Driven Auto Detail
New member
Hey everybody! This is my brother-in-law's 2006 F250 turbo-diesel work truck. He owns his own electrical contracting company. He's out in the fields (literally) quite a bit so this truck was pretty dirty inside & out. The worst part of the whole detail was the bed and I'm kicking myself for forgetting to get a before shot of it. It was literally covered with a layer of dirt. So much so, that you couldn't see the bed-linder on the bottom of the bed.
As far as payment is concerned, this was the first time I had detailed a vehicle for him and it's part of a barter for some electrical work his guys have done in me & my wife's house. Also, in his spare time he's out on the lake a lot fishing in tournaments with his 19' Ranger bass boat. He called me the day after I did the detail and asked me if I'd detail his boat. He said if I was interested in boat detailing, he'd refer me to all his fishing buddies that have nice $30K+ fishing boats. I of course jumped at the chance to detail his boat. I've never detailed boats before but I know I'll have my work cut out for me. Since he knows so many people, it was too good to pass up. I also picked-up another client (his mom) while I was at his house detailing. She's got a 2002 Dakota that she said she'd like to have detailed. All in all it was a good weekend for picking up some potential clients
Ok, enough talky talky. On to THIS detail.
-Wash-
NXT Shampoo - This is my go to shampoo for extra cleaning.
1-cup DP All-Exterior Cleaner - This is a great addition to the wash bucket for really dirty vehicles.
White/Yellow Schmitt
PB Bug Squash (1:1) - It's spring time so the front end of the truck had plenty of bug splatter. This product makes removing it a breeze. Two thumbs up!
-Wheels, Tires, Wells-
ZEP Degreaser (1:1) - Used this on the tires & wells. Even cut 1:1 it seemed to "melt" away all the grime.
DP All-Exterior Cleaner (1:1) - I love this stuff. It's so versatile and does a great job, even cut 1:1.
Armor All Tire Foam - Used this in the wells.
Meg's High Endurance - Currently my favorite tire dressing because there's no sling, it lasts a good while, & it smells like grape. I have DP's tire gel on order to see how it compares though.
DG AquaWax - Sprayed wheels with AW as a final "wipe-down" to make them look a little better and add some protection
-Engine-
ZEP Degreaser (1:1)
Armor All Tire Foam
Warmed engine. Sprayed with PW. Sprayed with ZEP. Let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with PW. Spray with AA Tire Foam. Let bake while I washed the truck.
-Truck Bed-
My brother-in-law was out of town at the time I couldn't find his keys to the tool box sitting in the bed. This made it a real PITA to get the dirt out from under it.
Broom
Elbow Grease
Pressure Washer
Armor All Tire Foam - Once I had the bed completely clean of debris & dirt I gave it a light coating of tire foam as to not make it slippery but still make it look good. Seemed to work as I had planned.
-Paint Correction-
Clay Magic Kit - I love this kit. I've used Meg's Smooth Surface Kit many times and the Clay Magic just seems so much better than Meg's. I used half the bar on the entire truck.
Cyclo / Cyclo Green Polishing Pads / XMT #3 - This was my first experience with XMT #3. It has very nice (citrus?) smell to it. After using it, it will definitely be a main-stay in my arsenal. Since this is a work truck, I wasn't too concerned about getting all of the deep stuff out. That is why I didn't go with cutting pads. I wanted XMT #3 to do the work and allow the combination of it with the polishing pads to finish down to LSP ready, which it did.
-Paint Protection-
DP Max Wax - This is my favorite wax (still need to try Souveran). It goes on buttery smooth and buffs off with little to no effort. Plus, it looks great on metallic paint!
-Interior Plastics & Leather-
DP Interior Cleaner (1:1) / DP Interior Protectant - This is a great combination when doing full-details. I used it all over the place, even the leather. Leaves a nice, low sheen look w/o feeling greasy.
-Carpets-
Rigid Vac
Upholstery Brush
Meg's Detailer Line APC (4:1)
Elbow Grease
-Glass-
Meg's NXT Glass Cleaner - This does a realy good job and has a very nice smell.
-Tailpipe-
Pressure Washer - Notice the two pics where I'm PW'ing the tail-pipe & the amount of soot released.
Clay Magic (after claying paint)
Meg's NXT Metal Polysh - This really added some extra shine to the pipe. Although, some of the grime I just couldn't remove.
-Trim-
303 Aerospace - This product is hard to beat for protection. It really does a great job!
Ok, on to the pics.
***Please excuse the discoloration on the right side of the pics. After I took them I realized there was a smudge on the lense.
Exterior Before:
Interior Before:
Engine Before:
Tailpipe Soot:
Driveway After Washing:
Interior After:
As far as payment is concerned, this was the first time I had detailed a vehicle for him and it's part of a barter for some electrical work his guys have done in me & my wife's house. Also, in his spare time he's out on the lake a lot fishing in tournaments with his 19' Ranger bass boat. He called me the day after I did the detail and asked me if I'd detail his boat. He said if I was interested in boat detailing, he'd refer me to all his fishing buddies that have nice $30K+ fishing boats. I of course jumped at the chance to detail his boat. I've never detailed boats before but I know I'll have my work cut out for me. Since he knows so many people, it was too good to pass up. I also picked-up another client (his mom) while I was at his house detailing. She's got a 2002 Dakota that she said she'd like to have detailed. All in all it was a good weekend for picking up some potential clients
Ok, enough talky talky. On to THIS detail.
-Wash-
NXT Shampoo - This is my go to shampoo for extra cleaning.
1-cup DP All-Exterior Cleaner - This is a great addition to the wash bucket for really dirty vehicles.
White/Yellow Schmitt
PB Bug Squash (1:1) - It's spring time so the front end of the truck had plenty of bug splatter. This product makes removing it a breeze. Two thumbs up!
-Wheels, Tires, Wells-
ZEP Degreaser (1:1) - Used this on the tires & wells. Even cut 1:1 it seemed to "melt" away all the grime.
DP All-Exterior Cleaner (1:1) - I love this stuff. It's so versatile and does a great job, even cut 1:1.
Armor All Tire Foam - Used this in the wells.
Meg's High Endurance - Currently my favorite tire dressing because there's no sling, it lasts a good while, & it smells like grape. I have DP's tire gel on order to see how it compares though.
DG AquaWax - Sprayed wheels with AW as a final "wipe-down" to make them look a little better and add some protection
-Engine-
ZEP Degreaser (1:1)
Armor All Tire Foam
Warmed engine. Sprayed with PW. Sprayed with ZEP. Let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with PW. Spray with AA Tire Foam. Let bake while I washed the truck.
-Truck Bed-
My brother-in-law was out of town at the time I couldn't find his keys to the tool box sitting in the bed. This made it a real PITA to get the dirt out from under it.
Broom
Elbow Grease
Pressure Washer
Armor All Tire Foam - Once I had the bed completely clean of debris & dirt I gave it a light coating of tire foam as to not make it slippery but still make it look good. Seemed to work as I had planned.
-Paint Correction-
Clay Magic Kit - I love this kit. I've used Meg's Smooth Surface Kit many times and the Clay Magic just seems so much better than Meg's. I used half the bar on the entire truck.
Cyclo / Cyclo Green Polishing Pads / XMT #3 - This was my first experience with XMT #3. It has very nice (citrus?) smell to it. After using it, it will definitely be a main-stay in my arsenal. Since this is a work truck, I wasn't too concerned about getting all of the deep stuff out. That is why I didn't go with cutting pads. I wanted XMT #3 to do the work and allow the combination of it with the polishing pads to finish down to LSP ready, which it did.
-Paint Protection-
DP Max Wax - This is my favorite wax (still need to try Souveran). It goes on buttery smooth and buffs off with little to no effort. Plus, it looks great on metallic paint!
-Interior Plastics & Leather-
DP Interior Cleaner (1:1) / DP Interior Protectant - This is a great combination when doing full-details. I used it all over the place, even the leather. Leaves a nice, low sheen look w/o feeling greasy.
-Carpets-
Rigid Vac
Upholstery Brush
Meg's Detailer Line APC (4:1)
Elbow Grease
-Glass-
Meg's NXT Glass Cleaner - This does a realy good job and has a very nice smell.
-Tailpipe-
Pressure Washer - Notice the two pics where I'm PW'ing the tail-pipe & the amount of soot released.
Clay Magic (after claying paint)
Meg's NXT Metal Polysh - This really added some extra shine to the pipe. Although, some of the grime I just couldn't remove.
-Trim-
303 Aerospace - This product is hard to beat for protection. It really does a great job!
Ok, on to the pics.
***Please excuse the discoloration on the right side of the pics. After I took them I realized there was a smudge on the lense.
Exterior Before:
Interior Before:
Engine Before:
Tailpipe Soot:
Driveway After Washing:
Interior After:
.