New from NH and looking for good advice

[duramaxblade]

Hey, new here and wanted to take some time to introduce myself, what the trucks are that I have, and some of the issues that I have had. Maybe somebody will be able to give me some advice. I frequent a bunch of other diesel forums and snowplowing forums where I have found lots and lots of great advice from really knowledgeable guys. I figure if we all spent the amount of time getting on these sites we must really like what we do.

First off I have a 2004 Tahoe. It's black and a PIA to keep clean and swirl free. There are a couple dings and dents, but over all its in really good condition. Tan leather, which I have to be honest Chevy's leather is tough to keep in good condition. It seems like it's really thin. The armrest leather will need replacing soon. So for this truck, any help with what I can use to cut down on the swirls and scratches would be a big help; along with good leather care.

Second, this one is my baby. It's a 2003 Chevy 2500HD extended cab, short bed, Duramax diesel, LT. This one is white with tan leather. This truck is in really good condition. It's also a real work truck. I plow with it in the winter and I know that I beat the hell out of it, and I run it for at least 24hrs straight each storm. I am nice guy though and I bathe her after every storm. I just got her this year and I am noticing that I am getting these tiny little rust spots and I can't wash them off. At first I thought that the paint was rusting, but these spots are also on the plastic trim pieces, so I know whatever it is must be on the paint but not through. Any suggestions? Same with the tan leather, but everything is still intact here, as the truck was really well taken care of for being 6 years old.

Any input for what techniques you guys use would be great. I would like to get what I need instead of keep on buying crap that never seems to work or last long or get the results that I am looking for. I usually use a polish on the trucks, but I am thinking that I should start using a wax on the black Tahoe. But anything that anyone can recommend would be great. I am also thinking about buying the Porter Cable DA polisher. Good bad? What do you guys think about layering the polish and wax? Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Welcome to AG! Chevy has a CC on the hard side. What products do you already have? If we know some of the other stuff you have, it can help us to help you better.

I just noticed you're looking into getting the PC. It's a great machine for beginners. I have one and love it. I'm going to tell you something that I wish I would have known. Invest in a very good quality compound and polish. Take a look at the Menzerna 5.5" PC kit. It's great for cars with hard CCs like ours. Usually after a compound and polish, you'll want to put on either a sealant as your LSP, or a good carnauba wax. Some people, including me, will put a sealant on, let it cure, then top with a nuba.

Menzerna kit, 5.5 lake country pads, porter cable menzerna kit, ceramic clear polishing kit, Mercedes polishing kit

 

[duramaxblade]

Thanks for the quick response. To be honest I really don't have anything. I have always grabbed what was on sale. I have always just washed the truck and then threw on some turtle wax, all by hand. I use the eagle one wheel neverdull wadding polish for the wheels. What is a LSP? I am finding out that I know nothing. I don't even know the correct way to wash a vehicle. Could you give me some ground up advice? In this case we don't even have to pretend that I know nothing...because I really don't know anything. I think that tomorrow if I can find out enough tonight I will place an order here. I just want to make sure I get what I need, so I am not waiting for something else to show up or get it from a store. On the other hand, I am not opposed to getting some stuff from autozone, or advanced auto parts, to get started doing the process correctly then buy the real deal stuff. Any suggestions?

 

[duramaxblade]

Oh yeah, my girl friend had me convinced me that the easiest way to clean the trucks was take them to a touch free car wash. Thats what I usually did. But since I changed jobs and will no longer be driving thru mud every day I would like to get this all figured out. Thanks

 

[sal329]

Welcome to AG. The carwashes are your swirl problems. The PC is a great start or if money allows a Flex would be very nice. Menzerna polishes or Meguiars 105 and 205 all work well. Duargloss 501 is my favorite paint cleaner, you can use it as a sealant as it works awesome. I like to use 501 as a cleaner apply with PC and wipe off as you would a polish, then top with a sealant. I like Finish Kare 1000p, Duragloss 105 and Duragloss 111.
For leather cleaning distilled water/woolite mixed 10:1 works great or invest in a shark steamer. Then a good leather conditioner like Four star, Meguiars or Tropicare all work well.