2010 Dodge Ram with OPT products

[primo spaghetti]

Well I finally had a chance to get to my truck this weekend and I am pretty satisfied with the results (I’m happier it is done). I’m into it for about 23 hours right now, and that was only the paint correction (I still have the tailgate, the wheel wells rims/and tires and then the interior to get to).

Again I had a couple of issues dialing in the right products on the paint and it didn’t help that my hyper compound arrived as hyper polish (that put me behind a bit, and I ended up redoing some of the panels I hit with the hyper compound on a LC CCS orange pad after receiving the hyper compound based on the scratches I instilled with the Ultima Elastrofoam block. I had the tunes cranked and missed the scratching sound, but I had some debris embedded in the pad itself, and needless to say, I really caused a bit of damage...I’m not too sure I’m a fan of the block any longer as something embedded deep in the block, and I could feel it, but it defiantly did a number on the paint.

Overall I am very satisfied with the optimum product line, but I have a couple observations/comments ill post after the pics. Now onto the process;

CG CWG at 1oz per gallon to strip old LSP (WG DGPS topped with 2 coats of natty’s liquid blue. KAIO on windows).
Elastrofoam Clay alternative
PC 7424 XP
Hyper compound on 5.5 LC CCS Orange and 5.5 LC HT Tangerine
Polish II on 5.5 LC CCS Orange and 5.5 LC HT Tangerine
Final Polish on 5.5 LC CCS Blue and Black
ONR to remove polishing oils
OC 2.0

After CG CWG and Elastrofoam block...note the marring and deeper scratches I mistakenly instilled.

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[primo spaghetti]

Here are some panels I hit with the Hyper Polish (had some trouble with the sprayer as well...just being able to make the stream small enough to mist the pad only was a chore for me). I found with the orange ccs pad, I was able to get some correction with the hyper polish and it finished down very nice, but of course, there was just not enough bite to get the scratches. I experimented between polish II and hyper compound and I think the polish ii finished nicer, but the hyper polish had more cut.

After getting the hyper compound, I tried again on some scratches left behind from polish II with a CCS orange ad HT pad. I found the CCS pad to work especially better, and didn’t seem to load up as fast as the HT pads. I found even with only half a spritz of compound, the pad loaded up quickly and felt grippy on the paint. The Hyper Compound had good cut, but I honestly expected a bit more aggressive cut on the orange pad. But maybe I need to get some yellow cutting pads for some deeper scratches. I even reached for WG TSR on the orange pad, but nothing really finished out the scratches to perfection with the pads I had on hand. I was also puzzled because I could not feel the scratches, but they were defiantly still there after 6-8 section passes and medium to heavy pressure on 4-5 on the PC.

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[primo spaghetti]

Here are some shots of the final polish. I am very glad I picked up an 8oz bottle on Monday. I think this stuff finished amazing and gave an awesome depth and shine to the paint, and really gave some clarity to the reflections. I also cant believe the different coloured flecks in the paint. The truck looks like so many different shades of black (I think it is called brilliant clack crystal) pearl The paint was so smooth when I applied the OC that it spread so easy and the pad was squeaking away while applying.

And finally the shots of the OCed panels. I found that after I applied the OC it felt that the paint had lost its sparkle from the flake, but shone like crazy. Although in the late day sun I almost felt like there was a slight haze to the finish. I hope it cured long enough overnight in my garage at 60- 65 degrees before I brought it out today in the 7 degree weather. I also discovered one high spot in the OC today about the size of a quarter on the hood. It is driving me crazy, but I believe I can hit it with some poliseal and then OC. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

I now can’t wait to get to the rest of the exterior. Thanks for looking and pointing out any flaws with my process, techniques, or results.

Jeff

 

[VP Mark]

Great job!