2011 Sierra: The Power of DG 501

[richy]

This truck belongs to a repeat customer who is in construction contracting. His trucks are usually dirty, especially in and around the doors. His wishes for the truck were an inside and out wash and wax. The budget covered that only. Being a repeat customer, I did more than that for him. I also tried a few new things on this job too.


As it arrived:

Dirty with bugs on the front:

There were a few scratches in the paint as well that needed attention:

The chrome was in dire need of some attention:

The fender skirts with residue in the seams:

A light paint scuff in the back top part of the cab:

The trim needed some attention too:

Dirty and salt stained interior:

 

[richy]

The Process:

Wash, Wheels, Emblems/Fender Skirts, etc:

I started with the wheels which got Zep Citrus on the face and in the barrels. Tires were cleaned thoroughly with Zep Purple and the wells were cleaned with Zep Citrus.

The emblems and fender skirts were cleaned with Zep Citrus and a Raceglaze brush.

The truck was then foamed with DG 901 and then washed with DG 901 and Dawn to make sure any remaining wax was gone. Mission accomplished.

The truck was then pulled inside while wet and was clayed with Riccardo yellow that was microwaved to make it as pliable as possible. I did not want to get marring from the clay and it was removing a ton of crap from the paint.

The interior was tended to next. It got a thorough vacuum with my awesome PF51 that continues to impress me to no end. I also am having a love/hate relationship with my GAIA steamer. I had it fixed and replaced the part that was recommended, but it was still leaking out steam when I tried it. I was ready to get rid of it, but, leaking steam or not, I needed it on this truck badly. So, when it got a head of steam...not leaking this time! Who knows with this thing?!? Anyway, between Folex, steam and vacuum, all the salt stains and dirt were done away with.
The leather was cleaned with my amazing Auto Glym pad and Optimum Power clean at 3:1. Then they were treated to UIGP. Love that stuff! The plastic was treated to PERL at 2:1.
The rubber mats were cleaned with ZC and sprayed with foaming tire spray so they look good but are not slippery.

Next up was the chrome. After reading Troy's review on Collinite Metal Wax, I decided I'd use the 0000 steel wool with it on the chrome, especially the bad parts. It is an awesome combo and one I highly recommend...even on good chrome! I did it slightly different and used a terry towel to remove it and then buffed it with a mf towel. Very, very nice finish to it. GM has really nice chrome, I'll say that.

Next up was scratch repair. I have a spray can with GM black paint in it from a previous job. This is the best paint you can use for scratch repair, period. Why? I shoot some onto a plastic lid and dip a pointy toothpick into it. It is so liquidy and runny, that it barely sticks to the toothpick. The result is you can lay down a very fine bead of paint into a scratch, even if it is a very fine scratch. It's amazing how the paint will flow into a scratch this way. The spots were allowed to dry for over 24 hours.

The paint was only due for a "wax job". Nope. Wasn't gonna happen. It seemed cloudy and really needed a true one step product to clean the paint and also offer some protection. I tried both the DG Swirl Remover and 501. 501 made the paint just jump and it also has some great protection all on its own. I used a DA and a white LCC pad at speed 6. I really worked it in. Now, for removal, I got to use the mf that Heath told me I could keep from the sample box. I chose a DD Uber towel 'cause I had never had one before. My Gosh was it ever soft!! It did an awesome job of removing the 501 residue and the paint just jumped! I will be getting a few of these. It seemed softer than even the latest PakShak ones I got. That's saying something!!

Lastly the tires and trim. I tried something new with the tires. I had purchased a small spray gun for my air compressor and used a 50/50 mix of Opti Bond and water in the gun. It went on so finely it was almost like a fine mist. To say it goes on evenly is a gross understatement. For tires with big ridges or ribs, this is the answer! Plus it gave a much more natural look than what I am used to. (Now mind you I usually use OB straight, so that may be a part of it too).
The trim got my now standard of UTTG. Again, it did a great job.

Finally I gave the paint a wipedown of AW to ensure a smooth finish.


Here are some INSIDE SHOTS:

My "flawless reflections"

Light scratch in the front of the hood was filled in:

A much improved interior:

Salt stains gone:

Now for OUTSIDE SHOTS:

Tailgate scratch just filled in and only leveled with 501:

Scratches on driver's side doors vastly improved. Leveled slightly with M105 and B & S yellow pad:

Thanks for looking. Comments appreciated.

 

[MustangMikeFL]

Great job! That interior was revolting to look at before lol

 

[richy]

Great job! That interior was revolting to look at before lol

Thanks. It sure looks better clean!

 

[TimmyG]

Fantastic turnaround, I'm sure your customer was thrilled.

 

[RTexasF]

That fella received way more than he paid for, that's for sure. Very nicely done. I could do without most of the products I've accumulated over the years but #501, #105, and Aquawax would be keepers without question.
By the way, lovely home there sir.

 

[Finemess]

Nice work for sure. Pretty truck.

 

[rwright]

Very nice turnaround Richy! So you feel 501 provides more pop than 671 swirl mark remover? I agree 100%. I have to admit though, the tires look perfect and you honestly just sold me on buying a spray gun. Thanks for a great write up!

 

[habeba86]

Looks great!!! Jst did my friends cummins with 501 and a white lc flat g110v2 and the silver looked great! I have to get mineral spirits tho, cuz that stuff doesnt come out of pads easy!

 

[Halverso_99]

Great work!

 

[richy]

Fantastic turnaround, I'm sure your customer was thrilled.

Thanks a bunch. Yes he was, especially the way the paint touch ups turned out.

That fella received way more than he paid for, that's for sure. Very nicely done. I could do without most of the products I've accumulated over the years but #501, #105, and Aquawax would be keepers without question.
By the way, lovely home there sir.

Thank you on both accounts. I will never be without DG and buy it by the gallon.

Nice work for sure. Pretty truck.

Thanks bud!

Very nice turnaround Richy! So you feel 501 provides more pop than 671 swirl mark remover? I agree 100%. I have to admit though, the tires look perfect and you honestly just sold me on buying a spray gun. Thanks for a great write up!

Thanks Richard. The swirl remover easily knocked out that scuff at the rear of the cab, but when I did it side by side with the 501, the 501 won out. I was actually planning on using the swirl and not 501 until I tried it. Glad I did, LOL.
You will love the spray gun method. Chris from Optimum was talking that up a long time ago and I just never got around to trying it. I'm glad I did. The other interesting thing will be to see which method uses more product. I had to cut it 50% to get it to spray well, which makes the product last longer too obviously.

Looks great!!! Jst did my friends cummins with 501 and a white lc flat g110v2 and the silver looked great! I have to get mineral spirits tho, cuz that stuff doesnt come out of pads easy!

Thanks, and I definitely hear you on cleaning it out of the pads...that's how you know how strong the sealant element is in it!! That's also why I used an LCC pad and not one of my good B & S pads for it, LOL.

Great work!

Thank you.

 

[BobbyG]

Richy,

When I first started to look at the photos I thought; Not too bad... When i got further down I could decide what was worse, the exterior or interior!

I imagine this one was a lot of work but it did come out great! When the customer came to pick it up they probably were looking for a different truck....:laughing:

Gorgeous work Richy! rops:

 

[richy]

Richy,

When I first started to look at the photos I thought; Not too bad... When i got further down I could decide what was worse, the exterior or interior!

I imagine this one was a lot of work but it did come out great! When the customer came to pick it up they probably were looking for a different truck....:laughing:

Gorgeous work Richy! rops:

Thanks Bobby! To be honest, I felt kinda cheated b/c I didn't get to see his reaction which is something that I find really rewarding.

 

[duck_commander]

Richy - does 501 by itself have enough paint protection that you didn't worry to top it with anything like 105 or even 845?

 

[WRXINXS]

Is the 501 capable of removing an swirls by itself?

 

[VISITOR]

rich.. with 501, do you work in and let dry to a haze, or wipe off immediately? nice job...

 

[151Racing]

Excellent work Richy! those reflection shots you took of the paint look FLAWLESS to say the least. Keep it up, I'm always reading your tips!

 

[Capa1970]

Wow, very impressive. How much cut would you say that DG501 has? Comparable maybe to Meg 205?

 

[Judge]

Another cool thing about 501 is that you can apply it to the whole vehicle in the sun, and then go around and remove it no problem

 

[DetailElite]

Helluva job :xyxthumbs:! I'm looking to invest in a quality AIO. How would say it compares to Klasse?