Swanicyouth
New member
So, I have been putzing around (detailing) with my new truck for the past 3 days... I picked it up in the snow / rain - so I really couldn`t judge the condition of the paint. It was pretty filthy on the lot - so I actually let the dealer wash it, but I told them no tire shine on anything. I had this fantasy: I was just going to wash it, the paint would be perfect, and I would just LSP it.
Well, it didn`t quite work out that way. Once I washed it & inspected the paint, I knew it was going to need some work. The paint wasn`t trashed - but there was some swirls. Also, did a baggy test and felt a decent amount of contamination. This is an example of the original condition:
I pressured washed the vehicle and then did a rinseless wash with Mckees N914. The wheels and plastic bits where cleaned with HydroFoam in a spray bottle 1:9. I love that stuff, it cleans and protects in 1 step almost anything it touches. The tires were getting Tuff Shine, so I was hoping these weren`t going to be the tires that required like 50 cleanings to get white foam.
Nope. White foam after one go around. The holy grail of Tuff Shine:
After it sat overnight, I decon`ed it with Dodo Juice`s Ferro Lube and a clay block. FL is another awesome product. It`s a clay lube / iron decon in 1 step product. You just use it as a clay lube and it attacks the iron as you go along. I love stuff that does 2 things at the same time - makes life easy, as long as it does the two things well. Both HydroFoam & Ferro Lube do both things well and are worth paying for.
After that, it was time for correction. Of course I`m a Rupes guy so...
I hoped I could just one step it with Rupes Fine Polish & their yellow pad. I was correct. In fact, this combo even took care of a few spots that had worse marring - by simply going over them a few more passes. Most places got 4-6 passes. I have to tell you, I picked up this awesome cordless LED light which just came in so handy:
The battery life is really good, it was fairly inexpensive, has 2 brightness settings, has a small foot print, and really lets you see what you are doing when working on the sides of a vehicle. Plus - it has a USB port on the back you can charge your phone or whatever with. Also, the support arm on the back completely folds up and can be set at different angles. It`s so handy.
This is an example of the kind of light it throws:
Anyway, the polishing went well. All the defects were easily removed. I don`t have a Rupes mini, so I used my 7424 with some 3" white LC pads + Rupes fine polish for the smaller areas. Worked great. I actually think the smaller throw of the PC may be beneficial when doing smaller areas compared to the bigger throw of the Rupes Mini. This machine still gets it done...
Once I was happy with the paint, I decided on Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating v2 as the LSP. While I do have the Pinnacle prep polish, there was no way I was going around this vehicle again with a DA to remove polishing oils. I decided to just risk it & do multiple wipe downs with Eraser from Car Pro. Since this paint never saw wax and was washed with N914 - I was pretty confident Eraser could clean up anything left on the paint.
Believe it or not, the coating was a bit tricky on this paint. Nothing too bad, but this color seems to show every dark/high spot. I found the easiest way to deal with this is to simply spray one spray of the coating on a towel and gently wipe over it. Also, coating half the panel and wiping helped a lot. I used LC coating applicator to apply it. The headlights and tail lights got the paint coating as well.
The vehicle came with an aftermarket Extang Trifecta Tonneau cover - which I really like. But I realized I have this massive piece of vinyl facing the sun I need to protect. So, going through everything I have on hand, I decided to use BlackFire Tire & Trim sealant. This stuff isn`t the easiest to work with, but it does look pretty nice, dries to the touch, & doesn`t run when wet. It seems to last longer than regular dressings as well.
After that, I decided to try a bit of an experiment. I did some of the plastic bits with the BF Tire & Trim sealant and some of the with the Black Label paint coating. Yes, paint coating on plastics/rubber. I`m not sure how the later will hold up - but I will compare the two. The paint coating does look good on the plastics though.
Black Label paint coating on plastics:
I even applied it to the rubber window gaskets:
You can`t really tell it`s on the rubber - but it seemed to soak in. Hopefully it will last a while, longer than rubber dressings or sealants. Time will tell. One thing is for sure - it won`t run on the paint when it rains.
After that, I Tuff Shine`d the tires. They came out nice, but it was a lot of work to get in all the grooves of these beefy tires. I used the Tuff Shine orange foam applicator to apply. I put down about four coats on each tire.
After 2 coats:
After 4 coats:
Windows were cleaned with N914 & got Pinnacle Glass Sealant. At this point, I was pretty happy with the exterior and every surface had some type of protection on it.
Inside was new car pristine. I just did a quick vacuum. But , I have to tell you - I have found the holy grail of weekend warrior detailing vacuums - the Dyson Animal Cordless V6:
In 2 seconds it converts from what you see above to a detailing vacuum with a motorized brush head:
It is extremely powerful - and cordless. It even has a button for a "max power" mode - although I never need it.
Comes with 4 attachments:
Attachments can be placed on the machine short or long:
This vacuum can handle anything in your home or your car. It`s the only vacuum you will ever need IMHO.
Then, I sprayed the front carpet and floor mats with 303 Fabric Protector. Leather was going to get Poor Boys Leather Stuff. I love this product. Another product that does two things: cleans and protects in one step. It`s not greasy and a little goes VERY FAR. I finally kicked the sample bottle I got like 5 years ago - good thing I had a back up.
Door cards got PB`s Natural Look dressing. Love this stuff as well. Little to no shine - just leaves stuff looking new car fresh.
Interior door gaskets got 303 Protectant for vinyl/rubber.
Afters:
Thanks for looking. All and all I`m wondering what did I get myself into with this color for a daily driver? It`s not black, but seems like it will show every defect. But, the paint corrects easy. I was debating between this and white - simply because white is so easy to maintain. Time will tell.
Well, it didn`t quite work out that way. Once I washed it & inspected the paint, I knew it was going to need some work. The paint wasn`t trashed - but there was some swirls. Also, did a baggy test and felt a decent amount of contamination. This is an example of the original condition:
I pressured washed the vehicle and then did a rinseless wash with Mckees N914. The wheels and plastic bits where cleaned with HydroFoam in a spray bottle 1:9. I love that stuff, it cleans and protects in 1 step almost anything it touches. The tires were getting Tuff Shine, so I was hoping these weren`t going to be the tires that required like 50 cleanings to get white foam.
Nope. White foam after one go around. The holy grail of Tuff Shine:
After it sat overnight, I decon`ed it with Dodo Juice`s Ferro Lube and a clay block. FL is another awesome product. It`s a clay lube / iron decon in 1 step product. You just use it as a clay lube and it attacks the iron as you go along. I love stuff that does 2 things at the same time - makes life easy, as long as it does the two things well. Both HydroFoam & Ferro Lube do both things well and are worth paying for.
After that, it was time for correction. Of course I`m a Rupes guy so...
I hoped I could just one step it with Rupes Fine Polish & their yellow pad. I was correct. In fact, this combo even took care of a few spots that had worse marring - by simply going over them a few more passes. Most places got 4-6 passes. I have to tell you, I picked up this awesome cordless LED light which just came in so handy:
The battery life is really good, it was fairly inexpensive, has 2 brightness settings, has a small foot print, and really lets you see what you are doing when working on the sides of a vehicle. Plus - it has a USB port on the back you can charge your phone or whatever with. Also, the support arm on the back completely folds up and can be set at different angles. It`s so handy.
This is an example of the kind of light it throws:
Anyway, the polishing went well. All the defects were easily removed. I don`t have a Rupes mini, so I used my 7424 with some 3" white LC pads + Rupes fine polish for the smaller areas. Worked great. I actually think the smaller throw of the PC may be beneficial when doing smaller areas compared to the bigger throw of the Rupes Mini. This machine still gets it done...
Once I was happy with the paint, I decided on Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating v2 as the LSP. While I do have the Pinnacle prep polish, there was no way I was going around this vehicle again with a DA to remove polishing oils. I decided to just risk it & do multiple wipe downs with Eraser from Car Pro. Since this paint never saw wax and was washed with N914 - I was pretty confident Eraser could clean up anything left on the paint.
Believe it or not, the coating was a bit tricky on this paint. Nothing too bad, but this color seems to show every dark/high spot. I found the easiest way to deal with this is to simply spray one spray of the coating on a towel and gently wipe over it. Also, coating half the panel and wiping helped a lot. I used LC coating applicator to apply it. The headlights and tail lights got the paint coating as well.
The vehicle came with an aftermarket Extang Trifecta Tonneau cover - which I really like. But I realized I have this massive piece of vinyl facing the sun I need to protect. So, going through everything I have on hand, I decided to use BlackFire Tire & Trim sealant. This stuff isn`t the easiest to work with, but it does look pretty nice, dries to the touch, & doesn`t run when wet. It seems to last longer than regular dressings as well.
After that, I decided to try a bit of an experiment. I did some of the plastic bits with the BF Tire & Trim sealant and some of the with the Black Label paint coating. Yes, paint coating on plastics/rubber. I`m not sure how the later will hold up - but I will compare the two. The paint coating does look good on the plastics though.
Black Label paint coating on plastics:
I even applied it to the rubber window gaskets:
You can`t really tell it`s on the rubber - but it seemed to soak in. Hopefully it will last a while, longer than rubber dressings or sealants. Time will tell. One thing is for sure - it won`t run on the paint when it rains.
After that, I Tuff Shine`d the tires. They came out nice, but it was a lot of work to get in all the grooves of these beefy tires. I used the Tuff Shine orange foam applicator to apply. I put down about four coats on each tire.
After 2 coats:
After 4 coats:
Windows were cleaned with N914 & got Pinnacle Glass Sealant. At this point, I was pretty happy with the exterior and every surface had some type of protection on it.
Inside was new car pristine. I just did a quick vacuum. But , I have to tell you - I have found the holy grail of weekend warrior detailing vacuums - the Dyson Animal Cordless V6:
In 2 seconds it converts from what you see above to a detailing vacuum with a motorized brush head:
It is extremely powerful - and cordless. It even has a button for a "max power" mode - although I never need it.
Comes with 4 attachments:
Attachments can be placed on the machine short or long:
This vacuum can handle anything in your home or your car. It`s the only vacuum you will ever need IMHO.
Then, I sprayed the front carpet and floor mats with 303 Fabric Protector. Leather was going to get Poor Boys Leather Stuff. I love this product. Another product that does two things: cleans and protects in one step. It`s not greasy and a little goes VERY FAR. I finally kicked the sample bottle I got like 5 years ago - good thing I had a back up.
Door cards got PB`s Natural Look dressing. Love this stuff as well. Little to no shine - just leaves stuff looking new car fresh.
Interior door gaskets got 303 Protectant for vinyl/rubber.
Afters:
Thanks for looking. All and all I`m wondering what did I get myself into with this color for a daily driver? It`s not black, but seems like it will show every defect. But, the paint corrects easy. I was debating between this and white - simply because white is so easy to maintain. Time will tell.
