New white truck - what do I need to do?

C

ckelsoe

New member
I purchased a 2008 GMC Serria 3500 black truck in December. A few weeks ago the truck was at the dealer for service. While there, they scrubbed the truck with a brush and scratched the paint and clearcoat. 2 trips to the detail resulted in a lot of the scratches being protected and the addition of swirls. So the dealer is trading the vehicle for a new one.



The new truck is white. I want to know what I can do to help protect the paint as well as enhance the luster or shine (yeah, I know that white is a boring color, but the experience with the black truck has put me off of color for a whole). I am really interested in protecting the paint and color since the new vehicles seem to have less paint than ever.



One local detail shop recommended a teflon protectant. My poking around the internet has me intersted in the Ultima products, Mequiar's, and Zaino.



I do not want a product that requires endless hours of detailing the vehicle to maintain the finish. So I am hoping that those of you that use this type of product every day can help guide me in the best product for my needs.



Thanks, Charles
 
ckelsoe said:
One local detail shop recommended a teflon protectant. My poking around the internet has me intersted in the Ultima products, Mequiar's, and Zaino.
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Any one of them will suit you just fine. They're all quality.



I do not want a product that requires endless hours of detailing the vehicle to maintain the finish. So I am hoping that those of you that use this type of product every day can help guide me in the best product for my needs.
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I'd probably go with Ultima then. I haven't tried it personally, but I know David B wouldnt put in all that hard work to realease a product that was not great. It would be the quickest of the three just because you dont have to wipe the PGP off the paint. It takes care of itself for ya. Even on a big truck, I dont think it should take you long at all.
 
I am leaning towards the Ultima for the very reason that it seems to be a very high quality product that is not tedious to work with. Since I have not personally used any of these product, I wanted to run it by others who have.



The other question that I should have ask is if there is any special prep I need to do on a new truck other than a good wash and dry with quality stuff (such as the Ultima cleaner) or if there is other prep work I need to do.



Thanks, Charles
 
You probably want to go over the whole truck with a clay bar to remove any embedded contaminants, and then UPPP to create a good surface for Ultima to bond to.



It's a cake sealant to use too...try the look you get from 3-5 coats, just put one on after every wash for a month or so. The results will amaze you vs a single coat.
 
From my experience the main difference between waxing a darker color like black, blue, etc and a lighter color white, silver, etc is the results you end up with.



On the darker colors you tend to want to show off the depth and richness. You want to make it look like you are looking into a pool of water that goes on forever.



With what you have the key is to add shine. You really won't be able to add a lot of depth but you can still give it that wet, shiny look. A plus side to lighter colors is a lot a companies make a lot of single application waxes that adds protection and shine.



The darker colors usually require multiple coats of cleaners, polishes, sealants, and waxes to achieve the look that you want. Either way I would recommend using a clay bar as themightytimmah mentioned. Without proper preperation you won't end up with great results no matter what you do.



As for the type of wax you have your synthetics and you have your carnauba waxes. It is usually just a person's preference on which looks better and which lasts longer. I personally use Mother's products. They are great for their ease of use which is perfect for a weekend detailer that don't have more than a few hours to spend. They make products based on carnauba products, synthetics, and also specially for power tools. You can usually find them at PepBoys and many places online.



I won't knock any of the other products out there. I have used many products from Turtle Wax (when I first started) to Meguiar's to Mother's and there are numerous others that I am sure other guys can tell you about.
 
Thanks for all of the advise. I pretty much feel that there are a lot of products (some inexpensive) that are good products. Perhaps the real difference is in the quality of the detailing process itself. As in some people are good at it and some are not. I would definately say that detail work is not my expertise, thus I am looking to solve the problem with a product that requires less ongoing maintence and time by investing in the time upfront. Being this is a truck, my goal is not to have a show vehicle as it will be getting dirty and used, but to have a vehicle that has a protected finish and will clean up without a huge amount of fuss.



If this were a nice car I would have different goals.



I live in Eastern Oregon so if anyone knows of a good shop near there I would be glad to let an expert work on the vehicle.
 
ckelsoe said:
... Perhaps the real difference is in the quality of the detailing process itself. ...
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Bingo!



The key is to learn how to not cause marring in the first place. Defects that you never have to deal with are less work than any repair process.





PC.
 
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