RUPES EASY GLOSS System - EXTREME MAKEOVER - 2006 Toyota Tundra - YEARS of neglect!

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RUPES EASY GLOSS System - EXTREME MAKEOVER - 2006 Toyota Tundra - YEARS of neglect!



BEFORE

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AFTER

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How it was done --> RUPES EASY GLOSS SYSTEM

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On Autogeek.com

RUPES UHS Easy Gloss System


All RUPES polishes, pads and products



Or simply call Autogeek's Customer Care Staff at


1-800-869-3011




Video showcase of the RUPES EASY GLOSS SYSTEM





:)
 
Continued...



Easy Gloss Compound/Polish

First, the RUPES Easy Gloss System consists of a compound/polish, that is a product that cuts like an aggressive compound but finishes out like a polish. It's called a one-step compound because it does 2-3 steps in one step.

Historically you would,

Step 1: Compound

Step 2: Polish (medium cut polish)

Step 3: Final polish (fine cut or ultra fine cut polish



That was back before we had all this amazing abrasive technology on the market and RUPES is one of the companies that has amazing abrasive technology. So the compound does in one step, what we used to have to do in 2 and sometimes 3 steps.


BUT - you still have to seal the paint after the compounding/polishing process as there are no protection ingredients in the Easy Gloss Compound/Polish like you find in a one-step cleaner/wax also called one step All-in-One.


Easy Gloss Buffing Pads


Besides the Easy Gloss Compound/Polish there is also the dedicated foam pads formulated specifically for the Easy Gloss Compound/Polish. This includes,

7"
6"
4"
2"
1"


And of course, you have the entire array of RUPES polishers to use with the above pads and the Easy Gloss Compound/Polish.



The Big Idea

The big idea or as I like to say, the BIG PICTURE is a system that enables you to knock out a car faster by reducing steps while still turning out show car quality results.

If you're a professional detailer this means,

  • Happy customers
  • Less work
  • Less time
  • Less inventory
  • Higher profits


It's win/win for everyone involved.


That is the RUPES EASY GLOSS System.


:)
 
Here's the backstory....

My friend and co-worker Dion here at Autogeek has a 2006 Toyota Tundra Truck that is mechanically in GREAT condition. BUT - needs some cosmetic help on the appearance aspect.


Dion asked if I could take a look at his truck, I'm like heck yeah, I'm a truck guy, let's go check it out. The truck was parked outside at the back of the Autogeek corporate offices. Here's a few pictures...


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Oxidation & Single Stage Paint


If you notice, the paint is oxidized. It's common for Toyota to use single stage urethane for their white paint systems. It's still a modern catalyzed paint system, just no clearcoat over the top. The difference is single stage paint tend to oxidize and get swirls and scratches while clearcoats normally don't oxidize easily or readily. "Yes" clearcoats do oxidize just a lot slower than single stage paints.

This is why the paint on this Toyota Tundra looks dull and chalky instead of all swirled-out.


I can see a lot of beauty hiding under the oxidized single stage paint, all we have to do is bring it out.


So checking with Dion's schedule, we planned to detail his truck at our Autogeek's Wednesday Night Open Garage Detailing Class. From 2009 to 2016 I would schedule these for Thursday nights, like I set-up the MeguiarsOnline.com Thursday Night Open Garage detailing classes (called TNOGs), back when I was at Meguiar's. But due to schedule conflicts, moving forward, our weekly detailing classes will be held on Wednesday nights.



Wednesday Night Detailing Classes - Open to everyone!

Our Wednesday night detailing classes are open to everyone! It's a great way to break up the middle of the week hanging out with fellow Geeks, working on cool projects and getting your hands on the latest and greatest tools, pads and products in the car detailing industry.

Autogeek is the WORLD'S LARGEST online car detailing supply store. If it's in your garage it's in our warehouse. Autogeek tends to get all the new technology being introduced to the car detailing world first and as such, our local car guys and car girls get the first chance at taking anything new out for a test drive before anyone else.



To find out when our next class is taking place, check out the bottom of the forum home page

Click here and scroll to the bottom


Or call our friendly customer care staff


1-800-869-3011


Wednesday Night Detailing Class Newsletter
Or the best way to know what's coming up is to join our Wednesday Night Newsletter and you can do this by calling us and giving a customer care rep your e-mail or stopping by the lobby here at Autogeek in Stuart, Florida and give one of the staff in the lobby your e-mail address. Then you'll always know what's coming up.


:)
 
Continued....


First things first - we need to give this truck a bath!


While most of the advice given historically when it comes to washing a car is to start at the top and work your way down, I've always taught the opposite, start at the bottom and knock out the wheels and tires FIRST.

Why?

To save time, save steps and potentially prevent water spots from etching into your car's paint. I cover this in detail in my how-to book The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine on page 14


There are so many corrosive elements in both city water and well water now days that to leave any standing water drops on your vehicle's paper-thin finish is a recipe for water spot ETCHINGS and not only does removing water spot etchings require a lot of time and hard work but it will also mean making the paint that is already super thin even thinner and this can lead to clearcoat failure.

So my advice is free, put into practice washing your vehicles' wheels and tires first, and then start at the top of the vehicle and work your way down.


So leading by example, we started with the wheels and tires first...


SONAX Wheel Cleaner

This is an amazing wheel cleaner, first it's completely safe on ANY wheel finish and that's important. Next, it does much of the work for you in that it dissolves brake dust so it will release off the rims. You can see the chemical reaction taking place in real-time. First when you spray the wheel cleaner on you'll see a florescent green color - next you'll see what I call the bleeding-effect, that's when the brake dust being dissolved turns a blood red.

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After cleaning the wheel, next we cleaned the tires and for this we used Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner.

(sorry no pics)


Question: Should I wash the wheels first or the tires first?

Answer: Great question! I recommend washing the wheels first and the wash the tire.

Why?

By washing the wheel first and then rinsing the wheel, when you move onto washing the tire, while you're washing the tire GRAVITY will do its thing and any wheel cleaner or dissolved brake dust that wasn't flushed off the wheel during the initial rinse will flow downward and pool in lower sections of the wheel so when you rinse the tires off you'll have a second opportunity to rinse the wheels again before moving onto the next wheel and tires.

Make sense?


It's just a more "detailed" way to work and isn't this what detailing is all about? --> The details...


:)
 
Continued....


Chemical Decontamination

Now that the wheels and tires are clean it's time to get the paint clean as well as the rest of the exterior. You can start washing like normal if you want to, or you can incorporate tw0 decontamination procedures during the washing process.


There are two ways to decontaminate a vehicle.



Chemical Decontamination
Chemical decontamination is when you use a chemical, typically an Iron Remover to dissolve iron particles and iron contamination off the paint. Going back to what I said about our water now days, both city water and well water is horribly contaminated and when you wash your car you introduce this contaminated water to exterior of the car. Outside environmental pollution also contaminates your car's exterior and a quality iron and/or iron and fallout remover will chemically dissolve this contamination that builds up and you can do this step during the washing process.


Mechanical Decontamination
Mechanical decontamination is when you physically or mechanically remove bonded contaminants off the paint. Most of you reading this are familiar with a tool we use in the car detailing industry called detailing clay. Most of you probably don't know that detailing clay is a high-tech form of Play-Doh called polybutene and mixed into the polybutene is a pulverized or powdered abrasive. When you rub a clay patty over the paint it acts to sand off the contaminants. After the contaminants have been removed the clay lube you use for this process cushions the clay and allows it to glide effortlessly over the surface. You can normally feel the difference from when you first start out and the clay patty is grabbing the paint and when the clay stops grabbing the paint and begins to glide over the paint. This is a sign to you that this section of paint is now smooth and contaminant free and you can move onto a new section of paint that still needs to be mechanically decontaminated.




Car Detailing History

Car detailing clay was invented in Japan in the late 1980's and then introduced to the American market in the early 1990's. I actually have examples of early detailing clay in my antique car wax collection.


Since then, new and innovative tools have been introduced that do the same thing detailing clay does but in a different form. Some of these tools include a polymerized rubber interface with a pulverized abrasive powder embodied into the rubber. You use these new tools just like clay, that is you lubricate the surface and then rub them over the paint. In the same way you can feel clay grab and the glide while claying you can feel these tools first start out grabbing the paint and then after they remove the contaminants you can feel them glide over the paint.

While they do the same work the benefit to these new types of tools for mechanical decontamination is that if you drop a piece of clay on the ground, because it's tacky you'll want and need to throw it away. Chances are very good the clay will have picked up some form of abrasive particle and if you were to try to continue using the now-contaminated-clay, you risk inflicted swirls and scratches into the precious, thin paint. And this is a recipe for disaster and completely not work the time or money.

With these new polymerized rubber tools, if you drop one on the ground you can simply rinse them off and continue to use them.and mixed into the polylbutane is a pulverized or powedered abrasive. When you rub a clay patty over the paint it acts to sand off the contaminants. After the contaminants have been removed the clay lube you use for this process cushions the clay and allows it to glide effortlessly over the surface. You can normally feel the difference from when you first start out and the clay patty is grabbing the paint and when the clay stops grabbing the paint and begins to glide over the paint. This is a sign to you that this section of paint is now smooth and contaminant free and you can move onto a new section of paint that still needs to be mechanically decontaminated.



Detailing Clay History

Car detailing clay was invented in Japan in the late 1980's and then introduced to the American market in the early 1990's. I actually have examples of early detailing clay in my antique car wax collection.


Since then, new and innovative tools have been introduced that do the same thing detailing clay does but in a different form. Some of these tools include a polymerized rubber interface with a pulverized abrasive powder embodied into the rubber. You use these new tools just like clay, that is you lubricate the surface and then rub them over the paint. In the same way you can feel clay grab and the glide while claying you can feel these tools first start out grabbing the paint and then after they remove the contaminants you can feel them glide over the paint.

While they do the same work the benefit to these new types of tools for mechanical decontamination is that if you drop a piece of clay on the ground, because it's tacky you'll want and need to throw it away. Chances are very good the clay will have picked up some form of abrasive particle and if you were to try to continue using the now-contaminated-clay, you risk inflicted swirls and scratches into the precious, thin paint. And this is a recipe for disaster and completely not work the time or money.

With these new polymerized rubber tools, if you drop one on the ground you can simply rinse them off and continue to use them.


:)
 
Continued....


So the question comes up...

Question: Which do I do first? Chemically decontaminate or mechanically decontaminate?


Answer: You start with chemical decontamination and follow with washing and rinsing, then do the mechanical decontamination.



Here's what that looks like...


Most forgotten area - the gas cap door...

I like to remind people to clean behind the gas cap door as it can get really dirty! So we started here,

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And then sprayed down the rest of the truck including paint, glass, plastic and trim...

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It's easy to see the iron contamination on the tailgate...

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And on the hood...


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:)
 
Contineud....


After letting the SONAX Fallout Remover dwell for a few minutes, next we used a foam gun to slather on some car wash soap and then wash off all the loose dirt and all the iron contamination and other fallout contamination the SONAX Fallout Remover dissolved.



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:)
 
How do you like the Sonax Fallout Remover compared to Iron X and Ferrex? I was choosing between the three for my last detail job and didn't see a lot of info on the Sonax so I tried it. I was happy with it but it went really fast. Does one of the three tend to "go further" per oz or work significantly better than the others?
 
Continued....


Now that the loose dirt has been thoroughly rinsed and flushed off the truck, next we're going to RE-FOAM the truck to use the soapy foam suds as our lubricant to do the mechanical decontamination step.

Here's Dion spray down a thick layer of suds using the foam gun...

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With the foam on the truck, now we use the Nanoskin Autoscrub Wash Mitts to mechanically decontaminate the paint...

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Here's my good friend Frank aka FrankS on our forum doing the final rinse...

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:)
 
Continued....


Test Spot

Next up we're going to do what I call a Test Spot.

I actually coined this term for the detailing industry and it's very rewarding to see it used widespread throughout not only the detailing industry here in the United States but also the world.

Test Spot - The story behind the story...



How to do a Test Spot

Doing a test spot is easy, First the idea is to TEST the pad, product, tool and your technique to one small area and MAKE SURE it's working to remove the defects and make the paint look like you hope and dream about before repeating the procedure to the entire vehicle. If your process, (that's the product, pad, tool and technique), works in one small area chances are good duplicating it over the rest of the vehicle will give you the exact same results.

If the product, pad, tool and technique doesn't produce the results you were hoping for in your test spot well then you'll be GLAD you tested to a small area FIRST and you didn't buff out the entire vehicle with the process you thought or were hoping would work.

And "yes" I have met detailers and enthusiasts that did NOT know to do a test spot and went on to buff out an entire car using "something" only to find out after they wiped off the "something" the paint looked scoured or swirled-out or micor-marred.

So always TEST FIRST and dial-in your process before buffing out an entire car. You'll be glad you did and it only takes a few minutes.

IF you find the first product, pads and tools of choice are not working, then you can test something else until you dial-in a system that you can verify works. If you get into trouble - well that's what this forum is here form. If you're not a member and reading this as a lurker, then get off the fence and join in the fun.


Click here to join the AutogeekOline.net Car Detailing Discussion Forum


Time to get to work...

Here's a picture of me doing the test spot using the RUPES Easy Gloss System. The compound/polish, pad and RUPES BigFoot orbital polisher worked flawlessly and removed the oxidation, swirls, scratches and water spots leaving behind a true show car finish.

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We had people joining in this night that had NEVER used a machine to polish paint before. So here's a little dramatic technique I use to show them just how safe RUPES polishers, pads and products are.


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Safe enough for the skin on my hand.... safe enough for the paint on your car....

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:)


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Continued....


This is Dion and this is his first time machine polishing....


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First a little demonstration on how to hold and move the polisher....

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Then a little guidance on how little pressure to use and how slow of an arm speed to move the polisher over the paint plus the overlapping crosshatch pattern to make when buffing out section of paint.


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Then I turned Dion loose because really... it's not that hard...

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Doing good!

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And here's the results...

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Here's the same picture above only I've drawn some lines around the section he buffed and drew circles around the light reflections in the paint. You can easily see the difference between before and after results.


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Dion picked up on machine polishing fast... I know he's hooked now...


:)
 
Continued...


Meanwhile back on the farm....


Here's my good frined Dan woking on the hood...

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Notice the cord over the shoulder...

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Here I've placed a line clearly showing the side Dan buffed and the original oxidized half of the hood...

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Here's a close-up of the overhead florescent lights reflecting onto the paint... I don't think I need to draw a line around anything here for you to see what RUPES Easy Gloss is capable of...
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Nice work Dan!



:)
 
Continued....


These classes, like all our classes are a LOT of fun. Learning is important but you learn more and learn better when you're also having fun. Here's some shots of the rest of my team tackling the neglected and oxidized paint on this 2006 Toyota Tundra using the RUPES Easy Gloss System and all the various RUPES polishers....


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Plastic gets dull and oxidized too and the RUPES Easy Gloss System restored perfect clarity to these plastic tail light lenses...

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:)
 
Great job by the team. The truck came out looking great. The Rupes UHS is a nice one step compounding polish to work with that gives great results.
 
Damn Mike, you guys killed it. Too bad AG isn't on the West Coast. I'd be like Frank, always there. Good times fellas!
 
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