Yeah, so this thread has been done a million times. Before the newbie crew chews me a new hole, let me explain.

I DID search, I swear! I read the detail forum for 3 hours and my head is swimming, mainly because there are so many products and so many techniques. So I thought I'd do a post for my specific circumstances.

I just bought a 1998 Forf F150 4.6L V8 supercan with dual exhaust. The truck is champaigne. I dont know if it has clear coat or not...Im that ignorant! Until the age of 30, I always bought beaters. $500 and drive em into the ground...car wash? Why bother!? May not ruin tomorrow anyway! My vehicles have always been saturday night specials...they serve a purpose and there's no attachment. But now Im in love!!

Here's my thinking so far from what I've gathered. I'd appreciate advice anywhere along the way here.
I may need to do a first wash with some Dawn to get off any old wax, etc...
Depending on whether I have clear coat or not, I guess I should do a chemical wash or normal wash.
Then I'd like to do a clay treatment.
After clay and rinse, I would do a good polish.
Followed by a wax.

So, am I on the right track in terms of general procedure?
If so, what products should I use and how do I know a quality product?
For clay and wax, I guess I could splurge on Zaino...it seems pretty popular unless someone has some suggestions.

And towels?
Walmart has a sheepskin glove for $4.00...would this be best for washing.
For drying I bought a tube of "Streakless Spotless Dryer" sheets...supposed to store damp in the tube.
What do you folks think about terry cloth towels and "diaper" towels?

I know its a lot here..thanks for the help !!!

 

I would never use Dawn in any of my vehicles. Any remaining wax that may be on your vehicle, from God knows when, will be removed on by your paint cleaning step.

Use a good quality car wash shampoo and the sheepskin mitt you mentioned sounds fine. Use either a 2 bucket method or invest in a Grit Guard(best $10 yet). Washing and drying is very critical b/c this is where swirls, etc are most often introduced. I like using high-quality MF waffle-weave towels to dry.

After washing/drying, you'll want to inspect the surface and decide if you want to clay or not. There is plenty of info out there on this step.

The next three steps invlove cleaning, polishing, and protecting the paint. I'm a hardcore Meguiar's fan, so they are the only products I use. Use whatever you like, but make sure they are going to be used for what you're trying to achieve.

Cleaners, remove old wax, oxidation and can remove fine swirls/scratches. Polishes are only to create gloss and shine. This is where you will get the most pop out of your paint. Neither of these two products need to dry, therefore once worked in until almost clear, can be removed with a good quality MF or terry.

Finally hit it with a protectant. My favorite consumer line product right now is NXT Tech Wax. Gold Class wax is really nice too, esp. on dark colors! This product does need to dry as it will fill in the pores of your paint. Use 2 thin coats to make sure you hit all areas.

Good Luck

-slippy

 

Slippy is right, Read these forums. But!!!
This might help. Here is a couple of before pics of my friends Xterra today before claying and NXT.




Continued

 

Here is some after



Specs are from the camera not on the hood!

Another



Continued

 

And the end result!

and last shot


Read/research and pay attention to those who have dealt with most any problems you have. RP and Boss 429 especially. Thats why I was able to clean up this ricer today. BTW Its 5 yrs old and now looks almost brand new!
This Xterra is driven 115 miles twice daily and has been for 5 yrs.
The bug guts, and wear and tear from all those miles and yet today I was able to use the info gained from those here produced these results. I was amazed and so was the owner. He is a Chief Master SGT in the USAF and now he's going to get me more Xtra jobs to detail. Thank God RP isn't close to me because I'm using what I've learned from him. So when I"m bored I'll schedule some to kill my appetite to detail everything around me. God help me I'm addicted to F150online.com!

 

Thanks for the help fellas.

I just bought a few products. I bought Purple Powers car wash detergent, 'Cherry Power'.
Got a box set of Mother's Clay that also came with a small bottle of cleaner polish and a 16oz bottle of detailer.
also got some of simple Greens wheel cleaner.

Also got a California squeegie (silicone)....
As far as towels, I bought some "diaper" towels to use for polishing, waxing. I may buy another MF towel with a deeper knap on it for drying. Might have to go online, as WalMart seems to have the cheap ones which technically ARE MF, but arent split, so arent quite as fine.

I was considering Rain-X application after claying and washing the windows. Good idea or no?

I guess I need to buy some good polish and decide on a wax. Autozone has the NXT Tech Wax. Gold Class wax is at Walmart....Then I'll have my setup complete and can kiss my Saturday's goodbye!