The Truck Roof

Belo

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So last weekend I detailed my silverado. Wash, ironx, clay, rinse, dry, tape, hdspeed, cleaned glass inside/out, WETS. It's a 4 hour+ process for me for a mostly defect free vehicle and I'm always beat at the end.

So I'm going to be honest and I'm wondering if I'm alone and will take a beating if I am. I totally skipped, ironx, clay and hdspeed on the roof. I can't see it, nobody else can and unless someone is judging me from a bridge overpass, I'm not overly concerned.

So what says you Autogeek? 20 lashes, or no big deal?
 
50 lashes. Hahaha

It’s your own vehicle so that’s fine.

Personally I never ever skip the roof.
 
I don't completely skip my roof but I am not overly concerned with appearance. I just make sure it has protection.
 
As said above, I don't spend a bunch of time trying to make the roof perfectly defect-free.

However, the roof and hood take the brunt of the sun. And I would hate not to have any protection on it.

In fact, I will always throw more than one coat of LSP on those two panels.
 
I personally would not recommend to skip the top. If your pickup is not garage kept and sitting in the sun all day everyday.
It’s taking a beating from the sun and really needs to have a good coat to protect from the UV rays. You don’t have have it swirl free since it’s your daily driver just do a one step.But it’s you truck..
 
My truck is red so I'd be concerned the sun turning a unprotected roof pink...a little spray wax used as a drying aid is better then nothing.

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So last weekend I detailed my silverado. Wash, ironx, clay, rinse, dry, tape, hdspeed, cleaned glass inside/out, WETS. It's a 4 hour+ process for me for a mostly defect free vehicle and I'm always beat at the end.

So I'm going to be honest and I'm wondering if I'm alone and will take a beating if I am. I totally skipped, ironx, clay and hdspeed on the roof.

So what says you Autogeek? 20 lashes, or no big deal?


Same lol. Im trying to change my ways tho....

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
There are parts of my vehicles I just HATE spending time on. The plastic front and rear of my Challenger and the roof of my F150. So these I ceramic coat and wax/sealant the rest whenever I feel like it...which is too often haha
 
I know the pain. It's a lot of vehicle. And there's instances where large SUVs can even be worse, take a Chevy-GMC Suburban as one example. Many too have roof racks, and trim making the job even harder yet.

That continual up and down off a ladder takes its eventual toll.

And I'd say for such, here's where a durable, and longer lasting Ceramic Coating is very beneficial.

I'd say a Hood takes the biggest beating due to not only sun, but also engine heat, and it seems this is where lesser Waxes and Sealants just don't hold up anywhere near as long as a Coating for protection.

The prep you explain is about typical prep for a coating, you do it once, then can have lasting protection up to 2 years, instead of 3-5 months on average.
 
I know the pain. It's a lot of vehicle. And there's instances where large SUVs can even be worse, take a Chevy-GMC Suburban as one example. Many too have roof racks, and trim making the job even harder yet.

That continual up and down off a ladder takes its eventual toll.

And I'd say for such, here's where a durable, and longer lasting Ceramic Coating is very beneficial.

I'd say a Hood takes the biggest beating due to not only sun, but also engine heat, and it seems this is where lesser Waxes and Sealants just don't hold up anywhere near as long as a Coating for protection.

The prep you explain is about typical prep for a coating, you do it once, then can have lasting protection up to 2 years, instead of 3-5 months on average.

man, I totally forgot about the roof rack, my wife's explorer has one and man it's worse than doing a whole truck. At least the latest gen silverados have next to no plastic or trim. That explorer has it freaking everywhere!
 
So honest question, all jokes aside. I live in upstate NY. Sun has never been a big concern for us haha. Modern cars really affected that much? Especially those you never plan to own for more than 10 years? I know I saw my fair share of paint damage when living down south, but it still always seemed like they were an 80's cutlass. Our cars up north rust before they fade...
 
•IMO:
-Being you’re in the area of the Country that
usually receives an ungodly amount of snowfall
(a reliable indicator of the presence of seasonal
road salts), it would behoove you to get an up
close and personal view of the roof every now
and then to check if there are signs of possible
or impending corrosion; paint deteriorations; etc.


•Or, if you’re in the:
”Roof Rust”...What me worry? camp;

-You could always install a Lift Kit...:wowwow:



Bob
 
I totally skipped, ironx, clay and hdspeed on the roof.

So what says you Autogeek? 20 lashes, or no big deal?


20 lashes.


Like others said, the roof along with any horizontal panel takes the biggest hit from the sun and also water and air-borne pollution. If you live in a sun state like I do, it's the horizontal panels that suffer from clearcoat failure the most.

A smooth surface will last longer than a rough surface


So yeah - claying and machine polishing will go a long ways to enable the paint to hold up over the service life of the vehicle.

For protection - after the 3D Speed - maintain with Optimum Polymer Technology's Car Wax. It's quick, fast and simple. Spray-on, spread around and wipe off. Repeat.



Patented UV Protection - Optimum Car Wax - by Dr. Ghodoussi at Autogeek.com

Real_UV_Protection_05.jpg





:)
 
So honest question, all jokes aside. I live in upstate NY. Sun has never been a big concern for us haha. Modern cars really affected that much? Especially those you never plan to own for more than 10 years? I know I saw my fair share of paint damage when living down south, but it still always seemed like they were an 80's cutlass. Our cars up north rust before they fade...

The 2-fold advantage of a durable coating is not only better and longer lasting protection, but less wear and tear on the owner!

The initial cost outlay seems high for such, but is actually more economical in the long run IMO. Factor placing a price on your time and labor. To me, that's also an important consideration.

Such will make your life much easier, knowing that all you might have to do to maintain is a simple spray on and wipe off product.

Some people remark about certain toppings effecting certain properties of a coating, Of course it's mostly true.

Let's just for say you applied CQuartz UK Coating and then simply used an inexpensive drying aid-detailer spray like Duragloss Aquawax. No harm, no foul really IMO.

I think it would be quite rare if any of them would detrimentally effect such durable coating's protection, and longevity.
There's many supposed better compatible toppers for such coatings now on the market which might help better retain the Coating's properties such as greater hydrophobicity, and dirt shrugging qualities.
 
The 2-fold advantage of a durable coating is not only better and longer lasting protection, but less wear and tear on the owner!

The initial cost outlay seems high for such, but is actually more economical in the long run IMO. Factor placing a price on your time and labor. To me, that's also an important consideration.

Such will make your life much easier, knowing that all you might have to do to maintain is a simple spray on and wipe off product.

Some people remark about certain toppings effecting certain properties of a coating, Of course it's mostly true.

Let's just for say you applied CQuartz UK Coating and then simply used an inexpensive drying aid-detailer spray like Duragloss Aquawax. No harm, no foul really IMO.

I think it would be quite rare if any of them would detrimentally effect such durable coating's protection, and longevity.
There's many supposed better compatible toppers for such coatings now on the market which might help better retain the Coating's properties such as greater hydrophobicity, and dirt shrugging qualities.

fair point. I guess I get lost in this forum sometimes and forget we're all at different places. Me, I'm a father of 3 with a lot of hobbies. So I get to detail each of our 3 cars once a year. I do a was as needed and do spray on LSPs throughout the year. Then I see guys who do test panels of 6 different products and forget they're pros or really, really into detailing. Heck before I had kids I even did a 2 step haha.

I think it's fair to say that it's important to remember the topper or spray on rinse/wipe off lsp is a critical part. I've been using mk 10 minute, but have a few products on my wish list that i'm eager to try soon.
 
I have an F150, the roof is not swirl free but I do put extra wax or sealant on it . It’s 4 years old n this summer it is getting a one of ceramics sold at AGeek.
 
My truck roof doesn't get the full clay/iron removal treatment, but it does get a sealant when I do the rest of the vehicle.
 
I don't chase swirls or imperfections up there but I'll do a quick polish and seal it up with the same stuff as the rest of the paint.
 
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