Meguiar's Scratch X as first step?
 

I typically use the Mother's 3 stage(pre-wax cleaner, polish, then carnuba wax).

Haven't waxed in about 1.5 yrs, so, needs some TLC as far as swirls and such.

I washed the truck and detailed just the tailgate and truckbed sides last week, instead of using the pre-wax cleaner I used meguiar's scratch X on everything. Results were good, I am happy. Not perfect but satisfactory for my needs.

Next time I wash, I plan do to the same with the front half of the truck(or maybe just the roof/doors, depending on how much time I have).

Is it OK for me to be using Scratch X on the entire truck, or should I be using something else? The bottle says for use on scratched areas/blemishes but I'm applying by hand so I figure I can't get to crazy here. Truck does have swirls all over, and some holograms in the sun. That scratch X did take care of all that on the panels I did though.

Thanks.

I don't see any problem using that product, although there are probably better (cheaper) alternatives to Scratch-X that can be purchased in larger quantities. You could also use their Ultimate Compound in the same fashion if you needed a more aggressive product.

However, doing a whole truck by hand would wear me out -- you need to apply some fairly firm and consistent hand pressure to get the results you want! I've used both products by hand, but only for "spot" blemishes that I didn't want to drag my DA all the way out for......:thumbsup:

I always thought scratchx was just for isolated incidents. I wash, use the clay-bar, ultimate compound, ultimate polish, then ultimate wax. You should invest in a good DA polisher because there are some things you can't do by hand compared to a machine. I finally got one this year and its something I should've done years ago. My truck looks better than ever and in half the time! If you're going to do the whole truck by hand, Ultimate Compound is a good start to get swirls out.

Hey I screwed up, I actually was using swirl x.

But yes, by hand I'm beat after just the 3 panels on the back, I wake up sore for sure. But I don't mind, keeps me in shape.

To get enough pressure I have a cloth and just lock my elbows and lean into the truck with my body and buff, works good but yeah it's tiring for sure.

Meguiars also makes the DA attachment for your drill. They have it at Walmart. You will get better results with a machine!

Time to get yourself a DA kit and products optimized for DA instead of hand.

x1,000 on a DA machine. I did the by-hand stuff cause labor was cheaper than buying a machine, but damn the finish from the machine and proper techniques blew me away.

Attachment 4244

Damn! Awesome work. By the way are those Xd wheels that you have?