Best Course of Action For '92 Chevy Pickup?

J

jlells01

New member
Good afternoon everyone...great forum you have here!

I own a '92 Chevy C1500 W/T that's lived a hard life and would like to see what a little work with the paint can do to make it look a great deal better!

I have access to a GMC 10" Polisher/Waxer as seen here:
858063000563.jpg


When I bought the truck a few years ago, the paint was in pretty bad shape...LOTS of oxidation, with many dents/dings and scratches (was a fleet truck with local electric company). Since then, it's continued to haul and tow stuff around, and until just the other day had never received a wax before.

Here's a link to a picture of it a little while back:
http://www.louisville.edu/~jlells01/IM000346.JPG

So, I gave it a wash with Dawn and applied some generic turtle wax stuff sitting in the garage and I must say that the results were pretty darn impressive...the paint really actually started to shine (instead of being very dull looking all the time, evening after washing) and look decent, but the dulling oxidation remained.

Obviously, I'm not concerned with show-quality looks...I'd just like something that will remove the oxidation, bring back some shine (look like a vehicle that hasn't been spray painted with flat red), and keep the paint from degrading further.

After a bit of research, and limiting myself to products I can pick-up locally, I was thinking about:

Wash with Dawn
Use a good pre-wax cleaner (Mothers, etc?)
Finally, apply some Nu-Finish paste.

Do you recommend some other products?

Thanks for all the help!
 
I would suggest some Meg's ColorX and follow that with some Meg's NXT. Also, Mother's has a new line of products that I have heard good things about.

Go ahead and prepare - you're going to get a lot of people saying to toss that buffer, don't use it, yadda-yadda. Unless you're going to get serious about this truck or car care in general, you can use it to help you apply and/or remove whatever wax & polish you choose.

I would also recommend getting a dedicated car wash to wash your vehicles in. Something like Meg's NXT wash.

Here's a quick rundown of what you could do. You don't have to go this route by any means:

Wash with car washing solution
Meg's ScratchX (if you want to try and remove any type of surface marring/defects- purely optional)
Meg's ColorX
Meg's NXT
 
Thanks Jared for the reply.

Is there something inherently wrong with that buffer? It seems to work an infinite times better than applying product by hand...then again, maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Regarding the Dawn, I just used that because I was told that it really strips everything off of your paint, and should be used before you wax it. Is this true? After the next time I apply wax though, I'll use regular car-wash stuff.

As aforementioned, what I'd like to do is restore my trucks finish and get rid of that oxidation. Before applying the Turtle Wax, it honestly appeared as if you spray-painted it with flat red...not exactly the most appealing thing! It looks a great deal better now, but I believe there is a lot more potential there that can be "unlocked" with the use of the right products.

Do I want to spend a small fortune? No
Do I want to spend a great deal of time on it? No
Do I want to have to redo it every month? No

This truck is my "old beater" and gets worked all the time...my goal is to have it look like a new truck would, as in that when its dirty, its dirty, but a regular wash makes it shine again. Even with a $8.00 automatic wash or home pressure wash and scrub before, after drying, it was just dull looking!

That's what appealed to me about the Nu-Finish product. I've never used it before, but it supposedly lasts awhile (4-6 months is fine for me), cleans alright, and offers up a mediocre shine.

Will the Meguiars products you mention last for awhile?
 
No, there's nothing really wrong with that polisher, it just doesn't cut it for swirl removal and the like. I just went ahead and stated that because every time someone brings them up on a detailing board, people start in with the whole "don't get that get a PC" spill, and in all honesty, if you're not looking to spend a little money and a lot of time, it's not worth it IMO. They are okay for spreading product and so forth, so by all means feel free to use it if you wish. Just pick your bonnets pretty carefully (i.e. get the softest/plushest ones you can find) and you should be okay.

The Dawn dishwashing soap is another thing that is, IMO, blown way out of proportion. If you are going to use a polish, the polish will remove any old wax, etc. Why wash with Dawn if you're going to follow the wash with a polish? It's another of those detailing forum phenomenon. I don't necessarily think it's a bad to use as some people do, but I am fan of using the correct tool for a job - i.e. use car washing soap for cars, use Dawn for dishes.

If you want my honest opinion, I think you'd be better off with the Meg's or Mother's products over the NuFinish. I just think they are superior products, and that's only my amateur opinion. If you use something like ColorX as a polish and follow up with something like NXT, you should be okay for at least a few months. Maybe you could apply a "refresher" of the NXT every other month or so.

Edit: If you feel like you want to get a little more "advanced" in the whole process on this truck, I would highly suggest going out and getting some detailing clay. I would imagine that this truck has never seen clay (I could be wrong) and the benefits of using the clay would be highly noticeable. You can get a Clay Magic kit at AutoZone for about $10.

P.S. :welcome to DC.
 
Jared,

Once again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

Pushing 2,300 posts, I think you're more than an amateur... :bigups

What does the clay bar offer that a pre-cleaner or product like ColorX doesn't?
 
Post count has nothing to do with my detailing knowledge, although it does show that I get very bored at work. :lol :rofl :lol

The claybar will "pull" out (there's differeing opinions on this - some folks say it shears off ) contaminants that are imbedded in the paint. Contaminants are things like brake dust particles, rail dust, etc that normal polishing won't remove.

Take a sandwich baggie and put it over your hand. Now rub your hand over the surface of the vehicle. If you feel bumps, or it feels rough like sandpaper, you can clay the finish to get a "smooth as glass" feel.

Polishing and claying serve the same general purpose (cleaning paint), but each does it in a different way. Polishing is not a substitute for claying and vice versa.
 
That must be some big PDF file - it locks me up when I try and look at it. Is it the Consumer Reports test that states NuFinish is the best wax?? I think I have read that before. I have heard some folks say that NuFinish is good stuff, just don't get it on trim.
 
Yes, it is the CR wax test, and while it does rate NuFinish highly, it's not #1.

Around 900k file...not too big.

The Meg's ColorX looks like real good stuff, but I can't help but think that a two-stage "attack" (pre-wax cleaner, then wax) would perform better...

I do have a bunch of scratches all over my truck (excluding the bed). Is the ScratchX meant to be used on a whole vehicle?
 
You can use ScratchX on the whole vehicle, but it will be tiring and time consuming. It can be done, you will just have to be very patient with it.
 
Wow Jared...I think I'm gonna have to start paying you for all your help! :D

I was thinking you could apply the ScratchX product by buffer...then again, maybe not (?).

I must say that although my gut instinct tells me separate dedicated products will perform better, I'm just about sold on trying out the Meg's ColorX product!

Is the ColorX a "one-step" product, or do I absolutely need to use a product like NXT afterwards?
 
I'll step in and give Jared a little break. You can use ScratchX by buffer, but it's purpose is to level scratches like those caused by keys or similar things. The way the polish works it would do more damage than good if you weren't really careful with your buffer. With that in mind remember that ScratchX is not a full car thing, it should only be used on the heavy problems. ColorX is a full car thing that will give you a little bit of protection and should help with the oxidation. I would top with NXT or a similar synthetic wax because it seems from what you're looking to get from detailing is more casual than some of us on here. NXT should give you a month or two of water beading provided that you wash standing dirt off every couple of weeks. If you have an ACE hardware store near you it might be a good idea to go there and see if they have any Meguiars #20 Polymer Sealant, that's a more heavy duty sealant that will give you even more durability and ease of use.
 
Thaks for the help TF!! :) Haha!!

jlells01 said:
Is the ColorX a "one-step" product, or do I absolutely need to use a product like NXT afterwards?
Click to expand...

In a simple answer, yes the ColorX can be used as a one step, although I would definitely recommend following it up with some sort of wax/sealant. I just don't think it would give you the protection you are expecting.
 
Thanks for everything guys!

Next weekend, as long as I can find it, I'll apply the Meg's ColorX with the buffer shown above (This stuff works like wax, right, as in apply with buffer and application bonnet, wait for it to set up, and then remove with buffer and different-type bonnet?).

Any tips or advice you can give out?
 
If it were me and I was using the same set up you have, I would apply the ColorX with the buffer and remove it with a micro fiber towel. Other than that, sounds like you got it.
 
JaredPointer said:
If it were me and I was using the same set up you have, I would apply the ColorX with the buffer and remove it with a micro fiber towel. Other than that, sounds like you got it.
Click to expand...

:yeah
 
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