Introduction

Something Like A Chore

Life is pretty busy for most of us, it seems we do the things we like doing first and put the things we like doing least for the time when ... we just run out time to do them. I'm guilty of this ... with all the jurors reporting guilty.

There are a few reasons why I put off waxing my truck .... let me see ... it's cold outside, it's raining ....... it's just to nice outside, I'd rather be doing something else .... do I need to go on?

There is one underlying reason I dislike this chore and if you've read the washing section .. you'll know why. Haven't ...read it? Okay.. it's called abuse .. abuse to the clear coat finish.

I recently stopped by the Dodge dealer in preparing this section. I wanted to see how a brand spanking new Dakota Quad's finish would compare to the finish of my truck ... about one year later. I wanted to see how much damage I've done to mine, in the 25 plus car washes I've given my puppy and the four applications of "my way" of waxing it.

The picture below .. a direct shot into the reflection of the sun, is one of most discriminating inspections you can do ... to the finish of your truck .... it will pick up the most insignificant of scratches.

Footnote: A bright overhead light, at night and at the right angle will also make for a good inspection.

After you've owned your car for about a year and have washed it frequently and given it a few waxings you'll begin to notice something ... a little... different about the clear coat finish that covers your car , if you look closely at yours after a year you'll notice that their is a circle of rings surrounding the sun reflection. The amount and prominence of these fine scratches is relative to the amount the surface has been abraded by various situations.

Footnote: All 3 of these grouped pictures were taken the same day.

If you look closely at the picture above you'll notice minute scratches that catches the suns light and reflect it at a different angle .. that's why it lights up. These scratches are caused by: washing your truck, road dust hitting your car at 50 - 70 miles an hour...... and waxing it!

The below picture is of my truck at a customers home.. that I took the other day (the puppy is nearly a year old). I take my camera with me to record estimates and jobs in progress. On the way out .. I snapped a few shots of my truck. I had washed and waxed it (my way) earlier that morning and had already driven 50 miles in traffic, apparently no worse for the drive.

What I call a waxing job takes about 15 minutes and that's only because I like petting my puppy!

In the above pictures you'll notice that the clear (gloss) coat finish is nearly as reflective as the glass on the windshield. The question I ask myself is it shiny enough for me .......... sure. The remaining question is ..... is it shiny enough for you.

This next subject matter concerns the understanding of the finish that is on our Dakota Quads. Some may ask if this is really necessary to go into this kind of detail.

Well ....it's kinda like playing .... baseball... if you don't know rule number 1. Understanding what your doing .... is ... really the reason for why your doing it in the first place.

I just want a take a second here to say ... to the guys who know all this stuff .. I'm putting this up .... for the owners who don't know all this stuff.

The below image is my attempt to translate my idea of what paint looks like on our Dakota Quads.

Out of time.

Want to share your waxing tips and tricks with the rest of us ... then go ahead and write in.

Check the front page for the last update date.

By the way, my name is Nick, you can email me by clicking this => Mail