My question is can i just wax one area of my truck or is it better to do the whole thing. what i want to do is wax wear the little scratches are to try and wax them out. I dont have time to wax the whole truck right now.

 

Waxing won't remove scratches. However, applying wax over a scratch that has made it down to bare metal could help prevent rust from forming before you have a chance to properly repair it.

FYI -- I have a friend who only polishes and waxes the hood of his vehicle. He says it's really the only part of the car he sees much and wants it to look good while he's staring at it driving down the highway!

 

Your friend is lazy. I do the top of the front fenders as well as the hood.

 

Man, I do everything. Sometimes I run out of time to do the roof, but the only people who see that are truck drivers...and really tall people.

 

I would suggest a good scratch remover over those spots followed by waxing where you used the scratch remover, that way it's recovered. You'll feel a difference and may see it if you have a dark vehicle, but it's better to remove scratches right away, it is easier and the results are better. Also, you should wax your truck at least twice a year, but if you have the time to spend doing it right. Fix the spots in the meantime.

 

I always do the roof first. No one may see it, but it's the part that birds, sap, leaves and stuff will find. I'll leave the wheels or windows till last. That way if I run out of time or get tired, it won't interfere with getting the wax on everywhere.

 

Forget a scratch remover. The best thing to use imo is 3M rubbing compound. Just use a little and apply it with something like a cloth baby diaper. Just be careful not to rub too hard. Start off light. Apply it like you would wax, rub in and wipe off with a clean side of cloth.

 

To get rid of scratches that aren't too deep, use a rubbing compound. Important things to know before you use wax or compound on your vehicle is to make sure the vehicle is clean, cool to the touch, and in the shade. I used to work at a detail shop and learned alot there. If you wax or use compound on your vehicle in the sun and let it dry to a haze, you are bakeing in the swirl marks you just made trying to apply wax or remove a scratch with the compound. ever see a car with swirl marks in the paint. thats from waxing in the sun or useing a buffer set way too high or useing too much force. If you plan on waxing your vehicle, wash it, park it in the shade, ie: garage or under a tree, by the time your done wipeing it dry it should be cool to the touch, apply wax to about a quarter of the vehicle. when it drys to a haze wipe it off with a clean soft towell. dont use one section of the towell to wipe it all off, keep flipping the towell and useing clean sections of it. Also incase you get a lil wax on your black plastic areas of your vehicle, like on the 04-06 f150 door handles or mirrors. Use a lil peanut butter on a rag. the oils will make it shine and get rid of the white marks. Laugh now, but give it a shot next time, you'll see....lol. another little cleaning trick i use is a tooth brush for around badges and key holes and when trying to bring back the white lettering in your tires. Nothing works better then AJAX or dish detergent and a scrub brush.

 

Use a lil peanut butter on a rag. the oils will make it shine and get rid of the white marks. Laugh now, but give it a shot next time, you'll see....lol. another little cleaning trick i use is a tooth brush for around badges and key holes and when trying to bring back the white lettering in your tires. Nothing works better then AJAX or dish detergent and a scrub brush.

Wow...peanut butter. Never tried that. I find that bug and tar remover works great. I am a little confused on how you use the tooth brush. I use a smooth rock for the white lettering. Works good but you need to put some effort into it.

 

Wow...peanut butter. Never tried that. I find that bug and tar remover works great. I am a little confused on how you use the tooth brush. I use a smooth rock for the white lettering. Works good but you need to put some effort into it.[/QUOTE]

You use the brissles of the tooth brush to brush around the badges, doorhandles etc, where a towel cant get to. see what i am saying.

 

In my experience Maguier's NTX and certain other high quality waxes will hide scratches well by filling them in but they always come back when the wax wears off. You will have to go with something abrasive to actually make them go away. When I wax the whole truck gets done top to bottom everytime including the roof and the hidden lower parts of the fender flares that face the ground.

 

I hate to discount someone that is trying to help but...

All the PNB is going to do is mask the problem. Honestly, you can go inside and get some canola, olive, vegetable, or PAM cooking oil and achieve the same thing. Heck, pull out the heavy weight grease -- it'll do the same thing.

The bottom line, it's not removing it. If that's good enough, then give any of the above a whirl. There are, however, ways to REMOVE wax over and, further, a little bit of blue painters tape and about 20 minutes of prep time go a LONG way to prevent the wax overs.

RP

 

Not trying to add on to RP's "don't wanna discount," but this;

just isn't true. Swirl marks are very fine etchings into the clear, that are caused mainly by a high speed buffer. Whether its going 250RPM or 3000RPM, there are going to be swirls on certain colors. (there are swirls on all colors, just the darker ones are most visible) The proper procedures being followed, when you have to high speed you then follow up with another process to remove the swirls you cause. After that, you wax it. And even after all that, you still have to upkeep the finish, especially where you had to high speed, or it will become faded sooner than the rest of the paint.

The common misconception in the world is that detail shops "remove" scratches. We don't. We simply provide an excellent cover through methods that heat up and area (high speeding) and kinda finess the clear to "move."
During this "movement" is when the fine etching occurs. A *very* highly skilled detailer might be able to produce a swirl free high speed, but there are very few out there that good, and you'd probably get off cheaper painting. They are very proud of their skillz!

Also, to answer the main question: Waxing one area one time won't hurt anything. Waxing one area over long periods of time will cause a difference in color to appear, since there is more protection on one spot vs the rest of the paint

 

Thanks Navi... I read that but just wasn't going to touch it...

Like Navi, no one is trying to 'pile on' here but, it's only fair to correct incorrect information so that it benefits the masses....

 

If you cant wax your whole truck, then my suggesting is wash it fast I'd go with rubbing compound for the scratches.