Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

[MARKCORE]

First let me say thanks again! You guys here rock!!

So I'm starting my second detail this weekend and am a buit nervous since the truck is so old. It's a 1989 Dodge pick up. (Pictures coming tonight) The truck really isn't int oo bad of shape since the owner garage keeps this truck when it's not on the road. But like most trucks, it's used as a truck so it has plenty of scratches, and scuffs all around it.

My questions and worries:

Since the paint is so old, and looks to be very dry, will Ultimate Compound be too abrasive for the paint? (I'll be doing this all by hand BTW)

My plans was:
Wash - Gold Class
Claybar
UC
UP
Gold Class UW
then UD spray

Next question, the truck has a bed liner. What should I use to bring the black back to it? Gold Class Trim Detailer?

I have 5-6 days to complete this truck so I'll be taking my time!!!

[Marc08EX]

Re: Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

Meguiar's always advocates to use the least aggressive method to get the job done. What this means is to use a less aggressive product than UC such as SwirlX and see what the results look like. If you're satisfied with the outcome and the correction exceeds your expectations then you're good to go. If there are still a lot of swirl marks and paint defects then you're going to have to step up to UC like you originally planned. Please do this on a test spot first before working on the entire car. The test spot is used so that you know what are the right products to use before tackling the entire car.

Does the paint use a base coat/clear coat system or is it single stage? The reason I ask is because I've read here that UP works better on the BC/CC systems... If the paint in your truck is single stage paint then you might want to try M07 Show Car Glaze instead of UP.

What do you mean by Gold Class UW? Using either Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax or Ultimate wax is good. There's no need to apply both waxes. If you insist though then I would suggest applying UW wax first and letting it cure for approximately 12 hours to allow the synthetic polymers to cross-link and bond to the paint. After that then you can apply the Gold Class Carnauba Plus wax.

As for the trim, the Gold Class trim detailer would work but have you tried Ultimate Protectant yet? That works great on exterior trim! It lasts a long time and a little product goes a LOOOONNNNNGGGGGG way.

Hope this helps! Good luck and please share with us some pictures!

[MARKCORE]

Re: Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

Meguiar's always advocates to use the least aggressive method to get the job done. What this means is to use a less aggressive product than UC such as SwirlX and see what the results look like. If you're satisfied with the outcome and the correction exceeds your expectations then you're good to go. If there are still a lot of swirl marks and paint defects then you're going to have to step up to UC like you originally planned. Please do this on a test spot first before working on the entire car. The test spot is used so that you know what are the right products to use before tackling the entire car.

Does the paint use a base coat/clear coat system or is it single stage? The reason I ask is because I've read here that UP works better on the BC/CC systems... If the paint in your truck is single stage paint then you might want to try M07 Show Car Glaze instead of UP.

What do you mean by Gold Class UW? Using either Gold Class Carnauba Plus Wax or Ultimate wax is good. There's no need to apply both waxes. If you insist though then I would suggest applying UW wax first and letting it cure for approximately 12 hours to allow the synthetic polymers to cross-link and bond to the paint. After that then you can apply the Gold Class Carnauba Plus wax.

As for the trim, the Gold Class trim detailer would work but have you tried Ultimate Protectant yet? That works great on exterior trim! It lasts a long time and a little product goes a LOOOONNNNNGGGGGG way.

Hope this helps! Good luck and please share with us some pictures!

Thank you for your response.

I am not sure of how the paint was layed down, it is a factory 1989 paint job.

By UW, I was refering to the Liquid Ultimate Wax.

I havent used the Ultimate Protectant yet. Good for use on a bed liner?

Thanks again!

[agp56]

Re: Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

The late eighties time frame was mostly base coat/ clear coat paint, but not entirely. When you put wax on a small area, and then take it off, single stage will show transfer of the color onto your removal cloth, bc/cc will show no noticeable transfer.

[MARKCORE]

Re: Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

The late eighties time frame was mostly base coat/ clear coat paint, but not entirely. When you put wax on a small area, and then take it off, single stage will show transfer of the color onto your removal cloth, bc/cc will show no noticeable transfer.

Ok good to know, I'll test it.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Questions before I start: 22 year old truck

Thank you for your response.

I am not sure of how the paint was layed down, it is a factory 1989 paint job.

By UW, I was refering to the Liquid Ultimate Wax.

I havent used the Ultimate Protectant yet. Good for use on a bed liner?

Thanks again!

Yes that's correct... You can just take a foam applicator pad and use a cleaner polish such as SwirlX or Ultimate Compound and rub it in a section or your test area. If you see the paint's color get transferred to your foam pad then it's single stage paint. If you don't see anything then it should be base coat / clear coat.

Ultimate Protectant is used for all exterior plastic and trim.