What's up everyone? First off, let me thank all the contributors to the Detailing Sticky, probably one of the most helpful things I have found on any message board in some time.

I just picked up a new 2008 STX 4x4 a day ago. I am a clean freak and like much of you on this part of the forum, slightly OCD when it comes to my truck, and it's appearance. With that being said, I am looking for the best way to FULLY detail the truck, while I am still blessed with a NEW, swirl-free, bright, scratch-free, brilliant, shiny paint. I have gotten pretty good at detailing cars that have had a rough time and getting them back to respectable condition. But I have never had a BRAND NEW truck to play with. I assume it will be easier to do "preventative" paint care than trying to rescue a paint job.

 

Congrats on the new truck. Take it easy on the new paint for awhile. Going at it with hardcore detailing could be bad for it depending how many months old it is. I believe that 6 months and older its safe to step it up on the detailing.

 

When I got my 2005 home from the dealer I started off by clay-barring the entire truck, including the windows, to remove any of the rail dust and other crap on the surface of the paint and glass. After that I put a couple of coats of Nu-Finish on the front and rear bumpers and all the painted surfaces you see when you open the doors. All of the exposed exterior painted surfaces, including the bumpers already Nu-Finished, got 2 coats of Adams Butter Wax.

I knew that the bed was going to get a BedRug, so I applied 2 coats of Nu-Finish to the bed as well. All of the panels that I applied Nu-Finish to get re-applied once a year. (OCD = Mark05KR)

The interior and exterior plastic and vinyl got treated with Adams VRT. The (Castano) leather seats got treated with Obenauf's LP.

 

On a brand new truck it's fine, the paint is baked from the factory so the paint is already cured.

With that said, You just need to find a brand you like and know how to use them, how they react, etc. Around here, Poorboy's World and Meguiar's are your most popular. You can find Poorboy's World at PakShak.com or SpecialtyMotoring.com. Plenty of other stores but those are the 2 off the top of my head.

You'll want some good microfiber towels, the one's from Wal-mart are fine for "junk" towels, but you'll want some good ones for your paint. Personally, I use Meguiar's Supreme Shine towels because of their price. I realize there are alot better towels, which I will eventually go to, just these work great for what I want now. AutoDetailingSolutions.com is a great place to get Meguiar's products, and that is actually where most people get their stuff. PakShak.com and SpecialtyMotoring.com also have really nice towels from what i've heard, as well as DFTowel.com.

In recap, your best bet is to just start hanging out here and reading. There is alot of information to be had, and we are all still learning. Below, I'll list some websites to check out.


www.autodetailingsolutions.com
www.autogeek.net
www.pakshak.com
www.specialtymotoring.com
www.detailcity.com
www.dftowel.com

 

I would add Adams Polishes to your list of detailing products vendors. They have some great detailing products and excellent customer service. Even if you decide not to buy any of their products, they have some very good instructional videos on the site. The videos are geared toward the Adams' products, as you would expect, but the information given is applicable to many products you may wish to use.
Definitely worth the time to view those videos. IMHO.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/

 

I'll second that. Adam himself is a good guy. Definitely goes out of his way to do what he can for his customers. He just needs to expand his product lineup to include more defect removal products. The swirl and haze remover just doesn't cut it. Not to mention they're mostly all Chemical Guys products anyway.

www.ChemicalGuys.com

 

Kinda one of the reasons i posted the links was hopeing that others would chime in with their sites. Cause it's been said waay to many times that there are a TON of products out there to use.

 

Hmmm... right-- preventative, but after you clay (which you should), you will likely find stuff...

Paint is ready to play with already... have at it. Will post a better response later on... Sorry. Battery dying.

 

Beautiful info thus far guys, thanks much. I am a meguiars guy myself, so I will be going to pickup some goodies tomorrow!!

 

Nothing wrong with Meguiars, They have some excellent products. Still have and use quite a few of their products.

I put a coat of NXT on the truck and the Wife's Mustang in the fall to get them through the New England winters.

 

On a brand new vehicle, you very likely will be happy going right from clay to something like NXT 2.0. Then, if you want more "pop" you can top with a pure carnauba.

 

Bingo; exactly what i would do.

And top it with #26..

Ps post some pictures of ya new ride!

 

Agreed 100%. Unless you were already into the whole OCD thing and already had $1000's worth of products/tools/etc, but if that was the case, you wouldn;t be asking...

Anywho, one of the things I have always respected glc for is the fact that although he uses budget supplies (ie: NXT 2.0 and the occasional carnauba...), his truck looks FAR better than most others. Why? Becuase he never let it get bad. (and he still has his soul... LOL!)

BTW-- thanks for the kudos on the sticky.