2012 Toyota RAV4 - PBL Glass, Paint, & Wheel Coating

[281]

I thought I would take the opportunity because of the three day weekend to detail and apply PBL glass, paint, and wheel coating to my soon to be mother-in-laws Rav4.

I found it a challenge locating swirls on silver paint. I had the Rav outside to visually inspect but it was overcast so that didn't help. Had to bust out the Brinkman and only area that had issues was the hood because of stains from bird droppings.

I forgot the Nikon at home so I had to use my iPhone, sorry not the best pictures...






Overall, the RAV's paint was in excellent shape. Here was my process that took 5 hours:

Wash
Speedy Pro Pad with Wolfgang Clay lubricant
M205 - Flex3401 LC white hybrid pad
M205 - Rupes Mini 4" LC tangerine hydro pad & Rupes yellow pad
PBL Cleansing Polish - LC tangerine hydro pad
Applied PBL Glass, Paint, & Wheel Coating using LC Applicator

























This was my first opportunity using the hybrids on the my Flex3401. Definitely feels like I have more control

Also had the chance to break out the Rupes Mini. One thing for sure, the Rupes Mini did not like the 4" LC hydros. I switched out to a Rupes yellow pad, night & day difference imo. Also, have to remind myself when using the mini, it's not forced rotation. Definitely requires some adjustment when using in conjunction with the Flex.

This is the 3rd time I've applied PBL, once again PBL has exceed my expectations. PBL is very user friendly, this coming from an enthusiast. Unfortunately it was overcast out so I couldn't really get any good sun shots.

Final note, the look on moms face was priceless when she opened the garage and looked at her Rav4. Shiny, glossy, and super slick. I'll check on the coating in about 3 months to see how it's doing.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Radarryan]

Very nice of you to so the mother-in-law's SUV! Too bad the mini didn't like hydro-techs... They're probably my favorite pad (at least with a random orbital, normal stroke polisher). Thanks for sharing. Look forward to your next!

 

[Docpeanut]

Looks like you can jump into that paint and go swimming

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Very nice work James! Plenty of gloss from that silver! Nicely done.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[HateSwirls]

Looks nice James.
I wish my RAV was silver at times instead of black
Again nice work on your part.

 

[281]

Very nice of you to so the mother-in-law's SUV! Too bad the mini didn't like hydro-techs... They're probably my favorite pad (at least with a random orbital, normal stroke polisher). Thanks for sharing. Look forward to your next!

Thanks Ryan! Yeah kinda bummed the hydros didn't work on the mini, oh well comes with the territory.

Looks like you can jump into that paint and go swimming

Thanks Brian!

Very nice work James! Plenty of gloss from that silver! Nicely done.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Mike!

Looks nice James.
I wish my RAV was silver at times instead of black
Again nice work on your part.

Thanks Kevin! I feel the same at times when it comes to my mustang but when its all cleaned up and shiny, those feelings disappear. Glad to see your surgery was successful and you're back to doing amazing work rops:

 

[GreatAvalon]

Nice job! And hopefully you got some brownie points for doing your MIL's RAV! Really nice shine, especially for silver!

I'm looking forward to going crazy on my mom's 2013 RAV. Only slight correction needed on it, no swirls though.

 

[281]

Nice job! And hopefully you got some brownie points for doing your MIL's RAV! Really nice shine, especially for silver!

I'm looking forward to going crazy on my mom's 2013 RAV. Only slight correction needed on it, no swirls though.

Thanks! Haha oh yeah, she definitely loves me more :xyxthumbs:

 

[GreatAvalon]

Thanks! Haha oh yeah, she definitely loves me more :xyxthumbs:

Success!!! :laughing:

What did you use on the side mirrors and tires? I read it in your list but I'm new here so I have no clue what product that is based on the acronym. :xyxthumbs: Sorry for my newb-ness!

 

[281]

Success!!! :laughing:

What did you use on the side mirrors and tires? I read it in your list but I'm new here so I have no clue what product that is based on the acronym. :xyxthumbs: Sorry for my newb-ness!

PBL- Pinnacle Black Label

Pinnacle Black Label Collection

No sweat on the questions, thats what I love about this forum, everyone helps everyone out. We were all new at some point rops:

I used PBL coating for everything except the tires, used some Armor All foam stuff for the tires.

 

[GreatAvalon]

PBL- Pinnacle Black Label

Pinnacle Black Label Collection

No sweat on the questions, thats what I love about this forum, everyone helps everyone out. We were all new at some point rops:

I used PBL coating for everything except the tires, used some Armor All foam stuff for the tires.

:xyxthumbs: I did 2 1/2 months of research and lurking before joining up this morning. Wanted to eliminate most of the rookie questions :laughing:

Thanks for the link! So which PBL did you use on the mirrors? Wheel coating on the mirrors?

You can see my intro thread here to see what all I learned by lurking! :xyxthumbs:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...hey-guys-long-time-lurker-finally-joined.html

 

[281]

:xyxthumbs: I did 2 1/2 months of research and lurking before joining up this morning. Wanted to eliminate most of the rookie questions :laughing:

Thanks for the link! So which PBL did you use on the mirrors? Wheel coating on the mirrors?

You can see my intro thread here to see what all I learned by lurking! :xyxthumbs:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...hey-guys-long-time-lurker-finally-joined.html

I used the paint coating for the mirrors. I coated the Rav with paint coating, then glass, then wheels.

Really nice first order btw, that's how my addiction started lol rops:

If you can, may I suggest adding Menzerna FG400 and SF4000? Keep it in the Menzerna family of products...

 

[GreatAvalon]

I used the paint coating for the mirrors. I coated the Rav with paint coating, then glass, then wheels.

Ohh gotcha. I really like that, nice job and thanks for the info! Next order...

Really nice first order btw, that's how my addiction started lol rops:

If you can, may I suggest adding Menzerna FG400 and SF4000? Keep it in the Menzerna family of products...

Thanks! Hours and hours and hours of research. Great idea. I almost bought FG400 instead of M105 to fix those scratches but I didn't want to spend that money in case I didn't like Menz. products. Figured I would wait until I use the Menz stuff I have (beginning of spring), then order the FG400. But in the meantime I need something to fix those stupid scratches!

And SF4000 - I should probably add that as well like you said. I got 4500 instead of the 4000 since I believe dark Toyota paint is supposed to be soft, so the 4500 should jewel really nicely. And I don't have swirls on any of the 2 cars this stuff will be used on really, so I didn't really need any thing w/ corrective ability, but at the advice of a member I got the 2500 just to have handy in case! Dang if 2 weeks later I didn't get that door ding lol. I jinxed myself!

I will definitely take your advice and add 400 and 4000 as long as I like the DAT Menzerna products!!! :dblthumb2:

OK sorry to drag your beautiful RAV thread off-topic! I really like how those mirrors and all other plastic looks, along with the whole rest of the vehicle! Fantastic job again 28ONE!

 

[281]

I just realized I wasn't clear about something. I used PBL paint coating, PBL glass coating, and PBL wheel coating. 3 separate products.

When I first started this obsession it was with M105/M205 as my combo. M105 in my experience was at times hard to remove and definitely showed signs of marring. M205 is a great polish.

I then tried Wolfgang Uber, wow night and day difference and it finishes extremely nice. Followed up with Wolfgang Finishing Glaze and was amazed at the results.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/73763-06-mustang-gt.html

WG Uber = FG400
WG Finishing Glaze = SF4000

Menzerna makes Wolfgang products to Autogeek specs. Speaking of SF4500, I practically have a brand new bottle, could never get shine like I wanted it too. Some say you need to use a rotary to properly jewel. I tired with the PC and Flex= no luck but that of course could be my technique when I was new. Haven't really tried since then.

 

[GreatAvalon]

Ah, sorry about not answering you man, I totally missed the post or clicked out before I answered it a few days ago. My apologies.

Ok, so you used all 3 coatings, man, thats some money right there. I need to do that to my parents cars too, but that will wait so I can play with all my new stuff and my PC on them :laughing:

I almost went w/ the WG twins but opted for Menzerna. I hope I don't regret it, but we'll see tomorrow as I'm going to address those door ding scratches tomorrow. Only going to spot correct there though since I want to wait until were out of the snow, or most likely lol.

I hope to wait until my Spring Break in 2 or 3 weeks, then I want to go crazy on my car haha! And I will go crazy on our boat over spring break too. Need to put my PC to WORK!!!

I hope I have better results w/ the SF4500. I was planning on just doing the normal DAT process with the 4500. Is there something more I should do in order to "jewel"? The main reason why I got SF4500 was because my paint is in extremely good condition, no swirls, or extremely light and minimal ones (but I haven't seen any!) so I wanted basically a clear coat scrubber/brighteners without having any cut. This way I could also polish every couple of months to practice on and clarify the clear coat without having a lot of cut necessarily. (Car is a lease so I dont really care about how much CC I eat through [as long as I dont strike through], since in less than 2 years its not mine anymore). So SF4500 was the least cut I could find and people rave about it on here from what I read. I bought a pad combo for it that everyone raves about as well, in combo w/ the PC. So we will certainly find out!

Any veteran tips for trying to "jewel" a bit?

 

[281]

Ah, sorry about not answering you man, I totally missed the post or clicked out before I answered it a few days ago. My apologies.

Ok, so you used all 3 coatings, man, thats some money right there. I need to do that to my parents cars too, but that will wait so I can play with all my new stuff and my PC on them :laughing:

I almost went w/ the WG twins but opted for Menzerna. I hope I don't regret it, but we'll see tomorrow as I'm going to address those door ding scratches tomorrow. Only going to spot correct there though since I want to wait until were out of the snow, or most likely lol.

I hope to wait until my Spring Break in 2 or 3 weeks, then I want to go crazy on my car haha! And I will go crazy on our boat over spring break too. Need to put my PC to WORK!!!

I hope I have better results w/ the SF4500. I was planning on just doing the normal DAT process with the 4500. Is there something more I should do in order to "jewel"? The main reason why I got SF4500 was because my paint is in extremely good condition, no swirls, or extremely light and minimal ones (but I haven't seen any!) so I wanted basically a clear coat scrubber/brighteners without having any cut. This way I could also polish every couple of months to practice on and clarify the clear coat without having a lot of cut necessarily. (Car is a lease so I dont really care about how much CC I eat through [as long as I dont strike through], since in less than 2 years its not mine anymore). So SF4500 was the least cut I could find and people rave about it on here from what I read. I bought a pad combo for it that everyone raves about as well, in combo w/ the PC. So we will certainly find out!

Any veteran tips for trying to "jewel" a bit?

All good my friend, I just saw ur orders - very nice. Yeah I spent quite a bit piecing my PBL products together. Should have just got the Elite Kit from the beginning.

As for jeweling, I haven't had any luck with my flex3401 n sf4500. All my bottle of 4500 does is collect dust. When I hear about jeweling, the most common theme is its done with a rotary. I love WG & Menzerna products. Can't go wrong with either one. My next order will have fg400 & sf4000 just to have on hand.

 

[GreatAvalon]

All good my friend, I just saw ur orders - very nice. Yeah I spent quite a bit piecing my PBL products together. Should have just got the Elite Kit from the beginning.

As for jeweling, I haven't had any luck with my flex3401 n sf4500. All my bottle of 4500 does is collect dust. When I hear about jeweling, the most common theme is its done with a rotary. I love WG & Menzerna products. Can't go wrong with either one. My next order will have fg400 & sf4000 just to have on hand.

Thanks man! This is a lot of money, wow. The first mistake I did was make that first order and condone spending that kind of money. Now condoning $100 orders is super easy compared to that first $500 order lmao.

I think that's what I'll do, just buy a kit of it if I get into coatings. I am interested in the glass coating, so its like rain-x without the stupid streaks lol

Did the sf4500 turn out bad for you, like did it make the surface hazy or micro mar, or did it just not sparkle as you had expected and wanted it to? I hope the soft Toyota paint helps me on this one!

 

[281]

Thanks man! This is a lot of money, wow. The first mistake I did was make that first order and condone spending that kind of money. Now condoning $100 orders is super easy compared to that first $500 order lmao.

I think that's what I'll do, just buy a kit of it if I get into coatings. I am interested in the glass coating, so its like rain-x without the stupid streaks lol

Did the sf4500 turn out bad for you, like did it make the surface hazy or micro mar, or did it just not sparkle as you had expected and wanted it to? I hope the soft Toyota paint helps me on this one!

We won't discuss the spending spree I had on AG staring the week of SEMA/Black Friday up until Xmas.

When I tried out 4500, I didn't get that wow effect. Honestly it was probably my technique as I was super newbie. Purpose of 4500 is to extract the absolute last amount off gloss available. No it did not mar or haze, I just visually couldn't tell the difference. I was using my 3401 with a LC crimson hydrotech pad, probably not the best combo to get the desired effect.

If you do have success, please be sure to share!

 

[GreatAvalon]

We won't discuss the spending spree I had on AG staring the week of SEMA/Black Friday up until Xmas.

Hahahahaha :laughing:

When I tried out 4500, I didn't get that wow effect. Honestly it was probably my technique as I was super newbie. Purpose of 4500 is to extract the absolute last amount off gloss available. No it did not mar or haze, I just visually couldn't tell the difference. I was using my 3401 with a LC crimson hydrotech pad, probably not the best combo to get the desired effect.

If you do have success, please be sure to share!

Ok cool. Uh oh, I bought 3 H2O Crimson pads to do it with so we will see lol. I also have lots of black and blue pads to give it a shot! I may polish my whole 1 door today w/ the scratches, so I'll post back what I thought about it!

Thanks a lot for all the info!

 

[GreatAvalon]

Posted in the "What did you do today" thread, but wanted to post back.

Before:

Almost there:

Done!!!:

Those pictures are with no wax or sealant!

Used PC 7424XP, Menz. PF2500 w/ 5.5" LC Flat Orange pad, made sure its not filled and checked my work the CarPro Eraser, and then used MenzSF4500 on a 5.5" LC Hydro-Tech Crimson pad. Love it!

I did notice the SF4500 doing some. It seemed to really make the flake and color pop out of the clear coat. I only used it on two spots about 16x16 each, so its TBD still on a big flat panel like a hood. But so far I am happy with the SF4500!