The Ol' Beater Truck Gets Its First "Detail" (56k Safe...I Think)

J

jlells01

New member
Well, why I can't say I was trying to achieve the "ultimate detail and brightest shine", this weekend was the first time I've ever tried to detail my truck and see if I could awaken it from the depths of paint hell!

Before coming to this site, this is what the truck always looked like:


After spending a little time here at DC, I decided to go ahead and give the truck a nice bath. While that certainly removed some dirt, it just didn't do much for the paint itself...still dull, faded, with lots of oxidation and blemishes:


From spending some time researching, and talking with a few members, I learned about Meguiar's ColorX product and decided I'd go ahead and give it a try. So, while it's not mine, I was able to get access to a 10" orbital buffer (and garage!), and although I was in a hurry and didn't have much time, I was able to lay down one application of the ColorX product.

Well, it didn't do a whole lot for the blemishes and stains (as you see in the above "before" pictures), and while I'm not sure or not if the pictures do it justice, everyone who saw it this weekend remarked about how much "more red it looked", and not "faded & dull":


I apologize for the brief number of "after pictures" and overall low picture quality, but it started raining just a few minutes after I snapped these (see last picture).

Overall, I must say that while the ColorX stuff couldn't remove a lot of the things that plague the paint, it really surprised me with its ability to revive the color and make it look like normal automotive paint...not flat spray paint!

Would you guys recommend that I try anything else? Will anything at least somewhat remove the stains, blemishes and other stuff (don't really care that much about the scratches and dents...those just happen with a work truck)?

I'm tired and going to bed...been a long weekend.

-Jlells01.

P.S. - How do you like the ImageShack thing? A friend turned me onto it and says that it's the best compromise for dial-up & broadband while allowing you to see a small preview without having to download the whole thing...
 
Nice job of reviving the paint. Before it looked dull and oxidized and it looks very clean now. Good JOb!

Greg
 
jlells01 said:
P.S. - How do you like the ImageShack thing? A friend turned me onto it and says that it's the best compromise for dial-up & broadband while allowing you to see a small preview without having to download the whole thing...
Click to expand...


I like it!

As to the blemishes, Sometimes you need a more aggressive, dedicated product. ColorX is a 1 step "little bit of everything" type product. That means it's not likely to be as good at any 1 particular task as a product dedicated to that 1 task, but the ColorX will do other tasks that the dedicated product can't. It's a trade off.

What do you think the blemishes are from? I've noticed that on a mechanics car I did, his greasy/oily fingerprints on the trunk didn't come off very easily. (Car hadn't been polished ever; just waxed once or twice before, so some of the prints had been there for years.) Perseverance should pay off, assuming you want to put the time into the work truck. Try a dedicated polish first. If that isn't strong enough, move to a mild compound. Try working on a small section first. That way you'll see what works vs. what doesn't without going over the whole truck.
 
:yeah Good advice. My next suggestion would be getting deeper into the detailing scene and learning to use a machine like the PC in combination with stuff like Poorboy's SSR1. It's a little more advanced and costly, but the results will be much greater.

The truck looks very nice. I think you did a fine job for the first time. :bigups
 
Thanks for the kind replies.

While I certainly know that my work is nowhere near DC detail quality level, it was really neat to see the paint take on some shine!

Only prep work was a wash with some generic automotive-specific stuff with a follow-up of one ColorX application.

As time progresses and I learn more, I believe I'll be willing to try out other ideas (as JP pointed out), but before that, I'd like to see if I can do anything more with just the borrowed 10" buffer and some store bought products...

Maybe another full coat of CX followed by a wax?
Maybe try something like 3M Finish Restorer?
 
If the paint is really been neglected you would definitly want to give it
a good claying. It is a really inexpensive and easy process that will give you
fantastic results. You can get a claybar wherever you bought the ColorX product. I would highly recomend it, you will be shocked by what you pull out of your paint.
 
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