[L~R~G nor cal]

Hey guys! Sorry I have not been posting lately. Between school and my girlfriend, I have not had enough time for a proper write-up for my details. I have been surprisingly busy and have now been receiving many return customers. Well from the get-go I knew this detail was going to have a great turn-around so I felt a write-up was calling.

THE DETAIL

Well the truck is a 2001 GMC Sierra C3. The truck as never had paint correction and has not had protection for over a year. For the first 80,000 miles the truck had seen many drive-through car washes and in the last 50,000 miles has seen good washing techniques. So as you can guess the paint was in bad shape. Also because of the harsh chemicals from the drive-through car washes, the trim had lost a lot of color and had become dole. The truck has also been driven up the Lake Tahoe countless times therefore the undercarriage had pounds of sand and dried salt caked to the surface. I will illustrate the pictures as much as possible throughout the post.

I was working very hard and was lazy with the pictures from correction to the final product and missed a couple of steps in-between, but you will still be able to see a huge difference.

Enjoy and thanks for looking!
Jared


*Exterior Detail Only*

BODY WASH
Honda Gas Powered Power-Washer
Foam Lance Foam Cannon
(2)Zymol Wash Sponges
(2) Buckets
P21s Total Auto Wash (Pre-Soak)
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash Clear (Main-Wash)
Chemical Guys Water Spot Remover
Chemical Guys MF Waffle Weave Drying Towels

DOOR JAMS
Honda Gas Powered Power-Washer
P21s Total Auto Wash
Swissvax Wheel Brush

WHEEL WELL/TIRE WASH
Honda Gas Powered Power-Washer
P21s Total Auto Wash
Tire Brush
Wheel Well Brush

WHEEL WASH
Honda Gas Powered Power-Washer
P21s Total Auto Wash (Pre-Soak)
P21s Wheel Gel (Main-Wash)
Swissvax Wheel Brush

CLAY
Special Yellow Clay
Chemical Guys Extreme Slick Synthetic Quick Detailer
Chemical Guys MF Waffle Weave Drying Towels

PAINT CORRECTION
Menzerna Power Gloss
Menzerna Super Intensive
Menzerna PO106ff
2000 Grit Wet-Sanding Paper (Only On Certain Areas)
CCS Yellow Pad
CCS Orange Pad
CCS White Pad
Chemical Guys Polishing Pad Conditioner
Alcohol/Distilled Water (To Remove Polish Oils)
Green 3M Masking Tape
Flex Tool XC 3401 VR
Hitachi High Speed
Chemical Guys MF Fluffer Towels

PROTECTION/LSP

WINDOWS
Einszett Glas Polish
Lusso Glass Polish
Chemical Guys MF Fluffer Towels

WHEELS AND ALL OTHER METALS
Swissvax Autobahn
Megs App Pad
Costco MF Towels

WHEEL WELLS/TIRES
Chemical Guys Fade 2 Black
Costco MF Towels

PLASTIC TRIM
Chemical Guys Fade 2 Black
Chemical Guys Trim Gel
Costco MF Towels
Megs App Pad

BLACK METAL TRIM
Chemical Guys Fade 2 Black
Costco MF Towels
Megs App Pad

HEAD LIGHTS/TAIL LIGHTS/ THIRD BREAK LIGHT
Pluxes
Chemical Guys Fluffer MF Towels

[B]DOOR JAMS[B]
Chemical Guys Jetseal 109
Chemical Guys Fluffer MF Towels
Megs App Pad

PRE-WAX
Chemical Guys VB-408
Chemical Guys Fluffer MF Towels
Megs App Pad

LSP
Chemical Guys Jetseal 109
Chemical Guys Fluffer MF Towels
Megs App Pad

FINAL WIPE DOWN
Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer
Chemical Guys Fluffer MF Towels


First up was the wheels, wheel wells, and tires. As you can see the interior of the wheel was caked with years of build-up and needed a lot of work. I started off by soaking the wheel, wheel wells, and tires with P21s TAW. Next I brushed the tires and wheel wells and then rinsed off everything with the power washer. After I was happy with how the wheel wells and tires turned out, I started with the wheels by giving them a good soak with P21s Wheel Gel. I let the Gel sit for 10 min and then started brushing them with my Ace Power Stick hooked up to my drill. Finally I brushed the face of the wheel with P21s Wheel Gel with my Swissvax wheel brush and gave everything a heavy power-wash to make sure all the soap was off the surface.














For the door jams I gave them a good soaking with P21s TAW and then brushed them with a different “door jam only” Swissvax Wheel Brush. The finished with a good power wash.



Here is what the paint looked like before the wash.





The car received a good soak of P21s TAW to de-grease the entire truck and then was power washed.


Next was the foam cannon and wash steps. I used the two bucket method with two Zymol Wash Sponges. It had some water-spots so I mixed some Chemical Guys Water Spot Removier in with the wash to take care of them.

I used the special yellow clay (you know what it is) and here is what ¼ of the truck looked like.


I started with the smaller trim. The upper is not polished, and the lower is.

Another angel


Here is a 50/50 of the hood

And another


This was a tough area the needed wet-sanding.
Before

After:


Here are some reflection shots after a quick foam to get the polish oils off. NO LSP.






For my last steps I decided to go with products that have never let me down. I used CG VB408 to make sure all the polish oils were off and to add a bit of depth and then used CG Jetseal 109 and my last step. Once the CG Jetseal was al wiped off I came back with OPT QD to finish it off. For all the plastic trim I used CG Trim Gel, for the wheels and chrome/metal trim I went with SV Autobahn, and lastly for the dressing I dressed the wheels with CG Fade2Black along with the wheel wells. Keep in mind that in these pics I did not wipe the tires off yet therefore they look a bit un-even. Lastly I polished the glass with Z1 and Lusso glass polish.

[cliverman]

nice job. Looks better than new.

[J-Sud]

nice job man

[328i]

Awesome work, I always like your write ups they're very detailed. Don't you hate those rims though, the clearcoat makes them look dull even when theyre spotless.

[SpecC]

nice job on the detail!

so you finally picked up the hitachi and used it huh? what'd you use it on?

also when are you gonna hit me up dude!

[L~R~G nor cal]

Originally Posted by cliverman

nice job. Looks better than new.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by J-Sud

nice job man

Thanks buddy! Hit me up before Thursday if you can before I leave for New York.

Originally Posted by 328i

Awesome work, I always like your write ups they're very detailed. Don't you hate those rims though, the clearcoat makes them look dull even when theyre spotless.

Thanks! Yes I do not like the finish of the wheels. I think if I used a Mothers Power Ball I could have achieved a bit more gloss, but they would still have that dull look. But they did look a lot better after a heavy coat of Swissvax Autobahn.

Originally Posted by SpecC

nice job on the detail!

so you finally picked up the hitachi and used it huh? what'd you use it on?

also when are you gonna hit me up dude!

Thanks!

I have had a Hitachi longer then my Flex. It was the first machine I purchased. I like it, but it is more of a heavy duty rotary. Its great for heavy compounding with wool pads. I mainly use it to finish, compound and to use 3.5 inch pads and smaller. I am going to purchase a Flex light duty rotary very soon. After using my Flex random orbital, I have just fell in love with the Flex design and built quality. I think my final set-up will be a Flex light duty rotary and a 3M backing plate. I will still keep my Hitachi and Flex random though for every machine has its purpose.

I have been stupid busy lately so thats why we have not been in contact. Once I have a free weekend I will be sure to hit you up and you can roll by. I now have a test car that we can mess around on and try hundreds of different combos. I am planing a huge wax/sealant test on it soon with Zymol, Swissvax, Dodo, CG 50/50, CG's new high concourse wax, Lusso, Zanio, Rocketseal, Jetseal, and many more high end well known brands. It should be fun!

[ScheerSpeed]

good job!

[jermc68]

That sure is a nice detail. Nice to see an older and non-exotic vehicle using a detailer.

[BeAmW335i]

Great job! So who noticed the cross drilled rotors?

[ScheerSpeed]

Originally Posted by BeAmW335i

Great job! So who noticed the cross drilled rotors?

drilled/slotted!

[L~R~G nor cal]

Originally Posted by ScheerSpeed

good job!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by jermc68

That sure is a nice detail. Nice to see an older and non-exotic vehicle using a detailer.

Thanks! My client loves his truck and loved how it turned out. I received a text from him a day later thanking me and says how much more enjoyable his truck is to drive now.

Originally Posted by BeAmW335i

Great job! So who noticed the cross drilled rotors?

Thanks Haha. I was waiting to see if anyone noticed them. He has many additions to his truck and all are very tasteful. He also has a Corsa (the GM brand. i think thats how you spell it) exhaust system, and ram air intake, and programed ECU and a classy kick ass stereo system.

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by L~R~G nor cal

Thanks!

I have had a Hitachi longer then my Flex. It was the first machine I purchased. I like it, but it is more of a heavy duty rotary. Its great for heavy compounding with wool pads. I mainly use it to finish, compound and to use 3.5 inch pads and smaller. I am going to purchase a Flex light duty rotary very soon. After using my Flex random orbital, I have just fell in love with the Flex design and built quality. I think my final set-up will be a Flex light duty rotary and a 3M backing plate. I will still keep my Hitachi and Flex random though for every machine has its purpose.

I have been stupid busy lately so thats why we have not been in contact. Once I have a free weekend I will be sure to hit you up and you can roll by. I now have a test car that we can mess around on and try hundreds of different combos. I am planing a huge wax/sealant test on it soon with Zymol, Swissvax, Dodo, CG 50/50, CG's new high concourse wax, Lusso, Zanio, Rocketseal, Jetseal, and many more high end well known brands. It should be fun!

nice! i hope i have enough time to check it out

[Saigon]

ahh nicely done son!

[L~R~G nor cal]

Originally Posted by SpecC

nice! i hope i have enough time to check it out

Ya me too. I will hit you up in the next couple of weeks.

QUOTE=Saigon;3297666]ahh nicely done son![/QUOTE]

Thanks!