when i have washed my cars i just take them to the car wash and have the machine spray on the wax.

now that i got my new truck i would like to detail it.

i don't know how to wax by hand, can someone recommend some products?

i have read that nxt is a good wax.

what tools are needed to wax?

can i take it to the car wash and get it wash there, and then put the wax on at my house?

the car wash i go to is the self serve car wash.


sorry i put it on the wrong section can a mod put it in the right secton.

i am very sorry.

 

My suggestion to you since you've never waxed the Truck before I would claybar it 1st. You can pick up a kit @ Pepboys, follow directions. Then put on a coat of NXT, a pretty decent wax you can buy locally. I would also pick up a micro fiber towel to buff it out with.

Rick

 

RHuckster,

what kind of kit do you recommend?

 

You should be able to find all this @ your local parts house, Pepboys, Kragens, Auto Zone..etc.
Also get a couple cotton towels to dry after claying & wiping off the wax & use the MF towel for final wipe down. Another thing you will need is a cotton wax applicator which will be there @ your parts house as well.

Rick

 

tools needed are a hand pad, wax, and a mircro fiber towel.
once you get more expierenced, you can buy a nice kit and a electric buffer and you will learn the difference in pads, and waxes, and which is used for which.
a very good type of wax is the Mequiars NXT line of wax. For a beginer, i would pich up a bottle of tech wax and start off with that.

here is they type of pad you should apply the wax with

wait untill the wax hazes over on your truck before you remove it...basically saying wait for it to dry. couple of min's.
Make sure your paint/ truck is cool and in shade. a garage is a perfect place to wax a vehicle.
and here is you mircrofiber towel to remove the wax from your truck

you should be able to pick up all these products at any local auto shop, or even walmart or target. The towels are not expensive, so i'd prob but a pack of 3 or so.

when applying the wax, go in a circular motion.
and dont get wax on any plastic such as your valance or fender flairs, its hard to get off. But if you do make a mistake, you can use a pencil eraser on the valance and fenders, and it will remove the wax.

good luck

 

haha well we both said the same thing at the same time...lol....so go with what we say..haha

 

thanks i will do what you guys said,

one more question how long does it normally take?

 

well you have to start off by washing the truck...and if you clay it, that addes a lot of time.
It usually take me a whole afternoon to do my truck..like 4-5 hours..but thats getting really serious with it.
But just simply washing and waxing could take a little as an 1 1/2 hour or so.

 

do i clay the whole truck?

 

yup, all of the paint at least...(not the valance or fender flairs.)
I've heard of people using the clay bar on there windows, but i've never tryed it.

And make sure you keep the truck wet when you clay. I usually carry a spray bottle around and spray it as i clay it.

 

does the kit come with instructions on how to use the clay?

sorry for the quesitons

 

um..it should, but if not.....

you wash ur truck but dont dry it.
break a little piece of clay off the bar
carry the hose or a water bottle around
spray down your hood
rub the clay bar along the hood in little sections like 5 in x 5 in
slowly work your way around the whole truck and rinse down the truck as you go along.
You will figure out that if you dont use enough water to keep the paint wet the clay will grip the paint. thats not what is suppost to happen.

it should come with directions tho.

once you finish claying, dry it off real good, park it in the shade and wax it.

 

sorrry for another question

how long after i do all the clay and waxing, do i do it again?

once a week, month?

i will do it on my mom's car tomorrow.

 

claying doesnt have to be done as often like maybe every 3 months or something depends on how much stuck on stuff is on the paint. waxing to me is personal preferance i normally wax mine atleast once a month but most people wax about twice a year

 

is the truck new, or, newly bought (used). you might have mentioned info about it in another thread, and if so, sorry for asking you to repeat yourself.

 

Strider0o0,

it is a new truck, 2006 only had 8 miles on it when i got it. for the first wax can i just wash it then wax it, and next time i will do the clay thing?

 

Ya, nothing wrong with waxing it without claying it..Some people have never clayed there cars...only waxed them.

 

I used 3M rubbing compound on my hood over the winter, cause I bought my truck in august, it was delivered to the dealer in march... had 78 miles on it. and the hood has never been "clear" had slight oxidation. well i tried the rubbing compound HUGE disaster that was.

I ended up claybaring the whole truck, the hood 2x.... then used the detailer, then the wax (in the kit) and then i tried nxt on half the hood, and some industrial wax on the other. while the nxt did over a nice shine, the industrial wax i got ($26 at the marina stores for waxing boats) was a lil deeper, and lasts longer. I have found up here in Buffalo NY, that NXT lasts about 3 months. where as the industrial wax offers a lil better clarity IMO and lasts about 5months. So I use the NXT on my step bars, bumpers, and front skid plate.... works pretty nice.

 

Dave if this "industial wax" is so wonderful whats the brand and what company sells it, I would be interested in giving it a trial run being i have brought back my paint on both my trucks far more with Meguairs then anything else and i own damn near every brand including 3M stuff...

 

its real easy wax on wax off