Want to make husband's 4Runner nice in his honor

Hi there. I’m new to this world. Husband died, now I have his black 4 runner and I want to make it super nice in his honor. I have search this site and there are multiple suggestions of products for cleaning etc. I went on Meguiars…and well I am just confused. Can someone possibly just give me the basics and what order I need to do them in and what products? I am confused on the ceramic stuff and polish…help… and thank you

 

Hello, I’m sorry about your husband. I’d love to help, however, I’m a low maintenance kind of gal. I wash by hand with Maguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax once a week or two and just use a damp cloth to wipe down the inside after vacuuming.

I don’t get into clay bars, waxing, etc. I’m sure someone who does will be along here pretty soon and then you’ll have all the advice you could want.

 

Welcome to the forum, sorry for your loss.

 

Welcome and sorry for your loss.

I can chime in and give some insight, as I'm currently doing a full detail on my new 4Runner. From start to finish you'll be in it 15+ hours for a full paint correction with Ceramic coating. There is quite a bit of work that goes into it and you will need a DA polisher. There are tons of Youtube videos that will show you how to do it step by step. I would recommend having a professional detailer do it the first time. If you find a reputable mobile detailer, you can watch and learn so you can do it yourself the next time.

Edit: I figured I should add what was all done. Make sure to wash the car in a shady and cool place. When you wash out in the sun, the soap and everything else dries before you can rinse.

Step 1 - Wash the car using a foam cannon and 2 bucket method. You can use a wax stripping wash, but I clay-barred the 4Runner so didn't feel the need to.

Step 2 - Use an Iron Remover to get most of the brake dust, rail dust, and metal contaminants off of the paint and wheels. Try to avoid glass and trim if you can. I used Sonax Iron and Fallout Remover. Make sure to give the iron remover 3-5 minutes to work, but don't let it dry. Rinse thoroughly and when you think it has been rinsed, do it again. You want to make sure to get all of this off. Dry the car off with either a leaf blower and/or microfiber towels.

Step 3 - Clay bar the entire car to remove any leftover contaminants. You will want to make sure that you use plenty of clay lube and knead the bar between panels. Make sure to wipe down the panels when you're done. You may need to repeat going over the paint until it is smooth and all of the contaminants are gone. The plastic baggy method will help with determining this.

Step 4 - You are now ready to start prepping for the paint correction. Tape off all trim, headlights, taillights, and anything else that the polish can stain. Use something like blue painter's tape to mask off those areas. Make sure to wipe down panels with a suitable IPA solution or panel prep before polishing.

Step 5 - Paint correction time. I used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Griot's 5.5" Orange correction pads for my first step. I only needed 4-6 passes to remove 90% of the imperfections. Make sure to do one panel at a time and limit yourself to 2'x2' sections. Take your time until you get comfortable. Very little pressure is needed for the pad to do its work. Start with 2 passes and then assess if the panel needs more correction.
For the second stage, I used Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and Griot's 5.5" Black finishing pads. 3-6 passes and the panels look almost perfect with zero hazing.

Step 6 - I'm going to use Chemical Guys Jet Seal and apply it with Griot's 5.5" Red wax pad. I'll probably need 1-2 passes and then let the sealant sit for 30 minutes before hand buffing.

Step 7 - Sit back and enjoy your work! Then, wonder why you spent 20 hours doing this until you realize that it would have cost you $1000 + to have someone else do it.

 

Wow. Good info.
Questions:
— Where in the process to you touch up chips in the paint?
— Do you treat the painted plastic parts any different than painted metal?

 

I touched up the rock chips right after the clay bar treatment and before polishing. I'll usually wet sand the rock chip repair with 3000 grit before polishing. Toyota paint is very soft and thin, so you want to take it easy and don't run super high speeds on your DA polisher. Make sure to change out pads frequently to prevent overheating. I will usually run fewer passes on the plastic to prevent overheating. Hand polishing is necessary for the areas that your polisher can't get to.

 

Condolences on your loss Ma’am.

I come from a different perspective than Steelevo, who’s 4Runner I’m sure looks better than mine. The paint job on 4Runners is average at best. It’s not 10 coats of hand rubbed lacquer like you’d find on a Rolls Royce or an Italian exotic. I keep that in mind when deciding how much time and effort I put in. Using the foam cannon and two bucket method is overkill on the 4Runner, whose paint job wasn’t that great to begin with.

There’s a lot of snake oil in the automotive care products industry.

You can use any name brand car wash you want. Just make sure you use a car wash and not dish soap. Use a clean towel or a wash mitt and plenty of water. I dry my car with a chamois but I accept that that’s old school. I wash the 4Runner every couple of weeks. I wax it ever couple of months. I use a paste wax. Not a spray. Paste wax is not as shiny, but more protective. I'll use a clay bar once a year, usually in early summer after the pollen season. And that’s it. Soap, wax.

For the interior I have 2 spray bottles. One is water with a few drops of dish soap added. The other is just plain water. I have a couple of soft bristle brushes to get into every crevice. I spray the interior with soapy water, agitate with a towel or brush, and wipe it down. Then I’ll spray again with clean water and dry. I'll treat leather seats to keep them from cracking. I use Windex on the glass.

 

Here is a picture of what you can tape off.

 

Welcome. Sorry for your loss. I've been through that also.

I'm agreeing with steevlo, it's gonna take some work but doable. Just takes time and effort.