My truck is not smooth. Even after it's waxed it is still not like it should be. I want the finish to be as smooth as a baby's but. Like when you throw a soft towel on it and it just glides off on to the floor. Mine will stick like it has velcro on it. The finish looks great but after two waxings it is still not smooth like I want it. I was going to have it clay barred but is that going to work or is it time to pay to have it color sanded?


Jerry

 

Clay Bar will do the trick.

 

Jerry,

The two options you're considering are vastly different. The clay bar is a non-abrasive process that will "pull" contaminants out of the paint such as rail dust. It will make the surface feel smoother because is takes off any non-paint material as it's passed across the surface. Color sanding is an abrasive process where the vehicle is wet sanded followed by a buffing and a polishing phase. The results will be better with the color sanding; but your clearcoat will be thinner. I would suggest a compromise. Why not clay and then follow-up with a mild polish such as 3M Swirl Mark Remover applied with a random orbit polisher. Then top with your favorite wax/sealant. You'll find a wealth of info in the message boards @ http://www.autopia.org

-Edward

 

If you decide to clay bar it, "Mothers Clay Bar" (last place I've picked one up at was Pep Boys, Auto Zone didn't carry it). I have tried Zaino (yellow) and Clay Magic (blue) and both of those would leave a haze/smear of clay. The Mothers has been very user friendly for me on both Lightnings and the Mach. Always followed up with a few coats of Zaino

It's makes it feel nice and smooth, just don't get aggresive with it and make sure you don't drop it or set it down in anything dirty otherwise toss it and buy another one. (get an extra towel and keep it underneith the area your working on just in case)

I have one 3" x 3" area on the bed that has that slight grit feel, it's overspray I guess from when I had the bed off, getting repaired. Clay bar cleaned it up a little, but I can still slightly feel it.

Good Luck.

 

I've used clay bars on the last 3 cars I've owned and they work fantastic. It just seems like the shine is more "even" and mirrorlike with all the small contaminents pulled off of the paint. Plus the finish is as smooth as glass (or better!).

I highly recommend either Mothers or Clay Magic. I've used both with great results.

 

Here ya go!

http://www.bettercarcare.com/

That is a fantastic site for How-tos in detailing....

 

I'm a new fan of Mothers clay bar, never used it before this week.
My truck was in the bodyshop last fall and all the parts they didn't repaint and buff felt like 600 grit, it's in storage over winter so I finaly broke down and tried it , in 2hrs my truck was smooth as glass, no real effort and you can feel it pull the stuff off "mine you could hear" toss the towel at the hood and it slid right off, this is before waxing. IMO it's the best $30. i've spent, you won't regret it

 

I agree 100%. These two steps will remove any surface contaminants. Guaranteed to be smooth as Britney's ***.

 

I wanna tap that a$$.

 

Jerry,

I'd go with the clay bar as well. BIG DIFFERENCE!

And we all know how dirty my L can get.

 

Iam going to go and get it tomorrow my paint is so ruff to the touch. Thanks for the intresting Post Jimmy

 

Not to hijack the thread, but I aquired a deep chip down to the fiberglass. I've built it up with touch up paint so it is slightly higher the surrounding area. Do I know sand it down and with what? Before the search police get me I guess that I should do one.

 

MHMCGILL,

You can either use some 2500 sandpaper and wet sand the area, touch up paint must be completely dry, then just polish it out. I use the 2500 wet sanding to remove light scratches from the paint. Or you could use http://www.langka.com/ , I've heard a lot of people say good things about it. Not trying to hijack the thread, just helping out.

 

Thanks for all the help. I think I will try the clay bar first and see how it does. If I could just get Rick to come over and do it for me I could watch......hey maybe that's a good idea, a clay bar party with my truck as the demo. Kinda like getting someone to paint a fence for ya.......right Tom S.?

Edward,

What the Hell happened to you last month at MSR? We had a great time and mine was the only L. I got moved up to the yellow group (Nathan better be glad he was not there, LOL) I drove the whole weekend without an instructor. I went from NEVER getting passed in the blue group to getting passed a bunch in the yellow. It's a big step from blue to yellow! I thought you had told me you were going to be there?


Jerry

 

Well i finshed the truck as far as with the Mothers Clay/Canuba Wax .Here's some pic's

[IMG]https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=6112[/IMG]