2002 Dodge 350 dually diesel manual 6-speed

Nica

New member
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
3,728
Reaction score
0
This is a good friend (co-worker) of mine’s big truck, the size was a little intimidating to me but I love a challenge. After I did my other good friend (co-worker) Mercedes SLK, this co-worker was interested on have me detail his truck. It was his birthday this weekend and so I told him I’d detail his truck.

Process:

Interior:

The interior was bad, so I got a bucket mixed with Meg’s APC and a all purpose MF towel and gave the entire inside a wipe down. Then I used Meg’s #40 on all rubber and vinyl. I like this product, goes on really good and it doesn’t leave that sticky/slick feeling in your fingers. I’ll continue to use it oh and I don’t mind the smell, it has that new smell to it.

Carpet:

I used Meg’s APC mixed with water and (I can’t remember the ratio) sprayed carpet let it set for a bit then agitated with a brush and extracted out with my shop-vac. Works great. I was going for the stripes but they didn’t come that great. I’m starting to pay more attention to the interior because it’s as important as the exterior. Well the owner was so happy with the interior that I got a hug out of it hahahaha.

Wash:

My good buddy CalgaryDetail gave me some Optimum wash (soap) to try out and it works good, not sure if I would purchase this stuff but it gets the job done. I found that I had to really mix the water with the soap quite a bit. One you have it mixed well with the water it works great and gives nice suds. So Optimum wash (soap) and black ShMITT. I like the black ShMITT, I only use this when I know I’ll be doing lots of correction to the paint and this truck needed lots of correction.

Clay:

I used the Ricardo Clay bar (Yellow clay bar). This is my go to clay and I’ll continue to use it, how ever this truck had lots and lots of tree sap stuck/baked on to it and the clay did not remove. I got some tar and bug remover and it still didn’t remove the tree sap, the tree sap really slowed me down. I got a 1:1 mix of Isopropyl and water mix and spray each one and this helped but it was a paint to remove. I’ll be purchasing a few things for tree sap removing.

Polishing:

Optimum Hyper Compund - 5inch orange Lake Country pad – rotary at 1500rpm
Menzerna 106FF – 6inch blue Lake Country pad – rotary at 1500rpm (wicked results)
This truck had lots of bad swirls/scratches and majoirty of the scratches I removed but some were to deep that not even wet sanding woul do, I tried.

Glaze:

XMT Carnauba Glaze, applied by hand and one coat. I like this glaze but I’m going to venture out to another glaze soon. Just to try something new.

Wax:

Souveran Paste, applied by hand and one coat. I’m still pleased with this wax and the paint looks good.


Now for the pictures (lots of pictures):

Before:
 
Interior before:
DSC01597.jpg


DSC01598.jpg


DSC01599.jpg


DSC01601.jpg


DSC01603.jpg


DSC01605.jpg

Here is what the water looked like when I gave it a wipe down inside before applying #40.

Interior After:

DSC01608.jpg


DSC01609.jpg

Like I said I tried to get the stripes but no luck this round...still working on it.

DSC01610.jpg


DSC01611.jpg


DSC01613.jpg


DSC01615.jpg
 
Exterior Before:

DSC01588.jpg


DSC01589.jpg


DSC01590.jpg

Majority of these scratches I managed to remove but there were deep scratches that I just couldn't remove. They didn't feel or look deep but not even wet sanding would remove them. Extra caution was taken becuase these panels were made out of fiber glass.

DSC01593.jpg


DSC01596.jpg


DSC01619.jpg

Here is one pass with Optimum Hyper Compund 50/50 shot.

DSC01617.jpg

Oh and this is what heps me keep my products oraganized instead of having them all over the garage.

After (it was getting late and we had clouds on so no sun pictures):

DSC01647.jpg


DSC01648.jpg


DSC01651.jpg


DSC01652.jpg


DSC01653.jpg


DSC01654.jpg


DSC01655.jpg
 
More after shots:

DSC01656.jpg


DSC01658.jpg


DSC01659.jpg


DSC01660.jpg


DSC01661.jpg


DSC01662.jpg

Roof shot...me likei

DSC01663.jpg


DSC01665.jpg

If you look reall close there are some deep scratches left on this side, I just couldn't remove it and I didn't want to remove all the clear coat on the vehicle.

DSC01667.jpg


DSC01679.jpg


DSC01680.jpg


DSC01682.jpg


DSC01688.jpg


DSC01689.jpg


DSC01702.jpg
 
um...more pictures:

DSC01698.jpg


DSC01700.jpg


DSC01708.jpg


DSC01709.jpg


DSC01721.jpg



Okay that's it no more pictures :D . I really enjoyed my self detailing this vehicle. I took my time about 18hrs. Started Friday and finished it on Saturday.

The owner was so happy with the results I even got a hug :D. I told the owner it was his birtday gift ;).

Must admit, this truck was a challenge and very impressed with the results.

Well enjoy, if there is any feed back/tips/complaints/suggestions please feel free to share.
 
Awesome birthday gift!:applause: Brother I love all the pics and write up. The truck looks amazing. You are the expert in my eyes. Thanks for sharing your extrodinary work. Sorry it took so long.
 
That looks awesome man. It looks like the Hyper Compound is some good stuff. The interior looks really good also.
 
WOW Nica! You really have done some phenomenal work recently. I say you're right up there with Justin, no doubt!

I really like the turnaround on the interior, I might just have to check that Megs #40 as I love the way it ended up. NICE!
 
NICA !! That one took the cake. Really that time you took a dirty ol' rock to a diamond. I love how you got the visible scratches out of the flares. The inside and out looks Amazing, I probably would have passed that one on to the next guy if it weren't for the b'day involved.
 
that would have took me 2 days to do! awesome work! :applause:
 
dude you are one heck of a guy!! I definately would not of spent 18 hrs on a persons truck, for any reason!! that's a huge turn around from what it was before... rule of thumb on scratches, if you can run your finger nail through it and feel the groove you're probably not going to get it all out... you can blend it in really good without damaging the clear. other than that you handled your business. You definately turned that from "DUST TO GLORY"! (had to throw that in there) :-)
 
milky, thank you for the kind works

sparkie, thank you bro. Coming from you that's a big compliment, thank you. I took my time becuase I really wanted to do a good job on his truck. The owner has wanted this truck for a very long time, kinda like a dream of his and I can totally relate so I put that extra touch.

smsag04, the Optimum line is good. I had never used it till now and I'm happy with it. I keep going back to my Menzerna products though, I like the Optimum and Menzerna combo. Makes a wicked combo. Thank you for the kind words my friend.

P1et, thank you my friend. That's a big compliment but I don't think I'm up there with Master Justin just yet. I sure have come along way but I got lots to learn still. Thank you P1et, oh yea #40 is realy good product. I'm satisfied with it.

ehuth1, thanks bro. You do some nice work my friend and thank you for your compliments, really appreciate it. I love a challenge and so far Nica = 1 swirls/scratches (one's that I can remove that is) = NILL BABY :awesome:

ehuth1, thank you for the compliments and I had to take two days becuase the tree sap slowed me down.

Dust2Glory, thank you for the compliments bro. You do some wicked work so I really appreciate the compliment. I'm really enjoying being able to remove scratches but I totally know what you mean about blending it in because thats exactly what I did with this truck. I always treat others the way I would like to be treated, and I know my friend (owner) wouldn't think twice to help me out. Besides you should have seen the smile he had on his face, he fell in love with truck all over again. He was so happy that he gave me a big hug :D that was a big compliment to me.
 
You made that look like a different truck. Great interior turn around too.
 
Nica,
glad to see you put your products to good use..

Nice work buddy
 
Awesome work, Nica!! You're rocking with that Metabo!! :righton:
 
Damn!! What a turn around. Sure you haven`t bought a new one? I am sure not, it looks better than new! The paint is fantastic!! And the interior...I LOVE IT!! You are a great man! I now what I need to work towards!
 
Man those trucks are HUGE.

Great turnaround with a great result
 
supercharged, thank you for the compliments. I'm very pleased with the results, the truck looks wicked just wicked.

Jimmie, I agree. Even I was impressed with the interior. I'll be using Meg's #40 often.

joe.p, thank you joe. I got the right products to make a vehicle shine good and it's a good feeling when I can get satisfying results.

alban61, I'm getting the hang of the rotary. It's really not that bad, just have to pay more attention and concentrate on what your doing that's all. As I polished it's amazing how the paint flashes and if you slow the rotary down just a little you can see the paint transformer...I was blown away by this experiance.

pirex, thank you for the great compliment pirex. Gosh, I'm flattered my friend but if I can do it any one can do it. It's easy just requires practice. Thank you once more.

Truls, oh you bet they are big. I had a heck of a time polishing the roof, it's hudge oh and the hood wow...masive hahaha but I enjoyed the large surface, I had a blast detailing this truck.

Oh the fun part was that I got to take it out for a spin, what a ride. I love the power it has and the gears wow...smooth and strong. I love the diesel engine...sounds mean :righton:
 
Back
Top