2007 Peterbilt 379 Tow Truck

cfd135

cfd135

New member
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
50
Reaction score
0
Quite an ambitious project. The owner keeps the condition very nice, frequently waxing with Collinite or Mother's. The paint had never been polished until now. Many of these heavy wreckers are customized with flashy paint and graphics, but I prefer the classic, timeless and understated look that this company has used since 1969. Much customization has been done however in the interior as well as tasteful additions in the chrome, stainless and lighting departments. The most impressive aspect of this truck is the condition that the driver demands be maintained. Considering that this is a working truck, driven in all types of weather, and the sheer size, he should be commended for his efforts.

For my process -

Two bucket wash in Dawn
Griot's Clay with ONR as lube
With Makita -
M105 with LC 7.5" purple foamed wool, and/or LC 8.5"CCS yellow pads, single stage paint, so lots of pad changes
M205 with LC 7.5" and 8.5" orange CCs pads
Wolfgang 4 step Aluminum polish with various wool pads on some iof the metal
Zephyr 3 step rouge on fuel tanks

With PC -
LSP - Griot's One Step Sealant with GG orange pads
Wolfgang Metal sealant with Britemax 5.5" foam on all metal

Total time - 28 hours over 2 hot and humid days, I lost 5 lbs, and I'm not overweight!

IMG_3495.jpg

My mobile setup, including ergonomic floor mats, and my custom made detailing carts one with 175w metal halide light, and the second with two 70 watt metal halides
IMG_3498.jpg

IMG_3500.jpg

IMG_3506.jpg

Trying to take care of my wrists for this marathon, anti vbration gloves with wrist support. I highly recommend them!
IMG_3509.jpg

IMG_3513.jpg

IMG_3518.jpg

50/50
IMG_3520.jpg

IMG_3526.jpg

IMG_3535.jpg

Before
IMG_3566.jpg

After
IMG_3558.jpg

IMG_3557.jpg

IMG_3575.jpg

After 1st step of rouging
IMG_3588.jpg

Right side is unpolished
IMG_3594.jpg

IMG_3601.jpg

Self portrait, day one, reflection in bumper
IMG_3631.jpg

The owner REALLY likes Johnny Cash, so I had some fun with it. There are about two dozen of these all over the truck
 
Whoa, crazy big job. Nice job man. I always want to detail my companies work trucks.
 
Awesome! If you lost 5 pounds, I'd need to do about 20 of 'em, and with my luck, it'd kill me, and I'd still have a gut! Great job!
 
:dblthumb2: That is awesome! I love the fact that it's something completely different. Great job!
 
What a mammoth undertaking! And I thought a Chevy Suburban was a lot of real estate.......HA!
 
Wow man! How long did that take you to polish out? I can't imagine that'd take less than 4-5 days at least...Great job as well. That thing sparkles like new now!!!
 
I thought that was one of Blue Hills Towing Wrecker they have some very nice equipment Very nice job . Did you use rouge sticks or just wolgang metal polish.
Was the truck in good condition from the start the seem to take good care of their fleet from when seen them from a far.

Great Job & LOL
Steven
 
Thank you everybody for the comments, this is my first posting of my work on this site.
@Adam -O.C. Total time was just under 30 hours, done by myself in two days. A huge excercise in endurance, and I did not have my A-game towards the end.
@Steven - This truck is kept in remarkably excellent condition, as I stated in the write up. The driver is a novice, and not interested in using a machine on the paint, but is at least aware of ph balanced soap, and uses quality products. He could use some training in proper wash techniques, perhaps that is in his future. For the aluminum, I tried the Wolfgang on the tanks, which had some RIDS, light marring, water spots
and swirls from lots of hand polishing, very typical of aluminum fuel tanks. I was not unimpressed, but nothing beats a cut from a rouge bar and wheel. I used the Wolfgang on most of the other metal including the grille shell, a big focal point on a Pete. For those of you who haven't used a rouge bar and buffing wheel on aluminum, it is quite a process, and a messy one at that. I have been polishing big trucks for several years, and this one will likely be my last. Here is the only one I've done that's bigger.
IMG_2043.jpg

IMG_1995.jpg
 
My, oh my...and i thought only Mike dares to tackle humongous vehicles on his details. First thing that came to my mind was Optimus Prime! lol. I also like metal halides, extremely bright and more durable housing, but consumes far less electricity than its halogen counterpart with the same lumens rating.

Excellent work sir. Are you using the BP that came with the Makita? Looks like it on the picture.
 
rohnramirez said:
Excellent work sir. Are you using the BP that came with the Makita? Looks like it on the picture.
Click to expand...

Thank you! That backing plate came from the local auto body supply shop, I use it when I polish aluminum so I don't contaminate and stain my LC/AG BP's. I have no idea what that pad is, it was given to me by an old timer friend who only uses waffle pads now, but it works great on metal. I have also found that the Wolfgang Pad Rejuvenator solution is incredibly effective at cleaning the black residue from the pads and towels. The pad in the picture has already done several trucks. The aluminum polishing makes such a mess, both the Makita and PC need thorough decons after these jobs.
 
Man I Passed this truck this moring on Mass Ave in Roxbury . Your pictures didn't do your work justice the aluminum looks out standing and paint look great awsome job man you did awesome job just had to post again after seeing up close and personal.


LOL & Great Job

Steven
 
Amazing, simple as that. The truck looks too good be be driven now haha.
 
I passed that truck down Revere beach a few days ago. Nice work, truck looked great!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top