Risky proposition

[gizzsdad]

A first for me - will be helping a friend with an exterior detail on Saturday. He has helped me very much with IT things, so trying to pay him back a little, as well as just be a nice guy.

He has a late model extended cab Tacoma pick-up (black) that alternately sits out, and some times in a covered car port. He likes to keep it nice, but not OCD like many of us!

I'm expecting it to be a little rough, so going to keep it simple. Plan on a very thorough wash, last step being with a Nanoskin fine mitt. Then I plan on applying McKee's 37 360 with a white foam pad by hand, so will not be able to work it in until it disappears the way you would with a DA. Will be my first time with the 360, but I can't help but believe it should produce a significant improvement. He will help me with the wash, and with the buffing/removal of the hazed 360.

Any advice or warnings??

[Setec Astronomy]

Yeah, don't work on a vehicle that large by hand? Why aren't you going to use a machine?

[gizzsdad]

Don't have a lot of experience with a DA. Don't really want the learning curve to be on someone else's (nice) vehicle.

My wife's Frontier is actually bigger, and the two of us handle it without any issues.

[WaxMaster1]

Oh man. Like Setec said, you gotta use a machine. I wouldn't even think about trying to correct something by hand. Wax, maybe, correct, no way! With a Griot's 6" or PC, you can't really hurt anything.

[Zubair]

If you not after perfect correction and just want an improvement or more gloss theres nothing wrong in working by hand. I'm sure your steps will yield some improvement. We all started off by hand and progressed to something akin a PC and so forth.

[AutowerxDetailing]

It's going to be pointless working by hand. The marring caused by the Nanoskin probably won't even be removed by the XMT360 if you are only working by hand. Even if you buy a DA and only use it on speed 1 it will produce better and faster results compared to working by hand and you won't have to worry about damaging anything at such a low speed.

[Rsurfer]

Don't have a lot of experience with a DA. Don't really want the learning curve to be on someone else's (nice) vehicle.

My wife's Frontier is actually bigger, and the two of us handle it without any issues.

Is that how you pay a friend back, polish your wife's car? LOL:props:

[PaulMys]

Get a DA. I hand-polished my brand new Ram that I babied for 3 years, but by then even being diligent, I couldn't keep up with all the swirls.

I couldn't imagine the condition of your friends paint (him not being aware, and black to boot), being anything you could correct by hand.

If you've ever used a power tool, there is only about a one minute "learning curve" on a DA. You'll get it immediately. Technique comes in time, but quite honestly, by the time you get done with a whole truck you'll have great understanding of the DA.

[jay23ls]

I used a machine for the first time recently. Just watch a few Youtube videos on it. make sure the machine is down on the paint w/ compound before firing her up (the thing I'd forget most). Its really not that hard.

I def wouldn't do it by hand. I did my Vette w/ a DA/random orbital and it was SO much work still. I'll never apply wax by hand again either.

Time = money so it pays for itself. Highly recommend Griot's 6inch Random Orbital!

[gizzsdad]

Well, we finished up in about 3 1/2 hours from the start of dragging out the hose. He had driven through a touch free wash prior to coming to the house, and while it knocked a few layers off, he was amazed at how dirty it still was. I quickly realized how fortunate I am to be able to garage my cars. His truck is only about 15 months old, and sitting outside had picked up an amazing amount of debris on the horizontal surfaces. It was by far the stiffest test I have had for my Nanoskin mitt. I let him do one section of the roof to experience how noisy and rough the surface was after washing twice. Saw no evidence of marring. The 360 proved nice to work with, and while far from perfect when done, I was pleased with the improvement - and he was elated (except for the discovery of rock chips and scratches). There were several places where where evidence of nasty bird/bug bombs remained after the first pass, and a drop of 360 on the white pad and determination got rid of them. A couple nasty scratches were minimized, but were too much for an AIO without a machine. All in all - a good and satisfying day.

[sweatthedetails]

If your working by hand use something with some filling capability. I would suggest Megs #21 synthetic paint sealant.