[Brandon1]

Originally Posted by DevinSixtySeven

ok brandon, i'm gonna give this a shot...starting with a filthy truck and a diy carwash at the spray station, tho. i guess my results may vary, but it's pretty clean. will the "wax" stuff in the spray-on make a difference...should i just mitt it with simple green and duragloss #901 cwc and then continue, or can i start as-is?

here's my shopping list...

simple green (got plenty)
clay magic
mequiar's water magnet
optimum compound+p/c 7424+pad kit+backing plate (can these be purchased otc or must they be ordered? i'm bored today...home sick and whatnot)...not going by hand, lets just say i have a lot of "defects" in the paint...
vroom microfiber for excess compound removal
mezerna final polish II or duragloss #652
clearkote red moose glaze
duragloss #105 total performance polish (sealant for paint & windows)

sooooooo...can i get all this stuff otc at advance or pepboys or lowes (with the exception of the moose and pad/backing parts)...and the pads, can i substitute stuff from lowes or wherever rather than the ones from autogeek...i'm definately in to instant gratification , tho i'll definately get this stuff from the geek rather than lowes since lowes seems to be going a bit downhill these days .

and...can i do this process over a couple days...i think the claying part is gonna take forever . my truck is FILTHY. but im also not going wheeling for a few months and snowboard season is like "bring on the road grime", so clean and gunk-repellent would be great.

thanks brandon

-sean

If you want, you can start at the diy carwash, but use your own stuff. Also, do the final rinse with the spot-free. After you do your "big" detail at the diy carwash, I would reccomend not going there and getting someting like Optimum No-Rinse wash (waterless wash you can do in your driveway in about 15min). Oh, dont use the wax at the carwash, it's actually a watered down spray wax, and IMO is crap.

All of your stuff looks good, I would add a nice washmitt and some good tireshine.

All of the duragloss stuff can be found at Napa or Carquest(go on their website to find a dealer near you) the PC 7336sp can be found usually at lowes, but the backing plate, optimum, mezerna, and clearcoat is only found online. We Are Car Care ! Car Wax - Car Polish - Auto Detailing Supplies & Car Accessories has the best prices. They also have several Porter cable "kits" that come with the PC, backing plate, and a couple pads for cheap.

You can do some stuff over a day or so, but if you drive the truck anywhere, you have to wash again before you start polishing/claying/etc. Even if the truck sits overnight outside, wash before you start again. It's to big a risk to be buffin dirt into your paint.

I usually leave mine in the garage and work on it when it's raining outside, and then I drive one of our other cars to work/school.

Hope this helps. If you know anyone that could benifit from this article, send them the link. I am doing my part to make the world a better place, one car at a time.