Thanks to
SRT41320 for the referral.
I admit, I did not get the year of the truck. roughly 9400 miles on the odometer, 2nd owner. The current owner likes to keep his truck clean and it was recently washed when I arrived. Silver is a tough color to photograph with bright LED fixtures and a 4 year old cell phone. But, Let's see how this goes.
Detailer's note: Doesn't Gtechniq have a trim coating ? Yes. What about CarPro DLux for trim ? Both are great options. Yes, I have used both. My thought process behind using the Exo V4 ( top coat for CSL and CSU ) is the painted surfaces around them. Exo is formulated to be a top coat. If during the application process to say, the bed rail caps or the fender flares, some of the Exo gets on the paint, it can be wiped off with ZERO ill effects. I apply CSL to the paint and then follow up with the Exo for the plastics / trim. Can you use CSL for the plastics and trim ? Yes.
I do not like to cross contaminate the applicators or the removal towels when working on different surfaces. Overkill ? Maybe but that's my opinion.
I know
Shawn1112 will want to know: Arrival just before 8am, after some discussion, work started around 8:15 or so. Done and just about packed up at 4:30. Don't get me wrong, this truck is BIG. I needed a 6' ladder in order to properly apply the glass and paint coatings to the roof because I could not fully reach using my painters platform. But, since the paint was overall in great condition and the truck was CLEAN to begin with, jobs like this go smoothly. I continue to perfect my process, efficiency is the goal.
On to the goods:
One of the few concerns were some scratches on the hood. They were light but seem to have been caused by some downward force. This results in an indentation if that makes sense.
To the top right of the light:
To the left of the light:
To the left and above of the light:
Washed, dried, cracks and crevices blown dry:
Next concern was the passenger bed side. The owner, Dave, searched TRX forums and some guys reported poor paint jobs. When parking the truck outside, he would always see a cloudy spot.
Look at the center of the light, notice the haze ? In person it looks like cloudy orange peel. I suspected some form of clear coat over spray:
In this picture, look at the red ring around the scangrip light reflection, hazy:
Again, here @ the round light:
The bottom of the truck is painted metallic black. Not sure if it is the official Brilliant black crystal that Dodge/Jeep and RAM uses but I was happy to see that that lower sections were not the scracth-o-matic piano black plastic:
Passenger side:
Driver front door, ouch ( I suspect the dealer or another 'shop' used extra pressure to remove some form of debris. I noticed a couple spots of what I assume to be road paint under the driver mirror and a couple specks on the RAM emblem on the driver door ):
All of the following pictures are after the coatings were applied. I will specify defect removal for trouble spots. The balance of the truck was polished with the all 3 machines, yellow rupes polishing pads and Sonax Perfect Finish.
Bed side polished with the PC + 3" UroFiber 50/50 pad + Menzerna 2400, followed with the Milwaukee + 5" Rupes yellow polishing pad and Sonax perfect finish:
Hood scratches polished with the PC + 3" Lake country MF cutting pad + Menzerna FG400, followed with the Milwuakee + 5" Rupes yellow polishing pad and perfect finish:
The black sections were polished with the PC + Rupes yellow/medium wool pad + Menzerna 2400 followed with the yellow foam and PF ( Note the driver door needed Menzerna FG400 for deeper swirl removal )
Driver front door, I did not want to compound it to death, so a couple deeper marks remain. Overall, much better:
SRT41320 for the referral.I admit, I did not get the year of the truck. roughly 9400 miles on the odometer, 2nd owner. The current owner likes to keep his truck clean and it was recently washed when I arrived. Silver is a tough color to photograph with bright LED fixtures and a 4 year old cell phone. But, Let's see how this goes.
- WASH: McKee's N-914 rinseless wash
- CLAY: Nanoskin handy towel ( the truck had minimal contamination so I used the rinseless solution as the clay lubricant )
- WHEELS/TIRES: P&S Brake Buster via iK Foam Pro 1.5, EZ detail brush for the barrels, Tuf Shine brush for the tires, MF mitt for wheel faces.
- POLISH: Milwaukee M18 cordless 15mm, PC7424XP ( 3 " ) and Rupes iBrid Nano ( 1" ). Menzerna FG400, Menzerna 2400 and Sonax Perfect Finish ( I will call out certain products as the pictures as posted ).
- GLASS: Prepped with CarPro Eraser and an application Nextzett Glass Sealant ( all glass including the panoramic sun/moonroof )
- PAINT: Prepped with CarPro Eraser, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light ( Note, the textured bed cover received CSL as well )
- PLASTICS: Prepped with CarPro Eraser, Gtechniq Exo V4
- MISC: Wheels were touched up with P&S Beadmaker and the tires were dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing 3:1
Detailer's note: Doesn't Gtechniq have a trim coating ? Yes. What about CarPro DLux for trim ? Both are great options. Yes, I have used both. My thought process behind using the Exo V4 ( top coat for CSL and CSU ) is the painted surfaces around them. Exo is formulated to be a top coat. If during the application process to say, the bed rail caps or the fender flares, some of the Exo gets on the paint, it can be wiped off with ZERO ill effects. I apply CSL to the paint and then follow up with the Exo for the plastics / trim. Can you use CSL for the plastics and trim ? Yes.
I do not like to cross contaminate the applicators or the removal towels when working on different surfaces. Overkill ? Maybe but that's my opinion.
I know
Shawn1112 will want to know: Arrival just before 8am, after some discussion, work started around 8:15 or so. Done and just about packed up at 4:30. Don't get me wrong, this truck is BIG. I needed a 6' ladder in order to properly apply the glass and paint coatings to the roof because I could not fully reach using my painters platform. But, since the paint was overall in great condition and the truck was CLEAN to begin with, jobs like this go smoothly. I continue to perfect my process, efficiency is the goal.On to the goods:
One of the few concerns were some scratches on the hood. They were light but seem to have been caused by some downward force. This results in an indentation if that makes sense.
To the top right of the light:
To the left of the light:
To the left and above of the light:
Washed, dried, cracks and crevices blown dry:
Next concern was the passenger bed side. The owner, Dave, searched TRX forums and some guys reported poor paint jobs. When parking the truck outside, he would always see a cloudy spot.
Look at the center of the light, notice the haze ? In person it looks like cloudy orange peel. I suspected some form of clear coat over spray:
In this picture, look at the red ring around the scangrip light reflection, hazy:
Again, here @ the round light:
The bottom of the truck is painted metallic black. Not sure if it is the official Brilliant black crystal that Dodge/Jeep and RAM uses but I was happy to see that that lower sections were not the scracth-o-matic piano black plastic:
Passenger side:
Driver front door, ouch ( I suspect the dealer or another 'shop' used extra pressure to remove some form of debris. I noticed a couple spots of what I assume to be road paint under the driver mirror and a couple specks on the RAM emblem on the driver door ):
All of the following pictures are after the coatings were applied. I will specify defect removal for trouble spots. The balance of the truck was polished with the all 3 machines, yellow rupes polishing pads and Sonax Perfect Finish.
Bed side polished with the PC + 3" UroFiber 50/50 pad + Menzerna 2400, followed with the Milwaukee + 5" Rupes yellow polishing pad and Sonax perfect finish:
Hood scratches polished with the PC + 3" Lake country MF cutting pad + Menzerna FG400, followed with the Milwuakee + 5" Rupes yellow polishing pad and perfect finish:
The black sections were polished with the PC + Rupes yellow/medium wool pad + Menzerna 2400 followed with the yellow foam and PF ( Note the driver door needed Menzerna FG400 for deeper swirl removal )
Driver front door, I did not want to compound it to death, so a couple deeper marks remain. Overall, much better:
