of metal corrosion types. I required to learn and practice these principles, hince I can share them with those willing to put them into practice themselves.

Aside from my Ranger (who's paint was gone from the Florida sun, when I bought it) I drove a very common auto back in the 90's when my professional training brought this information to light. That car, though one of thousands just like it, was just explosive to see. The color popped something crazy. It was bought new, never felt a wax hit it's paint. I simply washed, then polished it, once a month; a modest time and energy commitment but it showed it's merit, the older that car became.

After the 12 year mark, people would always ask how much the new paint job cost, where did I get it done and how long ago. It was water break free cleaned, with good polish, it seemed to glow red!!

 

[Lefty]

@Lefty ,
There are not multiple schools, it's not thought. A clean surface will sheet off water, if a substance is used that increases beading, it voids the manufacturer's paint warranty.

The auto companies know that applying wax and polymer coatings of any type voids their warranty, THEY DON'T CARE, because the mindless society get what they want, whether it's good for them or not.

I will concede that most people do not need to have been specifically and highly trained on advanced surface cleaning or the specific miriad of metal corrosion types. I required to learn and practice these principles, hince I can share them with those willing to put them into practice themselves.

Aside from my Ranger (who's paint was gone from the Florida sun, when I bought it) I drove a very common auto back in the 90's when my professional training brought this information to light. That car, though one of thousands just like it, was just explosive to see. The color popped something crazy. It was bought new, never felt a wax hit it's paint. I simply washed, then polished it, once a month; a modest time and energy commitment but it showed it's merit, the older that car became.

After the 12 year mark, people would always ask how much the new paint job cost, where did I get it done and how long ago. It was water break free cleaned, with good polish, it seemed to glow red!!

No question about it. Polishing is a very good thing! But so is waxing. By the way, I called the Ford dealer, talked to a man in sales, and asked if waxing with over-the-counter waxes, ceramics, or graphenes would void their warranties. He said no. They wax their own cars all the time.

Maybe those super expensive $100.00 an ounce ceramic coatings are different. I wouldn't know. They are well beyond the reach of my pocket book and most readers here. But if anyone has tried this, it would be interesting to know how it worked and whether or not it voided a warranty.

 

[gaz]

@Lefty,

By the way,
Four topics I try to avoid discussing but will share what I know if it sounds like I may actually be able to help someone:
• religion
• politics
• the inherent dangers of Automotive wax on automotive paint
• The difference between fumes and a gas

Oh well, can't AND SHOULD NOT help everyone, it still seems worth trying but sometimes just isn't ..)