'07 Tundra-Hard water horror!!

mose · 08-04-08, 01:19

This one took me totally by surprise!!! I took the detail sight unseen for a couple reasons. (1) it was a friend of a friend and (2) it's an '07!! How bad could it have been?
Well, evidentally, this guy has the worlds hardest water at his house!! The paint on this thing looked like a textured wall!! The glass was spotted badly as well!

I tried every polish I had, SIP, XMT4, SSR3, OC and nothing would give me more than 70% correction! I was using a PFW and it was making very littel difference. I went to a local performance shop and got some Megs #85 Diamond cut and that didn't make any difference either!!

I called the customer, told him the problem and asked him if he wanted me to try wetsanding next. I told him that, if it worked, it would be a lot more work and would result in more money for the detail. He asked how much and I just threw out "Probably another $200" and he said....."OK.....just do it".

So I wetsanded the whole truck and polished it out with the #85. It was my first time using this so I wasn't sure how it would finish down. I was really impressed with the way it worked! I have never been a big fan of Megs polishes....but this one impressed me! I tried SIP after sanding and, while it did the job, it didn't finish down as nicely as #85.

When I got to the glass I tried my usualy KAIO on a white CCS and it didn't make any difference at all!! I tried polishing them out with the Diamondite kit I have and they didn't budge. So I got some Driven to Perfection Heavy Duty Glass Cleaner and tried it by hand. A little better but not perfect. So I applied it to a Megs maroon pad and gave it a shot. That finally took all the water spots away and left me with nice clean glass!!

After all the sanding and polishing I pulled it back outside to wash again and was really expecting to see some hazing or holograms from the #85 but it was as clean as if I would have done a two or three step polish on it!! I was very surprised and VERY impressed!! I can't wait to try the #85 on somewhat more of a "normal" detail.

The customer was very happy with the work. Was very concerned that it was going to all spotted up again. I told him that he should look into some sort of filtration for his water and to make sure he dried the truck as soon as possible after washing. He asked again what the "damage" was, I told him and he kind of cringed as he wrote the check but assured me that he was sure it was worth it!!

Process

Wheels
Presoak w/Megs WB
EZ Detail brush
Topped w/OS
Wells
Presoak w/Megs DG
Dress w/Adams Undercarriage
Tires
Presoak w/Megs DG
Scrub
Dress w/OB through airgun
Paint
Wash w/Dawn
Dry w/VROOM MF and leafblower
Wetsand w/Megs unigrit 3000
Polish w/Megs #85
Topped w/DG PBA and 105
Glass
Water spots removed w/Driven to Perfection Heavy Duty Glass Cleaner
Welcome to Driven - Automotive, Aviation & Marine Polish, Auto Wax and Finishing Products
Topped w/OS
Chrome
Flitz by hand
Topped w/OS
Plastic
Black Wow
Interior
Dash and trim pieces got woolite/water
Topped w/OS
Mats were exracted
Carpet and seats vaccumed and spot cleaned

Pics
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Scottwax · 08-04-08, 01:32

Outstanding work!

I've been dealing with that crap all summer. Idiot landscapers running sprinkler systems during the day or in parking lot during normal business hours.

Got a BMW 650 on Wednesday with hard water spots. I can hardly wait...not!

shine · 08-04-08, 01:34

Wow, that was bad. Nice save!

Brandon1 · 08-04-08, 01:36

Mose that is awesome man! I have always wanted to wetsand b/c of the waterspots in this area, but have been to scared. Can you elaborate on what you used and process?

Looks awesome dude!

mose · 08-04-08, 01:47

Thanks guys!! It was a lot of work but it was worth it. Both in the sense of accomplishment and financially!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon1

Mose that is awesome man! I have always wanted to wetsand b/c of the waterspots in this area, but have been to scared. Can you elaborate on what you used and process?

Looks awesome dude!

Thanks Brandon!!
The only other wetsanding I had done, to date, was to finish out some rock chips I had repaired. So I wasn't really all that comfy with the concept at all!!

I used a mix of DP 4n1 and water for my lube and made sure that both the paint and then paper were as wet as I could get them. Typically I would sakd the sandpaper beforehand.......but I had no idea that I would be sanding.

I had heard that you were only supposed to go one direction when sanding so I tried a test spot on the hood. Using only upward strokes I made sure not to press too hard and made 6-7 passes with the sandpaper. I wipe it down with more 4n1 mix and then IPA to make sure there wasn't any residue left over. Then I used the Megs #85 to make sure that it was going to take the sanding marks down.

Then I tried sanding in both directions right next to it. Polished it out with #85 and there was no difference. So I did a panel at a time, took my time and made sure to be extra careful around bodylines and edges. These were the spots that I made sure I did ONLY one way strokes. I have been down the "burned through the paint on your brand new Tundra" road before.....and wasn't about to head that direction again!!

When I was done sanding and polishing I washed it again to make sure I got all the leftovers out of all the nooks and crannys.

PITA but totally worth it!! I learned a lot from this detail and found a new polish to boot!!

Holden_C04 · 08-04-08, 01:51

I love these trucks. It's my dream to one day have one say "Apollo Detailing" on the side of one. That would be cool.

Great job and I understand about the water spots. On a recent job, I had to correct my own water marks because I couldn't do a wash w/o them. Too damn hot!

sal329 · 08-04-08, 04:05

Wow that is some fine work.

VroomVroom · 08-04-08, 05:08

Just outstanding work - big kudos! That customer got one heck of a bargain in my opinion.

The 'before' images brought back memories of what my truck looked like when I bought it. My assumption was that it just sat on the lot, occasionally being rinsed down by "detailers" or Mother Nature. I spent an awful lot of hours over three weekends removing etched spots from the paint, glass, and chrome. Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but I wanted you to know I appreciate what you did on that truck...again: kudos!

Gears · 08-04-08, 05:41

The pictures of the windows really said it all.

WoW

Great work.

TSC17 · 08-04-08, 06:03

Amazing work, and I agree that the customer definitely got a bargain on that one. I know that it puts you in a difficult spot when you quote a price, and then find out that it's going to take a lot more to do the job.

mose · 08-05-08, 08:11

Thanks for the kind words guys!! It does suck to have to go back to a customer and tell them it's going to be more money. You run the risk of them thinking that you are just trying to squeeze more cash out of them. Luckily it was a friend and he knew how hard I work at making the cars I do look good. So he knew that I wasn't trying to milk him and that it was really going to be a lot more work!!

On a side note: When he picked it up he told me that he had one of those dealer installed Perma Shield things put over his paint. Luckily he is a friend and I could bag on him about it. But then I told him that those things usually come with a warranty and they might have either fixed the paint (yeah right) or paid to have it fixed. They probably would fight either one....but ya never know!!

bwalker25 · 08-06-08, 04:41

mose, did you use a DA polisher for this or a rotary? If you used a DA did it do alright with the 3000 grit sanding marks?