Thank you everyone for the compliments and suggestions! Its been a busy, busy summer... but plenty of weekends spent learning this detailing craft, lol. About a month and half has passed since taking delivery and my wife has put about 3k miles on the clock. So much for not driving it until I worked on it. This past weekend the truck was pretty disgusting and I was able to MAKE time to get after it. Spent about 25 hours on it.
By this point, it felt like there was no wax on the paint and it was pretty contaminated. Saturday morning at 7:00am I began.
PRE-RINSE
I started by spraying everything with a pressure washer to knock any loose stuff off.
WHEELS & TIRES
- Pinnacle Advanced Wheel Cleaner
- CG Diablo
- Mothers Chrome Polish w/ Power Cone
- Menzerna Power Lock
I started with Pinnacle Advanced Wheel Cleaner on the wheels and tires. Worked it in with a barrel brush and soft wheel brush. Coarser brush on the tires. This worked well on the chrome wheels on the Vette (which never gets that dirty) and on my truck. For some reason there was still plenty of brake grime in the corners this time around. I had actually just used the last of the Pinnacle, but I had picked up a 4oz sample of the Diablo. I mixed it up and redid the wheels. This time, instead of using the large barrel brush, I used the smaller, denser tube brush. Much better the second time.
FOAM & WASH
- Foam Cannon w/ DP Power Wash & Wash
- Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating Shampoo
- Micro Chenille 11x8 Mitt
- DP Waterless Auto Wash
I split the job up into two sections... The roof, hood and upper sides down to the bottom of the windows. Then I did the lower section of the vehicle. Whenever I try to foam the whole vehicle, even on the thickest foam setting on the gun, its usually all run off by time I get to the end of the larger vehicles. Breaking up into two foam/wash applications worked better for me. I've used the PBLDC on all my recent washes and I like it. I'm looking forward to trying something new for comparison at some point, though.
I used the Waterless wash for the door jambs. Come to think of it, I forgot to do the tailgate jambs... damn.
The exhaust tips were already caked with road debris. I used Windex and light pressure with 00 Fine Steel Wool to get it off and clean out the carbon starting to build at the opening. The Mothers Chrome Polish and Menzerna PL to hopefully make it easier to clean next time. Tough with it right behind the tire though.
DECONTAMINATION
- Autoscrub Fine Nanoskin
- GD Infinite Detail Juice
- Meguiars Aggressive Clay
Used the Nanoskin on the hood, fenders, and nose with a 1/2oz Detail Juice/ 1 Gal Water mix. I polished the hood w/ PF4000 and did an inspection. I found some scratches, some light clusters and I few deeper ones. I was bummed. I wasn't sure if it was from the dealership "prep" process, but I hadn't noticed them before. I had to go back with an Orange pad and FG400 to get the light scratches out. There was 3 deeper "lines" that I worked pretty good, but just didn't feel comfortable to keep pushing it. They were really improving with 3 or 4 concentrated hard polish cycles. I really believe I was probably being too aggressive with the Nanoskin and not rinsing enough.
I continued decontaminating. This time very, very light pressure and frequent rinses in the lube bucket. I also added in a spray bottle Detail Juice that has a heavier mixture. I hadn't seen any more scratches like the few on the hood, so I'm thinking that was what happened.
POLISH
- Menzerna SI1500
- CG Hex Logic 5" Pad
- GG Random Orbital
- Eagle Edgeless Microfiber Towel(s)
- IPA 14.5% Mix
- 16x24 DMARiver Microfiber Waffle Weave
Taped up any plastic that was adjacent to the paint I'd be working.
Originally, I was going to use a 6" pad and just PF4000. But with the light scratches on the hood in mind, and knowing I only had time for 1 polish process, I decided to go a little more aggressive and used the SI1500. The 6" pads were problematic in some of the contours. I decided to spend a little more time with the 5" setup rather than fight around door handles.
Several hours later I finished up with a quick IPA wipe.
LSP
- Menzerna Power Lock
- Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax
I applied PL to everything except glass, plastic trim and tires. After about an 1-1/2 hours I applied Souveran Paste Wax to all the paint except the roof. It was 1:00 am (Monday) morning and 5:30 comes quick.
During the "cure" time of the PL, I went around and tackled some of the smaller things. Pinnacle Black Onyx Tire Dressing on the tires, running boards, and black plastic trim. Cleaned the windows, wiped down the spots on the wheels from the detailer dripping on them during decontamination.
Pics below.
I have a 2015 Iridium Metallic Denali too. I love the vehicle, I just put opti-gloss on it today. The roof was the worst part!
I really like the Iridium Metallic. That was our first choice for a while before we decided to go red. I thought the roof on my 2500 Crew was bad... this was worse for some reason. About the same height but it was more difficult to reach the center without rubbing up on the sides. Plus.. MORE ROOF!
When detailing a vehicle with a red tintcoat paint system:
Don't be surprised if you see a little bit of
"red color" appear on your buffing pads.
You know, I didn't notice that. I was using white pads too.
IMAGES
I thought this was a cool picture with the reflection of my wife's replaced Trailblazer SS. Need to put it up for sale soon.
I did a search and found one or 2 posts about CRT colored SUV's a week or so ago... I'll probably check again.
