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Toro1966

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Hey guys - I am brand new to the forums and haven't detailed in a while. I have spent a good amount of time lurking, reading how-to's and articles. I am not trying to waste anyone's time, but if someone can help me out with a few questions, I would appreciate it. My vehicle is a brand new 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali in Stone Blue Metallic.

1. This is a truck and will likely only be really detailed once or twice a year. That doesn't mean it won't be taken care of and cleaned and washed, etc. I am extremely retentive and the truck I just got rid of I had for 12 years and bought new as well. So since it is only going to be multi-step detailed a couple of times a year, what steps should I do (clean, clay, polish, seal, wax, etc)

2. I know asking what products people use is like asking what kind of deodorant people use or what kind of beer they like to drink, but I am overwhelmed by the sheer number and brands. What is a good go to set of products? They don't have to be by the same manufacturer. I have a Porter Cable DA and I do know how to use it if that helps.

Thanks in advance everyone!
Cheers,
Ray
 
Toro1966 said:
Hey guys - I am brand new to the forums and haven't detailed in a while. I have spent a good amount of time lurking, reading how-to's and articles. I am not trying to waste anyone's time, but if someone can help me out with a few questions, I would appreciate it. My vehicle is a brand new 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali in Stone Blue Metallic.

1. This is a truck and will likely only be really detailed once or twice a year. That doesn't mean it won't be taken care of and cleaned and washed, etc. I am extremely retentive and the truck I just got rid of I had for 12 years and bought new as well. So since it is only going to be multi-step detailed a couple of times a year, what steps should I do (clean, clay, polish, seal, wax, etc)

2. I know asking what products people use is like asking what kind of deodorant people use or what kind of beer they like to drink, but I am overwhelmed by the sheer number and brands. What is a good go to set of products? They don't have to be by the same manufacturer. I have a Porter Cable DA and I do know how to use it if that helps.

Thanks in advance everyone!
Cheers,
Ray
Click to expand...


Welcome!

Me personally i like Menzerna's line of Polishes and Compounds. The reason being is that they have a long work time. They have what i believe is called NANO abrasives, which is great and you can take your time and not have to worry about the product drying up on the surface.

What does the surface of the vehicle look like? What are you looking to achieve?

Some Other Products that i like are...

Wolfgang
Menzerna
HD Products
Meguiars
 
Thanks Freak. I appreciate the input. The truck is brand new and the finish looks great. I have not done the baggie test to see if there are surface contaminants, but I would assume there would be. Every new car I have bought has needed to be clayed when I got it...
 
Toro1966 said:
Thanks Freak. I appreciate the input. The truck is brand new and the finish looks great. I have not done the baggie test to see if there are surface contaminants, but I would assume there would be. Every new car I have bought has needed to be clayed when I got it...
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If the truck is swirl free maybe you could just do a clay and seal, or possibly a light polish to bring out the gloss then seal.

I use Menzerna Powerlock sealant. But there are many others. I personally like sealants because they last longer. With proper washing and drying it will last a long while.
 
Welcome, I am new too and just reading a ton of posts to learn this stuff, plus watching lots of youtube. Be sure to watch Mike's DA videos.

Here is what I did: I decided that the only way to learn was to give it a go. I bought a Porter Cable DA kit, that included a set of pads. Then I decided just to start with 3 step Meguirs Ultimate Compound/Polish/Wax. These are safe, and the abrasive breaks down, so you can't screw up, especially with a DA. The Ultimate Liquid Wax is a sealant, so you get good experience with it.(You probably don't need compound with your new car.)

You will get 18 different suggestions of products, and they will all be correct. You can't really go wrong, and I suspect that only by doing do you learn what works for you.

So get:

Meguirs Smooth Clay kit (this will give you clay, detailer and a MF towel)
Meguirs Ultimate Compound (optional)
Meguirs Ultimate Polish
Meguirs Ultimate Liquid Wax
3 microfiber towels
Lake Country Flat or CSS pads: 2 orange, 2 white, 2 red

Have fun!
 
Welcome to the forum it is full of tons of info. As far as your questions go you will get a lot of different opinions I'm sure so here is mine.

Even new cars set before you get them and the paint can be rough. I would get a good car wash Megs Hyper Wash is great and reasonable priced. If the paint feels rough you probably need to clay it before polishing or waxing it. You can place your hand in a plastic baggie and lightly rub it over the paint and get a better idea of any rough spots. If it feels rough you need to clay it before polishing or waxing. After claying the wax will only be as good as the finish it is applied to. With that being said I will use a polish before applying a wax or sealant. there are numerous good polishes sold at Autogeek. I normally use Chemical Guys Blacklight or Meg's 205. Both leave excellent results. After the polish I would apply a wax. Again there are many great waxes and not always necessarily the more expensive is better. For a vehicle that I wax only a couple times a year I like to use Collinite 845. You can read about it here at the forum. It's a great wax and really last and not expensive. Hope that helps a little.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. Having the clear bra installed tomorrow and then I'll hopefully get to detailing and pics this weekend! I appreciate all of the help!
 
Hey everyone - I am just about ready for my first wash and detail. I've had the truck for about three weeks now and it's been killing me not to wash it, but I want to do the full treatment this first time since i know I might only end up doing it a few times a year. I have been looking through the hundreds of threads and the myriad of products and I think I am going to try the HD line. Because I'll be doing both my truck and my sons older mustang (whihc has some swirls), I am think of getting the HD Cut, HD Polish, HD Speed, and HD Poxy. Is that about right - or is that overkill? FOr my truck I think I can get away with the speed and the Poxy. But for his Mustang, I am probably going to need the cut. Do I need to wax this after I seal it with the Poxy? If so, what is compatible with the 3D line?

I would also like to know what quick detailer goes with the HD line. I have some Megs Final Inspection/Last Touch, but I don't know if that works with the HD line.

Finally - what is recommended for the black plastic trim on the truck - particular around the wheel wells. It is in new condition, but I want to keep it that way. What's a good product for that? Thanks!
 
Toro1966 said:
Hey guys - I am brand new to the forums and haven't detailed in a while. I have spent a good amount of time lurking, reading how-to's and articles. I am not trying to waste anyone's time, but if someone can help me out with a few questions, I would appreciate it. My vehicle is a brand new 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali in Stone Blue Metallic.

1. This is a truck and will likely only be really detailed once or twice a year. That doesn't mean it won't be taken care of and cleaned and washed, etc. I am extremely retentive and the truck I just got rid of I had for 12 years and bought new as well. So since it is only going to be multi-step detailed a couple of times a year, what steps should I do (clean, clay, polish, seal, wax, etc)

2. I know asking what products people use is like asking what kind of deodorant people use or what kind of beer they like to drink, but I am overwhelmed by the sheer number and brands. What is a good go to set of products? They don't have to be by the same manufacturer. I have a Porter Cable DA and I do know how to use it if that helps.

Thanks in advance everyone!
Cheers,
Ray
Click to expand...

HD Products are treat, user friendly, and very affordable. I highly reccomend waht ever you go with stick with the same family of products.

HD Speed topped with HD Poxy is a great combination. You'll get excellent results and about 6 months worth of protection.
 
Thanks custom! What about the Adapt? When would that be used instead of the cut, speed or polish?

Also, what brand of pads should I get? Does it matter?
 
Toro1966 said:
Thanks custom! What about the Adapt? When would that be used instead of the cut, speed or polish?

Also, what brand of pads should I get? Does it matter?
Click to expand...

I have the entire line up, Adapt, Cut, Polish, Speed and Poxy. At this point I've not needed to use Cut or Adapt. Polish and Speed have fit the bill so far. So I'd say Adapt for a more aggressive situation.
 
Thanks! What pads do you use? How is their quick detailer spray?
 
To me 6 months of protection for HD Speed and HD Poxy seems kind of optimistic but their are so many factors when it comes to how long a LSP will last its hard to say. If this is something you just want to do once a year and then follow up with maintenance details I would go with a coating or a really long lasting sealant.
From the HD line just like others have mentioned I would go with HD for their polishes because they are really user friendly but after you have it looking the way you want it I would apply HD Nitro Seal. Nitro Seal will give you at least a year and it looks amazing, the kit will also do a couple cars.
Duragloss is one of the most under rated brands out their. You can't go wrong with any of their sealants (which they refer to as polishes), right around a year of durability for most of there products. All of their LSPs can be maintained with their spray sealant Aquawax, which is another great product.
 
geekdout said:
To me 6 months of protection for HD Speed and HD Poxy seems kind of optimistic but their are so many factors when it comes to how long a LSP will last its hard to say. If this is something you just want to do once a year and then follow up with maintenance details I would go with a coating or a really long lasting sealant.
From the HD line just like others have mentioned I would go with HD for their polishes because they are really user friendly but after you have it looking the way you want it I would apply HD Nitro Seal. Nitro Seal will give you at least a year and it looks amazing, the kit will also do a couple cars.
Duragloss is one of the most under rated brands out their. You can't go wrong with any of their sealants (which they refer to as polishes), right around a year of durability for most of there products. All of their LSPs can be maintained with their spray sealant Aquawax, which is another great product.
Click to expand...

This is after 4 months of hard 24/7 Florida summer sun and tropical rains, washed only twice and NO detail sprays applied after washes.

I posted the original detail, HD Speed topped with Poxy hanging tough in the Florida summer.

Consider that if this Camaro was washed more frequently, garage kept and occasionally topped with HD Express you could easily get much longer than six months out of the products.

 
This was the same day after topping the Poxy with the new Blackfire Nuba Spray Wax. You can clearly see the rounder beading of the rain.

 
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