Dark Colored Truck, What Works Best On Dark Colors

gas4man · 02-25-05, 08:28

Hello Everyone, Newbie Here. I really enjoy this site. I know my question is in this forum somewhere, but what is the best system to use on Dark Colored Pickup Truck.

My truck is a Dark Burgundy 2001 Toyota, and am wondering what is the best product out their for Dark Colored Cars. I have been using the Zaino Products, But really haven't noticed a great deal of difference. Most of what I have read here is that Zaino is really good on light colored vehicles.

I have ordered different products and the money I am spending is really adding up on products.

I have purchased the Sonus Das Pad Kit from Autopia, that I am going to use this spring and summer.

My Trucks paint is in pretty good shape, but has some scratches on it as well as some chip marks.

I live in the Midwest and my truck is a daily driver. The salt and Brine they use in snow removal is very hard on my trucks wheels.

I have Mickey Thompson's Aluminum Bead Lock Wheels that have a awful scum on them after this winter. I have tried everything to get the scum off but to no avail. What products to you recommend to get my wheels shining again. The wheels are only 6 months old.

I would like some help from my fellow detailers here. I have used the Zaino product line, and do like it, but don't really notice a great difference.

I am planning on this Spring, going through the system required to bring out the best in my trucks appearance

Could someone be so kind as to give me a step by step process to bring out the best in my trucks appearance.

As stated earlier I want to go from the 1st step to the very last step.

I have a 4x4 with a lift kit, and the frame rails and the axles are also very dirty. I would like some help with what product to use on the undercarriage and the frame to make it match the body of the truck. It does show some surface rust. But not bad.

What is the best system for a Dark Colored Truck.

Thanks again Love this website

tdekany · 02-25-05, 08:40

Honestly, ANY of the combos that you read about will do just fine.

Search for pictures/posters that you like and see what products were used by those guys.

Remember that prep is the key. Wash the car very well, clay it until the paint is smooth as glass. Get rid of all the swirls/scretches that you can and apply something like PwC or AIO as a base and start putting on protection. I like Poorboys, FK1, Meguiar's, Menzerna alot. Good luck.

Dave N · 02-25-05, 12:44

gas4man,

I had a 2001 Tacoma that I'm guessing was the exact same color as yours -- impulse red. I was never totally satisfied with the paint color and was always looking for something to darken it a little bit. In direct sunlight the paint would take on an orangeish/pink hue, which I didn't like. Anyway, one good combination I found was Meguiar's Speed Glaze (#80) topped with 4-Star UPP sealant. This gave the paint a nice wet look, and also made it look a little darker than any Zaino product I had used. Another product I found to look good on it was Blackfire -- I had both the polish and sealant, and those two gave it a nice look.

If you decide to try the #80/UPP route, here are a few more comments. I get great results using #80 with an orange pad on the PC. I'm assuming that you have a PC since you mentioned the Sonus pad kit. #80 will remove minor swirl marks and leave the paint ready for a sealant. More aggressive polishes (like DACP) may leave some hazing that you have to get out with a finer polish, but I've never had this problem with #80. I apply the UPP with a finishing pad and the PC (this would be the blue pad in the Sonus kit, I believe). I spray a little QD (4-star sells a QD for UPP) on the pad, then put on just a tiny amount of UPP and apply it at speed=4. A little UPP will go a very long way. 4-Star sells a paint cleaner to use before the UPP, but I think #80 is a better choice.

You were asking for specific steps, so here is what I would do:

1. Wash
2. Clay (I use Clay Magic because I can buy it locally)
3. Wash again (or QD, if there isn't any clay residue)
4. Meguiar's #80 with orange pad
5. QD to remove any remaining #80
6. UPP with finishing pad or by hand
7. 4-Star QD (can't remember the exact name of this stuff) to remove any remaining UPP.

You can layer the UPP by adding more coats. Just wait 24 hours between applications.

For me, UPP gives fairly decent durability, as well as good looks. There are a lot of other sealant combos out there, but this one looked good on my Tacoma. I use Zaino in the winter, though, because it gives the longest protection. The new Z2 pro is supposed to look good on dark paint, so that's another one to consider. Just keep reading this message board for a few more weeks to get some other ideas.

Here are a few shots of my Tacoma with NXT (not UPP) from last spring. I bought a Silverado in April and sold the Tacoma.
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/dneece/www/nxt1.jpg
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/dneece/www/nxt2.jpg
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/dneece/www/nxt3.jpg

wannafbody · 02-28-05, 08:59

Tropicare TC3 looks good on mettallics-one guy on ls2.com calims 11 months beading-pretty good durability for a daily driver truck

steck · 02-28-05, 09:09

w/out reading your whole post:

Basically, generally, usually, any product will look great if you use the proper steps.
Only minimal difference may be the last step product (LSP).
Many prefer carnuaba over a poly sealant for dark coloured cars...these will give a different final look. OR, sealant topped with a carnauba is another little trick...getting best of both worlds...and why there is an 'EX'.

blkZ28Conv · 02-28-05, 09:19

Hi welcome to Autopia.

step 1: Download DavidB's e-book and read up on paint prep.

step 2: Prep to the max.
step 3: Prep some more.
step 4: Ask yourself if the finish, color hue, reflectivity, gloss and wetness is where you want it to be. If so apply your Zaino.
If not prep some more.

Don't get caught up in seeking (purchasing) a whole bunch of LSP's seeking a cure for a less than perfect prep.

Prep is 95% of the appearance. The trick is as an Autopian is to increase that number to 98+% and only rely on the LSP for a small percentage of appearance augmentation and mostly for protection of all that hard work done during the prep stages.

Edwa · 02-28-05, 11:52

I have a dark blue truck. I have used Zaino Z2 & Z5, #26, #16, #20 and so far the combo I like the best is:

#80 or #81 (depending on swirls)
#20
Meg's MPPP

Burlyq · 02-28-05, 02:51

Z2pro on a well prepped surface. I assume you tried the old z2 and the only thing I can say is the new Z2pro is depper and wetter. I have a dark blue truck and just applied Z2Pro and find it to be at least as good if not better as other wet looking sealants. I previously had Wolfgang and I prefer z2pro. Nothing bad against the Wolf, it looks nice and I got decent durabilty with 3 coats, but the new Z2 looks just as good and the water beads are smaller than rice (this is good). I used one coat and it looks much better than 10 coats of the old z. I feel no topper is necessary. Welcome to the site from a fellow truck dude. Whatever you chose take pics, we need more trucks in here.