Jason, I have to agree with 4DSC. Non-protected paint gets ruined faster than you think.
I had a firechief who had a new-ish Chevy S-10 Blazer. It was bright red and looked great, especially with the red light bar. It also helped that he washed it all the time ... once or even twice each week.
One day while he was washing his truck in the station parking lot, I saw the water sheeting over it. Not a water drop to be seen anywhere.
I forcefully ran my finger across the hood. The movement produced a nearly ear-piercing squeal. I don't think he EVER waxed the thing. I ribbed him about it and he said he new it was overdue for a wax job.
I moved across town and saw him just 3-4 years later, still driving that same truck. The paint was all dried out and faded. The once spiffy lookin' lil' chief-mobile looked like a salvage yard escapee.
What a shame. If he had washed it half as much and waxed it at least once each year, the paint might still look like new.
My '95 Honda Civic, on the other hand, was waxed at least 3-4 times each year and despite being almost 8 years old and having 132,000 miles on it when I sold it, looked like new ... except where it was stone-chipped across the front from all the highway miles. Never spent one day inside a garage during that time but the hood, roof, trunk lid, doors and rear quarters looked fabulous.
--- Bror Jace
I had a firechief who had a new-ish Chevy S-10 Blazer. It was bright red and looked great, especially with the red light bar. It also helped that he washed it all the time ... once or even twice each week.
One day while he was washing his truck in the station parking lot, I saw the water sheeting over it. Not a water drop to be seen anywhere.
I forcefully ran my finger across the hood. The movement produced a nearly ear-piercing squeal. I don't think he EVER waxed the thing. I ribbed him about it and he said he new it was overdue for a wax job.
I moved across town and saw him just 3-4 years later, still driving that same truck. The paint was all dried out and faded. The once spiffy lookin' lil' chief-mobile looked like a salvage yard escapee.
What a shame. If he had washed it half as much and waxed it at least once each year, the paint might still look like new.
My '95 Honda Civic, on the other hand, was waxed at least 3-4 times each year and despite being almost 8 years old and having 132,000 miles on it when I sold it, looked like new ... except where it was stone-chipped across the front from all the highway miles. Never spent one day inside a garage during that time but the hood, roof, trunk lid, doors and rear quarters looked fabulous.
--- Bror Jace
