And the truck still looks great.
It’s been 17 months since I clayed and waxed my truck.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ht=diminishing

After this thread I put a couple-three coats of Prowax Cherry Carnauba wax as a sealer over the three coats of NXT.

Since then the truck has been driven 6000 miles, in rain and wind, hot sun.
It has been rinsed about every ten days using my filtered pressure washer and no soap.
I then dry it with microfiber towels.

That is all I do to the paint. I have been waiting for the wax to ‘wear off’ or the shine to quit. After almost a year and a half with no waxing, no soap washing, the finish still beads nicely, the paint is still very reflective and my fingers don’t drag when I run a hand over the finish.

I expected to have to strip and wax it every 6 months or so, but honestly; I can’t see any reason to do it even now.

The only hint I have that the wax is wearing off is the truck no longer attracts bug when freshly rinsed.

Seriously, the Cherry wax has a strong scent of cherry and flies would always land on the truck just after it was rinsed. Since they stopped ‘bugging’ it about a month ago I suspect the cherry carnauba is wearing off.
Anyway I have never had a wax job stay clean, beading and glossy so long.
Claying, NXT and sealing with carnauba is sure the way to go.

 

sweet, i really wish i had time to completely clay my truck and give it several coats of wax. But that would prolly mean i would need to wash it first. lol give me a break its been raining everyother day this week.
-Patrick

 

When I got home and cooled the truck for awhile I use instant detailer after dusting it takes 15 minutes for the whole truck.

 

[QUOTE=ChrisAdams]
It’s been 17 months since I clayed and waxed my truck. [QUOTE]

I actually felt the vacuum created by the huge gasp of disbelief that RockPick took when he read this post.

 

I'll just say that it's an unusally long time for NXT to hold up but, it's definitely a good thing!

 

Hey, I'm as surprised as anyone.
Pictures furnished on request.
Sitting in the garage today I was reading the labels on my shelves in the reflection from my side paint.

Parked it next to its twin today, a brand new STX silver regular cab (06) and talked to the owner. He wanted to know how to make his truck shine like that. I didn't even try to tell him it was a 17 month old detail.

I call these trucks dime-a-dozens because around here they are becoming the most common vehicle on the road. On my street as of this week there are 6 of them. That's in two blocks...
At Costco there were twenty in the parking lot while I was shopping.

Haven't met an unhappy owner yet. Just read their posts in forums.
Chris

 

yeah baby more Fords! Thats an amazing job! I heard of a wax that lasted 4yrs kinda found it crazy but your almost at two years wow!

 

I cleaned, polished and wax'd the crap out of my truck. Looked fantastic (dewalt orbital polisher, nxt, other megs products, etc) but the wax was off about 5 days later. I was pissed, although I do offroad quite a bit it's just impossible to keep a decent wax job that lasts through a carwash. Also, the parts where I used rubbing compound are clearly visible again (very oxidized!). I'm so sick and tired of this, almost want to take it in to get it done. Where can I find a much less abrasive rubbing compound to blend the cuts back in from the crappy turtle wax's product...?

I can get it to look fantastic but as soon as that wax comes off you can see the the cuts from the rubbing compound, and the wax never lasts. Ugh, RP next time you're out my way I'll have to have you show me a few long lasting tricks and put them to the test I just don't understand how Chris' can last 17 months, mine 5 days...gotta pay to play I guess unless I'm just a terrible detailer.

 

What kind of soap are you using?
Also, the pH on your water may be off causing it to remove wax when you wash it.

for me, NXT will last about 2-3 months. But I rarely go longer than that between coats. Heck, back in the day with my Red Ranger I did a coat (or two) of NXT every 2 weeks. I just don't have the desire anymore

 

I don't see why it should go so fast?
Differences I see between your truck and mine in finish;
My truck was still in new shape, only having been subjected to a brushless car wash once.
My truck is garaged.
My truck is never off road (I have a 4x4 for that).
Clayed but no rubbing compound on my truck, or 'buffing out' because it wasn't needed.
3 coats of NXT put on at least 12 hours apart.
3-5 coats Pro Cherry wax. Any pure carnauba would work, of course, the Pro was locally available. 3 coats on the whole truck, four on the sides of the bed, five on the hood. Just because those places were easier to do.
NO SOAP on my truck to 'wash' it. None. The truck is heavily waxed so dirt does not stick to it. Nor bugs, tree sap etc.
I pressure wash it with a very small lower pressure (1300 lbs) pressure washer with a big water filter on it. We have very hard water here.
I then just dry it with good quality microfiber towels.
I have Kleen Wheels on all four rims so there is no trace of brake dust to worry about.

I think if I had put it through car washes the wax would have been all gone by about 3-5 trips through.
Chris

 

You use *no* carwash solution? Just water eh? Not sure I'd go down that path but, if the shoe fits...

 

Well, no soap wash I would call it. Filtered pressure washer and then wipe clean. Seems to work.


My wife decided that she would use soap (Maguiress gold) on her 4x4 because she takes it off-road a lot. So she sprays the soap on, and then washes the truck with a microfiber mitt. Her wax is pretty much gone. No beading, reflection is gone. This truck was waxed months later than my F150. So even with good soap the wax doesn't seem to stay on as long.

My truck is garaged next to her 4x4 and both are driven about the same mileage.
Chris

 

Just really a good idea to use a good wash to offer lubrication. I don't care how much wax you put on a surface, you will encounter some level of 'bonding' that can only be removed by abrasion. While this will affect the longevity of any surficial protection, it's a trade off in that you're not running nearly the risk of straight-line scratching and/or swirling your vehicle's paint.

Make 200% sure that any shampoo that you utilize is mixed to the correct dilution. I can assure you that *ANY* carwash shampoo that says "Will Not Strip Wax" (which is all of them) can strip wax. Mix it too strong and you'll have no problem doing it in fact.

 

RP

What ratio do you mix your soap when using the S/F filter? I have been using half label rate on Gold Class & NXT soaps with good results. I have even gone as far as 1/4 label rate with decent results.

 

Full strength on the dilution. Maybe slightly lower but not much.

My water sucks... the SF works great but, I still spot up quite a bit. I'm due for another regen -- this after only 5 uses.