I have a 2010 f 150 rev cab. It's bright red and it has 08 Harley polished aluminum wheels. The paint is great on it, just minor swirls that you can only see in direct sunlight from washing and waxing. I use all meguires products. I am currently using yellow tech glaze as my primary wax. About once a week a wash it by hand, and wax every month. And I polish the wheels and use back to black on the trim.

I was wanting more of a shine and to get rid of the small swirls, can u guys help me out. From experience what steps and products should I use.

 

Stop using Back to Black that often. Great product, but that's not its intended purpose. Get the Mother's Protectant for every day/normal detailing use.

Are you working by hand or some type of polisher?? That makes all the difference. Photo's would help too. Meguiars 205 is a pretty safe polish that'll most likely get swirls out if they're as light as you say.

Steps...Depends on how hard core you are and how good you are. Detailing is an art that takes practice and trial and error to find what works best for you. I could give you a list of everything I use and a 100 page step by step dissertation and your results would not be the same. But you're asking the right questions.

wash
clay
clean/polish
seal
wax (partially optional)

 

I want to do everything I can to make it look as good as it can, and last for as long as I own the truck. I'll put some pics up tomorrow. I have been into detailing for a several years, and I would say I'm prety good at it. But Ive never done more than wash, clay, wax it. And I have an orbital buffer, its a 20$ autozone one all it dose is save my shoulders.
I don't know of any sealers, I've never used any. And I have meguires ultimate polish I've used it a couple times but never seen much results. Like I said the paint is perfect, it has light swirls that go away when I wax it but come back if I don't wax it for awhile.

 

I was looking at some polishing kits on meguires website (buffer and compounds). But I don't know what one I would get.
If not a kit then what compounds and supplies are safe for a beginner, I don't wanna f the paint up.

 

OK, you won't accomplish jack by hand (except put on a shine with the wax). Paint correction really requires a DA. I have a Griots 6" and it's a wonderful tool - very powerful and has a lifetime warranty.
For swirl correction, use Megs Ultimate Compound or #105 (UC is very easy to use; #105, not so much) on an orange pad. Then move to Ult Polish on a white pad. Very mild correction, but adds a nice dark and wet look. Then I finish up with Black Fire Wet Diamond (AWESOME!!!!!) on a red pad, and maybe some Wet Glaze 2.0 for that final pop.

Jim

 

Galaxy and Jammz, are correct if you are going to do any correction you need the right machine and there are several on the market that are good. The cheap buffers are only good for putting waxes and glazes on you need a DA or a rotory to accomplish true paint correction. As far as product it's all about personal preference and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of compouns and polishes out there to choose from and there are even more waxes and glazes. If you really want to jump head first into this really deep and dark rabbit hole read the detailing stickey at the top of the forum before going any further.

Take a look at this thread I have about 15-18 hours into just the outside of my wifes car.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...e-hundred.html

 

Sorry, but I have to respectful disagree with jaymz's advice. The 105 is very capable stuff and very safe for what it is and what it can accomplish. However, he's telling you to use a very agressive product on a very aggressive pad. 180 degrees out from what you should be doing. You want to use the least aggressive product/tools/process you can to achieve the desired results. He also failed to mention if you use 105, it will be mandatory to polish out the remnants with 205. Yes, you could use ultimate polish as mentioned, but 105 and 205 go together like PB&J! Why do that if 205 on a white pad will do the job in the first place?? One thing he was correct about, 105 is not easy to use and takes practice. It's great stuff if you want/need to tackle it, just be prepared. Go to autogeek and shop around for kits and all kinds of packages...you'll be hooked.

If you consider yourself a beginner, I suggest staying away from any compound until you have a DA and plenty of practice with it. Odds are, if the swirls and blemishes are as light as you say they are, you most likely don't need a compound anyways. You can do some fairly major paint correction with 105. Removing light swirls that a wax covers up doesnt really constitute correction. It just needs some touch up.

Auto geek has detailing forums that are pretty active also...read there until your eyes bleed, LOL.

And to piggyback on Daves post...here's my truck with about 30+ hours of work and I didn't even get to the frame in these pics. you gotta really enjoy doing it...a full blown hobby...to do this kinda work and keep it this way. But it doesn't have to go quite that extreme to still have a super looking truck.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...-mod-done.html

Dave...I meant to tell you in that other thread, the paint on that car looks great for a factory Ford paint job. Very little noticeable orange peel, which is unusual for newer Ford paint jobs. They're usually horrible.

 

my new wheels just waiting on tires..

 

That middle picture is the only one that really shows anything and from what I'm seeing there, I think 205 on a white pad on DA about a 5-5.5 speed will clean that up extremely nice. You don't need a compound if the rest of the truck is no worse than that.

 

I agree, the paint looks like it's in really good shape and does not need an agressive paint correction stratgey but if there are spots that need more attention you can spot treat those as needed. The biggest thing to keeping the paint looking nice after paint correction is changing your washing habits/procedures like using the two bucket method with grit guards in the bottom of the buckets as well as using top quality wash mits and knowing when to move the wash mitt to wheel/tire duty.

 

Thank's I am really suprised there is not much orange peel as well.

 

Ya its mainly the hood and top of the fenders. Thank u all for the advice. I greatly appreciate it.

 

U guys say all ill need is 205. Do I need a da to apply and if so how idiot proof is it.

 

Using a DA is pretty hard to mess up you will really work at it to burn paint with a DA. You will also get the best performance out of the 205 with a DA rather than trying to do it by hand your shoulders and arms will hate you if you do it by hand. You can also use Meg's #80 if you want more of a one step product and I still have it in my stash along with 105,205 and just about the entire line up of Poorboys SSR swirl removers.

Check out the kits Auto Detailing Solutions has and don't be afraid to call Rick he is a great guy and will answer any and all questions you might have.

http://www.autodetailingsolutions.ne...polishers.html

 

If you really want to know how deep and dark this rabbit hole is read this thread. I have since added a couple hundred MF towels and a few products to my collection since then. I am not going to post a dollar amount on what I have because my wife has no idea and I would like to keep it that way........ Also come on over to the Cafe, lots of great people over there willing to help and answer questions.

http://www.thedetailerscafe.com/smf/index.php

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...-supply-3.html