Dodge Ram Restoration Detail

mrclean81

mrclean81

New member
This has been an ongoing project Ive been working on at work. I hadnt planned on doing a write up on it but by the time I was done with it I had pretty much documented it anyway :redface: A little background...it was a farm truck. Some time ago it had recieved the worst paintjob possible and there were still scratches and chips from bumper to bumper. There was severe clear coat failure, orange peel, fish eyes, dry spots, and MANY runs in the paint. 1 run measured 11 inches long. I was told to just do the best I can with it since it has 190,000 miles on it.

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I started out with the engine, degreasing with Car Brite Hot Stuff and a heated power washer. The frame and undercarriage was cleaned the same way. Washed with Car Brite Cherry Bomb, tires and wells cleaned with Car Brite Whamo whitewall cleaner, wheels cleaned front and back with Auto Magic non acid wheel cleaner.

Interior was cleaned top to bottom with Car Brite Xtra Duty, a jumbo vent brush, air gun, and mf towels, then dressed with Pro Premo and Car Brite Inside Out aerosol dressing. Hi Tech aerosol glass cleaner and mf glass towel for windows. Carpet was cleaned with a Mytee extractor and Tital Wave extractor solution.

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The motor I wasnt too happy with, but a 200,000 mile motor is going to look worn out no matter what you do to it :wall

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A headlight and foglight restoration was perfomed, starting with 1500 by hand and finishing with 3000 grit via 3inch Griots polisher, then used the polisher to buff them out with 3M perfect it 3 compound and 3M machine polish.
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(sorry the closeup of the fog light got deleted on accident)

On the the paint. The entire truck was wetsanded, starting with 1000, then 1500 both by hand, then finished with 3000 on the 3inch Griots polisher.
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After 2 days of wetsanding, the correction process began. Using an ATD rotary with 6inch backing plate and purple foamed wool pad with 3M Perfect It 3 compound, the 3000 grit scratches buffed out beautifully. I followed that up with Poorboys SSR 2.5 with an orange LC CCS pad on my 6 inch Griots polisher on speed 5 and medium pressure, then followed that with SSR1 and a red pad. 2 coats of Nattys Red was applied by hand, and all exterior was dressed with Pro Premo (after a good washing to remove the mess I made with the compound lol). Heres some afters, and yes we trashed those ugly tool boxes.
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Thanks for looking :)
 
Awesome save as usual! You always seem to get these projects saving vehicles with one foot in the grave... I love that kind of work!
 
Looks like a great save. Customer must have been pretty happy with your results.The dressing of the exterior plastic with Pro primo looks great.How long will that application last before needing to be re-newed. I have used other products and keep looking for something to last a little longer . What brand of sand paper did you use on the wet sanding ? Did you seal the lights after sanding ? I see you use some CarBrite products. Have you been using them very long ? They are located here in Indy and I have used a couple of their products and had pretty good results. Sorry for all the questions but I like the results you got on the truck and would like to try a few of your ideas. Thanks for sharing.
 
Paul S said:
Looks like a great save. Customer must have been pretty happy with your results.The dressing of the exterior plastic with Pro primo looks great.How long will that application last before needing to be re-newed. I have used other products and keep looking for something to last a little longer . What brand of sand paper did you use on the wet sanding ? Did you seal the lights after sanding ? I see you use some CarBrite products. Have you been using them very long ? They are located here in Indy and I have used a couple of their products and had pretty good results. Sorry for all the questions but I like the results you got on the truck and would like to try a few of your ideas. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for the compliments. Premo is a really good dressing but I really prefer a product like Poorboys Trim Restorer or Auto Magic Bumper Renewer over water based dressings. The only reason I used Premo was Im out of Trim Restorer lol. Usually dressings just dont last. All of my sandpaper is 3M. The 3000 grit I use on the Griots polisher is little 3 inch disks. Just remember if you ever try to sand with that machine to make sure and get the 3M Hook It and not Hook It 2. They have completly differant backings and Hook It 2 wont work.
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I did use Auto Magic Paint Sealant on the lights. I guess I forgot to add that. Ive been using Car Brite stuff for several years and love 80% of their product line. They have a HUGE line, and most of their stuff dilutes at least 3:1 or even 20:1. Im not crazy about their correction products these days though. Poorboys blow their polishes out of the water. As for cleaners and things like that, I have no intention of ever changing brands. :bigups
 
Very nice turnaround Nathan. How aggressive is the 3M Perfect it 3 Compound? Is it the water based compound?

Have you tried Ultima Trim and Tire Guard yet? It's amazing stuff and a few drops goes a real long way on trim. I applied it to my tires and a week later allowed a alkaline cleaner to dwell on my tires before power washing at the local DIY car wash. I was shocked that UTTG survived and was shining the following day. If I'm impressed I know my customers will be wowed.

How many vehicles have you sanded using the Griot's 3" polisher so far? I was surprised to see that that little machine is handling the pace that you keep.

Awesome job as usual.
 
tuscarora dave said:
Very nice turnaround Nathan. How aggressive is the 3M Perfect it 3 Compound? Is it the water based compound?

Have you tried Ultima Trim and Tire Guard yet? It's amazing stuff and a few drops goes a real long way on trim. I applied it to my tires and a week later allowed a alkaline cleaner to dwell on my tires before power washing at the local DIY car wash. I was shocked that UTTG survived and was shining the following day. If I'm impressed I know my customers will be wowed.

How many vehicles have you sanded using the Griot's 3" polisher so far? I was surprised to see that that little machine is handling the pace that you keep.

Awesome job as usual.
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Thanks Dave. Perfect IT 3 is a fairly mild compound compared to its big brother Perfect IT 2. It works out 3000 scratches really nicely. I'm pretty sure its water based. Ill look Monday and make sure before I say definatly. I've not yet used UTTG but it sounds like something I need to look into. The little Griots polisher has become a handy tool to keep around. I've wetsanded 3 with it so far and have a 30s model Plymouth Street Rod to do sometime this month with it. Its unreplacable for things like the foglights on this truck. Its pretty mild mannered as a polisher but a beast for wetsanding.
 
mrclean81 said:
Thanks Dave. Perfect IT 3 is a fairly mild compound compared to its big brother Perfect IT 2. It works out 3000 scratches really nicely. I'm pretty sure its water based. Ill look Monday and make sure before I say definatly. I've not yet used UTTG but it sounds like something I need to look into. The little Griots polisher has become a handy tool to keep around. I've wetsanded 3 with it so far and have a 30s model Plymouth Street Rod to do sometime this month with it. Its unreplacable for things like the foglights on this truck. Its pretty mild mannered as a polisher but a beast for wetsanding.
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Thanks for the insight, I couldn't get past the price of UTTG for a 12 oz. bottle but now that I have it I am positive that it will outlast a gallon of B&B and lasts 10 times longer than TR though TR looks a bit darker on trim.

I had the first gen 3" GG polisher which was an udder disappointment but it looks as if the 2nd gen unit is worth the price.:rockon
 
tuscarora dave said:
I had the first gen 3" GG polisher which was an udder disappointment but it looks as if the 2nd gen unit is worth the price.:rockon
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Well there are things I would change about the machine but I find myself depending on it more and more for certain things. First off, speeds 1, 2, and 3 are useless. It lacks the power to be able to do anything at low speeds. Speed 4 is about as slow as you can run it and even then its very doggy. Speeds 5 and 6 are perfect. It also makes some odd rattling noises. After placing a call to Griots I was told that the noises are normal and I should only be worried if they stop..:thinking If it had more torque (a machine this size with direct drive would be amazing), and if there were 3 1/2 inch polishing pads on the market that didnt compress into a pancake when pressure is applied, this would be a MUST HAVE machine.
 
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