06 Jeep Wrangler Needs Overhaul. Never Been Waxed Or Taken Care Of! Help Please

[rmkleman]

Hi everyone, I have used this forum for awhile now and haven`t really done a detail since i sold my camaro, even that was in pretty good condition when i started it though. Just a quick run down, i purchased a PC kit from autogeek and got the combo of a bunch of differant pads with it. I have purchased the more expensive meg products to use with it, light compounds and sealants ect... I`m really hoping someone on here has a jeep as there is a lot of plastic that i am unsure of what to do to it, as well as a soft top that i am assuming is vinal? The jeep is dark blue (have never done a dark vehicle) The scratches are pretty minor for the most part so i am pretty confident i can correct all of that with the light compounds i have after i clay the jeep. I guess i just need help on how to go about doing everything. Not sure what to use on any of the plastics on it or the soft top. It`s my girlfriends baby but she never washes or waxes it or anything. Wash it, clay it, and do my paint correction then just slap dressing on the plastics? There are plastic hood latches, side steps, fender flares, weather stripping around the window, and plastic windows... Also the interior seems to have about 1/4" of dust on it, do i wipe it down with soap and water to get the worst off first or what? I have never done a vehicle that hasn`t been kept up like this. She purchased the jeep brand new in 06 and has only put 16k miles on it. Seems like taping off all this plastic is going to be a pita! If i can get some good advice i will post pictures from start to finish, i`m pretty exited to see the final results! Any help would be great! Thanks in advance guys!!

[Street5927]

Wow, this is a tall order to fill. I have done a few Cherokees in the past, and it seems like the clear is usually pretty soft and corrects easily. You should be able to eliminate all swirls, holograms (if applicable), and minor scratches. Without knowing what pad package and what megs products you bought, it is difficult to give you some ideas. Anyway, here is what I would recommend. Wash with a good soap. If this is not going to be a regular thing, I would use Dawn, as it will strip any waxes/oils that were applied by the dealer or other persons. I would NOT use the dawn on the soft top. The soft top, I would recommend purchasing RaggTopp cleaner and protectant and follow the directions. A good wheel/tire cleaner for the "sneakers". Don`t forget to wash the wheel wells either. A good bug/tar remover for such (I recommend Tarminator).



As far as correction, remember when you clay to use a clay lubricant, go in short strokes and periodically check your clay for dirtiness/contaminants as to not scratch the finish. As far as the plastics, you can tape them off if you want, if not, be prepared to either remove the old wax build up or re-dye the plastics. IF they are in that bad of shape, maybe dying them is not a bad idea. If they are not in that bad of shape, taping is the way to go for two reasons...1, it will prevent any polish/wax from turning them white. and 2, if you accidentally hit it with the PC pad (especially rubber), it won`t ruin the rubber.



As far as the plastic windows, if they are in good shape, I would recommend Sonus Plastic protectant, or polish if they need some TLC. After polishing everything out, a re-wash with a good car wash soap (I like Megs HyerWash) to remove any dust or left over oils from polishing. Then a good sealant, and wax. If there are some scratches that you couldn`t get out, you can always apply a glaze before the sealant/wax to help "mask" the visual effects of the scratch. Again, this is a quick generalization without knowing exactly what you bought.

[08Sunburst]

i actually work at a Jeep dealer!



Every once and a while, i will detail a jeep here and there, but most of the time we send it out to a detailer(that normally does a CRAP job..)





First things first... when you use a rotary buffer on it, make sure to be very careful around the door handles. The paint that is on there likes to burn off VERY easily. I see 9/10 jeeps come back from the detail shop with parts of the door handles burned down to bare metal.



YES! there is a TON of plastic and black surface that will just EAT wax and leave a nasty white residue. A few things i can suggest.. mask off the fender flares! it seems like a pain in the rear, but if you dont, and you get compound or wax on them, its a tall order to remove it.



On the hood, the handle and the two black bumpers on top come off. The handle should be tw nuts, just wrench off and set aside, and the rubber bumpers on the hood just pull off. You will have to pull hard on them, but they will come off. Once you are done, they can be a bit of a pain to get back in, but what i do i push them down as far as they will go in, then pop the hood, and under the hood, grab the nub of the bumper, and pull it all the way through with a pair of pliers.



For the soft top, there are a few products out there that are made for canvas tops, im not sure what the best is, maybe someone else will chime in, but we normally use whatever is on the shelf at the auto parts store.





Also, because it does have a soft top, i recommend AT LEAST unfolding the top where the windows, back window, and anything canvas is touching the jeep. This way, you dont risk getting any product on the top. Again, another thing i see a lot of when we get a jeep back from detail is wax ALL OVER the canvas tops. Since the canvas is porous, it will retain wax/product, and its nearly IMPOSSIBLE to completely remove...



As far as the flares go, if they look dull and faded, we repaint them. We dont really mess around with using anything on them to try to make them look darker, because in a month, they just turn dull and faded again.



here are a few pictures of the paint process that i do on flares. If you want all the steps and materials i use, just let me know and i can type that all out..



http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/matthewstetz/IMG_0504.jpg



http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/matthewstetz/IMG_0505.jpg



http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/matthewstetz/IMG_0508.jpg





and another



before:



http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/matthewstetz/IMG_0418.jpg



other side after:



http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/matthewstetz/IMG_0417.jpg