2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser Special Edition

The Guz

Mike
I did not take many photos as I just wanted to get this one done.

The owner is one of my many uncles. For those that are not aware on my mom`s side of the family my grandparents (RIP to both of them) had 11 children. 5 boys and 6 girls. So this is one of the 5 boys. This is the same uncle that got me a job in the same aerospace company we both work at. Well he has since accepted an offer at another site and will be moving a few hours away from me. He will be missed as I enjoyed having him near me to guide me in my career.

He has asked me a few times about restoring the paint on his special edition FJ. I kept telling him I am ready when he is. So this is his going away gift.

He told me today that he has never had it detailed. The paint showed it. The white paint had begun to oxidize and appear chalky. He currently lives by the beach so that plays into that as well.

Anyway enough blabbing.

Gave the interior which is mostly rubber and plastic with McKee`s 37 Fast Interior Detailer. Cleaned all the interior glass with McKee`s 20/20 Cockpit Glass Cleaner with a final wipe of Sprayway Glass Cleaner. He liked how the interior came out. Of course I vacuumed it prior to all this. Unfortunately no photos.

Onto the outside.

Cleaned the wheels with McKee`s 37 Foaming Wheel Cleaner Gel and Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner for the tires. Protected the wheels with Hydro2 at 1:6. I cleaned the trim with Meguiar`s D103 APC+ at this point as well to save me a step later on.

I used the Mike Phillips Aggressive Wash Method

Started off with Optimum Ferrex. This paint has never been chemically decontaminated. Bled on impact. My uncle freaked out at this point and was wondering what the heck was going on lol. I had to explain what I was doing and he didn`t know this sort of thing existed.

Roof

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Hood

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I rinsed it and washed it at this point with a non Autogeek shampoo. Re-foamed it and mechanically decontaminated the paint with a Griot`s fine grade clay mitt.

The test spot I went with was with the Rupes UHS. As seen in the video the paint was oxidized and the UHS polish and pad combination took care of that. I went around the entire paint with the UHS system. Removed all but the heavy swirls which was just what I wanted.


50/50 on the passenger door. Brings me to this The Lesson White Teaches Us

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The final images. No more beige looking FJ. It is bright white.

The trim was restored with Solution Finish and topped with Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant.

The paint was prepped with CarPro Eraser and protected with Gyeon Can Coat.

Was losing daylight in these. So the shadows look weird.

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Wheels protected with CarPro Hydro2 and the tires were dressed with Gyeon Tire

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He then took me out to dinner. Was looking nice in the parking lot.

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He then sent me this one as he was filling up.

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This detail was a good one. First time working with Toyota paint. My hands (gloved) and tools are covered in white paint. Need to clean that up.

But what was cool was my uncle stuck around to see the entire thing change right before his eyes. All I kept hearing was wow. This was of course good to hear but I could tell it brought back that feeling when he first bought it as he told me the story while I was working. He also admitted he neglected it.

I believe it was about 6 hours with 1 hour for lunch. So 5 hours total for interior and exterior.

I know he will enjoy it at his new job location.

I told him that his FJ is now competition ready lol. His response was Yes! (with a fist pump).

Thank you to my uncle for always being there for me, guiding me, mentoring me and taking care of me at work. You will be missed. I hope you come back one day.

Thanks for reading.


Interior Products

McKee`s 37 Fast Interior Detailer
McKee`s 20/20 Cockpit Glass Cleaner
Sprayway Glass Cleaner

Exterior product:

Optimum Ferrex
Rupes UHS Polish
Rupes UHS pads in 3", 1" and 6"
Gyeon CanCoat
CarPro Eraser
CarPro Hydro2
Solution Finish
Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant
McKee`s 37 Foaming Wheel Cleaner Gel
Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner
Gyeon Tire Coating
Optimum Metal Polish
Griot`s Fine Grade Clay Mitt
Autogeek Foam Gun

Tools:

Tools:
Various Wheel & Tire Brushes
Scangrip Sunmatch
Rupes LHR 15 MKII
Rupes LHR75E aka the Mini
Rupes Nano
 
Great to use your skills, tools, and products to transform a valued family member`s vehicle into a near show car for them. I`m sure it made you both feel good .

Great write-up and thanks for posting! The wheels and tires look especially good Guz!
 
Great job! The FJ is one of my favorite looking vehicles. I`ve come very close to buying a few. Now the prices have gone up, oh well.
 
Nice job. Nice story about a wonderful uncle.

Thanks. He hooked me as an intern at this aerospace company while I was in college and I have been there ever since. Hard to believe it will be 16 years this July. I owe him a lot for getting me in there.

Great job! The FJ is one of my favorite looking vehicles. I`ve come very close to buying a few. Now the prices have gone up, oh well.

Thanks. I`ve ridden in it a few times and it rides surprisingly well. I like the color combo of the special edition.

Great write up buddy! UHS knocked it out! Thanks again for speaking with me the other day.

Thanks. UHS is good stuff. I`m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

Feel free to message me anytime. I don`t mind chatting with another detailer/car guy.
 
Thanks. He hooked me as an intern at this aerospace company while I was in college and I have been there ever since. Hard to believe it will be 16 years this July. I owe him a lot for getting me in there.



Thanks. I`ve ridden in it a few times and it rides surprisingly well. I like the color combo of the special edition.



Thanks. UHS is good stuff. I`m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

Feel free to message me anytime. I don`t mind chatting with another detailer/car guy.

Thanks bud. Same here! Looking forward to trying it out. The GTI didn`t need it.
 
Great job! Its crazy to see the difference in the paint in the 50/50 shot and how white gets that yellow/brown film on it which sometimes to the owner is not really noticeable. Kind of like that white shirt that ages over time and starts becoming off-white but you don`t notice till you are standing next to someone with a brand new white shirt on. Then you are like oh damn my shirt is not white anymore. lol
 
Love these FJ`s and I really really want one with 3 pedals. Great job Guz!

Thanks Ray.

Great job! Its crazy to see the difference in the paint in the 50/50 shot and how white gets that yellow/brown film on it which sometimes to the owner is not really noticeable. Kind of like that white shirt that ages over time and starts becoming off-white but you don`t notice till you are standing next to someone with a brand new white shirt on. Then you are like oh damn my shirt is not white anymore. lol

Thanks. Now that is a really good analogy lol.
 
great work Guz

any pointers on using Can Coat? I`m going to be offering it this summer as my new intro coating - bottle is still sitting on my shelf as we speak.
 
great work Guz

any pointers on using Can Coat? I`m going to be offering it this summer as my new intro coating - bottle is still sitting on my shelf as we speak.

Thanks.

With can coat I would recommend using it in small sections. Acts just like a coating with it flashing. It`s a bit hard to level out depending on the temperature and humidity. Mind you I was working outside under a tarp so that played a factor in it.

It`s essentially a wipe on wipe off application. No need to let it sit longer than a minute. Sort of like DLUX if you have ever used that. I would stick with a low nap microfiber towel (300-350 gsm) for removal. It feels grabby with a towel that is more plush.

I used a handheld microfiber applicator to apply it. Seemed to work well. I did not try applying it it with a towel. Other than that it went on fairly well. I think i used a little too much for my first go around with it.
 
I forgot to post these the other day. This was 2 days after I had one stepped it. I took these as I went for a walk around the facility.

A bit washed out. But gloss looks good. Hopefully can coat lasts long with the paint being single stage.

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The two main things he wanted done was:

1. Restore the paint - accomplished.
2. Restore the trim - accomplished.
 
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