Paint Maintenance

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for maintaining the paint on the first gens? Or if yall have any recommendations for polishers and what not.

My paint has plenty of swirls for an 01', oh and it's black which doesn't help, and has the tiniest bit of paint fade on the roof and slightly on the hood. I tend to wash my truck really well and wax it once a month, along with a usual bi-weekly quick wash when it's not too dirty.

lmk how yall handle it

 

I wash when it's pretty dirty, maybe 6-8 times a year and give it a "Mother's" brand carnuba wax twice a year. I will do a clay bar if it gets something on the paint surface. I think I might have done that 3 times in 21 years. Nothing obsessive. After 21 years in the SoCal sun, always outside, I still have a good finish with no clear coat peeling off.

 

No peeling or fading whatsoever? That's nice. Bought my truck from my brother who just left it in the parking lot behind his apartment for years picking up the sun. I know when he washed and waxed the car because he did it at my house and let me tell you I don't recall seeing him wax it a single time in the 9 years he owned it. He did maintain it mechanically though which is why I bought it.

When I bought it off him I clayed it two times over and completely waxed it twice, then once again with a spray-on wax. Seemed to help stop the fading for now but nothing will get rid of the swirls

 

Yep, no peeling anywhere as of now. I see lots of cars around here including other Tundra's that have massive peeling on the hood and leading edge of the roof line. Don't know why mines still good. Maybe the "Mother's" wax is something special. It goes on and comes off easy and really hangs in there after application, that's why I stuck with it for so many years.

 

You should be able to get out most of the swirls but it's hard to say for certain without seeing it in person. Keeping it waxed twice a year will go a long way.

If you want to take it a step further you can do full paint correction.

I made this thread years ago about doing it on mine.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/single-stage-paint-correction.42291/

 

@Ckatz53 he's awesome !

 

Like @FirstGenVol I was also able to correct mine. Pics in my signature.

But here's my rub. If your truck is non-metallic, it should be single-stage paint. Has the truck been repainted, or does it have metalflake? Swirls, bubbling or flaking clearcoat, these are all things I'd expect to see on a 2-stage (clearcoat) paint job, which the solid, non-pearl, non-metallic white and solid black trucks typically don't have.

Either way, the correction would be the same for me. You'd want a polisher because you're not going to want to try this manually. I personally prefer something random-orbit with a 6" - 6.5" hook-and-loop base.

Regardless my state (swirled or chalked), the product I'm going to use is the same: Meguair's Ultimate Polish. It's clearcoat safe,

Reputable 6.5" pads are color-coded based on their purpose/agressiveness. If you're single stage and chalked heavily like mine was, I'd recommend starting with an orange pad for a slightly more aggressive approach, but sticking with a safe polish like the Ultimate product prefer.

Watch some videos on the internet which show you the proper pattern to follow. It's almost like mowing a yard, up-down-up-down in rows, then back-forth-back-forth in rows, from end-to-end.

The only thing nobody here can relay through words on the internet, something you just need to learn and will cut back on swirling and such, is pressure. Pressure you want to use (IMO) maybe depends on your polisher, but a general trick I've found over the years is this:

Start in an inconspicuous area. Lay your liquid on the pad, then your panel. When you lay the pad on and pull the trigger to work things in, I'll apply pressure until my unit starts to show signs of labor, then let off about 10-20%. You'll get a feel for it.

Anyway, lots of work. Good luck. You can do it!

 

I wish I washed mine more often but it’s hard when the drive back from the car wash just covers it in salt from the road anyway.

 

Almost forgot - always wash before polish to remove any sand/dirt that could get swirled in.

Always wax after polish.

Consider claybar before polishing. Just don't let the claybar touch anything it could pick up a grit of sand from, and keep it lubricated w/soap and water at least.

Wash at least every other month, use a ceramic-wax car wash, there are plenty out there, they work.

Spray-on ceramic waxes are fine too. "Which wax" is a heated topic, like, not gonna go there.

 

I know salt helps clear snow, but there has to be another option. It's bad for the environment and worse for cars and bikes. I feel for you all where they "season" the roads. Salt belongs on you french fries.

 

That is The positive feature of Silver paint, it does not fade like most other colors do.

All those swirls are from someone washing the truck in One bucket and re-dipping cloth/sponge in gritty water, the grit is causing those swirls. A very good paint guy/gal could get those out.

 

The problem isn't with the paint fading, it's that the clear coat is peeling off. It looks like sunburned skin peeling off. I see it on all makes and models, Asian, European, and domestic, and on all colors. A guy parked next to me one time recently and he had the identical truck, with massive peeling on his. He remarked to me that I must keep mine in a garage. I said nope, I just wax it a couple of times a year. He said he never waxed his. That's when I thought that maybe waxing does help preserve paint, like sun screen for our skin helps mitigate sun damage to our outer coating.

 

Definitely helps. Failure often happens on horizontal surfaces which see the sun, this are the ones that get backed the hardest. Failure often starts from the edge, where paint is the thinnest. Anything you can do to bead away and evap water, preventing added refraction, and to help shed away UV is going to help.

I'm not convinced @evanhmn has clearcoat though. I'm not sure if he's "faded" from clearcoat failure or if it's actually just the paint is chalked. I'm sure his topper is probably clearcoated, just don't think his OEM paint is.

One way to possibly tell on the haze:

If he were to get a basic light buffing compound - he could use something like Simichrome or Mothers Mag & Wheel Polish which use similar cutting agents, but I prefer "No. 7" in white or salmon - carry it to the dull spot on the roof, put a small dab on a fingertip and, using medium pressure, then rub it around in a quarter-dollar-sized circle for 10-15 circles, then wipe away, if it's shiny after, I suspect it's single-stage paint and just needs a polish-out. Here's an example of where I did it on mine, this one shiny spot in a sea of chalky dullness:

(this trick is one good way to test what your end result could look like from a good polish-out)

 

Paint protection has progressed to the point where a spray on sealant far outlasts and exceeds any traditional wax you use. While waxes often have better aesthetics, the protection offered from a sealant is far superior and lasts longer.

For a weekend warrior, I suggest any of the following products after a good wash: Griots 3in1 Ceramic Wax, Turtle Wax Ceramic Coating (spray), or Glassparency's Graphene Spray. All of these are easy to use and last anywhere from 4 to 9 months depending on how well you take care of it. The names of these are misleading but in reality theyre all considered sealants. If you're washing your truck once a month, it will last exponentially longer than the time frame I suggested.

When it comes to polishing, an excellent machine for weekend warriors is a Griot's G9 paired with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" Lake Country CCS pads. The level of correction you're after will dictate the type of pads and compounds/polishes I would suggest.

I run a small part-time coating and correction company in MD and have a lot of experience so if you have anymore questions just shoot me a DM. More than happy to help.

 

I'm a little confused. Are you saying that not all first-gens came with clearcoat or that I may have had the paint redone prior and that's where the fading is coming from? Because if that is the case then no, since the paint has never been redone on my truck. I'll have to look into Simichrome and Mothers Mag, but I am pretty sure it won't help with my paint fade unless it is magical as I must have tried at least 10 different products in my garage to get those fading spots out. I'll be sure to try it though.

I do agree with what you said above about all the swirls; meaning that they mainly are from washing with a brush in the same bucket. I was raised and taught to wash our cars with a brush and bucket, but only learned about the damage it causes once I bought my first vehicle(which is my Tundra). Guess my Dad never looked into whether or not brushes caused swirls or any of that, or whether he even cared since my whole life neither of my parents has ever owned a car that wasn't at least 10 years old and a little beat up(so why care about the paint).

Thanks for your recommendations on polishers, soaps, etc. I'm a Chemical Guys type of person myself but will look into all of what you said.

Happy Waxing!

 

I'm saying nearly all Toyotas during the years our trucks were made and all years prior didn't use clear coat for solid, non-metallic colors.

If your truck has a non-metallic white or non-metallic black, or even non-metallic grey or red, those are the common colors which didn't use clearcoat, it's a single-stage (i.e. not multistage, which is a base color + clear over) paint job.

I suppose it's possible it was repainted, but this single-stage-on-non-metallics is pretty well-known and not just w/Toyotas. If there's no clearcoat, correcting the hazing is pretty easy, just time consuming.

Don't bother with Simichrome or the other polish. If you have it, it's just an easy way to test. Stick to the pro products.

 

I'm betting it's chalky too. If it was clear coat failing it'd do this:

 

BINGO. Although I’m some cases the bubbles will be fine enough it’ll look hazy. But if you zoom in your phone on it really close it should be clear there are pinholes starting to form.

I don’t typically see swirls in single stage paints, but I’ve also never had a vehicle with black single stage paint. I think my 1GT is the first vehicle post-1980s I’ve owned that had single stage paint actually. I typically buy cars with at least some metal flake in the paint, personal preference more than anything.

 

Hmmm. I'll have to snap a picture of the roof of my truck when the sun is back out just to show what I am talking about. I have no bubbles or actual peeling occurring, just fading from the sun I believe.

 

Fading or chalking?

If the difference isn't clear, here's how I'd explain it.
- When something is faded, it stays shiny but the underlying pigment has actually gone lighter in color.
- When something is chalked, it hazes but the underlying pigment is actually the same.

Whether or not it's shiny is the real separating factor here. Is the paint shiny or not?

If not, you're probably chalked out and need to either use a polishing compound or a buffing compound to - essentially - "cut" the haze off.

This isn't universally true, but with some paints you can rub water or a light oil into it, if the color looks "normal" (i.e. not lighter in color) you're probably chalked.

If chalked, pretty simple fix, just takes time and effort with the right products. If faded, repaint is your only viable option.

 

This took me way too long just to take a picture of my roof, but I finally remembered when I parked up earlier. Can even compare the roof itself to the camper shell that was put on in 2018 with matching paint.

 

The roof of mine is cooked. The hood is not too far behind. Sucks.

 

The cap is multi-stage paint (clearcoated over base paint). On the other hand, the roof of your truck appears to be single stage pain (clear is mixed in with paint), so you can easily polish it to a nice lustre again. That's the main difference you're seeing here. Fiberglass and plastic products are rarely coated in single stage paint IME.

Your roof doesn't look anything like anything like clearcoat failure to me, if your truck is a solid, non-metallic color as it appears (solid black?) don't repaint it, it's a waste of money. Either pay someone to do paint correction using polishes, or get a decent random-orbit polisher and do it yourself. What I'm seeing looks like it only needs a stout polishing compound, not something more aggressive like rubbing compound.

If you want to confirm what I'm saying is true about lack of clearcoat, you can test this theory in about 60 seconds. Wash any spot on the roof of your truck. If you don't have any type of automotive-grade rubbing compound in your arsenal, run to your LAPS or hit scAmazon and get some No7 (linked below), it's good to have laying around. Put a tiny amount - about half a grain of rice - on the tip of your index finger and begin rubbing it into a half-dollar sized circle on your roof, for 15-20 seconds, randomly orbiting to cross the center. After 15-20 seconds, buff away what's there with a clean terry cloth.

If what you see is nice, shiny paint, you just need to repeat this process with a random-orbit polisher, a good orange cutting sponge mounted on it, and a safe polishing compound like Meguair's Ultimate ... or take it to a shop that specializes in polishing. I personally can't recommend using No7 on large areas or with power tools, it's very aggressive stuff, perfect for spot-testing what your end result will be in a case like this. Likewise, I wouldn't recommend buffing compounds to anyone who doesn't polish paint, stick with paint-safe polishing compounds, which is what I used to get similar chalk out of my paint (see link in my signature).

EDIT: Don't forget to wash thoroughly before polishing, always keep your sponge clean and never coming in contact with the ground, else you may spin a grain of sand into your truck, and always wax immediately after polishing. Polishing follows a process of aggressive to not-aggressive. Always follow the process of compound => polish => wax. If you use compound, you must polish after, before wax. If you skip the compound, then you can just wax after.

Here's No7, which both AutoZone and Advance Auto sell, not sure about O'Reillys:

$9 No.7 Heavy Duty Rubbing Compound - 10 Fl Oz - Cleans and Restores - Removes Deep Scratches and Stains - Restores Shine to Dull Finishes, Plastic

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO56JU

 

I'll definitely be looking into this when I'm back home and have access to my garage and such. And yes the truck is solid black from the factory. You got any recommendations for an actual polishing machine thingy? Borrowed one from a friend once, but it was HF quality and didn't work very well.

 

As stupid as this will sound, when I was doing all the body and frame work on my C10 back in the day, I went out and bought a Ridgid brand 6" random-orbit sander, model R2610. It has a hook-and-loop base with vacuum holes, which is nice for pulling air off your panel I guess, normally would be used to pull sand into a pouch.

It kinda sucked for sanding with contours, but it's been great for paint polishing and retail work, namely because

(A) it has a 6" hook and look pad so you can attach anything to it,
(B) it's random-orbit
(C) my unit seems to have a sweet spot for RPMs and backs off nicely under load,
(D) it's generally comfortable in vertical or horizontal position. ​

I say "my unit" on that third point because it looks like Ridgid still makes the same model number, 15+ years later, it looks generally the same on the outside, but with design mods at the bag attachment plus at the "forehead" of the unit. I can't say if it's the same guts or whatever, and can't say if the new bag attachment would cause you grief, so I can't necessarily recommend getting one at $100 (I paid $60 or so for mine bitd)

If you do buy something, I'd say A is critical because all quality pads are hook-and-loop, B is critical because you don't just want a swirl machine, and C and D are probably pretty high up in importance for panel safety and ergonomics, respectively.

For very painful detail about what I did, I think it's mostly right, over here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...t-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-673#post-1815560

 

PS - on which pad to use. Pads are color-coded. I prefer Griot's pads. Orange or blue is in your ballpark of required correction.

I paired an orange Griot's correcting pad #10615 with Meguiar's Ultimate polish. You can buy their pads all day long online or at some LAPS. This combo of wide "correcting" type pad with paint-safe polish works fast and effectively for me on long, flat or only slightly contoured panels, moreso than a standard "polishing" type pad that's less aggressive.

For the more difficult nooks and crannies, like the A pillars up front and C pillar out back, Chemical Guys sells a pack of hex-logic foam pads with part number BUFX 204. a little Meguair's ultimate on the orange pad with quick medium-firm pressure in those nooks and crannies should clean you right up - great for rear view mirrors also.

 

$315 Rupes LHR 15ES Big Foot Random Orbital Polisher

Amazon.com: Rupes LHR 15ES Big Foot Random Orbital Polisher : Automotive

 

Several cars ago, I invested heavily in auto care tools & consumables. Very nice Porter Cable ROB, variable speed, kicks ass! A rolling cart that is now full of chemicals & consumables. A blower for drying the car, really love that! Little ladder.
Once a year strip off the old everything, give ALL surfaces a good claybar, buff it with different stages of polish if necessary, sealer, then a good wax! Takes about 2 - 3 hrs, a couple 2or3 of bottles of Modelo, life is good, cars look great. I kick back!!!

 

Modelo is what makes it! Coronas are king though

 

I find a Modelo is a Corona with a tad more taste! But I do so enjoy both, 'specially with a good Tequila!!