For what its worth to you I keep it even more simple if i am not going to Iron X before claying. I wash first and don't bother drying at all. I then soap up a section at a time with the same soap i used to wash it and then run my nano glove over every panel. Once done with that section i rinse and move on. After i have nanoskinned the entire vehicle it's thoroughly rinsed then dried. Then blow out all tight areas. Basically i only fully dry once.
THIS!!! :dblthumb2:
I was going to just go ahead and reply... then read down far enough to read this. :iagree:
To the OP...
I'm willing to bet that there are far and away more swirls in that white paint that you realize, FAR MORE.
It's just hard to see them, but they've been there on every truck I've ever seen, especially if it's been washed by someone that isn't your typical OCD Autogeek type.
Several things come to mind.
1: That paint is HARD
2: You'll need a fairly aggressive pad and compound to fix it
3: You need to IRON-X it along with Nanoskin/claying it!!!
4: If you're compounding it, you might want to do a polish as well. (At least this first time.) :xyxthumbs:
5: Applying a sealant is a fantastic idea!
As for your process...
I'd do the wheels, tires, wheel wells first, along with the bumpers.
Then wash it to remove the biggest dirt and rinse.
*you can blow it dry, but don't need to totally dry it at this point*
Then you should IRON-X it, rinse again, then wash while it's wet.
NOW you can Nanoskin/clay it with a splash of CLEAN soapy water on each panel as you go. No need to do it all without rinsing either. Just splash some soapy water on the roof, Nanoskin, then the glass, Nanoskin then rinse that area.
Next the hood, tops of the fenders, tops of the doors, with a splash and Nanoskin, then rinse.
Of course next would be the rest of the fenders, then rinse.
Doors, then rinse.
Bed, tailgate, (
one side at a time) then rinse.... etc. etc. etc.
Once it is ALL Nanoskinned and rinsed you can re-wet it and go about blowing out the cracks and crevices. Without any sealant (or coating) on it you'll NEVER be able to blow the paint dry, but you can get over half the water off of it. This is why it was suggested that you get a good drying towel, the Cobra Guzzler is one of the (ONLY) Autogeek towels that I'd recommend, for drying, and they are really good! Don't EVER wipe your towels to dry the surface, because there isn't any lubricity in the water. Just place them flat on the surface, then pat, or rub, you open hand on the back of the towel to absorb the water on the surface. Of course a quality Korean Waffle Weave is also an option. I prefer the ones from Ian in San Diego. There is another one, from the guys up in Idaho, in white, have a normal sized one, and one that is HUGE... but I don't like using it, (
don't terribly trust it).
As for a compound and pad combo that'll do that hard white Ford paint.
Meguiar's D300 with a orange Lake Country pad.
Meguiar's D300 with a Meguiar's Microfiber Cutting Disc
By and large... these last few years D300 is my most used product from Meguiar's.
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, again, with either of the above pads. (also doesn't dust)
Meguiar's M101, GREAT compound, tons of cut, but may re
HD Cut, or possibly HD Adapt.
I have the latter, and it DOES NOT dust, (neither do any HD products) but be warned that HD products have a VERY different learning curve.
Both of the HD products would be great with an orange LC pad, even moving to a white one with a heavier cut product to finish better.
Menzerna FG400 with an orange (or white) LC pad. It is one simply amazing product that'll cut AS WELL AS finish like crazy (
on that hard paint).
rops:
Menzerna 1000 or 1500, also with an orange pad, or microfiber pad.... just that they don't cut as well, and for some amazing reason.... might not finish as well either.
And of course Rupes pads and compounds, blue, green, perhaps even yellow, along with the matching color pads from Rupes (
both the blue foam and yellow foam as well as the blue and yellow microfiber pads are AWESOME). Those won't come into play here however... that is... unless you're planning on investing in a Rupes machine. SHOULD YOU DO THAT... I'd highly recommend the Rupes Duetto 'kit' along with a hand full of extra Rupes pads. :dblthumb2:
For a sealant... Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 is a seriously good sealant. Of course Menzerna PowerLock would be a close cousin.
For a more affordable, (and available locally) solution... Meguiar's M21 2.0 is a GREAT sealant as well!
Then...... there are the choices of a true AIO.
Meguiar's D151 can, and WILL, do great correction on most paints, as well as leave a sealant after the fact. You can play around with a variety of pads with it to fine tune your level of cut. You can ALSO top the 'built-in' sealant with your choice of polymer sealants.
Menzerna One-Step 3-in-1 is another option.
Then of course 3D HD Speed is an AIO product with middle of the road cut like the other two above. I've not used it, (just have too many others here in the arsenal) but I know it'll react like the rest of the HD products and provide extended working times, with literally zero dusting.
THAT SAID... I've never used an AIO that dusted, and doesn't have extended working times!
There are plenty of others... PLENTY indeed. And I've used a bunch of them... but I prefer to compound and seal, just get MUCH better protection (and look) that way. :dblthumb2:
