Hi gang. I've been reading this board for the last couple of days in anticipation of getting my new (to me) 2002 SuperCrew FX4. Anyway, the exterior is in need of some work. I was hoping to get a plan of attack down. I will post some pictures as soon as I get a chance, but will do my best to describe the condition. Here are the problems I see on the paint. I don't know the exact color, but it is a forrest green.

1.) Lovebug residue on the hood
2.) Pine sap on hood, and Tonneau (sp?) cover
3.) several thin, but prominent scratches on the tailgate.
4.) several small scratches on side panels.

I know this will be hard to do without pictures, but any ideas on how to get started making this truck look like new again. I'm not adverse to hours of hard work, and I did use a cheapo 10" random orbit buffer on my last F150 with good results. I've been reading good things on this site about the PC buffer, and if that will help me, I would purchase that. I'm sure I left something out, so if you need more info, just let me know, and thanks for helping me out.

 

maybe the Tar & Bug remover from Wal-Mart can get that sap off.

 

There is this stuff called ChemTool. I buy it Walmart. It will take the pinesap off without harming the paint. I also use it for cleaning the gas stains off my tripple duce Offenhauser intake manifold on my 23 Ford T- Bucket..It works great!

 

A PC will help out greatly. I strongly recommend getting one if you are going to be detailing your truck alot. If you want a fairly complete routine, this is what I do every 6 months or so

1. Wash truck used Meguiar’s NXT Generation Car Wash

2. Clay bar with Meguiar’s Quick Clay

3. Clean the paint with Meguiar’s Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner with a W-8006 pad at a speed of 4 - 5

4. Remove swirls and/ or scratches with different products depending on the type or size of blemish I am trying to remove (here is a list with pad/speed recommendations for use with a PC)
• Meguiar’s # 83 Dual Action Cleaner / Polisher W-8006 at 3 - 5
• Meguiar’s # 82 Swirl Free Polish W-8006 at 3 - 5
• Meguiar’s # 80 Speed Glaze W-8006 at 3 - 5
• Meguiar’s # 9 Swirl Remover 2.0 W-8006 at 3 - 5
• Meguiar’s # 7 Show Car Glaze W-9006 2 - 4 (this is a pure polish)
• Meguiar’s Scratch X (apply only by hand)
Start of with the least aggressive product needed to do the job. If an aggressive product is needed to remove the blemish, work you way down to a less aggressive product to improve the final results

5. Meguiar’s NXT Tech Wax use either a W-8006 or W-9006 pad at 2 - 4 to apply and a W-9006 pad at 3 - 5 covered with a Meguiar’s Ultimate Bonnet to remove. Let it sit over night then continue with #6

6. Wipe off truck with Meguiar’s Quik Mist and Wiper Detail. Then apply Meguiar’s NXT Tech Wax again.

7. Wait a few days then wash truck again using Meguiar’s NXT Generation Car Wash

8. Apply a pure/carnauba wax like Meguiar’s # 26 using a W-9006 pad at 2 - 4 and a W-9006 pad at a 3 - 5 speed covered with a Meguiar’s Ultimate Bonnet to remove.

9. Maintain shine with Four Star Ultimate Gloss Enhancer or Meguiar’s Quik Mist and Wiper Detail

Use good quality microfiber towels on your paint!!!

Sometime in this process you also should do your wheels, tires, glass, rubber and vinyl trim, carpet, and leather care. But those are whole other topics!

 

Follow the directions on each of the products I list to the letter and you will have a great looking ride with no problems. I hope this is what you were looking for.

 

Wow GB, thanks for that info. I gave the truck a quick wash today just to see what I was going to be dealing with, and man it is going to be a chore and a half. But, after looking at some of the pictures on this site, I'm willing to bust my butt to make it look better than it did new. I've got a lot of tree sap that I hadn't seen before that is caked on, as well as some love bug residue that looks to be 1 year old. I've got to tackle those issues before I can even begin thinking about really detailing it. On top of that, I'm moving into a new house next week, so there won't be a whole lot of time to work on the truck in the next couple of weeks. I am going to try and take some pictures of the truck in the sun so you guys can see if I am missing anything. Thanks again.

 

no problem. Yes please post pictures when you get a chance. Good luck with the move, I would actually cut off my arm with my radial arm saw than to have to move all my junk into a new home

 

Holy cow GB, does it take you a year-and-a-half to clean your truck???!!!!

CartQQnz - what department at Walmart will I find the ChemTool product??

 

It does take a long a$$ time! About two days. But this is a full detail that only gets done two or three times a year. The rest of the time it is just washing, waxing, and a few dimish removals. That takes about two hours at the most. Unless you count inside the cab cleaning.

 

You can find it in the automotive department where the carb and injector cleaners are.

 

Thanks - I actually found something that works great. I had a spot under the black rubber around my window that looked like the paint was turning color. Over time it was getting bigger and would not wash off. I found a product at Pep Boys called Liquid Glass Pre Cleaner that does an awesome job removing tar, bug guts, and this area that I am talking about.

I think what the spot was from something that my car wash sprays on the vehicle and it makes the black color bleed out of the rubber trim.

 

i am a profesional detailer the easiest wy to reove sap is with regular rubbing alcohol and a rag.as far as the bug residue ,along as is it not scared(through the paint) a little elbow grease works well.now if your plannin on buffing your truck , i sugest if you dont have experiance that you let someone else do that. you could burn your paint or plastic if your not careful.

 

Just wanted to post a reply to this just so it didn't seem like your advice went unheaded (thanks for all the good info GB). Well, we finally moved into the new house, but soon after my father in law died unexpectedly, so I haven't had too much time to detail the truck. After reading a lot on this site and MOL, I broke down and bought a load of products. I started off with the porter cable DA polisher. From Meguiars I bought:

- the backing plate (with the 3 pads), and 3 extra pads just to have

- 32 oz #80
- 32 oz #83
- NXT liquid wax
- Scratch X
- QuickClay system
- NXT tech protectant
- Water magnet towel
- Interior detail brush
- Gold Class wash mit
- Gold class wash mop
- Interior cleaner
- leather cleaner/conditioner


I know I got some other items, but I just can't remember all of it right now. Anyway, I washed the truck last night and tried unsuccessfully to remove the aged sap that is all over my truck (I've still got to figure out how to remove that stuff). I didn't have time for a complete detail, but I wanted to play with my PC, so I did some work on the tailgate. All I can say is wow. I wish I had some pics (wife had the camera). The tailgate was covered with scratches and I got almost all of them out with 2 passes of #80. I thought about going with some 83, but just decided to cover it with a coat of NXT and see how it would look. Now, I am really looking forward to doing the rest of the truck. Hopefully, I can get the camera and get a few shots of the truck.

Thanks again for all the help and advice found on this site.