truck sitting for 3 years.......

[Schmoe]

Just "got" a 01 Ford F150, black, 4x4. It's been sitting outside its whole life and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been waxed except for the do it yourself spray wand waxes. No hand waxing. I got some Meguiars cleaner wax and the Gold Coat stuff. Can I get away with a one coat type of wax? I mean this truck will require a LOT of elbow grease, plus it has a hard tonneau that is also painted black that will need to be cleaned as well.
Truck also has those mirror like self adhesive gravel guard things on the bottom of the quarter panel. Well, some of those edges are coming off, just need to be reglued, what could I use?
Brake dust, Eagle one works good?
Leather interior really needs some love. Can I use that 303 stuff for UV protection or do I need something else for that?

Thanks for any replys, just wanting to take care of the truck. It was my Dads.

 

[Amkeer]

I would use a clay to remove contaminents from the surface. I would follow up with a polymer type protectant like Klasse, Meguires Gold Class at Walmart, or Zaino. If you have oxidation you will need a cleaner first to remove oxidation. Since you already have Gold Class use it.

Use the 3m adhesive for the lifting issue.

Clay, clay, clay.

Leather you can use Lexol or whatever is recommended for the leather.


Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, Impulse Red, Peppy 2.7 Liter 4 Banger, Running Mobil 1 Synthetics SS 5w30.
ODO 6400 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner, Evergreen, 3.0 V6, Running Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 10w30.
ODO 82200 Miles. (Switching to GC next)Nope sticking with M1.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[HOndaGuy]

I recommend you put some time into restoring the paint finish instead of a quick wax job. Since you seem to be the avg consumer, I suggest picking up a clay kit and meguiars or mothers 3 step system. You will definitely need to have a paint cleaner after the clay, and both of these systems possess a paint cleaner that will remove old oxidation, and w/e embedded stains that couldn't be taken out by the clay.

 

[Schmoe]

Just scrubbed the insides with Tanners leather cleaner. Good stuff. Cleaned all the crud off the steering wheel too, I guess when Dad drove it he didn't wash his hands. ha ha
Washed it and did the tissue test. Nothing was sticking to it, paint was very smooth. Do you think I still need to clay it or can I just go ahead and start waxing it with Meg. Gold? Also, there is what I thought a piece of plastic or rubber right under the side windows, put 3M 303 protectant on it and it streaks. It doesn't have the same paint as the rest of the truck. I read the label on the spray and said if streaking is the case, wash off with water. I guess I could wax that too, huh????

 

[Amkeer]

I would clay it! Clay the windows, the plastic, the chrome, the rims (after everthing else), the black, the wipers, everything! I use it on everything! Its worth it!

 

[Mazatrol]

As to your question about whether to clay bar or not........this came fom the Zaino site:

EVALUATING YOUR PAINT FOR CLAY
How do you know if you need to use Z-18 ClayBar? After thoroughly hand washing and drying your car, stretch a piece of saran wrap over your hand extending past your fingertips. Gently slide the saran wrap across the finish of your vehicle. Does the surface feel bumpy or gritty? These bumps are contaminants attacking the finish of your car. Removing these surface contaminants (rail dust, road tar, bug residue, paint over-spray, brake pad dust, hard water spots, etc.) will improve both the look and health of your car's paint.

Many people, including myself, have found that using a plastic wrapper from a cigarette package works better than saran wrap. The Mothers clay bar is, in my opinion, as good as the Zaino bar. It's easy to find and less expensive than the Zaino bar. The Mothers clay kit comes with a quick detailer for clay bar lube. Some folks use a car wash solution as lube, but I have tried both and prefer the QD. Clay barring takes some time and practice, but the results are well worth the effort. Hope this helps.

 

[Randy]

Funny thing . . . I wouldn't recommend this though. I had an '87 Honda CRX Si that was an 'extra' car of mine. Had some damage & I used the settlement as a down payment on a new car. I was living in So Cal at the time. Relocated to Seattle, and didn't want to haul 3 cars up there, so I left the Honda at a friends warehouse.

For 3 and a half years, this car sat outside in Los Angeles. Through smog and heat and everything else including salt air. Since the car was in the corner of his fenced-in parking lot, he never had to move it or anything. In other words, I drove it to his warehouse, I turned it off, I pulled the parking brake, and I walked away.

Three and a half years later, My mother-in-law is in need of a ride. I have my father in law drive over to the warehouse and load this thing on to a half-trailer from UHaul. He gets two used tires installed on the rear of the car for the trip up to Seattle (the tires were rotting away).

The car hasn't been started at this point: I have the keys with me. He gets to Seattle and we push this car off the carrier. Man, I have never seen such a dirty car! I hook up some jumper cables and I swear that the car started up within 5 minutes of trying. As I remember it I had always used Castrol GTX 20W-50 in the engine.

On the odd chance that we could get the battery to hold a charge, we drove it around for a couple of miles. I saw a pressure wash place and pulled in. We left it running, and I must say it was running pretty smooth. I had the radio playing and the air conditioning on. At any rate, I ran to the 7-11 next door and bought a scrubber sponge and a can of Ajax. Completely scrubbed the car down from head to toe with Ajax. That's how much grime was on it.

When all was said and done, the car was clean, but completely covered in fine scratches. After a couple of applications of polish, a semblance of a finish reemerged on this car.

After this 'resurrection' I ended up driving the car for several hundred miles before changing the oil for the first time. The car was driven round-trip to LA at least twice, and when I was relocated to San Francisco I brought it with me. I used it as a commuter car for the two years we were there. If I had to guess, I put about 25000 miles on the car before it died. Timing belt broke, and it would have needed a valve job. I donated it to charity.

Here's exactly what I did to this car after my FIL drove it up to Seattle to the time it died for good: New battery, another two used tires for the front, and I changed the oil exactly 3 times. I definitely got my money out of that car.

All this to say: Maybe I should have used a clay bar on that grime!