Buff, polish, wax or repaint?

[alabamafrog]

I guess I’m gonna try some rubbing compound and see what happens.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Rubbing compound is very coarse, I'd be careful with it.

Buffing compound is not so aggressive.

I've heard claims by the better quality waxes about how they will restore old finishes, I've thought about putting them to the test and do some test spots on our old skid steer loader.

I used to wax with just regular Turtle Wax when I got my first truck. I was disappointed when the finish seemed to lose it's luster and I tried some colored wax that was supposed to restore finishes, but it didn't seem to make a difference either. Then someone told me to try something more expensive. I ended up picking up some Meguires Gold Class. Waxed the truck and was upset because when I was done it looked just like before. Then about a week later I realized that my dark metallic blue finish looked like I could go swimming in it. I've never gone back to cheap wax again.

 

[TheTopher]

That finish looks fine to me...My ranger looked similar when I bought it.

It had hardly any gloss at all.

That's after I washed it twice with Meguiars nxt car wash. Then I patiently went over it with the Meguiars clay kit. Then I went over it with their Deep Crystal Paint cleaner and the Deep crystal polish. I followed up with a thorough coat of nxt tech wax.

My girlfriend's father is MUCH better at detailing cars than I am though... He details cars on the side and does all the buffing stuff. If you felt like making the drive odds are he could make your truck look like it just rolled off the lot.



Either way, I think a weekend of buffing and patience and you could easily salvage your finish.

 

[alabamafrog]

I took the truck to 2 body shops today. They said it is a single stage factory paint job with no clear coat and both said it looked too good to repaint. The first said $225 and he would buff/compound it and touchup paint the nicks and scratches. The second said $150 and he would do the same but I got a better feeling from the first one about the quality of their work.
Here is the problem, both said that I would have to wax the truck every month or so or it would oxidize right back to how it is now in just a few months. Darn thing is getting to be more trouble than its worth. I’m thinking about just double waxing it with Maguire’s gold and forgetting about it.

 

[daniel3507]

You might be able to use a sealant instead of a wax. I put a sealant on my truck before winter and i still get water beading even after all the snow and salt

 

[alabamafrog]

I aint never heard of sealant, what is it and how do you apply it?


I got some new up to date pics of the Ranger today, I washed it yesterday;

 

[daniel3507]

Its basically a long lasting wax, but not a wax if that makes since. They are liquid and you apply it just like a liquid wax. I use Blackfire Wet Diamond and it makes my paint really slick and glossy. lasts a few months too
http://www.detailedimage.com/Blackf...urce=Google-Product-Search&utm_medium=organic

 

[The Beachboy]

Don't waste your money on a paint job

Judging by the photos, I'd say your truck looks like a prime candidate for a thorough paint correction. Though you may spend a pretty penny, it'll surely be cheaper than a decent quality repaint...Below is a link of a 14 yr old car whose paint was in dire need of a correction. They have included many detailed pix, before, during and after. I hope it shows you what is possible with a thorough correction.

http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=661961

Good luck!

 

[Jason]

2000 grit wet sand. 3M rubbing compound (medium cut with a yellow 3M pad) then 3M Finesse-it ( with a 3M white foam pad) and wax of your choice. I recommend Zymol but that's up to you.

The above WILL require a buffer. And a real one. Not those wax applicators they sell at Autozone. It may cost a few bucks but it will look like new.

 

[alabamafrog]

I went ahead and just waxed it with McGuire’s liquid gold and it turned out better than I expected.

 

[daniel3507]

that looks a lot better

 

[alabamafrog]

This is after all just my econo work truck, I want to take care of it and for it to look good but it aint by no means a show truck.
I do want to look further into that Blackfire Wet Diamond yall told me about. I might test it out on the Ranger before putting it on my powerstroke.

Now I got to fix the cruise control then the windshield then clean the carpet and headliner.

 

[TheTopher]

Purdy.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

They probably told you to do a couple coats of wax to build up a layer of wax on the surface. Each time you wax it builds up a little and if you only do one coat when it's really bad, water will only bead up for a short period of time, but once you get a few coats built up (before they can wear off), then the effectiveness of the wax lasts longer.

Looks a lot better with that one coat of good wax!

 

[alabamafrog]

I think I’m just going to put another coat or two of good wax on it and quit worrying about it. I’m not going to repaint a factory pant job that is still in decent shape.
Dad has a 69 Dodge swinger with the original paint, maybe someday my Ranger will be like that.