New truck, new paint question

[rbs]

Took delivery of 2015 Ford F250 Sept 9th, ingot silver paint, and my`question concerns how soon can I safely put wax on the paint? Live in IL, so winter is not too far off, and the truck will be exposed to some pretty nasty roads (unpaved gravel, sand, dust, mud) on a pretty consistent basis. I would like to get some protection on it, but don`t want to damage the new paint.


Thank you in advance


Rod

[pwaug]

Welcome to Autopia!!!`` You can put wax or a sealant on the paint immediately after taking delivery.`` New car paint is baked on at the factory and by the time you get it is at least a couple of months old.


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In order to apply maximum protection for the winter I would suggest a good durable sealant rather than a wax.` There are allot of great sealants out there--if you want to keep it simple you can get Meguiers Ultimate Liquid Wax (ignore the name as it`s a pure sealant) OTC at Walmart, but there is also Duragloss 105, Menzerna Powerlock, Finish Kare 1000p, Collinite 845 or 476 and many others most of which you`d have to buy online.` Apply any of them very thin, allow to haze then buff off with a quality MicroFiber towel.


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You can get most of them at Autoality.com with $5.00 flat rate shipping.

[rbs]

I`have used Collinite 845, found it very long lasting and have some on hand. I would like to clay bar and polish the paint before waxing, would you feel comfortable about that also? I have a Snug Top fiberglass topper installed and I would doubt that the paint job is as "old" as the truck`s paint, should I wait on doing any polishing/waxing on it? I should probably talk with someone at Snug Top also.

[RaskyR1]

Get some mud flaps on it too if you haven`t already, especially if you`re going to be going down a lot of gravel roads. :)

[Dellinger]

rbs-


`


Congratulations on the truck and the color choice (silver is forgiving!)


`


Sound advice from both pwaug & Chad. `Sounds like you have your LSP figured out (845) and it is a solid choice. `And some kind of flap/ guard behind the tires would go a long way to protect the paint down the sides of the truck, if indeed the truck will be used as a 3/4 ton is intended to be.


`


Clay is certainly welcomed, even if the dealer prepped it... and you might be interested in CarPro`s IronX, since the color is lighter... this chemical will address any rail dust that settled on the paint of the truck during transport. `These two items should tackle your decontamination steps.


`


A polish is also viable IF the paint needs it... and only you can discern that. `(Assuming the dealer prepped it... I would inspect the paint in the sun or with multiple light sources after your wash/ decontamination phases.) `If you see some marring/ defects/ etc... and these bother you- polish it.


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I have worked a few `14 Ford Superduty`s and their respective paint systems were definitely on the hard side... I wouldn`t imagine a huge change regarding the `15. `Every vehicle/ truck can be different so always test spot... but I would feel comfortable recommending HD Adapt as a solid choice for polishing your Ford`s paint IF you were looking for a machine polish recommendation. `(Use pad choice to alter cut, Adapt should be flexible enough to cut well and finish well with appropriate pads on harder paint systems). ` If you are polishing by hand... oh boy.`


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Regarding the fiberglass top... that`s a tough call. `Unless you have a $2K+ paint gauge that reads a FG substrate... you won`t really know how much paint is there. I would call the manufacturer and find out any info you can (build date/ paint process/ etc.) ` You will have to test spot to find out how well the top corrects. `I have noted that FG camper shells tend to correct fairly easily but that is statistically irrelevant.`


`


Hope my sentiments are of value,


-Gabe

[rbs]

`A very sincere thanks to all that responded, really appreciate hearing from people who`s knowledge and advice come from experience. Spend a lot of time reading and learning here, still a little lost on some of the acronyms. We try to keep our vehicles nice, and really enjoy and appreciate beautiful detailed vehicles. I have ordered and should be receiving some HD polish, thought from reading that it might work for my truck`s paint. Ordered truck with factory mudflaps and wheel liners, and keeping it looking nice during the winter is tough. Hopefully in the`very near future will have a shop/garage that will allow me to clean up at home in the winter. It is nice to know that I can ask the pro`s a question and get a quick and honest answer.