First proper detail job on my truck.
 

Well I did my homework and followed the advice from some of the pros here and other places. I spent 8 hours detailing my truck this weekend and here's the condensed version and results of what I did and used.

Two bucket wash and dry (grit guard in bucket) mitt and waffle weave drying towels (I don't have a blower to dry car) but dried as recommended. Claybar of entire truck, machine polish (compound for a few minor scratches and polish) then waxed.

Here's the results of the finish:

Looks sharp, but you forgot to list the all-important F-150 detailing accessory: The step ladder.

Oh man I hear you. F150's are brutal for cleaning I'll admit I slack on the roof sometimes just because it's a major PITA and most people can't see it including me.

Looks great! Nothing nicer than a super clean black truck!

I've just started to get into detailing and my head is spinning from all the products and methods available. Any reason you didn't choose to apply a sealer before your wax?

Good question. It depends who you talk to but one of the reasons was I had limited time to keep my detail free of containment I do not have a garage big enough to store my truck in which meant it would have to sit out overnight for the sealant to cure properly and our weather is unpredictable here with high humidity and sudden thunderstorms. A good quality wax technically is good protection so I've gambled good seal via my wax which I plan on doing a another coat again this weekend.

I think if I had an indoor space to do my detailing I may have done the sealant process but I don't think my clear coat is in jeopardy since I don't expose my paint to harsh conditions and clean it once or more a week properly. I'd still recomended doing it if you can I'd love to have an enclosed place to do this on a vehicle that is also not my daily driver so I can take my time with it.

I've spent endless hours checking out how the pros do it and some seal some don't using a good wax may warrant you skipping the sealing step since a good wax technically does that and also protects. You can't skip the polish process since that's what actually brings out the shine, removes minor imperfections and old wax.

looks great, do you have any sun reflection shots?

Cheers,
GREG

I wish I did it's been like monsoon season here we've had overcast and rain for weeks I was hard pressed getting 12 straight hours of clear sky's. With that being said I didn't have sun long enough to expose swirl marks for the photos but I didn't have to fight the sun washing, polishing and waxing.

If I get some sun this weekend I plan another coat of wax and some sun shots with swirl free clearcoat. Any tips are welcome I'm still not experienced enough or comfortable enough for the flex polisher but with that said I don't need any paint correction.

That looks amazing. Nice work!

what was the chemicals, pad and hte processes used? I'm more than willing to help you sort things out, if you desire.

You can also take photos using halogens.

Cheers,
GREG

If I understand your question correctly the process was:

• 2 Bucket wash & dry with high quality waffle weave towels
• claybar entire truck with detail spray lubricant
• 50/50 mix of isopropyl and water to remove any residual lubricant and clay bar contaminants
• Polish with orange light cutting pad and Meguiars Mirror Glaze Swirl Remover 2.0 #9 (Fairly light correction compound the paint wasn't damaged 2+ month old truck and great care washing up to that point)
• White polishing pad with and Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer
• Final process was the wax with black polishing pad and my Collinite No. 845 insulator wax.

I'm considering getting a foam gun I hear they are excellent for loosening up the dirt prior to the wash process. Confirm/deny?



All the products I used are linked in the original post including pad and polisher I used.

It was a mixed bag of products but I had some of them on hand and was a little more concerned with getting technique down then fretting over what products to use since there are so many. I'm in Canada so I purchase my products from www.eshine.ca they have most of the top brand professional products that I need and avoid having to pay crazy shipping and duty. Anything you would advise me to work with I'd appreciate if it was from them or a comparable site that distributes out of Canada.


Cheers,
Azuri