New White Truck

[mayberry]

I just bought a new 2018 F250 Super Duty in White Platinum Tri-coat. I've never had a white vehicle before, and I take good care of my trucks. I'm worried that the white will house imperfections so well, I don't want to rush meeting the maintenance on the paint. The past few years, I've used Klasse all in one and followed up with the Klasse Sealant Glaze, followed by Meguiar's Quik Wax, and I've had really good results. I apply the All in One with my Porter Cable 7424xp polisher. Is there a better product to use, or one that yields just as good results with less work? Just thought I'd ask, as I'm at the beach this week and will be cleaning the truck extensively after getting home this weekend. It's battled tropical storms and salt air all week and will be ready for a good deep cleaning.. I plan to walk well, clay bar and polish/glaze/wax this weekend. Any other suggestions for products are appreciated. Thanks.

[Mike Phillips]

Wow!

I just approved your account in-between pakcing for the Indy and New Jersey Roadshow Detailing Classes and BOOM you make your first post!


Welcome to AutogeekOnline!

I just bought a new 2018 F250 Super Duty in White Platinum Tri-coat. I've never had a white vehicle before, and I take good care of my trucks. I'm worried that the white will house imperfections so well, I don't want to rush meeting the maintenance on the paint. The past few years, I've used Klasse all in one and followed up with the Klasse Sealant Glaze, followed by Meguiar's Quik Wax, and I've had really good results.

I apply the All in One with my Porter Cable 7424xp polisher.

Is there a better product to use, or one that yields just as good results with less work?

Just thought I'd ask, as I'm at the beach this week and will be cleaning the truck extensively after getting home this weekend. It's battled tropical storms and salt air all week and will be ready for a good deep cleaning..

I plan to walk well, clay bar and polish/glaze/wax this weekend. Any other suggestions for products are appreciated. Thanks.

The Klasse AIO is a non-abrasive product, so it won't remove any swirls or scratches.

For my time, I would apply at a minimum a fine cut polish and then seal. A fine cut polish will do EVERTYING a non-abrasive cleaner/sealant will do plus more without the sealing aspect. If you're happy with the Klasse SG then keep using it. Me? for your truck I would get a quart of the BLACKFIRE One Step and some fresh 5.5" foam polishing pads and learn to be fast with this wax and then simply hit it once in a while. If you want extended protection apply some SONAX PNS over the BF One Step.


I like to use a fallout remover before doing any major detail work, look at the white paint on the 2016 Jeep from last week's project....


700 HP Hennessy Vette and Jeep Cherokee - Waxed and Coated

[mayberry]

Well, now I wish I would have asked this before ordering more Klasse last night. So, would the Blackfire one step replace both the AIO AND the Sealant Glaze?

[mayberry]

Awesome customer service. I just called Autogeek and they changed my order with no issues and still gave me the 25% off price from yesterday's Memorial Day sale. Order will ship tomorrow and I'll give the Blackfire One Step a shot. If it works as well as both the Klasse products combined, but consolidates it into one step, that's a definite plus.

How does it hold up compared to the Klasse products? Generally, Klasse would hold up for me for 4-6 months in the Georgia heat with no issues, and still had some hydrophobic properties left. I also used it on the outsides of my windows and it replaced Rain X for me. Not sure if the Blackfire can be used the same way. I only used the All in One Polish on the windows before. Not sure how the sealant will do. What about black plastic trim? Klasse products have always been okay to get on the trim around doors and windows. Is the Blackfire the same, or do I need to be more careful with it?

[mayberry]

Last question, I promise. So, reading in other threads about Blackfire One Step, it is referred to as having "medium cut" vs. Klasse having no cut. This is a brand new truck and doesn't have any swirls. I will clay bar to remove any impurities. Do I need any cut in the polish on a brand new truck, or will that wear down the clear coat faster, and not be needed? Sorry for the newby questions...I just want to make sure I'm not screwing up my new truck in any way.

[01GreyStangGT]

I would be surprised if it didn't have some swirls. My last 2 new vehicles had them when I brought them home. White is hard to see swirls in.

[Mike Phillips]

Awesome customer service. I just called Autogeek and they changed my order with no issues and still gave me the 25% off price from yesterday's Memorial Day sale.

Order will ship tomorrow and I'll give the Blackfire One Step a shot.

Thanks for sharing that, our customer care staff are top notch.

If it works as well as both the Klasse products combined, but consolidates it into one step, that's a definite plus.

It will definitely do a better job of perfecting the paint as it uses some amazing abrasive technology, check out the pictures in my write-up here and note that normally for a "show car" I would use a three step process but I knoced this bad ass car out in one step.

Review: BLACKFIRE One-Step Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips

How does it hold up compared to the Klasse products?

From what I've read, most people are getting 3 months before water beading starts falling off. Water beading is the measurement most of the world uses to judge protection even though all it means is high surface tension and you can find products that will create surface tension that don't protect. That said, water beading is an indicator of longevity of a product assuming there was no water beading before and then after application you then get water beading.

The most important factor as to how long any product lasts comes down to how the surface is "touched" after wipe off. I you wash your car by hand carefully a product has the best chance of lasting. If you wash your car with a brick nothing will last very long. It all comes down to touch.

Generally, Klasse would hold up for me for 4-6 months in the Georgia heat with no issues, and still had some hydrophobic properties left. I also used it on the outsides of my windows and it replaced Rain X for me. Not sure if the Blackfire can be used the same way. I only used the All in One Polish on the windows before. Not sure how the sealant will do.

I buff out all the glass on cars as I buff out the cars and I use whatever the "first step product" is. Sometimes it a compound, sometimes a polish and sometimes a cleaner/wax. For the Chevelle in the link I shared above I buffed out all the class with the BLACKFIRE One Step.

I would not put Klasse SG on glass.

What about black plastic trim? Klasse products have always been okay to get on the trim around doors and windows. Is the Blackfire the same, or do I need to be more careful with it?

I have not seen it stain trim but as a good practice, don't buff over trim with any compound, polish or cleaner/wax.

Last question, I promise.

So, reading in other threads about Blackfire One Step, it is referred to as having "medium cut" vs. Klasse having no cut. This is a brand new truck and doesn't have any swirls. I will clay bar to remove any impurities. Do I need any cut in the polish on a brand new truck, or will that wear down the clear coat faster, and not be needed?

Correct in that I would rate the BF One Step as a medium cut cleaner/wax. There are no longer aggressive cut cleaner/waxes in the car world, only the boat world. Clearcoats scratch too easy.

Like a lot of good product, you can change the cut characteristic of BLACKFIRE One Step by the pad, tool and even technique you use. Get the truck home, wash and dry it and the use bright overhead sunlight to inspect for swirls and scratches.

If you find the paint is in great shape be thankful the dealership didn't screw it up. Then use a simple foam polishing pad to apply the BF One Step. Minimal cut and nothing I would ever worry about, again it uses great abrasive technology. And wipe-off is a breeze.

Sorry for the newby questions...I just want to make sure I'm not screwing up my new truck in any way.

I hope you have found this forum to be helpful and friendly. Try posting the same question on Facebook and see if you get both helpful AND friendly.

[mayberry]

Thanks for the detailed response. I assume by your response you would not hesitate to use it regularly on a new vehicle. I normally don't worry this much, but this truck has a tricoat paint that looks amazing, but I've heard horror stories about having to repaint tricoat surfaces. I just want it to stay in good shape. I hesitated to buy the tricoat metallic, but this thing just looks so good in person, I couldn't pass it up. Thanks again. I'll update my results after washing it this weekend.

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for the detailed response.

I assume by your response you would not hesitate to use it regularly on a new vehicle.

Correct. I've also been applying SONAX Polymer Net Shield to the horizontal surfaces after using one-step cleaner/waxes. Have a technique we're going to try to show in a video in the future. Good product, cult-like following.

I normally don't worry this much, but this truck has a tricoat paint that looks amazing, but I've heard horror stories about having to repaint tricoat surfaces. I just want it to stay in good shape. I hesitated to buy the tricoat metallic, but this thing just looks so good in person, I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks again.

I'll update my results after washing it this weekend.

I agree, nice looking pickmeup.

I'm also a huge fan of pearl white paint jobs. Here's your truck after uploading to your gallery here on AGO

[JDGolden]

Nice truck! I see why you picked that color.