Can a Detailer Own a Black Truck?

OCDinPDX

OCDinPDX

Paint Ph.D
Is it possible without complete loss of sanity?

I've just applied for a job with a local railroad and if I get the job, I will probably eventually wind up buying a truck because it seems that's what railroaders drive. :D Despite their recent problems, I am still completely enamored with the Toyota Tundra and think it looks incredible in black. If I wash it properly from day one, could I keep swirls and the like to a minimum? Perhaps I'd have to give it a going over once a year to keep the finish looking top notch but in reality would living with that much black paint simply drive me to the :crazy2: bin?
 
I own 3 Black vehicles and keep them looking good. you should be able to keep one looking good.

I bought a new Focus in Black and it has soft clear and it is much harder to keep from marring it, The other 2 are not bad to maintain.

I seen on the news this morning oil is over $81.00 and expected to go up.

The V8 Tundra is a gas hog you may want to think about that, I know I sure would not want to buy the fuel for it when fuel hits 5 buck per gallon and it will in the next couple years.

When that happens those who own those vehicles will not be able to give them away.

I see all these big Tahoe's and things like that people are buying they are in a state of denial but when gas hit 5 to 7 bucks a gallon they will wake up.
 
OCDinPDX said:
Is it possible without complete loss of sanity?

I've just applied for a job with a local railroad and if I get the job, I will probably eventually wind up buying a truck because it seems that's what railroaders drive. :D Despite their recent problems, I am still completely enamored with the Toyota Tundra and think it looks incredible in black. If I wash it properly from day one, could I keep swirls and the like to a minimum? Perhaps I'd have to give it a going over once a year to keep the finish looking top notch but in reality would living with that much black paint simply drive me to the :crazy2: bin?
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If you are willing to invest the time, (and $) learn proper procedures and purchase the proper equipment I think you can. It is not easy, (or advisable) but I can be done. I lost my sanity on my car months ago. It does not mean I don't love black, but sometimes "life" prevents me from spending every weekend removing the weeks dirt. White and Silver will cut your car care time and effort by 70% and your results will be better! Think about that!

I know, I had a white car and at the end of the lease the black one in the showroom got me. It looks killer, when it looks killer. How much of the time that is depends on how much time I spend on it.
 
You'll WANT a little dirt on the truck if you're working in the railroad yard. Helps you fit in.

There's Daily Driver Clean and there's "My Car is my Business Card" clean. No need to confuse the two.
 
OCDinPDX said:
Is it possible without complete loss of sanity?

I've just applied for a job with a local railroad and if I get the job, I will probably eventually wind up buying a truck because it seems that's what railroaders drive. :D Despite their recent problems, I am still completely enamored with the Toyota Tundra and think it looks incredible in black. If I wash it properly from day one, could I keep swirls and the like to a minimum? Perhaps I'd have to give it a going over once a year to keep the finish looking top notch but in reality would living with that much black paint simply drive me to the :crazy2: bin?
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I've worked for railroads and I've owned black vehicles. It all depends on how much time and effort you want to devote. Parking around rail yards deposits a film of diesel fuel on everything nearby. You'll find LSPs don't last very long in that environment nor do they maintain their gloss. Rail dust is everywhere and if you maintain a high gloss you'll find a thin layer every time you return to the truck. Unless you're talking about a really hard clear coat wiping off rail dust with a QD is going to leave marks. I did nothing less than a full wet wash with a black vehicle that spent time around rail yards. That was pre-ONR.

MDerleth said:
You'll WANT a little dirt on the truck if you're working in the railroad yard. Helps you fit in.

There's Daily Driver Clean and there's "My Car is my Business Card" clean. No need to confuse the two.
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If you're a professional detailer your vehicle is indeed your business card. If it were me I wouldn't want prospective customers to see anything I parked around railroads as an example of my work. Maintaining black at a level I want it is a part time job anyway. In a frequent railroad environment you may find it turned into a second full time job. Yeah, I like my vehicles to look pristine. But I'm not personally willing to sacrifice the time and effort from the rest of my life to keep black the way it ought to look.

YMMV... TL
 
TLMitchell said:
I've worked for railroads and I've owned black vehicles. It all depends on how much time and effort you want to devote. Parking around rail yards deposits a film of diesel fuel on everything nearby. You'll find LSPs don't last very long in that environment nor do they maintain their gloss. Rail dust is everywhere and if you maintain a high gloss you'll find a thin layer every time you return to the truck. Unless you're talking about a really hard clear coat wiping off rail dust with a QD is going to leave marks. I did nothing less than a full wet wash with a black vehicle that spent time around rail yards. That was pre-ONR.
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Well my original idea for a 'work' car was a Honda Fit. Given that new information, maybe I'll just get one of those in white and be done with it.
 
I can tell you the paint on the Tundra is very poor. Thin, easily marred, easily chipped. I don't know that I would want black in the Tundra. Maybe if it was built/assembled/painted in Japan (like the wife's Highlander), but the Texas paint job stinks. Frankly, the build quality of any Japanese Toyota versus American built is pretty staggering. I don't know what that says about "made in the USA" (or conversely, made in Japan), but given the choice, I'd rather have a Japanese built/assembled Toyota. To me, it's that noticeable.

Regarding the gas mileage: yeah, it's a big V-8 truck, so it's not going to be getting 20+. I get an average of 16-16.5 in mine with driving back to work in a downtown area with a weekend of towing the boat on the interstate. I know lots of factors can change the numbers, but I've got a neighbor with a similarly equipped Z71 that doesn't get 15 MPG, and it's a dog power-wise. I really like the styling of that truck, though. So don't let the gas mileage stop you from getting a big truck. I'll never go back to a small truck, I can tell you that for sure.

You may also want to wait it out and see what Ford has coming through the pipe. I liked the styling of the F-150 (more old-manish than any other big truck), but the engine (5.4L Triton) is really weak for a big truck in my opinion. I think they have some new motor offerings coming up as well as the Eco-boost technology in the truck engines should finally bring them up with the rest of the big trucks.

I can't say anything good about the Dodge trucks, so I won't say anything at all.
 
OCDinPDX said:
Well my original idea for a 'work' car was a Honda Fit. Given that new information, maybe I'll just get one of those in white and be done with it.
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Unless you really have a need for a big truck that would be a good idea.

I hope I'm wrong but I would be willing to bet some money that we will soon see soaring gas prices.

Last month China pasted the USA as the biggest energy consumer they are building Interstate hi-ways and their people are buying cars at and incredible rate.

While our government is blocking drilling China has cut deals with several oil producing countries for all their oil output.



They are smart enough to look to the future we are not.

Anyone who buys a huge vehicle and finance it for 60 months will find themselves owing more on it in a couple years then it is worth you will not be able to get someone to take over the payments due to the lack of demand for a vehicle that gets less than 20 mile per gallon.

If the job requires a big truck then get one if you just want one but don't really need it I would look for something with much better mileage

The American people are in for a rude awaking in the near future.
 
I'm with the others when it comes to what gas prices are likely to be in time. There are numerous factors at work that will contribute to this, but these factors are definitely at work and have been.

Consider this carefully. Weigh what this would cost you if it comes to be against the feelings and satisfaction of owning and driving a truck.
 
JaredPointer said:
... the Texas paint job stinks. ...
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Blasphemy, I say!

JaredPointer said:
... I liked the styling of the F-150 (more old-manish than any other big truck), ..l.
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Are you trying to get a dig on me for buying that F150? :D

I love my truck, but I wouldn't buy a truck just for a DD and not just for fear of what the future may hold in the way of gas prices. But I don't see how any homeowner (property owner) can live w/o at least one full-size truck in their household.

Like JP, I've been down the small truck route and while it was serviceable but for me it had more limitations than any benefit of slightly better gas mileage.
 
Whats wrong with the power of the 5.4? Just pulled 6000 lb tractor on car trailer and had absolutely no problem. Drove about 35 miles. 101,000 miles on that truck.
 
RANDAL said:
Whats wrong with the power of the 5.4? Just pulled 6000 lb tractor on car trailer and had absolutely no problem. Drove about 35 miles. 101,000 miles on that truck.
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Nothing necessarily wrong with it, it's just slooooow. Slow enough for me to notice it's a good bit slower and less powerful than the other big trucks. My brother has a 2005 King Ranch, and I'd venture to say that my old, beloved V-6 Tacoma could pull as much as it could and could run off and leave it at a red light. I really doubt that would be the case, however that's just my perception.

Like I said - I really like the F-150. I think it just needs some work in the power department, which I believe Ford is addressing. If there is a domestic company out there right now showing folks how to do it, it's definitely Ford.
 
OCDinPDX said:
Well my original idea for a 'work' car was a Honda Fit. Given that new information, maybe I'll just get one of those in white and be done with it.
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Truck or econobox, white gets my vote. Contrary to some opinions you can make white dazzle. 845IW over Opti Seal and you get an unbelieveable gloss that just doesn't seem to get dirty even after driving in the rain. A little black trim goes a long way towards setting it off.

TL
 
Consider the black truck a challenge similar to golf or other frustrating/rewarding sport/hobby.
 
Mr. Clean said:
But I don't see how any homeowner (property owner) can live w/o at least one full-size truck in their household.
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Before I owned one, I wouldn't have agreed with this -- I was easily able to rent a truck or van as needed to handle tasks I had.

That said, now that I own one I find that I would never be without one again. I'm able to take care of things much faster and easier than when I had to plan around making the most of renting a truck for a weekend every few months.

Like JP, I've been down the small truck route and while it was serviceable but for me it had more limitations than any benefit of slightly better gas mileage.
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Slightly better gas mileage? Really? That's been the OPPOSITE of my experience. I went from having mid-size SUVs (an S-10 Blazer, a couple GMC Envoys, and then a Trailblazer SS) to a crew cab P/U, and my truck gets better gas mileage than ANY of the SUVs ever did.

Of course, it also makes a difference that I went from the Trailblazer SS (6.0L LS2 V8 -- 400HP/TQ.) which ate 94-Octane at 11-12 MPG to a truck with a 5.3L V8 that gets fed 89-Octane (good for 15-16 MPG). Yeah, I lost 75 HP and gained a bit of weight, but I've been able to deal with it.

Anything is better than the $4.80/gal. I was paying at the time to feed the TBSS on a weekly basis ($120 fill ups were no fun!)
 
I have a F250 4x4 Diesel it has not been started in months I recently bought shingles for one of my garages 1650 lbs I have a bad back so instead of loading them in my pickup and then unloading them at home I had Lowe's deliver them.
They brought them on a pallet and ask where I wanted it, I had him put the skid load at the corner of the garage.

That is how I get by without using mine. :D

I have the Diesel for sale hope to get rid of it soon.
 
JaredPointer said:
...I liked the styling of the F-150 (more old-manish than any other big truck), ....
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JaredPointer said:
Never! I just felt like the interior design was more suited for a well-traveled gentleman! :D
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The well-traveled old-manish gentleman? I still feel the cold steel blade between my shoulders. :D

But I must say, I appreciate both the styling and the feel of the FX2 interior with the supportive bucket seats and the large center console w/shifter. Just wish mine had come with the leather seating option.

The truck itself has a capable feel to it and it only came with the 4.6l powerplant. Not that I had a choice, but I don't have the need to tow frequently, just haul. And or quickness it can "get out the way". :)
 
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