Its been about 5 months and 3900 miles with Ol John Lee now. Immediate mechanical issues have been addressed and the start/run/stop performance is about as fine as anyone could ask for. The only other mechanicals I forsee in the next 6 to 10 months are radiator, exhaust and front suspension, new brake lines.
For now, I'm focusing on some useability and looks issues. I'm installing the new bed wood this month with Dad and the windshield visors now to replace the old ones that are long lost. While at it, I've buffed all the glass inside and out with plastic polishing compound. Except for a nick here and there and some scoreing from the wiper blade tips over the years the glass is back to crystal clear and just fine shape for daily driving. I also buffed up the dash with the plastic polish and an old blue scrubbie sponge. Now its relatively clean, the doors, roof and pillers look grubby and in need of clean up attention. Another day perhaps.
But, the subject of this post is the $2.75 One hour Waterless and Low Effort Wash/Buff/Wax and Seal treatment. Borrowing from Dad and Grandpap (who used kerosene vice the product Dad and I choose) I figured to spend some time removing the 47+ years of greasy finger prints, bugs and most expecially, the chalky white paint dust that is forever tempting the grandmonsters to draw funny faces on the doors with their fingers.
As you can see, in about 5 minutes I have a significant improvement in the looks of the back of Ol John Lees cab and roof, Clean glass I can see through and one less place for kids to finger paint on....
A single product and two rags. Spray on a liberal coat of WD40. Rub off the chalk and grease and bugs with a terry rag in a circular motion. Wait a couple minutes while coating adjacent area....wipe off the buffed area with a dry clean terry cloth. Pretty significant difference over the entire truck.
Here in about 40 minutes the entire cab is done top to bottom and as the pic shows, lots better than the untouched bed and fenders.
And 20 minutes after that, the entire truck is wiped clean. I've tried to remove chalk with buffing compounds, its a mighty bit of work as the pads really clog. And, since there is no plan to repaint, an solvent/oil like WD40 does a marvelous job of floating most of the muck off the surface. It'll prolly take another time or two of spray and wipe to get all the chalk off but thats fine. In the meantime, Ol John Lee looks snazzy and smells like Chick Magnet. I'll do like Dad and Grandpa always said, park it in the sun, it'll dry out nice and look good for more than a few washes. Less time waxing and washing, more time driving and enjoying.
