Single Stage Paint Correction

I thought I'd document this so it may help someone here in the future. For many years Toyota did a single stage paint job on the Tundra. Eventually, the paint becomes oxidized and chalky looking. This is why most of the older white ones you see don't have any shine left to the paint. I used suggestions from this forum and elsewhere to try and restore the paint in my 17 year old 1st Gen. Overall, the truck looks better than it ever has since I've owned it.

From what I understand Toyota is still doing a single stage paint job on some of the new Tundras. At least the white ones(from what I've read).

The recommended steps for this are as followed.

• Wash with Dawn
• Decontaminate with IronX-I skipped this step to save time and money and I don't think it was a problem. Trucks in worse shape probably shouldn't skip this step.
• Coat with Meguiar's #7 and let sit on the paint overnight. Supposedly this will soak into the oils of the paint and help rejuvenate them.
• Polish-I used Chemical Guys all in 1 polish/sealant
• Wax-I used Chemical guys Butter Wet Wax

Several panels required steps 3 and 5 to be repeated multiple times. In total, I was able to remove around 90% of the oxidation. I realize the process seems daunting when listed but this really ins't that bad. People make this out to be way harder than it really is. Turn on some good music and have beer as you go and it really isn't hard.


Photographing a white truck with a camera phone isn't easy but here is how it turned out.

 

Looks amazing! If only I had a hose at my apartment I would do it on my black truck.

 

Your truck would look amazing. Black responds really well to things like this. The improvement is far more noticeable on dark colors than white.

 

I rejuvenated my white ‘03 Sequoia. I didn’t do all the steps but I did scrub it first with dish soap. Then I attacked it with some liquid Claybar and then Maguires cleaner wax. I had to go over it twice but it turned out pretty damn good. Sorry I don’t have before and after, but similar results to you. Good job bro!

 

Found a before. Very chalky white paint!
And here’s the after. Not bad for a rush job!

 

I can’t believe the results you got with just a cleaner wax. It should have taken a two step polish and sealant to turn out that well. Good job.

 

Lots of elbow grease!

 

Nice work! I bet it looks great in person. Pics never do justice in detailing.

 

I feel your pain. Well sorta. There is a hose but im not allowed to use it...

So opinions on polishers?
Ive been looking at the D.A. types. The grinder looking ones require some experience but are cheaper. The d.a. polishers very on price but it seems like the "you get what you pay for" saying applies qiite a bit here.

I dunno, im tempted to buy the cheap porter cable one. They aren't the same quality wise since they sold off most of their brand, but its gotta be able to survive a couple uses, right?

Oh yeah, Mothers new clay bar thing that isnt a clay bar but a foam type of cleaning thing, works amazing. You can you it while you're washing you car. If you drop it on the ground just wash it off, and it isnt a limited use type of item.

 

Griots 6’ da comes with a lifetime warranty. No brainer purchase. Griots has top notch customer service. Dropped
Mine and it was broke. Called griots sent it to them. 3 days later new DA at my front door. Get the longer cord version. With today’s compounds and polishes. You can do some serious defect removal nowadays with this DA.

 

My truck is not to bad I want to do this for sure though. But the over night part I just can. I may just have to buff it 3 or more times. It still have a shine but definitely dull on the hood. Hard to see in this pic

 

^^^^^^^^this

 

The griots is the one i want actually. Price isnt crazy and great reviews for quality/performance.

 

It’s a great little machine. The longer throw ones cut down on time. Griots 15 and 21. But I’m just a detailer on my own cars and a few friends vehicles here and there. Have black Tundra. So learned from previous black trucks I owned.

 

I got the Griots one recently but haven’t used it yet. I have a Harbor Freight one and a Torq one also. Probably any of them would be fine as long as you aren’t going to be using them very often.

 

I saw the Mothers one but haven’t tried it. I love the Nanoskin mitt I have.

 

If you're gonna do it, do it right. I bought a cheap black and decker polisher and it's pretty useless. Hand action has never failed me. I wouldn't recommend getting a cheap one.

Personally, I wouldn't risk my paint if I dropped it on the ground. But I haven't seen the product you're referring to so I could be wrong. I dropped a piece of clay on Saturday and threw it in the trash.

 

That is a CLEAN 02 my friend...nice job! How many miles on that thing? Looks great.

 

It’s a synthetic clay. Made to be cleaned and reused.

 

Thanks. It was a 1 owner that I purchased in 2016 with only 139K. It has 158K now. Whoever owned it took great care of it. I'm hoping to drive it for a long time.

 

Hell yeah! That is a score...

 

Yeah, i guess it would be a synthetic clay.

And the business end. It kinda has a layer of closed cell foam, and then on the layer the contacts the clear coat is similar to rubber, but is plasticy.

It worked really well.

 

Check your local Pep Boys....currently on sale for 127.99

 

I have some Carpro Polyshave blocks that are similar. They do work well.

 

I’ve been using my flex 3401 and PC 7424 for years now.

 

I recently bought an '01 natural white tundra. This little paint rehab breakdown is one of the first things on my list of things I'd like to do. I'm hoping that somebody could maybe direct me to a thread with a breakdown on how to post pics. I'd like to show before and after shots, but when I searched 'how do I post pics' and 'posting pics' lots of threads popped up but not one that seemed to explain how to post.

Edit: Nevermind. Figured it out. Not sure why I struggled so much with that

 

I'm assuming you're using a smartphone? If so, take picture with phone.

When you are ready to upload a photo, type your response and then hit "upload file" shown below. Then hit choose file and select the photo from your gallery. Then hit "full image".

 

@FirstGenVol thanks. I figured it out after a little while of smelling my smartphone and hitting it with a rock some (caveman style ).

 

Toyota Single coat paint probably will not benefit from meguires 7 Source:

https://youtu.be/nS4jfCWsqT0?t=1901

I am not sure the meguires 7 does much good on this paint. My understanding is that this white paint does not loose oils like the old single coat paint. Does anyone have much experience with meguires 105 and 205? I plan to use a cycle and some foam pads to see what I can do.

 

In my opinion there are other polishes that work better and are easier to remove. Remember least aggressive options first. 105 is an aggressive compound. I’ve used ultima and CarPro finishing polishes with good success at removing most imperfections on our paint.