Trucks looks great! Was there a reason you used wheel wax instead of the Hydro2? Also, as far as the streaking...either your dilution was wrong or you didn`t rinse it well enough with a strong blast of water. I always spray it down twice just to be sure and I have never had streaking. FYI, most spray bottles you can pickup from Lowes or the auto stores will have the different ratios already on the bottle. Great work, and thanks for sharing the after shots.
Looking for advice for new paint preservation
- Thread starter SouthPawCO
- Start date
SouthPawCO
New member
I am almost certain that my mix ratio was wrong because I did not have a good way of measuring it. The bottle I had was made by car-brite and it only had mix ratios for 1:1, 1:4 and 1:32 IIRC. I did this at my shop at work and the nozzle I was planning on using disappeared over the weekend so I had to improvise. After getting that straightened out, the hydro2 beaded and sheeted like magic. I was really impressed on how it came out. It did change my mind a little on how spray on products work.
I used wheel wax instead of hydro2 for three reasons:
1.) I already have it and I have had excellent results with it. It really, really makes the wheels shine and gloss. I have so many people compliment about them and ask what I used on them to make them look like that. I am not the biggest fan of chrome so they will eventually be swapped for some black wheels but for now I will make them pop.
2.) I wasn`t sure how `glossy` the hydro2 would be on chrome. After the hydro2 streaked on the truck I avoided the wheels (again this was my fault not the products).
3.) I have a hard time mentally accepting any spray on products (spray wax, spray wheel coating, etc). As many of you can relate, I am very OCD. In my mind, if the product is applied by hand it is more protected and evenly coated.
All in all, I got to try some new products, try my hand at buffing/polishing and it came out great. I think the next go around I will be trying BF Wet over ice combo because it suits my needs mentally and looks to have excellent results on black.
Videos of the results using Hydro2:
And in Slow-Mo
The Hydro2 ia really impressive how well it holds up. I was reminded of it this weekend. My work truck was in need of new brakes and rotors. I noticed how nasty the wheels got after just a day of driving the front passenger was almost black. I had the rotors and pads replaced friday. I washed it and was amazed how the rain storm Friday afternoon had rinsed the rims clean! They cleaned up perfect and were still beading with just soap and water. They were treated around 2 months ago. If I hadn`t tried it myself I wouldn`t have believed such an easy to use product worked so well. As far as the chrome wheels, I agree with you, I went with the gunmetal colored rims on my truck. I use the Black Label Wheel Coating on them and love it.
TheMeanGreen
New member
Want to know the secret to keeping paint in good condition? I`ll tell you (I too desire my one and only car, DD to always look great), don`t touch it, just do maintenance washes. If you go on a date or somewhere nice, do a WW. I`ve had to come to terms with doing weekly washes instead of QD`s every two days. Yeah the car gets dirty, but I would rather have a protected, somewhat dirty car, than a clean car that I have a higher likely-hood of swirling because I touch it all the time. I know it`s frustrating, but there is only so much one can do to preserve paint, besides perfecting and then adding a boat load of clear coat, or by getting a very high-end full clear bra.
cardaddy
South of Atlanta
Congrats on the new ride. 
There`s a saying amongst detailing freaks. (As in folks that like to be overly OCD keeping their vehicles up.)
Keeping up a vehicle is a hobby. Keeping up a BLACK vehicle is a full time career! :blink:
Actually I`ve got a 2016 Silverado LTZ Plus, 4x4, running boards, in Siren Red Tintcoat, riding on chrome 22`s coming next week.
Pretty much the same chrome grill as yours, (just the new front end).
Someone mentioned the Dealer Installed Swirl Option or DISO as we call it. Knowing that, I told my dealer three things.
1: Do not remove the plastic
2: Do not WASH IT.
3: Do not even LOOK at it till I`m there! LOL
I`d love to help you out on the pads, but don`t do CG pads.
Generally... for GM paint you`ll get by with Lake Country orange then move to white. Whatever the CG version of that is will work. Now you`ll need AT LEAST 6 pads, of a single color... to buff that beast. (I`d use more like 8 probably.) That`s not saying you have to have 6, as you can get by with 4, but YOU NEED ALL FOUR.
You`ll use your pads in a FIFO rotation. First In First Out
When you use one through it`s cycle, you clean it on the fly after EVERY section you do. (A section is basically working within your shoulders, 20~24" wide and deep.)
After you do 3~4 sections you need to clean on the fly, then take some pad cleaner and clean it deeper, including cleaning under hot water.
After cleaning... put it back on the buffer on speed 4-ish and spin it to remove excess water, sit it aside, Velcro side up, and let it dry.
(This is where it works great if you have a fan that you can sit horizontal and just sit your pads on the fan to dry.)
Start at the top, roof down. That roof will take a good 2 pads.
While you still have some CLEAN, VIRGIN pads do the hood. The hood will take 2 pads. Remember... FIFO
So at this point you`ve gone through 4 pads. However... if you spun dried the first 2, pad 1 should be ready to go back into duty.
Front fender, front door... 1 pad (per side).
ack doors (both sides) 1 pad.
Bed sides 1 pad (per side).
Tailgate 1 pad.
So you see... by the time it`s all said and done you`ve used 10 pads.
This is why I`ve recommended for YEARS that PBMG offer something along the line of a "Detailers Dozen". Grab say 6 orange, 4 white, 2 blue, 1 black and call it a day. Unfortunately... they don`t really listen to me much. LOL Although I`d still stick by the 6 orange 4 white, 2 blue statement as a setup that`ll do pretty much anything you`ll run across. Maybe even 6 orange and 6 white. The thing about white pads is they are in the middle of the cut/finish scale. With a heavy cut SMAT based compound they`ll do some fairly nice correction. Then with a heavy cut DAT compound like Menzerna FG400 (now called Heavy Cut 400) it`ll cut like crazy those first 2 passes then continue to work it down for the full 8 ~10 passes and you`ll be BLOWN AWAY how well it`ll finish down!!!!!
I`d also recommend you coat it. Being in a complex, not having a garage for it, a coating is going to give you better protection down the road.
Many coatings these days are pretty easy. Pinnacle Black Label, Duragloss, CQuartz (regular or UK Edition) Optimum Gloss Coat, are all hard to do wrong.
Although I *would* recommend using the CarPro applicator and suede microfiber cloth to lay down the coating thinner, smoother, more evenly, and use less of it during the process. (Which helps avoid high spots.)
You can always top a coating with a spray sealant/booster if you like every couple to every 6 months. Some even have their own dedicated `booster`.
Lastly... you need towels, GOOD microfiber towels, and AT LEAST a couple dozen of them. (I have more like hundreds, and am always on the lookout for better towels.) There are plenty of places to look, including PBMG (especially as they`ve come down on their towel prices to match the big two online suppliers). Often, the new PBMG prices are so close that when they have a sale you end up getting your basic towels cheaper than anywhere else. When I mention a "basic" towel I`m talking about the Gold Plush Jr. which is a 360GSM towel. That`s pretty much the standard for a "basic" towel. They are better than anything you`ll find locally, and can be had for under a couple bucks each when they are on sale.
Of course if you wanted to buy wholesale, and get 180 at a time.... you can get a good 360~365GSM towel for less than half normal retail pricing, but might spend the night in the doghouse when your wife comes home and sees the entire dining room table covered in towels! LOL
There`s a saying amongst detailing freaks. (As in folks that like to be overly OCD keeping their vehicles up.)
Keeping up a vehicle is a hobby. Keeping up a BLACK vehicle is a full time career! :blink:
Actually I`ve got a 2016 Silverado LTZ Plus, 4x4, running boards, in Siren Red Tintcoat, riding on chrome 22`s coming next week.
Pretty much the same chrome grill as yours, (just the new front end).Someone mentioned the Dealer Installed Swirl Option or DISO as we call it. Knowing that, I told my dealer three things.
1: Do not remove the plastic
2: Do not WASH IT.
3: Do not even LOOK at it till I`m there! LOL
I`d love to help you out on the pads, but don`t do CG pads.
Generally... for GM paint you`ll get by with Lake Country orange then move to white. Whatever the CG version of that is will work. Now you`ll need AT LEAST 6 pads, of a single color... to buff that beast. (I`d use more like 8 probably.) That`s not saying you have to have 6, as you can get by with 4, but YOU NEED ALL FOUR.You`ll use your pads in a FIFO rotation. First In First Out
When you use one through it`s cycle, you clean it on the fly after EVERY section you do. (A section is basically working within your shoulders, 20~24" wide and deep.)
After you do 3~4 sections you need to clean on the fly, then take some pad cleaner and clean it deeper, including cleaning under hot water.
After cleaning... put it back on the buffer on speed 4-ish and spin it to remove excess water, sit it aside, Velcro side up, and let it dry.
(This is where it works great if you have a fan that you can sit horizontal and just sit your pads on the fan to dry.)
Start at the top, roof down. That roof will take a good 2 pads.
While you still have some CLEAN, VIRGIN pads do the hood. The hood will take 2 pads. Remember... FIFO
So at this point you`ve gone through 4 pads. However... if you spun dried the first 2, pad 1 should be ready to go back into duty.
Front fender, front door... 1 pad (per side).
ack doors (both sides) 1 pad.
Bed sides 1 pad (per side).
Tailgate 1 pad.
So you see... by the time it`s all said and done you`ve used 10 pads.
This is why I`ve recommended for YEARS that PBMG offer something along the line of a "Detailers Dozen". Grab say 6 orange, 4 white, 2 blue, 1 black and call it a day. Unfortunately... they don`t really listen to me much. LOL Although I`d still stick by the 6 orange 4 white, 2 blue statement as a setup that`ll do pretty much anything you`ll run across. Maybe even 6 orange and 6 white. The thing about white pads is they are in the middle of the cut/finish scale. With a heavy cut SMAT based compound they`ll do some fairly nice correction. Then with a heavy cut DAT compound like Menzerna FG400 (now called Heavy Cut 400) it`ll cut like crazy those first 2 passes then continue to work it down for the full 8 ~10 passes and you`ll be BLOWN AWAY how well it`ll finish down!!!!!
I`d also recommend you coat it. Being in a complex, not having a garage for it, a coating is going to give you better protection down the road.
Many coatings these days are pretty easy. Pinnacle Black Label, Duragloss, CQuartz (regular or UK Edition) Optimum Gloss Coat, are all hard to do wrong.
Although I *would* recommend using the CarPro applicator and suede microfiber cloth to lay down the coating thinner, smoother, more evenly, and use less of it during the process. (Which helps avoid high spots.)
You can always top a coating with a spray sealant/booster if you like every couple to every 6 months. Some even have their own dedicated `booster`.
Lastly... you need towels, GOOD microfiber towels, and AT LEAST a couple dozen of them. (I have more like hundreds, and am always on the lookout for better towels.)
There are plenty of places to look, including PBMG (especially as they`ve come down on their towel prices to match the big two online suppliers). Often, the new PBMG prices are so close that when they have a sale you end up getting your basic towels cheaper than anywhere else. When I mention a "basic" towel I`m talking about the Gold Plush Jr. which is a 360GSM towel. That`s pretty much the standard for a "basic" towel. They are better than anything you`ll find locally, and can be had for under a couple bucks each when they are on sale.Of course if you wanted to buy wholesale, and get 180 at a time.... you can get a good 360~365GSM towel for less than half normal retail pricing, but might spend the night in the doghouse when your wife comes home and sees the entire dining room table covered in towels! LOL
SouthPawCO
New member
^^^
Very sound advice, thank you. That was very informative and will help me a lot. I too have the LTZ plus and I love it. When you said a black vehicle is a full time career, there is a lot of truth behind that. It rained yesterday and although the hydro2 beaded nicely, driving home coated it in road grime. I try to wash my every Friday or Saturday (weather permitting of course). I do want to coat it and will probably do that in the month or so when we are at the end of rainy season. I really appreciate the advice and it will help a lot the next time it goes under the knife
Very sound advice, thank you. That was very informative and will help me a lot. I too have the LTZ plus and I love it. When you said a black vehicle is a full time career, there is a lot of truth behind that. It rained yesterday and although the hydro2 beaded nicely, driving home coated it in road grime. I try to wash my every Friday or Saturday (weather permitting of course). I do want to coat it and will probably do that in the month or so when we are at the end of rainy season. I really appreciate the advice and it will help a lot the next time it goes under the knife
cardaddy
South of Atlanta
Yup... even CarMomma won`t have a black vehicle in our stable... just too much work.^^^
Very sound advice, thank you. That was very informative and will help me a lot. I too have the LTZ plus and I love it. When you said a black vehicle is a full time career, there is a lot of truth behind that. It rained yesterday and although the hydro2 beaded nicely, driving home coated it in road grime. I try to wash my every Friday or Saturday (weather permitting of course). I do want to coat it and will probably do that in the month or so when we are at the end of rainy season. I really appreciate the advice and it will help a lot the next time it goes under the knife
that being said I inherited a 1930 Ford Model A this year with about 25 year old single stage black lacquer that is still sitting in the other garage for now.Within the next month or so I`m going to have to get it down here and put it in one of my garages in come fall I reckon I`ll spend a couple weeks or so with that bad boy trying to fix all the years and years of bad washing procedures that my father-in-law did to it. LOL
I got the truck last Friday!
First thing I did was use IRON-X snow foam on it twice then rinsing and blow drying.
I did do the running boards, bed rails, and bumpers with Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant "WETS".
Then left it at that until this week.
Did a Mr. Pink snow foam job and a blow-dry while being ever so careful to NEVER dry it with a towel.
Then went to the north of Atlanta (about 65 miles from here) and had Hüper Optik ceramic tint installed. Went for 40 on the front windows which is about 35 ish light tlransmission and then actually put 70 on all the back windows which completely blocks the IR heat from coming through the dark windows. It`s not quite a clear film so it did make it just a touch darker but boy does it block the Heat!!
I Also had the guy put XPel Ultimate ppf on all the thresholds in the doors to keep them from getting scratched up. After getting back from getting it tinted I finally broke out the Nano skin pad and went over that bad boy top to bottom front to back... Which took me a good hour and a half to get all the Fallout and Gunk off of it!
Mostly of course on the horizontal panels but it was bad, it was very VERY bad. It felt like they had parked it in a factory parking lot that made shellac in the middle of a Pine Forest!
For now it has Wolfgang Deep Gloss Spritz Sealant on it until I can get it buffed here in the next couple weeks.
At least it`s nice and slick and shiny.... albeit the dealer-installed and factory-installed swirls are driving me bat crap crazy every time I walk by it. LOL
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TheMeanGreen
New member
Sunday was Funday for me. My projects were my borthers truck and my personal truck. My brothers truck was the real chore as about the only thing he ever does is a quick wash and quick vacuum. Due to lack of time, I did not get before pictures of either but the `94 Chevy was horrible. I was really impressed with the hydro2 but I think the next time, I will go with the lite version. I did not have a proper way of measuring the dilution ratio and I think that is what caused it to streak. After the clean up, it turned out beautiful. I took some videos as well and was impressed. I will try to upload the vidoes some how.
Products used:
Meg`s Clay bar kit
Meg`s Ultimate Polish
PC DA
CG pads
Hydro2
Meg`s Natural Shine interior Cleaner
Meg`s Tire Hot Tire Shine (ran out before I could finish my truck)
303
Wheel Wax
NXT 2.0
and some various other stuff in my detail bin
Since I was crunched for time, I did not take a lot of pictures. We are supposed to be having some rain this week so we will see how the hydro2 holds up.
*Few streaks/spots left but they were cleaned up after this photo.
Man, I am not a Chevy guy at all (I am an LS fan though), but I really have a thing for those extended cab mid-ish 90`s trucks.
I`d take one with:
*Restyled interior
*Current gen Ram Powerwagon frame (shortened)
*Atlas 2speed 4:1
*LQ9 with a low boost single
*Overbuilt 6l80E
*Carli suspension
*Front and Rear Dyntrac ProRock 80`s, full floats, 8 lug, all the bells and whistles, ARB`s, factory Chevy 3500 brakes
*Custom front and rear bumpers
*Warn 12k up front and outback
*Enough cooling to keep the truck running cold, in the middle of Death Valley, in the summer, for a day or two straight, with only fuel stops.
*OBA
*Beadlocks
*Oh, and all the Rigid Industries LED lighting that is deemed necessary. B)
SouthPawCO
New member
They are a beautiful truck. My family has always been a GM family. What`s really neat about that truck is it only has 16,000 when he inherited from my grandmother when she passed. She bought it brand new in `94 and decided she didn`t like the extended cab. Well paying with cash she was kind `stuck` with it so she just bought another truck. It mostly sat being seldom used for s spare vehicle and my brother took it over a few years ago. Really a neat truck and loaded for the time period (power seats, pw, pl, cruise, power mirrors).
pmdr85
New member
Not the biggest Chevy fan myself but those LS motors are very well built. People are dropping those in everything nowadays!
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SouthPawCO
New member
Yup... even CarMomma won`t have a black vehicle in our stable... just too much work.
Within the next month or so I`m going to have to get it down here and put it in one of my garages in come fall I reckon I`ll spend a couple weeks or so with that bad boy trying to fix all the years and years of bad washing procedures that my father-in-law did to it. LOL
I got the truck last Friday!
First thing I did was use IRON-X snow foam on it twice then rinsing and blow drying.
I did do the running boards, bed rails, and bumpers with Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant "WETS".
Then left it at that until this week.
Did a Mr. Pink snow foam job and a blow-dry while being ever so careful to NEVER dry it with a towel.
Then went to the north of Atlanta (about 65 miles from here) and had Hüper Optik ceramic tint installed. Went for 40 on the front windows which is about 35 ish light tlransmission and then actually put 70 on all the back windows which completely blocks the IR heat from coming through the dark windows. It`s not quite a clear film so it did make it just a touch darker but boy does it block the Heat!!
After getting back from getting it tinted I finally broke out the Nano skin pad and went over that bad boy top to bottom front to back... Which took me a good hour and a half to get all the Fallout and Gunk off of it!
Mostly of course on the horizontal panels but it was bad, it was very VERY bad. It felt like they had parked it in a factory parking lot that made shellac in the middle of a Pine Forest!
For now it has Wolfgang Deep Gloss Spritz Sealant on it until I can get it buffed here in the next couple weeks.
At least it`s nice and slick and shiny.... albeit the dealer-installed and factory-installed swirls are driving me bat crap crazy every time I walk by it. LOL
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Oh man that is pretty!!!! Congrats! 5.3 or 6.2? I actually stopped by discount tire and ordered a new wheel and tire package to get rid of the chrome wheels. Chrome is just as hard to keep up as black! Also have a small lift coming in the mail so she will short and squatty. 20x10 -24 and 305/55/20 good year duratracs.
TheMeanGreen
New member
Chevy LS is the hottest engine to swap right now, cheap as dirt, strong, reliable, vast array of parts, and can make stupid horse power for cheap. Best *bang* for the buck motor. My only complaint is that it still uses push rods and two valves per cylinder, a modern multivalve DOHC with variable valve timing would bring these engines into new leagues. Destroked crank, forged rotating assembly, multivalve, port and direct injection, high-ish compression (12:1), twin low boost twin scrolls; talk about horse power, torque, quick/high revving for days and a super fat and flat torque and horsepower curve. Literally the perfect engine.
pmdr85
New member
^agreed. Another hot item right now is people are getting 5.3 from junk yards and doing headstuds and very minimal work, slappin on a big turbo and making stupid power!!.......all your trucks look great. Love the new front ends!!
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SouthPawCO
New member
pmdr85
New member
That`s awesome. I want big chiefs red truck from street outlaws. Pretty sure he holds the record with similar setup. (Meaning minimal work) he`s all over you tube but I can`t figure out how to link video. Look up big cheif red truck....thanks for that link. That write up is pretty amazing. 1,203 hp @ 26lbs boost!!!!
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