Dodge Mega-Cab / MEGA MESS!

Ok Friday is coming and weather looks nice Zaino time!!!!!!

Just a few quick questions for anyone who can help.First my car holds water in alot of spots after wash and dry,will water running off into the Zaino screw anything up?Second if so can I wash one day put car indoors and apply Z next day will dust from overnight hurt application?I know these questions my not be very technical but first time using Z don't want to screw up.My plans are:



dawn

smr

Z7

Z1

Z5

Maybe Z2 next day

Enjoy:)
 
so the water will not hurt anything. My advice to you is to dry your car off, take it for a short 1 mile drive to blow off any remaining water, then go over the car with Z6 and zaino away. Just make sure you Z6 before applying zaino and you will be ok.
 
It was a beautiful warm and sunny day in Fla. as I prepared to detail a Ferrari...........oh crap, I thought I was someone else for a minute..... I meant to say it was 15 degrees on a crappy,cold, snowy and foggy day in Utah as I prepared to detail an absolutely trashed in every way humongous pickup truck. That sound like me now :smile:

Things are slow here in the dead of winter so any job that comes up I am happy to get it. This guy called with an '08 Dodge Mega-Cab he said it had some overspray on it. Also while I was there he'd like an interior detail. I gave him a ballpark figure and said we'd firm it up when I got a good look at it. Well the guy turned out to be a commercial painter that didn't like to walk very far so he parks his truck on the worksite where he is spraying:doh:

The truck is covered in oil based paint and I mean covered, sides and all. Top of the hood and roof were like 40 grit sandpaper. the only good news is he had a shop I could pull it in and defrost it after washing. The truck was abused and I let him know it wasn't gonna be "like-new" but would be 1000 times better than it was. I got a "price ceiling" from him and told him I would do my best in that time frame (10 hours). Could've spent a week on this one! Pics were limited as I took a few and after I started realized how bad it was and just started hauling butt on it. When I got done the cold had drained the battery in the camera so no after shots on the interior.

I pre-soaked with APC, then Dawn wash and neither even touched this overspray. Even with the hot water pressure washer cranked to max heat and pressure not a speck budged. I clayed with Meg's Agressive clay. Thanks to PAC for the Blackfire Clay Cleaner / Extender as it truly earned itself a gold award on this job. Each section had to be clayed 2-3 times to get the overspray off. I would have used ten times the clay because of the amount of overspray coming off into the clay. The BF cleaner just washed it off and I went on the the next pass. Total time just claying was over 5 hours! These mega-cabs really have some square footage. I could only get 1/2 the truck into the picture

Time constraints determined that there was only time for a single polish step. Since it was a work truck with defects and all the aggressive claying I did I wanted the most "bang for the buck" and tried all combinations. Landed on 105 on an orange pad followed by BFWD. Since the truck was light silver there were no issues with 1 stepping with 105, it finished out very nice. Total time was 10 hours with a very speedy interior detail. I could not have been able to do such a thorough job so quickly without my vx5000 steamer....I LOVE that thing! I was totally exhausted when this was done and have had cramps in my forearms from all that claying!!

Anyway on to the pics.........

befores

frontbefore.jpg


2093.jpg


wheelbefore.jpg


int3.jpg


int2.jpg


int1.jpg


int4.jpg



HOOD BEFORE

hoodbefore.jpg


HOOD AFTER

hoodafter.jpg


FENDER BEFORE

hoodfenderbefore.jpg


FENDER AFTER

hoodfenderafter.jpg


SIDE OF CAB BEFORE

pillarbefore.jpg


SIDE OF CAB AFTER

pillarafter.jpg


LAST 2 PICS BEFORE THE BATTERY DIED

frontafter.jpg


side.jpg
 
Rich,

You deffinately earned every penny on this job. What a mess and a great turnaround.

Great Job:rockon:
 
Thanks guys! When I finished I told him to either buy a cheap cover or a bicycle. He looked confused.....then I explained he should put the bike in the back, park 1 mile away and ride the bike to the jobsite!!! :biggrin:
 
Thanks guys! When I finished I told him to either buy a cheap cover or a bicycle. He looked confused.....then I explained he should put the bike in the back, park 1 mile away and ride the bike to the jobsite!!! :biggrin:

Carrying a trash bag in the truck might be a good idea as well.

I'm guessing that paint splatter on the front rail of the bed and the back of the cab is still there? Woulda loved to have seen the finished interior. Exterior looks primo. Nice work! Woulda taken me a couple of days.

TL
 
Carrying a trash bag in the truck might be a good idea as well.

I'm guessing that paint splatter on the front rail of the bed and the back of the cab is still there?
TL

Actually I cleaned all of it that was on the cab. No point in touching the bed as it was mostly like that. It was a latex paint so I pre-treated it with Goof-Off and scraped it with a plastic scraper blade and it came off pretty easily. There was also lots of residue from duct tape on the other side that I used the same method. Haven't figured out why there was duct tape on the back of the cab though.

As for the garbage bag idea, yeah that would have helped. Remember that was just what you could see! There was at least that much hiding under all the seats. I almost filled a 40 gallon trash can with all the debris. He had more crap in his door pockets than most people have in their whole car!!!
 
As for the garbage bag idea, yeah that would have helped. Remember that was just what you could see! There was at least that much hiding under all the seats. I almost filled a 40 gallon trash can with all the debris. He had more crap in his door pockets than most people have in their whole car!!!

I used to work with a guy like that. He said when the truck was full it was time to trade. His personal appearance was every bit as neat and tidy. :eek:

TL
 
Man Rich you really do have a strong work ethic. I love your never say die attitude :sarge

I hope someone see's your work on the net and flies you to a warm climate for a week of detailing exotics. Your work is outstanding :money:
 
wish the battery haden't died, because the turn around looks outstanding and I want to see more pics!
Hope the owner knows how lucky he is to have had you bring such a big project back to life
 
Nice work! I get a lot of them like that. Hard for guys like us to understand.:out: Anyway, you did a very nice job of turning it around. Job well done!:biggrin:
 
Man Rich you really do have a strong work ethic. I love your never say die attitude :sarge

I hope someone see's your work on the net and flies you to a warm climate for a week of detailing exotics. Your work is outstanding :money:

Man, I appreciate that and I'll try to keep that thought of a week with warmth and exotics in my head next time I'm freezing my butt off!

great turnaround on a heap of a truck.... you do have a not too much for me attitude, i woulda sent him somewhere else.

about 2 hours into the claying marathon I was thinking I maybe should have done that!!


wish the battery haden't died, because the turn around looks outstanding and I want to see more pics!
Hope the owner knows how lucky he is to have had you bring such a big project back to life

Hopefully he keeps it that way! I'm sure the $400 bill will give him something to think about next time he pulls up at the jobsite. I did make him feel the hood after the BFWD was applied and it really blew him away how slick it was. No kidding....you really could have sanded wood on it before!

Nice work! I get a lot of them like that. Hard for guys like us to understand.:out: Anyway, you did a very nice job of turning it around. Job well done!:biggrin:

Thanks Bill, always glad to share my pain with someone who's been there!
 
Thank you very much for your write-up and pictures Richard, and also on the use and how well the Blackfire Clay Cleaner & Extender works.
 
Rich,

Wow, does this guy LIVE in the truck too ?? :)

I have had some dirty vehicles before but none that filled a 40-gallon trash bag! Holy Cow !!!

You did an absolutely awesome job - he had to be really happy to get his monster truck clean and about 100lbs lighter too !!!

Thanks for taking the time in all that cold and nastiness to tell us about another awesome recovery, show us some cool pics and give us your take on another product I havent tried yet.

Dan F
 
Rich - I think you have the prize of worst vehicle so far this year:Gift:

That is worse than most of the soccer mom vans running around :scared:
 
Rich - I think you have the prize of worst vehicle so far this year:Gift:

That is worse than most of the soccer mom vans running around :scared:

I second that emotion!

Man, what a nightmare of a job and great work to turn that around so soon. It would have taken me a week... probably, just to do the interior!:scared:

Next time I get a "difficult" car... I'm going to remember Rich's truck and quit complaining to myself.;)
 
Rich - I think you have the prize of worst vehicle so far this year:Gift:

OK, I accept. I'd like to thank all the people that made this possible. I'd like to thank all me peers here for recognizing me.... I'd like to thank my wife for telling me to get out of the house and stop driving her crazy....... the guy who owns the truck for doing "all that he does" so well, and I'd also like to thank PAC, without whom this wouldn't be possible. I think I am tearing up now and I don't want to cry so I'm taking my award and going home. Thank you all! (orchestra music playing me out)........... :clap: :clap: :clap::partaaay: :partaaay:
 
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