Trashed Trailblazer

[Hoytman]

Took me a little longer to post this than I intended.

This Trailblazer was in a small garage fire. I'm not sure if the fire caused the paint to look this way, if it was pure neglect that caused it. I'm inclined to think it was mostly neglect. My father-in-law bough a year and half ago and it looked that way then, but he got a great buy on it.

How/what would you recommend tackling this with?
Obviously, a test spot with using the least aggressive product is the place to start. I'm inclined to think it will take something aggressive, but none-the-less we'll start with the least aggressive and a test spot.

I have some otc Meg's UC and UP (don't have anything stronger) I'm going to try with a few Meg's 6.5" foam pads and Dynabrade attachment on my rotory. I'm not at all afraid to do some of the work with the rotory itself.

At the time these pictures (by phone...sorry it's all I have) were taken, the SUV had been washed, clayed, and was not dirty again. I did manage to use a little Meguire's Cleaner Wax by hand on the top of the front fenders and the hood as you'll see in the 2nd photo.

Looks can be deceiving! Doesn't look to bad out of direct light. Look under the mirror. Meg's UP by hand and some brief elbow grease.

It's amazing what good direct sunlight can show you. That spot under the mirror sticks out like a sore thumb. You're looking at zero reflection. You can also tell (barely)that some cleaner wax has been used on the front fenders and hood.

At first I used the Meg's UP without a tape line. You can see evidence of this just under the left side of the mirror. Then, on under the right side I had gotten out some masking tape and used Meg's UC by hand...briefly working until it was almost dry.

Tape line is evident in the photo below...along with a sea of swirls and oxidation.

One thing I've learned from Mike Phillips is to use a tape line...and I need a good camera.

This was something we picked up on the road somewhere. It was stringy like bubble gum, but I'm not really sure what it was. I think there are some scratches there as well. Again, a freshly washed vehicle would show things better. I will be sure and have a new camera and thoroughly wash this thing before I start the correction process.

This picture could have had better light, but I think you get the point.

No squirrels in this photo, but there's definatley some swirls and RIDS. Again, just bit of bad lighting. I make no claim to being a photographer.

Look at this scratch.

Nice reflection huh? Notice the trees in the glass...and the swirls below.

Faded trim and belt buckle marks where someone stood up on the running boards to wash the top. Stupid huh?

Look at those belt buckle or pants button marks now. Yuck!

I wish this photo had the light coming from the correct angle because you would see an ocean of swirls and RIDS.

Notice that you can see the reflection of my hair in the glass, but not in the paint. This part of the SUV got the most heat from the fire evidently as you can see that caulking used to fasten a piece of trim. Yuck!

Rock chips in paint. I should have placed my finger on the hood to allow the phone camera to focus a little better.

A different view of underneath the mirror.

Swirls galore!!! See the tape line?

How about that reflection eh? What reflection!!! Just check out the oxidation on this puppy.

Last picture, and this one really shows how badly oxidized this SUV is. This will be changing soon.

Hope you enjoyed my pictures of this wacked out SUV. Looking forward to your thoughts and comments. (Didn't take time to edit so please excuse any errors in spellin' and gramer ha ha.)

Feed back please

 

[Hoytman]

I wish I had photo's of the interior. Over-all it isn't too bad, but there are several place where the smoke from the fire darkened the gray material. The smell is gone...at least until you hit it with water.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

As bad as that is -- and it's VERY bad, to be sure -- I'd go straight for M105 and an MF Cutting pad to cut through the nasty stuff on the paint. Some of those scratches and chips may be too deep to safely polish out.

Make sure you go over it well with clay at the very least as well -- there's probably a lot of bonded contamination from soot in the fire.

 

[Hoytman]

As bad as that is -- and it's VERY bad, to be sure -- I'd go straight for M105 and an MF Cutting pad to cut through the nasty stuff on the paint. Some of those scratches and chips may be too deep to safely polish out.

Make sure you go over it well with clay at the very least as well -- there's probably a lot of bonded contamination from soot in the fire.

I've clayed it once already, but it'll be time to do it again by the time I get a chance to work on this thing.

I wasn't sure how M105 and Meg's UC compared to one another. Seems like I recall seeing some photo's of products in order of aggressivness with M105 being slightly more agressive. I was hoping to get by with my Meg's UC for now and not have to buy anything else.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

I've clayed it once already, but it'll be time to do it again by the time I get a chance to work on this thing.

I wasn't sure how M105 and Meg's UC compared to one another. Seems like I recall seeing some photo's of products in order of aggressivness with M105 being slightly more agressive. I was hoping to get by with my Meg's UC for now and not have to buy anything else.

Thought you were picking up that 105/205 deal?

FWIW, even D300 is more aggressive (slightly) than UC...

I'm sure you could probably get it done with UC, but it'll probably take longer and require more passes.

 

[tw33k2514]

Sadly I don't think UC will cut it. But at the very least use a MF pad and give it a try.

 

[opie_7afe]

Hey looks like how my father inlaws van looks! Well, it was that bad. the UC should work to do the first step. I would follow up with a finishing polish however. I used scratch-x on a yellow SMA pad and it removed that dullness, still left the swirls behind but it was just a quick shine it up type of thing. Tomorrow er later today now, I am going to use the 105/205 combo on it. I agree with the others some of those scratches are way too deep to remove safely. Do a test spot on the vehicle first, then you can figure out what will work and what won't. The chips /deep scratches you would need a chip repair system such as Dr.ColorChip or Lanka. Take this word of advice Do Not use touch up paint from duplicolor or rustoleum, they don't match correctly. However, you could go to the GM dealership and get touch up paint/clear from there and dab in paint with a tooth pick, let it dry then chips will be less noticeable from a distance. You can also take it a step further and lightly sand with some 2000 or 3000 grit wet sand paper and then buff/polish. But if you have the cash go for Dr.ColorChip or Lanka for those....Hope you make that paint as shiny as it should be even if it has chips and some scratches!.

 

[Hoytman]

Thought you were picking up that 105/205 deal?

I did, it's on the way, along with the other items.:xyxthumbs:

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

The chips /deep scratches you would need a chip repair system such as Dr.ColorChip or Lanka. Take this word of advice Do Not use touch up paint from duplicolor or rustoleum, they don't match correctly. However, you could go to the GM dealership and get touch up paint/clear from there

I've got news for you: the touch-up paint sold at GM, Ford, and I believe also Chrysler dealerships is manufactured and distributed by none other than Duplicolor. It's the exact same stuff.

Also, a non-metallic color like this black is by FAR easier to match than a metallic color would be. Heck, even just some universal gloss black will probably come pretty darn close.

 

[opie_7afe]

really shiny? i never knew that......i thought it would be PPG or something....thanks for the info! now wondering who makes the best touch up.....

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

really shiny? i never knew that......i thought it would be PPG or something....thanks for the info! now wondering who makes the best touch up.....

Yep; I just went to a Ford dealer a couple weeks back to get some touch-up for a customer's car and not only is the bottle identical to DupliColor's 2-in-1 setup with the brush and ballpoint pen type applicator, but the label says right on it "Manufactured by DupliColor for Ford Motor Company." I've seen the same on GM ones in the past as well.

The major distinction to be made between the two is that most touch-up you get at retail stores and dealerships is Lacquer paint, which is also what you get in the Langka and Dr. Colorchip kits. If on the other hand you have a PBE jobber near you and you get them to mix some custom touch-up for your application, it will usually be Acrylic Enamel -- something like PPG Delstar (DAR) or Omni A/E (MAE) with which you'd use reducer instead of lacquer thinner to level.

I work with a pretty equal amount of both types, and I wouldn't necessarily classify one as any better than the other, it all just comes down to preference, price, and availability of what you need to complete your project.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Bill, just remember that when you're done, a self-portrait is obligatory:

 

[Hoytman]

Bill, just remember that when you're done, a self-portrait is obligatory:

I will certainly try my best. I may wait until the spring to tackle this since its gotten so cold so early. We'll see. I'm hoping to get some better photos of the damage for the show-n-shine.


We shall see how this Dynabrade works.

 

[Flannigan]

Hey Bill. that truck looks like it is in pretty rough shape. I would start with the Meguiars MF pad with D301 (i think you mentioned you had this combo already) When I worked on the black Tahoe I did, that combo was able to pull out 2000 grit sanding scratches with ease. If that doesn't work you could look into purple foam wool and m105, but I honestly doubt that will be needed, at least for the majority of the car.

Per your PM, if you did want to wetsand part of it I would get a paint gauge for sure. Even just a cheap one. It won't tell you how much clear is there, but it will help you avoid spots that don't have much paint or clear to begin with. Hope that helps, and good luck with this project! It will be a lot of work, but the results should be well worth it!

 

[Hoytman]

Thanks Flannigan. I was going to tell you that I don't have a paint gauge. It's probably best I skip the sanding until which time I can afford to get a paint gauge.

I'm also going to take some more pictures with better lighting before I get started. Will be starting this project in the next week or so. I just put a new set of Michelins on her, so it's a good time to get things done.

I have to get some touch up paint as well.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Where you at with this project?


:dunno:

 

[Hoytman]

I've had other projects to complete before this...to my wife's dismay of course.

The real reason is that since this is black in color I wanted to wait until I could get a better camera. The above photo's were taken with a not-so-good cell phone. I wanted to be able to use the photo's to showcase my work, but not before getting a better camera. However, I just bought a Canon Elph 100 HS 12mp, 4x optical zoom, and 1080 full HD video.

I'd have liked to have gotten a camera similar to the Canon Rebel T3i but couldn't swing the price right now. That little Canon will hopefully suffice for now.

I've been trying to add to my list of detailing tools and a decent camera was at the top of my list...essentially a must have item for good quality before and after pictures. Someone on this forum keeps saying how important it is to take good before and after photo's. Wonder who that person is? LOL!

This little Canon elph 100 hs, for only $109, fits nicely into my budget while giving me a good camera to work with for the time being. I hope to get to this project in the coming week, with photo's of course.

I think I will retake pictures before starting the project, and then start another thread linking these to threads. What do you think, Mike?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Someone on this forum keeps saying how important it is to take good before and after photo's. Wonder who that person is? LOL!

Guilty as charged...

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots

How-To capture swirls, scratches, etchings and other surface defects with your camera

I think I will retake pictures before starting the project, and then start another thread linking these to threads.

What do you think, Mike?

I like your idea. Read your owners manual and learn to use the features with your new Canon camera. I take almost all my photos with only one or two settings,

• Flash Off
• A-Dep with Flash On

Sometimes the Close-up with the Flash On to capture defects.

Practice with a few settings like the above till you get good with the camera you have. That's what's key.

Then wash that Trailblazer like a mad man and get it as clean as you can to show how accurately bad the condition is and then photograph it.

Then do the restoration work. Take a few process shots and before and after shots. Then take a your beauty shots and then share with the world.

And along the way, make the wife happy!


:dblthumb2:

 

[Rencor]

I did a friends black Saturn Sky that got caught in a house fire. Looks a lot like the photo's you posted. Some areas of the car were hazed out pretty badly. I had Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover and their Finishing Polish on hand at the time. I used LC orange pads first with ASR and then white LC pads with the finishing polish. His car came out beautiful.

You should have no problem restoring with similar pads and products.

Good Luck.

 

[Hoytman]

Mike,
I'd like to repair those deep scratches on the doors and hood...

I have a feeling I'm going to have to do some sanding. What concerns me is not owning a paint gauge. Being pure black, without metal flake, should make this something I can accomplish on my own...I hope.

...but I have a concern about sanding only in some areas leaving super shiny spots. I picked that up from the video of Hink's mustang. Am I on the right track?

If I owned a paint gauge I wouldn't be afraid of sanding the entire suv, but this is a daily driver and I don't really think it's worth the effort in the long run. I really think the goal should be to fix those scratches as best as possible and blend them in, and take the paint to its best potential for a daily driver that will sit outside 24/7. I will be coating with opti-guard when finished.