Show & Shine: "Big Red" meets Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating

[javip2k]

Claude, fantastic job. What a stunning bright. You get double thumbs up from Mike!! ---- Thanks for shared this practical write up. I give you two thumbs up :dblthumb2:

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Stunning work on a hammered truck Claude!

 

[Desertnate]

Many thanks from an Average Joe. The exotics are eye cady, but it's threads like this that inspire us to see what can be done to our DD's. That truck probably didn't even look that good when it rolled off the assembly line!

The more of these threads I see about the coatings, the more tempted I am to give them a try. Like others I'm still a little aprehensive in applying it correctly after making the investment in the products.

 

[Dr_Pain]

Wow nice job. It came out looking great with the black label coating.

Thank you! and let's say that I was very happy with my selection of the Black Label Coating.

I'm very impressed.


:dblthumb2:

I am quite humbled with your bolded very. To get a "very impressed" from a guy that has been in the business as long as you have, and seen as much as you have.... well, I'm blushing a little.

Truck looks good doc!

I'm looking forward to trying the surface coating out on some of my family members rides once everything thaws out over here. Hopefully it lasts as long as advertised.

You won't regret it! Before jumping in with this new coating (and while convalescing) I did a lot of reading. Here are a few key points:

1) Prep is KEY!!. The paint needs to be flawless (or as close as you want it to be)
2) The surface MUST be cleaned of any compound residue, body oil or any other possible contaminants which would prevent the proper bonding of your coating.
3) Preferred temperature should be above 50 degrees and preferably above 60 degrees
4) Use gloves to prevent cross contaminating your applicator with body oils (or anything else you have on your hands)
5) Work CLEAN! and take your time..... and best is to have fun!

That is a massive improvement, very nice work.

Thanks!

Very nice. You definitely added some value to the truck.

I seriously doubt that truck will ever get sold. Thanks for the compliment!

Can't be, Photoshop? lol or you've changed the 'old truck' for a new one for the pictures?

Man, what a work you've done, Really impressed.

Also read your comments in the lines and I admire your thoughts. That's much more like what I deal as a 'Joe'. The X is if I could ever achieve closer to what you've done, my clients would fall in love with me!

Pretty actual topic, it's content can even be part of the answer to the topic about 'coating hype' ... My PBLSC shipping moved on today, I believe I'll get it this week! Getting really high expectations (not a good feeling, I know...).

'Ahn', Did I said nice job?!

Kind Regards.

Thanks bud! I will admit that I did process the pictures in photoshop to balance contrast and color levels but I did not retouch the pictures. Every time I take a picture, I make a mental note of what I saw and when I use Photoshop I try to represent as close to what I saw first hand without "manipulating" the image. You will note a few flaws in the pictures, but as I said in the remarks the gloss and reflection detracts your eye from the defect. I seriously wish I could have taken a close up (macro) of the crow's feet AFTER... I was literally 2 feet from the hood at high noon exposure and had a hard time seeing them. May be more noticeable at sun up and sun down, when you are not as blinded by the sun.... BUT the initial pics were taken at high noon as well icture:

We do tend to present the high end of our work, which is unreachable to the average Joe. I do hope this helps others feel proud of their work regardless if it is a 1970s Pinto or a custom Bugatti supercar.

Your comment about the "swap" made me laugh out loud. Where could I have found a NEW 15 year old truck, LOL!

Wow. Nice turnaround. Bet your customer's jaw hit the floor when he saw the results. Nice idea on the headlight restoration, too.

Re your existential thoughts .... Good point. There are a lot more Big Reds around than there are Maseratis, too. Though admittedly there probably aren't all that many people who would want (or, more accurately, would want to pay for) a full restore on their 15 year old pickup, it sure feels great to see someone's eyes widen in amazement at the improvement, doesn't it?

What did your customer say when he picked it up?

You know, this is the most heartbreaking part of my job, and my biggest flaw. I EXPECT that people will have the same emotional outburst and excitement I have when looking at the results, and some people (as in the case of this gentlemen) are very stoic. I seriously could not read him. He did thank me the same as if I had brought him a pie. I delivered the truck and "presented" it in the driveway in the sunlight with the wheels turn (similar to my glamor shot) and he walked around and felt the paint etc.. I seriously thought the guy was expecting more (from the reaction, or lack thereof). I jumped in my wife's car and left looking in the rear view (driving slow) and saw that he was still smiling and looking at the truck (walking away, coming close up etc..) and did that till I could not see him any longer, even though he had other pressing matters to tend to. This gave me comfort that he was satisfied and impressed.

WOW! Just WOW!

Thanks!

Truck looks absolutely stunning. Great job.

I appreciate the comments! Looking at the response I got from "Big Red", I feel bad I did not break out the Nikon over my iPhone :nomore:

 

[Dr_Pain]

Night & Day difference, great work. I've never applied a coating before but as a rookie, PBL was very easy to apply. I admit I was nervous applying it to my mustang...

Thanks! Coating should be less nerve racking, for a novice, than the idea of polishing or compounding. You are adding protection rather than removing clear. Yes, some coatings are more finicky than others and have different flash time etc... but worst that can happen is you have section that needs to be redone. The key for all coating novices is to 1) work clean 2) take your time!

Looks great. As someone who is looking at coatings right now your write-up definitely helped. Keep up the good work.

I definitely recommend the surface coating because it can be applied to multiple surfaces, whereas other products can only be applied to paint OR wheels OR glass..... It is to be said that a conversation with Nick yielded that the SURFACE coating is NOT the same as the PAINT coating, and that the substrate specific coating will tend to offer the best protection.

May I ask a question?

OP said "The coating was applied one section at a time and removed (as per instructions) with a MF towel."

What does it means to 'remove' the coat? Does it actually becomes 'oily', and you use a MF towel to wipe off just like 'wiping off wax'? Or do you only 'removes' high spots?

I'm sorry, I'm willing to apply this product but I'm not 100% secure about proper application. I understood about wiping it on, but I've not used it yet, I'm afraid of not knowing what's the coating wipe off technique.

If you have a link/video from something I've missed, that would be nice.

Whether you (anyone, please) want to explain using words, it also appreciable.

Thank you in advance,

Kind Regards.

Great question! The coating is applied by spritzing the surface you want to cover and you use a foam applicator, foam coating applicator, or in my case the suede MF cloth to spread it around (and to cover the whole surface evenly). Shortly after you finish spreading the product, you have to remove the excess or as you called it the "high spots". The technique to remove it is no different than if you were to remove QD sprayed on the paint.

This product is the most user friendly I have used in the coating family, so don't have any misgivings about using it. It provides a long work time and offers stunning results even if the technique is not 100%. You can't mess up if you do your research, take your time and prep, prep, prep (and don't forget to work clean)!!

I will link the Son1c video as soon as I am done replying to all the comments icture:

Looks good about to apply black label coating when I get it what do I need to apply it? And does the dp prep work good?

I had never used the DP prep before. Always been an Eraser or IPA guy but in chatting Nick, I felt I needed to give it a try and am happy I did. It does offer more lubricity feel than an IPA and did a very good job at removing the compounding residue off the paint. I did use my blow gun to remove all the dust etc.. off the paint and did a clean wipe before using the DP coating prep. I used a large foam applicator to make sure not to slip and accidentally dig a finger in the corrected paint as I was swirling the product around and used a clean MF to remove the product after the "cleansing" was done. I will definitely use the product from now on.

Really nice job Dr. Pain. :dblthumb2:



A foam applicator is most common. Lake Country has a new one out that looks to be good for most surfaces.

Lake Country Coating Applicator

I still like the round foam apps for getting in tight spots.

DP prep works as good or better than any of the others I've tried. I really like it.

Thanks! I was planning on putting a couple of those LC coating applicators in my basket at the time of the last purchase but forgot

Next time.......... and will probably do a review!rops:

Great job OP.

Can anyone else attest to this products "filling" Capabilities?

Thanks!....... and definitely looking forward to someone else's experience regarding the filling capabilities Feed back please

Awesome work Dr.Pain ! rops: The truck looks fantastic!!

I'm excited to give the BL Surface Coating I just bought a try! I'll keep an eye out and try to take some before and afters to check the filling capacity since I don't plan on doing a full 100% correction on my DD anyway.

Awesome! Make sure to post a review and some pics! Looking forward to it. Thanks for the compliments.

P.S. I hope to see a review of someone applying the product on a wash/clay/decontaminated surface rather than wash/clay/decon/compound-polished surface.

Truck looks new again.
Love the brite red reflection.

That truck looked "right" again. Thanks for the comment!

Does it work the same as IPA wipe down?

The DP prep does work the same as the IPA in removing the oily residue left behind from the compounding, but as Mike explained in one of the thread, it offer NO LUBRICITY so not exactly the risk you would want to take on a freshly polished surface if you don't have to. The application was brainless and did not require the same care as IPA to prevent micro marring. If you are an IPA guy, Nick said that a 15% IPA (if I remember correctly) would be his recommendation. My thought is to try the DP prep and you will never look back!

Looks great. Job well done. Did you say you used PF2500. Wow imagine if you used FG400.

I did have FG400 on hand BUT I had sooooooo many micro fracturing to deal with that I definitely wanted to go the least aggressive possible (to prevent excessive heat and abrasion), and my test spot revealed that PF2500 would do it for me (I had to do 6-8 careful passes in some area, but most were 4 passes @ speed 5.5). I think a 2 step on this truck would have been a serious overkill and most likely a waste of the customer money (since I prefer to follow FG400 with SF4000).

 

[LatinFG2]

Looks awesome! Excellent work.

 

[Tato]

Thank you! and let's say that I was very happy with my selection of the Black Label Coating.

Thanks bud! I will admit that I did process the pictures in photoshop to balance contrast and color levels but I did not retouch the pictures. Every time I take a picture, I make a mental note of what I saw and when I use Photoshop I try to represent as close to what I saw first hand without "manipulating" the image. You will note a few flaws in the pictures, but as I said in the remarks the gloss and reflection detracts your eye from the defect. I seriously wish I could have taken a close up (macro) of the crow's feet AFTER... I was literally 2 feet from the hood at high noon exposure and had a hard time seeing them. May be more noticeable at sun up and sun down, when you are not as blinded by the sun.... BUT the initial pics were taken at high noon as well icture:

We do tend to present the high end of our work, which is unreachable to the average Joe. I do hope this helps others feel proud of their work regardless if it is a 1970s Pinto or a custom Bugatti supercar.

Your comment about the "swap" made me laugh out loud. Where could I have found a NEW 15 year old truck, LOL!

I appreciate the comments! Looking at the response I got from "Big Red", I feel bad I did not break out the Nikon over my iPhone :nomore:

Dear, thank you for answer! Ah, I've said photoshop as a 'typo', saying this result was so beautiful that would only be possible to be created by computer! That was 'kidding', I'm sorry for my brazilian english way of writing. However, thank you for explanation.

Can you please, kindly try to answer (even if briefly) the questions about your coating application I've posted on page 2 of this topic?

Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards.

 

[Dr_Pain]

Claude, fantastic job. What a stunning bright. You get double thumbs up from Mike!! ---- Thanks for shared this practical write up. I give you two thumbs up :dblthumb2:

I have to admit that I am very humbled by the responses to this thread.... AND for the double thumbs from our resident mentor and all of my fellow detailers!!

Stunning work on a hammered truck Claude!

I know the before pictures shows a pretty hammered condition but 20 feet away from the truck you could have sworn it was a garage queen. Any closer and you notices that she was showing its age and within 5 feet you definitely could see the clear coat failure. I have some other pictures, so let me sift through them and see if I could show better the clear coat failure. It was evident! I tried and tried and tried to get an after picture of the corrected clear coat failure but the camera could not really pick it up. You can see some of it in the picture showing the products BUT that was before the coating. After the coating...... well, I could get a picture worth anything. I could faintly see them but I would have needed the big camera and tripod lights.

Many thanks from an Average Joe. The exotics are eye cady, but it's threads like this that inspire us to see what can be done to our DD's. That truck probably didn't even look that good when it rolled off the assembly line!

The more of these threads I see about the coatings, the more tempted I am to give them a try. Like others I'm still a little aprehensive in applying it correctly after making the investment in the products.

I agree with you and have spent hours drooling over the "eye candy", but we do tend to forget the daily drivers and the people that love them. I hope to be able to continue sharing and inspiring, and please do the same.

I would tell you, don't be afraid to give it a try, you won't regret it. If it turns out that you don't like the product, I am sure you can find an outlet to swap it for other products with some of the "converts" perusing the site (me being one of them). The initial investment is substantial (in the eye of most) but you use very little product so it will give you MANY applications.

 

[RTexasF]

I very much like seeing a "meat & potatoes" vehicle like this one renewed as you have done. I'll likely never see a supercar so the write ups for those, although wonderful, don't have the impact that your work did on the truck. Well done and well written.

 

[Dr_Pain]

Dear, thank you for answer! Ah, I've said photoshop as a 'typo', saying this result was so beautiful that would only be possible to be created by computer! That was 'kidding', I'm sorry for my brazilian english way of writing. However, thank you for explanation.

Can you please, kindly try to answer (even if briefly) the questions about your coating application I've posted on page 2 of this topic?

Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards.

LOL! No worries, I did not take your comment about Photoshoping as anything more than comment of amazement.

I did answer your question in my second long reply to all the comments and as promised I am including the video demonstration made by Son1c (aka Drew). Now you have my words and have a visual.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrQPMOmAKIM]SON1C Synopsis 65 : Pinnacle Black Label - Diamond All Surface Coating - Paint, Glass, Wheels Review - YouTube[/video]

 

[Dr_Pain]

Looks awesome! Excellent work.

Thanks!

I very much like seeing a "meat & potatoes" vehicle like this one renewed as you have done. I'll likely never see a supercar so the write ups for those, although wonderful, don't have the impact that your work did on the truck. Well done and well written.

Never say never!! I've been blessed with opportunities that I thought would never have been possible considering I do detailing as a second job on the weekend and live in a small town in South Louisiana. I wish I could have posted some the higher end cars I was able to work on, but the owners preferred I keep their car off the internet (my FB page or forums) for privacy reasons, which I can understand. Needless to say, if I can then you can. :buffing:

 

[Dr_Pain]

As promised, I looked back through the iPhone pics I took and found one picture that showed the level of clear coat failure a little better. I did cropped and resize the picture and adjusted the contrast a little but otherwise the photo is unretouched. I was rough and gritty to touch :checkit:

 

[RTexasF]

Never say never!! I've been blessed with opportunities that I thought would never have been possible considering I do detailing as a second job on the weekend and live in a small town in South Louisiana. I wish I could have posted some the higher end cars I was able to work on, but the owners preferred I keep their car off the internet (my FB page or forums) for privacy reasons, which I can understand. Needless to say, if I can then you can.

Since I've retired completely from detailing my interest in a supercar would be in driving it not buffing it. Even cleaning our personal cars has become a chore I no longer enjoy as I did in the past. If I could find someone with at least equal work ethics and knowledge I would pay them to jack with keeping our cars nice. Quite the 180º turn for this old boy. OOPS, sorry I've led your topic astray :nomore:

 

[Dr_Pain]

Since I've retired completely from detailing my interest in a supercar would be in driving it not buffing it. Even cleaning our personal cars has become a chore I no longer enjoy as I did in the past. If I could find someone with at least equal work ethics and knowledge I would pay them to jack with keeping our cars nice. Quite the 180º turn for this old boy. OOPS, sorry I've led your topic astray :nomore:

LOL! I prefer "hijacked threads" over "on the topic threads" it makes for much more interesting interactions. :dblthumb2:

 

[SON1C]

Incredible writeup Claude, truly talented!

love this shot
and this

anddd this

okay, I love all of the pictures! :xyxthumbs:
Top notch work as always however you need to take a day off!

 

[BrianMcLeod]

Thanks I got the lc foam app pads do I just spray on and work in the paint?

 

[Dr_Pain]

@ Drew.... thanks man!

@ Brian... It is that simple. Spritz on the paint (or any surface you are coating) and work it gently in all direction to assure full coverage and then remove with MF towel as per instructions. I choose to do the "waxing" circular motion followed by the "cross hatch" because it is part of the methodology I like. I am somewhat OCD about stuff like that. BUT if you can assure yourself full coverage with a random fractal type swirling motion then be my guess, it is that fool proof and easy to use!

P.S. Just a force of habit but worth the mention. I did give an initial spritz to the suede MF cloth. It is my personal internal fear of putting a dry surface on an virginal clear that made me do it. Is it necessary? NOPE! but make sure to start your applicator on a wet area

 

[BrianMcLeod]

Ok thanks would you use the lc square pad or use it and wipe a MF towel around it?

 

[Dr_Pain]

Ok thanks would you use the lc square pad or use it and wipe a MF towel around it?

Let me make sure I understand your question correctly. You mentioned having the LC coating applicator, right? This one:

If that is the case, spritz the surface, gently work the product EVERYWHERE and work it till you feel the product has almost disappeared AND THEN use a MF towel to remove the high spot. The process with the MF is similar to you removing the haze from a wax. You buff the "darker" wet and slightly streaky areas to reveal a UNIFORM high glossy surface. Like I've mentioned before, take your time!

I work with a headlamp and my Brinkmann to make sure that all high spots have been removed. I am pretty systematic about my approach, same as polishing/compounding.

 

[BrianMcLeod]

Ok thanks you! Cleared it up for me a lot I am going to try to get the truck done this week so look for a show n shine