New truck! 2011 Chevy Tahoe Z71 Black Coated with Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating

[Hokie335i]

Hey all!

So as some of you know I drive a BMW 335i in Jet Black that is my baby. Great news though! I accepted my first job as a Lean Manufacturing Engineer in Buffalo, NY! Bad news is that the RWD 500hp BMW isn't going to fair too well with the snow so I have just purchased a 2011 Tahoe Z71 that is loaded!

BMW is currently for sale!
IMG_0914 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

Anyways onto the truck. I found just what I wanted. It's a 2011 Tahoe with Z71, Nav, heated seats, captains chairs, DVD, power liftgate, etc. It's loaded with all the goodies. It's quite a change from my fun sports car but I think it'll get me around a lot better up there and be safer.

Here are some pics when I picked it up:
IMG_2654 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2657 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

Looks pretty decent! The truck was in phenomenal shape! 60k miles and interior is in great shape minus the crappy oily interior stuff the dealer put all over it. It took a while to scrub all of that off of every single interior surface.

Upon closer inspection however, the paint was hammered. Very deep rids and swirls all over the vehicle.
IMG_2821 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2822 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2824 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

My goal was to eliminate the swirls and some of the light-medium RIDS. I went with a two step paint correction using my Flex 3401. First step was Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool pad with FG400. I first tried a Orange hybrid pad but it just wasn't cutting it. Here are the results with the foamed wool pad. Lots of hazing but that was expected with a foamed wool pad.
IMG_2826 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2831 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2838 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2841 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

IMG_2852 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2853 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

After this I followed up and finished it with CarPro Reflect on a Lake Country White pad. Here are the results.
IMG_2856 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2857 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr


I applied Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating to every surface of this vehicle. Wheels, paint, glass and some trim pieces. I applied the Wolfgang coating to the BMW 750Li in my other thread to just the paint so I decided to put it all over my new personal car to see how it holds up in the Buffalo winter months. Just as with the BMW 750Li, the Wolfgang coating went on flawlessly and was super easy to remove. It came out great! Here are some finished pictures. All pics are RAW and unedited.
DSC_0341 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0343 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0344 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0345 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

I also put some sweet new BFG All Terrain K02 tires on it to handle the snow a bit better.
DSC_0346 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0347 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0348 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0349 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0350 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
DSC_0353 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

Here are some 50/50 shots.
IMG_2904 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2905 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr
IMG_2906 by Chris Merritt, on Flickr

I'm happy with how it turned out. Thanks for looking guys!

 

[DaveT435]

Nice work!

 

[dcjredline]

Those tires are SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the truck looks awesome too

 

[Hokie335i]

Nice work!

Thanks! I am excited to see how the Wolfgang coating holds up in a pretty severe winter climate.

Those tires are SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the truck looks awesome too

Thank you! I test drove a Suburban that had them so as soon as I bought this one I knew I wanted to put them on it! I hope they do well in the snow

 

[Sicoupe]

Another outstanding job buddy! Love your new ride

 

[Justin at Final Inspection]

Great job! You nailed it!

 

[tpr1634]

Nice save, love black.....................

 

[Klasse Act]

Sorry to see the Beemer to but you did what you had to do! The Tahoe came out great speaking of doing what you had to do

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

 

[Hokie335i]

Great job! You nailed it!

Thank you! This was a big job as I usually don't do SUV's so it was a long job haha.

Nice save, love black.....................

Thank you. :dblthumb2: I actually really wanted a white Z71 but couldn't find one with low enough miles that was in like-new shape inside. Found this one and jumped on it. All of the cars I've ever owned have been black though including two Jet Black BMW's so I do love black as well

Sorry to see the Beemer to but you did what you had to do! The Tahoe came out great speaking of doing what you had to do ����

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

I really hate having to sell the BMW. I truly do love the car but can't feasibly keep both cars up in NY. If anyone is interested in buying a super clean 2007 335i 6MT let me know!

I am very happy with how the Tahoe came out though. I'm hoping not to have to touch it for a while now that I'll be working full time.

 

[Klasse Act]

Why did you buy a black one though, LOL

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

 

[AGOatemywallet]

How many ml were used on the Tahoe and the 750?

What is your preferred application method for the Uber coating?

 

[Hokie335i]

How many ml were used on the Tahoe and the 750?

What is your preferred application method for the Uber coating?

I'm honestly not sure how much I used on each. I think I'm down to 5-7ml (not sure honestly) or so in the syringe after doing the paint on the 750Li and the paint, glass, wheels, and trim on the Tahoe.

I apply the Uber coating with the included LC applicators. I wipe it on, wait a minute, level high spots with the applicator. Then wait another minute and go over it with a MF towel. I had my garage heater set at 65* inside for the application process.

 

[jamesalanb]

well done Sir!

 

[Britsdaddy]

Welcome to Buffalo! Great job. My brother in law has the same truck that has only seen tunnel washes and looks like a disaster. It's nice to see one taken care of. Btw, it was 59F today and the long term weather says it's going to be a mild winter. You may not need that big truck this year

 

[Hokie335i]

well done Sir!

Thank you! :dblthumb2:

Welcome to Buffalo! Great job. My brother in law has the same truck that has only seen tunnel washes and looks like a disaster. It's nice to see one taken care of. Btw, it was 59F today and the long term weather says it's going to be a mild winter. You may not need that big truck this year

Thanks! I heard early next year will be worse than the end of this year but we shall see! Either way I'm excited to see how this beast will handle it.

 

[proficient]

Looks great man welcome to Buffalo! I would love to see how the Wolfgang Coating holds up through the winter here, I have had great success with Cquartz UK myself. Do you prefer the wolfgang coating for any particular reason ex: Shine or ease of appliction.

 

[Hokie335i]

Looks great man welcome to Buffalo! I would love to see how the Wolfgang Coating holds up through the winter here, I have had great success with Cquartz UK myself. Do you prefer the wolfgang coating for any particular reason ex: Shine or ease of appliction.

Thanks! I'll definitely have to meet some of the local geeks!

I like it especially for the ease of application and looks. Seems extremely glossy so far. I'm eager to see how it holds up in that climate though.

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful work Chris. Quite the transformation. That black paint looks amazing now. rops:

Congrats on the purchase. I see you wasted no time fitting the Tahoe with proper tires worthy of the Z71 badge.

I know exactly how you feel with the BMW about the weather. Luckily for me I only have to commute on base and the roads are pretty well maintained during snow season.

I am contemplating selling my e90 335i here in Germany before I return home and picking up a truck once I return. Black of course. Mine sits on H&R sport/Koni yellow's with a good bit of negative camber dialed in. While it is incredible for high speed handling and stability it pretty much renders the car useless in the snow being so low and with wide 255 section width snow tires.

Anyhow, the new GMC Canyon All Terrain equipped with the new Duramaxx has caught my eye. Especially given the 31 highway rated mpg.

Again, congrats on the purchase and transformation of the vehicle.

 

[ryanbabz71]

Congrats on the new job (I am in a similar field) and new suv. The ko2s are awesome tires just put them on my Silverado


Ryan

 

[Hokie335i]

Beautiful work Chris. Quite the transformation. That black paint looks amazing now. rops:

Congrats on the purchase. I see you wasted no time fitting the Tahoe with proper tires worthy of the Z71 badge.

I know exactly how you feel with the BMW about the weather. Luckily for me I only have to commute on base and the roads are pretty well maintained during snow season.

I am contemplating selling my e90 335i here in Germany before I return home and picking up a truck once I return. Black of course. Mine sits on H&R sport/Koni yellow's with a good bit of negative camber dialed in. While it is incredible for high speed handling and stability it pretty much renders the car useless in the snow being so low and with wide 255 section width snow tires.

Anyhow, the new GMC Canyon All Terrain equipped with the new Duramaxx has caught my eye. Especially given the 31 highway rated mpg.

Again, congrats on the purchase and transformation of the vehicle.

Thank you Mike! I always appreciate getting compliments from you. I lived in Blacksburg for school and encountered a few feet of snow last year in my car. I was running a 275 Michelin AS3 tire and it did ok but definitely wasn't confidence inspiring. I would've loved a Diesel pickup truck but have no use for the pickup so I just couldn't see spending that much for something I wouldn't really use. One day I would love to build up a diesel truck though!

My girlfriend has lived in Buffalo for 3 years now and we had to trade her Civic in for a Subaru Impreza but I'm hoping the Tahoe will allow me to get through the lake effect snow and anything else without any trouble!

Congrats on the new job (I am in a similar field) and new suv. The ko2s are awesome tires just put them on my Silverado


Ryan

Thank you! I'm glad you had positive experiences with them. I was reading around and found they were good tires so I'm confident they'll do well.