DLB
New member
- Jul 13, 2009
- 1,211
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Background (for you readers): A regular client of mine recently purchased himself a new toy and wanted me to clean it up for him. It was purchased from a used car dealer and I don't think they cleaned it up any. Doesn't matter, it would have ended up at my place anyhow.
Customer's Goal: To have a truck that looks as good as possible for the work truck that it is. He wanted it "clean and waxed". (There is a difference between this and swirl free).
Therefore, we have the Approach: Get it clean and waxed.
As I stated in my thread title - product selection was key on this.
With MUCH thanks to Meghan, I received what was to be the biggest asset to this detail on Friday evening - CarPro Iron-X. The previous owner of this truck was Sherwin-Williams, so it was treated as a company truck that most likely saw a good bit of neglect.
Due to my time constraints, I didn't take a lot of overall pics, but wanted to showcase some of the products used. Also, several of the before pictures I took didn't turn out good enough to see what I was trying to capture (my camera is my phone).
Behold - Iron-X in action:
Top First Round
Top Second Round, with a side-by-side of Sonax Full Effect
Notice the Sonax on the right (it's green). It wasn't nearly as effective on the paint as the Iron-X during the second round. That's not a knock on it though, as it is MADE for wheels, not body panels.
Hood Half First Round
Other half second Round
The first round really get's most of the Iron out, but there is still more that required a second try on this vehicle.
Hood after Iron-X and wash
And then just to show the effect, driver door (vertical surface)
The Iron-X made this job exponentially easier. With white Iron is a serious detractor from the overall shine. I can't say enough about how easy it was to use and how well it worked. No real experience needed to spray it on and wash it off - so it is a GREAT product.
Next up - Meguiar's Wheel Brightener - D140.
Been using this for a few months now, and it is another just simply great product.
Behold - the dirtiest wheel you may have ever seen!
When I first got the truck, it had some bad tires on it. Well, the owner decided to go get new ones put on, so the wheels got shuffled around. Apparently this was either a front or one of the inside rear wheels before, because the back was now the front, and it was nasty. (Pic taken at night after hitting with water pre-clean).
After 1 Round of WB and minor scrubbing
After 2 Rounds of WB and minor scrubbing
Finished
The center part couldn't be made to look any better aside from repainting (which is going to happen). That's where paint had been rubbed off from its previous mounting position.
Typically I keep my WB @ 3:1 dilution. However, I used this a little stronger - probably closer to 1:1 or less (stronger product).
The engine, well, nothing major
After
No dressing on anything (client doesn't like anything but tires dressed). A note about engine bay's like this one though...
When you have a solid metal underhood (no mat), be sure to spray and clean it first (for obvious reasons). Products used underhood were just the norms - Meg's APC+ and some ZEP Citrus Degreaser.
Interior:
Hallelujah - a rubber mat!
Why am I so excited about a nasty rubber mat? Because you can totally clean it in place! Spray some APC+ on there, scrub, then rinse with a water hose! Just suck and water that may sit in the door gap up with the wet vac and it's easy as pie!
Speaking of door sills, I popped those out to clean them easier, and noticed a plethora of sand in the crack - must have been a Florida or South GA truck.
I also noticed something hiding up under the mat (see red arrow above):
That's pretty well the most interesting thing I have seen inside a vehicle. Not the worst, but definitely out of the norm. He had been there a while.
After some cleaning
The seat before
Seat Closeup
Any guesses here on what was used to clean the seat? If you guessed Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1, you were right!
50/50
Close up
And a parting shot:
What you didn't see was the Claying, Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion, and BFWD all being worked in. There are a few pieces missing from the truck that the customer was going to repaint.
Hope you picked up something and enjoyed the read.
Oh, and once again - thank you Meghan for getting my package out to me! Came in just in time.
DLB
Customer's Goal: To have a truck that looks as good as possible for the work truck that it is. He wanted it "clean and waxed". (There is a difference between this and swirl free).
Therefore, we have the Approach: Get it clean and waxed.
As I stated in my thread title - product selection was key on this.
With MUCH thanks to Meghan, I received what was to be the biggest asset to this detail on Friday evening - CarPro Iron-X. The previous owner of this truck was Sherwin-Williams, so it was treated as a company truck that most likely saw a good bit of neglect.
Due to my time constraints, I didn't take a lot of overall pics, but wanted to showcase some of the products used. Also, several of the before pictures I took didn't turn out good enough to see what I was trying to capture (my camera is my phone).
Behold - Iron-X in action:
Top First Round
Top Second Round, with a side-by-side of Sonax Full Effect
Notice the Sonax on the right (it's green). It wasn't nearly as effective on the paint as the Iron-X during the second round. That's not a knock on it though, as it is MADE for wheels, not body panels.
Hood Half First Round
Other half second Round
The first round really get's most of the Iron out, but there is still more that required a second try on this vehicle.
Hood after Iron-X and wash
And then just to show the effect, driver door (vertical surface)
The Iron-X made this job exponentially easier. With white Iron is a serious detractor from the overall shine. I can't say enough about how easy it was to use and how well it worked. No real experience needed to spray it on and wash it off - so it is a GREAT product.
Next up - Meguiar's Wheel Brightener - D140.
Been using this for a few months now, and it is another just simply great product.
Behold - the dirtiest wheel you may have ever seen!
When I first got the truck, it had some bad tires on it. Well, the owner decided to go get new ones put on, so the wheels got shuffled around. Apparently this was either a front or one of the inside rear wheels before, because the back was now the front, and it was nasty. (Pic taken at night after hitting with water pre-clean).
After 1 Round of WB and minor scrubbing
After 2 Rounds of WB and minor scrubbing
Finished
The center part couldn't be made to look any better aside from repainting (which is going to happen). That's where paint had been rubbed off from its previous mounting position.
Typically I keep my WB @ 3:1 dilution. However, I used this a little stronger - probably closer to 1:1 or less (stronger product).
The engine, well, nothing major
After
No dressing on anything (client doesn't like anything but tires dressed). A note about engine bay's like this one though...
When you have a solid metal underhood (no mat), be sure to spray and clean it first (for obvious reasons). Products used underhood were just the norms - Meg's APC+ and some ZEP Citrus Degreaser.
Interior:
Hallelujah - a rubber mat!
Why am I so excited about a nasty rubber mat? Because you can totally clean it in place! Spray some APC+ on there, scrub, then rinse with a water hose! Just suck and water that may sit in the door gap up with the wet vac and it's easy as pie!
Speaking of door sills, I popped those out to clean them easier, and noticed a plethora of sand in the crack - must have been a Florida or South GA truck.
I also noticed something hiding up under the mat (see red arrow above):
That's pretty well the most interesting thing I have seen inside a vehicle. Not the worst, but definitely out of the norm. He had been there a while.
After some cleaning
The seat before
Seat Closeup
Any guesses here on what was used to clean the seat? If you guessed Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1, you were right!
50/50
Close up
And a parting shot:
What you didn't see was the Claying, Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion, and BFWD all being worked in. There are a few pieces missing from the truck that the customer was going to repaint.
Hope you picked up something and enjoyed the read.
Oh, and once again - thank you Meghan for getting my package out to me! Came in just in time.
DLB
