Tahoe Transformation (pic heavy)

[mrclean81]

I was contacted by the dealership i do a ton of work for about a Tahoe that "has seen better days". Due to the condition that all of this places vehicals are in when they buy them, I didnt think much of it. It turns out they bought a bunch of Tahoes and Duramax trucks from an auction in South Texas, which were former Border Patrol trucks. To put it nicely, this was one of the most abused, neglected, and disgusting vehicals Ive done in a while. My camera batteries went dead on me during the before shots so I didnt get any befores of the interior. Take it from me..it was bad. Dirt, rocks, mud, and some kind of unidentified red crap everywhere. The paint was so scratched up, there was no reflection at all. It looked like severe oxidation but wasnt. Before I got it, the mechanics there replaced the entire suspension and brakes because it was all shot. BTW this vehical had 30,000 miles on it.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore1.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore4.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore3.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore5.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore6.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore7.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore9.jpg

[mrclean81]

Glue was left on the body from the stickers that were on it. This was removed using Car Brite`s Take Off and a plastic razor blade.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore12.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore2.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore10.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoebefore11.jpg

The engine was cleaned using Auto Magic`s Red Hot mixed 50/50, then steam washed and dress with Pro`s Premo.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter2.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter1.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter4.jpg

[mrclean81]

I was supplied with wheels & tires, center console, cd player, and front air dam.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter15.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter14.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter11.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter8.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter13.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter12.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter9.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter10.jpg

[mrclean81]

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter6.jpg
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter7.jpg

This was something that bothered me really bad but there was nothing i could do. There was once a cage in the back, and it was pressed into the rear seat causing permanant damage. If you look closely, there is also a hole that I had to patch in the floor where something big was mounted.
http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae188/mrclean81/mobile%20details/USTahoeafter5.jpg

My process was as follows
Wash with Zip Wax, CB Whamo white wall cleaner, and CB Bug Away.
Interior was cleaned with CB Xtra Duty and floor was cleaned with heated extractor, then everything was dressed with Pro`s Premo or Liquid Blue Ice.
The entire truck was wetsanded with 2000 grit, then buffed out using 3M Perfected-It 3 compound and wool pad. Auto Magic Risk Free Polish was applied using Blue Hi Buff pad, then Auto Magic Strawberry Wet Wax was applied using White Hi Buff pad. All machine work done with a Harbor Freight Rotary.

thanks for looking :)

[tuscarora dave]

Very impressive turnaround! I sure hope you got paid well for that one.

[Ronkh]

Having had a Z71, I know that`s a lot of real estate to polish......

How long did it take?

[tundra2287]

Awesome job! Looks great. :cool:

[mrclean81]

Thanks. With these guys it never pays like it should, but its steady work. I had 26 hours in it.

[njcarting1]

Nice work :yay

did I see "U.S. customs on the fade of the stickers" :inspector: I am sure they don`t care at all what they do with a vehicle. :passout: I wonder what the HR meter would say in idle time? prolly about another 100k...

Great work, :drool: who ever sent ya that rag should be happy, extra happy with the finished product. It looks much better with the stock tires and wheels. I hope the guy that gets that has a budget for extra repairs...:howdy

Did they pay in peso`s or Canadian dollars? after all they make us keep watch 24/7 they should contribute to the cause...

[Dtrick.22]

Great turnaround! You must have burnt your hands off polishing that whole thing with the HF rotary. Mine gets so hot after 20 minutes that I need to shut it off and do something else!

[mrclean81]

Nice work :yay

did I see "U.S. customs on the fade of the stickers" :inspector: I am sure they don`t care at all what they do with a vehicle. :passout: I wonder what the HR meter would say in idle time? prolly about another 100k...

Great work, :drool: who ever sent ya that rag should be happy, extra happy with the finished product. It looks much better with the stock tires and wheels. I hope the guy that gets that has a budget for extra repairs...:howdy

Did they pay in peso`s or Canadian dollars? after all they make us keep watch 24/7 they should contribute to the cause...

Thank you. It did say US Customs on the doors and Border Patrol on the rear quarters. Im now dreading all the Duramax`s because they are in even worse condition than this one was in. I`ll try to do a write up on one of those also. The dealership was thrilled with it, I recieved my peso`s, and headed home covered in compound lol.

Dtrick.22 - My buffer gets really hot too. I buffed and polished for 10 hours, and the machine was so hot i could smell it. I cant believe its still running after all the abusive jobs like this that its done. Im pretty impressed with it. The best $40 Ive ever spent.

[JaredPointer]

Nice turnaround.

[tmacsad]

Nice Job!

[black bart]

Man you are a Brute for punishment. :D
Nice turn around but I still would not want it knowing where it came from.

[mrclean81]

Man you are a Brute for punishment. :D
Nice turn around but I still would not want it knowing where it came from.

Haha I tend to land all the bad ones. I`ve got at least 2 weeks worth of work lined up now and they are all just like this one. I agree with you though. There`s no way I`d want one of them.