Night and day
 

After seeing what Dave did over the weekend, that motivated me to go out to the garage and wax my whole truck by hand. All I can say is wow... it is amazing what an hour and a little elbow grease will do.

I used 3M rubbing compound, this stuff is amazing. I highly recommend using it to get that reputable shine.
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/a...-09-44_687.jpg

Pictures don't really show it that well, but just so you all can get an idea...
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/a...-15-51_593.jpg
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/a...-16-02_709.jpg

I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow out in the light. What really stands out is how DEEP the paint looks now. I'm pretty happy with it, just hope it'll stay that way for awhile now until I get some more wax and a good buffer.

I'm guessing you did the rubbing compound followed by wax?

Oh... No... Didn't think I needed to. Would it be ok if I picked some up tomorrow and did it then?

Yeah. I did that on my white truck. Just make sure you get that compound covered up with wax and before the truck gets dirty. It'll look better even more so with the wax on it too

Rubbing compound isn't a wax, it's for evening out the surface and taking minor blemishes out. I would definitely wax the truck as well.

Yup...in fact I would use something even less gritty like scratch -x or a mild buff n shine on it followed by a wax.

Rubbing compound is pretty harsh. If it looks better with that, try something milder and don't use a lot of pressure.
I would try a bit of hand application just to see how it looks in an out of the way area.

Then apply wax

Just what Al said. Your steps should be buff, polish, wax.

The truck does look better though. Take your time and do it right and it'll look even better when you get it all buffed and waxed

As already mentioned, I would follow up with some polishing compound then a nice coat of wax.

Got it waxed! Used Mcguiers polishing compound and it looks beautiful! I'll get pics up tomorrow of it all shined up!