Deep Gloss Auto Salon: Avalanche Resurrection

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Deep Gloss Auto Salon
Avalanche Resurrection​

This truck was brought to me for an emergency 911 visit. The owner had recently moved to Michigan from Alabama and had new sod installed at his home. New sod needs to be watered multiple times daily (2-3 times).

The owner of this vehicle was out of town for a week and his truck was getting sprayed 3 times a day with water from his sprinkler system. It was the middle of the summer when this was occurring. Little did the owner know (due to the fact that he recently moved there) that he had very hard water and the hot summer sun had baked the minerals into his paint, glass, trim etc.

I got a frantic call from the owner saying that he and his son had tried everything they could think of to get rid of the hard water spots that were all over his truck with no success. It was so bad he could not even see out of the windshield and had to have the vehicle towed to my location. When he arrived it became clear just how bad the mineral deposits were… When rubbing my bare hand over the paintwork it felt and sounded like I was rubbing my hand on sandpaper.

The owner was very pessimistic that his paint could be saved and had already begun looking into a repaint. I was able to get him back on the road that day by taking care of his windshield. After doing his windshield I did a test spot to show him what I could accomplish and to calm his nerves, but was not able to get him in for a detail until about 5 weeks later.

Wash Process:
Foam Cannon with APC/ Chemical Guys Citrus Wash
1 bucket wash APC/ Chemical Guys Citrus Wash

Tires:
Amazing Roll Off
Surf City Dressing

Rims:
Meguiars Wheel Bright (Neutralized with DG 902)
Duragloss 501

Glass:
Surf City Clearly Better

Mineral Removal Process:
Danase Water Spot Remover
4” orange pad
Polishing pal

Correction Process:
Makita 9227
M105 with 3M wool pad
M105 with Orange LC Pad
M205 with White LC Pad
Menzerna 85rd and Black LC Pad

Bed Cover and Trim:
Cleansed with APC
Protected with Chemical Guys

Paint Protection:
Bilt Hamber Auto Balm

Here is how the vehicle arrived to me for correction:

Not too bad right!!!!???? Let’s take a closer look (the devil is in the details):

Now you have an idea what I was up against!

Let’s move on to how it looked after the deposits were removed:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

50/50 of bed:

Let’s see some straight on sun shots!

 

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Continued....

So, now that you see that we were officially in swirl city and that the unforgiving sun has shown the level of correction achieved, let’s get on to the final after beauty shots:

Thanks for looking!

 

[Mirror Detailing]

More info on the bed treating. My moms avalanche has faded to that point to and I really cant find a good product to protect it. Been using a dilution of Hyper Dressing to at least give it some black look back. But unforently since that stuff is water based it comes off rather easy.

Also those are some bright as hell sun shots!

 

[ScottB]

More info on the bed treating. My moms avalanche has faded to that point to and I really cant find a good product to protect it. Been using a dilution of Hyper Dressing to at least give it some black look back. But unforently since that stuff is water based it comes off rather easy.

Also those are some bright as hell sun shots!

would one of those dye based products work better ???

 

[DLB]

WOW! Nice save!

The Avalanche guys swear by Refinish Restorer, but it's MSDS is revealing of just how stout it is.

DLB

 

[Mirror Detailing]

would one of those dye based products work better ???

Anything that would prolong more fade as much as possible and give it back some of the blackness to it.

There was one product that worked phenominaly, it was a weird pack with a rag inside of it that had some sort of chemical. I have not seen them in about two years and cant remember what they where called. They where rather expensive, about $11-15 a pack and only good for one use.

 

[SRHTX]

Nice save on the Avalanche. I hope you made some nice $$$ for spending a good amount of time on it.

 

[Steven C]

Nice Save on the Avalance very nice turn around on of these I"ll get around to post pics of my own looks out standing.



Originally Posted by Mirror Detailing
More info on the bed treating. My moms avalanche has faded to that point to and I really cant find a good product to protect it. Been using a dilution of Hyper Dressing to at least give it some black look back. But unforently since that stuff is water based it comes off rather easy.

Also those are some bright as hell sun shots!

Being a Avalanche owner I swear by Refinsh Restoter I use on all the cars or trucks I do will last 2 or 3 Months will hide wax& compound stains because it rehydrates the plastic then seal the plastic once dried any Question just PM

:dblthumb2: Steven

 

[Mirror Detailing]

Well after seeing the before and after thread on the Avalanche Forum, that Refinish Restorer looks like a winner. Going to be picking up a bottle.

 

[Rsurfer]

Very nice recovery.

 

[Steven C]

Well after seeing the before and after thread on the Avalanche Forum, that Refinish Restorer looks like a winner. Going to be picking up a bottle.

I give on one warning make sure that the won't get wet for 12 hrs or so the stuff is like shellac and takes a little time to dry if sunny out i will dry quik . The first time I used it was late in the evening & then it rained that night . I had to wipe the truck down with Mineral Spirts to get it off. A little goes a long way,I usally do one or two cars a week and got nearly 6 monthes out of the bottle so it will pay for itself I charge people 50 to 100 dollars to coat their vechiles . First time you use put it on then wipe off excess then give it about 20 minutes then recoat the plastic iy will look brand new make sure to tape off your paint or use an edge guard. Also works great on jeeps. Most body shop supply houses have it .

LoL Steven

 

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

More info on the bed treating. My moms avalanche has faded to that point to and I really cant find a good product to protect it. Been using a dilution of Hyper Dressing to at least give it some black look back. But unforently since that stuff is water based it comes off rather easy.

Also those are some bright as hell sun shots!

CG trim gel was used... unfortunately the owner did not want to pay for a more permanent solution so CG trim gel was used which is merely a band aid for trim in such condition

WOW! Nice save!

The Avalanche guys swear by Refinish Restorer, but it's MSDS is revealing of just how stout it is.

DLB

Thanks DLB

Nice save on the Avalanche. I hope you made some nice $$$ for spending a good amount of time on it.

Thanks SRHTX... I charge hourly for all my jobs, this one took a little bit of time:buffing:

Nice Save on the Avalance very nice turn around on of these I"ll get around to post pics of my own looks out standing.

Thanks Steven

Very nice recovery.

Mr Surfer.. Thanks Man!:dblthumb2:

 

[richy]

Jason...I specifically referenced this job in a thread with Mike Phillips (HERE) and he said the Danase cream would not work on the spots....I hope he sees this thread!!

 

[mikep288]

Anything that would prolong more fade as much as possible and give it back some of the blackness to it.

There was one product that worked phenominaly, it was a weird pack with a rag inside of it that had some sort of chemical. I have not seen them in about two years and cant remember what they where called. They where rather expensive, about $11-15 a pack and only good for one use.

ArmorDillo TS-1 was initially offered as a cure to the faded cladding and a free treatment was offered as a fix at most dealerships while under warrantee. The application only lasted about six months though, less if regularly exposed to the elements. I tried it and was less than impressed.

As for Refinish Restorer... it is definitely the real deal. Got rid of all of the "zebra-striping" and fading on my cladding in two applications. My bed panels were so faded on my '02 they almost appeared to be white. After application all of my cladding looked like new for well over a year. I sold my Avalanche about 15 months after use and all panels still looked and beaded water like the day I applied it. The manufacturer also claims that you can extend the products looks and protection by following up with a good carnuaba wax. I never felt the need, but it's nice to know you have the choice.

Hope this helps some.

Mike

 

[mikep288]

I give on one warning make sure that the won't get wet for 12 hrs or so the stuff is like shellac and takes a little time to dry if sunny out i will dry quik . The first time I used it was late in the evening & then it rained that night . I had to wipe the truck down with Mineral Spirts to get it off. A little goes a long way,I usally do one or two cars a week and got nearly 6 monthes out of the bottle so it will pay for itself I charge people 50 to 100 dollars to coat their vechiles . First time you use put it on then wipe off excess then give it about 20 minutes then recoat the plastic iy will look brand new make sure to tape off your paint or use an edge guard. Also works great on jeeps. Most body shop supply houses have it .

LoL Steven

:iagree:

Agreed 100% with everything Steven says here. Went a little wild on my first application and it took a couple of hours and a lot of KAIO to remove it from my paint. Next application I used a foam brush and a small roller tray and made sure every edge was taped or protected in some way.
:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mirror Detailing]

ArmorDillo TS-1 was initially offered as a cure to the faded cladding and a free treatment was offered as a fix at most dealerships while under warrantee. The application only lasted about six months though, less if regularly exposed to the elements. I tried it and was less than impressed.

As for Refinish Restorer... it is definitely the real deal. Got rid of all of the "zebra-striping" and fading on my cladding in two applications. My bed panels were so faded on my '02 they almost appeared to be white. After application all of my cladding looked like new for well over a year. I sold my Avalanche about 15 months after use and all panels still looked and beaded water like the day I applied it. The manufacturer also claims that you can extend the products looks and protection by following up with a good carnuaba wax. I never felt the need, but it's nice to know you have the choice.

Hope this helps some.

Mike

TS-1 That was it! Could not remember the name of it. But yeah I agree it was great, but not worth its price. After researching the Refinish Restorer, I will be ordering a bottle tomorrow. Theres a great example thread on The Avalanche Forum that sold me many times over. :dblthumb2:

 

[Mirror Detailing]

:iagree:

Agreed 100% with everything Steven says here. Went a little wild on my first application and it took a couple of hours and a lot of KAIO to remove it from my paint. Next application I used a foam brush and a small roller tray and made sure every edge was taped or protected in some way.
:xyxthumbs:

Yeah I know what you mean. My mom and dad put that TS-1 stuff on there truck years ago when I was not around, and never taped it off. Got some on the paint and that stuff was a PITA to get off months later when I detailed the truck.

 

[mikep288]

TS-1 That was it! Could not remember the name of it. But yeah I agree it was great, but not worth its price. After researching the Refinish Restorer, I will be ordering a bottle tomorrow. Theres a great example thread on The Avalanche Forum that sold me many times over. :dblthumb2:

That's where I learned about it! The pix on the Avalanche site sold me for sure.

Being a second owner and just over mfgr. warrantee shortly after purchasing my Avalanche, I knew I would never get my dealer or GM to pay for a Gatorback treatment (the one where they re-spray all of the exterior plastics) so I tried every protectant, tire shine, wax and homemade recipe under the sun until I read up on RR. It worked as advertised and was the most rewarding $40.00 I ever put into that truck!

:laughing:

 

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Jason...I specifically referenced this job in a thread with Mike Phillips (HERE) and he said the Danase cream would not work on the spots....I hope he sees this thread!!

Hey Rich,

Just to clarify, the Danase WSR did remove the mineral deposits but it did not remedy the etching in the paint. For that I busted out the 3M wool pad and M105. Some areas had deeper etching than others and required more full passes with this combo.

 

[richy]

Hey Rich,

Just to clarify, the Danase WSR did remove the mineral deposits but it did not remedy the etching in the paint. For that I busted out the 3M wool pad and M105. Some areas had deeper etching than others and required more full passes with this combo.

Jason...thanks for clarifying that.