10 Things I've Learned in my 1st Year of Retirement...

T

TortoiseAWD

New member
My girlfriend's sister and brother-in-law just purchased a used 2001 Ford F150 (black). The truck had around 12000 miles on it, and the dealer talked them in to a "paint protection" package. The first couple of pictures in this series shows just how poorly the dealer prepped the vehicle. The rest show the results we got by washing, polishing with Finesse-It II, washing again, then sealing with Z1/Z5. This project was the most rewarding detailing experience I've had so far . . . the difference between before and after is pretty dramatic. Here's the first picture of dealer-installed buffer marks (not an option that Jim and Nancy intended to pay for):
 
Greenery on the hood (the white specks you see are some lint and dust; the paint's actually in pretty good shape as far as chips go):
 
Tired, but very satisfied with the day's labors (I'm the gravitationally-challenged one on the left; Jim, the truck owner, is the one on the right with the "damn-my-new-truck-is-shiny" grin):
 
My god, that dealer prep was horrible!! That has to be one of the worst butcher jobs I have ever seen. It looks like a whole different truck now, great job Tort. :cool: :up Tell your family that you are better than a pro detailer, you are an Autopian ;)
 
Amazing! Prolly the best before/after shots I've seen (that's saying a lot). Mebbe I can do the black car thing, after all (I've been having second thoughts lately, after seeing the year old dark blue finish on my Passat). Can't wait to try Zaino!



Question: How many coats of Z5 is that?



Thanks,



Gary
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by lordkelvin [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Question: How many coats of Z5 is that?
[/b]</blockquote>Gary,

Just one. I'm looking forward to seeing after a couple of more layers of Z5 then Z2 . . .

Tort
 
This was one of the first threads that I read when I joined Autopia and I found it nothing short of inspirational. Just want to send it back to the top for another round.



Awesome job Tortoise! :bounce
 
Thanks for all the compliments, guys; you're making me blush :D



To date, that truck has been my biggest detailing "success". I don't think I'd ever want to own a black vehicle (because it's so difficult to keep them looking good), but I really like working on other people's black cars, because the before/after difference is usually so astonishing.



Again, thanks for the kind words,

Tort
 
1. Traffic is much worse after noon.

2. You can never start saving too early.

3. Afternoon naps are a good thing.

4. Every day fills up with another project.

5. There's no such thing as bordom.

6. I'm a pretty good cook.

7. It's nice to help people out without taking off work.

8. It's nice to know I can't get laid off.

9. Every day is Saturday.

10. Life doesn't have to be at Mach 3 with your hair on fire.
 
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