Well where can I start, oh I know. You know how I often wished I had more interior to steam, well I had it coming . You’ll see what I mean shortly, the vehicle: 2006 Dodge Truck Well this vehicle was a referral from one of my coworkers, actually it was that Mini Copper S I just posted. Well here is the truck as it was delivered to me: So much room :thumb: That’s one big exhaust pipe. Now for the interior: Now that’s a dirty jam :what: Seats where the least of my worries, steamer will take good care of them :thumb: Now these stains I did a bit of this :thinking: and some of :idea: well all in due time. Well now I knew what I was up against, now it was time to come up with a game plan. The truck was in for a full interior and a minor paint correction. I decided to start with the interior. First all personal belongings were gathered up and placed aside in plastic bags: Next, all floor mats were removed and set a side. It was time to vacuum: Lots of vacuuming coming up. The seats also needed a good vacuum: Now half way through the vacuuming I set the steamer to worm up: The vacuuming took me well over an hour, I know I couldn’t believe it took me that long to vacuum this truck but as the pictures illustrated it really needed it. Well once I completed the vacuuming process let the fun begin, steaming that is: Wile I steamed all vinyl surfaces I decided to pre treat the carpet as it had a few stains I felt required it: Well you all know I enjoy using my steamer and I find any excuse to use it but on this trucks interior it was the first time I actually ran out of steam…now don’t go thinking it was me personally that ran out of steam I’m referring to the steamer :giggle: All joking aside, I actually ran out of steam so I had to refill the steamer wait for it to worm up and press on. Not a bad thing really, as I was getting hungry anyways and grabbed a bite :thumb: Well steamer is all warmed up and let the steaming continue: All floor carpet was steamed…and Steamed and steamed. The interior took me majority of the day, if not all of it :shrug: but by the end I saw the transformation and was satisfied. Before calling it a night I decided to wash the vehicle. First up the very, very large shoes. I started by applying a healthy coat of Red P21S Gel, wheel wells and tires received some P21S Total Auto Wash. Rims were agitated with my EZ brush, face of the rims agitated with my Zymol brush, tires scrubbed with my Meg’s brush and wheel wells scrubbed with my demoted Zymol sponge. Here is how all this scrubbing looked like at the end: The rest of the vehicle was washed with the two bucket method, clayed with Red Clay Magic and finally I could call it a night :thud: Well next day I started nice and early as I knew I had my work cut out for the paint correction and the owner was going to be picking the truck up in several hours, so first up taped up all the vehicle and there was lots to tape up on this truck, you’ll see what I mean soon. Next with the help of my PosiTector 6000 I took some paint gauge readings: As expected plenty of clear coat an average of 125microns through out this truck, I was only going to be doing a minor paint correction but still better be safe then sorry. Right, on with the show. I needed to find a combo that would remove as many swirls/imperfections as possible. Well before I tell you what I ended up going with I inspected the paint with the help of my 3M Sun Gun: As I expected this truck had lots of deep scratches as clearly shown here. The tail gate. Well now here is what one pass of the combo I choose finished of: Not 100% but as you can see much, much better then it’s original state. This 50/50 came from the driver side door. Here is how the rest of the door finished off, before: After: Now don’t let the picture miss lead you, it’s not 100% flawless, more like 80% as some deep RIDS still remained. Here is the rest of the driver side door after one pass: If you look at the light source you’ll see the remaining RIDS. Well you might be wondering what the combo is, well the combo I went with is 3M UK Extra Fine Compound partnered up with Menzerna Polishing foam pad. I’m very pleased with this combo, delivered and left the paint LSP ready :thumb: Well on with the polishing, the driver side passenger door before: After: Again not perfect but much better. Before: After: Before: After: I repeat no where near 100% as you can clearly see here. Tail lights before: After: Now the tail lights were the only areas that did finish 100%...with two passes that is. Here is a 50/50 of the tail gate: The rest of the tail gate, before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Passenger side now, before: After: Before: After: Deep scratches are left behind, here is what I mean: Before: After: Now I’ve been saying I’m not finishing down 100% perfect, well here is what I mean. I managed to capture this picture with my camera with manual focus: Not even close to 100% by my standards, but it will have to do :shrug: Well moving along, before: After: Now the roof was a different story, the roof was very, very faded. I didn’t even have to use my 3M Sun Gun to illustrate the difference. This is what I mean: Well I finished off the roof and that about does it for polishing this truck, now it was time to remove all the tape, remember how I said I used quite a bit of tape on this truck, here is what I mean: No, I honestly did not make a giant tape ball on purpose. Next, all polish dust was removed with my Zymol duster: Next, the final wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection. Once the final wipe down was done it was time to apply the LSP, for this I went with my favorite combo: This time around first I applied DG#601 followed up with DG#105 and it was only left on the surface for about an hour or so. The misses came out to give me a hand, she applied Black WOW to all exterior plastic: Tires were dressed, exhaust pipe was polished off with Autosol, the interior still needed dressing and for this I went with 303, glass was cleansed with Stoners Invisible Glass with micro fiber glass towel and last but not least, the interior was vacuumed once again. The reason I give it a second pass with the vacuum is because there was a bit of debris from all the wiping, protecting..ect..ect…here this is what I mean: Well the very, very last step was to give the vehicle a final wipe down with DG Aquawax and here is are the end results: Tires were a pain to dress but a little bit of time and some patience and I got it done. Door jams looking much, much better now oh and yes door jams also received a coat of DG sealant. This truck needs all the protection it can get :nod: I couldn’t help but admire these door jams…:flirt: Oh yes, remember this: Here is the power of steam, nothing but steam: Took lots of steam to get the results I got but I got it done :thumb: The truck was rolled out for some pictures, regret ably it was cloudy and eventually it rained :thumbdown: But I managed to get the following pictures: Nice mate finish to the tires :thumb: Well that concludes this beast, over all I was pleased with how this truck finished off and owner was satisfied :thumb: Hope you enjoyed it, I know I had a good time with this overly sized truck :thumb:
dang! awesome job Nica! i think i should invest in a good steamer like yours, here in hawaii we have plenty of trucks covered in mud in and out...
Man Carlos, thats 1 Helluva Truck :yikes: I hate trying to dress those Monster Tires + They Sling the Crap everywere :thud: The Truck came out looking Awesome, I know the Owner was Estatic :gidiup: Oh Yea, The Steamer....I just witnessed so much Steaming Action I feel like I've been watching Steamer Porn aranoia: Oh Yea Yea, :shead: Do YOU qualify for the Monthly Competetion, if so I think you just won the August Event :giggle:
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the feed back eace: As for the steamer, it sure came in handy for this truck, but by the time I was done steaming this truck my hands were sore, I've never steamed for so long nor have I ever ran out of steam...the interior was quite the task but with a bit of time and patience anything can be done :thumb: Hiwaii huh..mmm..:shead: :nod: the tires I dressed by applying the tire dressing directly on to a a micro fiber towel then applied the dressing to the tires. This way I avoid the sling, I know what you mean about tire dressing going everywhere :shakehead: not a pretty sight. Glad you enjoyed it eace: Thank you, glad you enjoyed it eace:
Excellent results on a "monster" job! You must be physically fit to tackle something like that and not complain about aches and pains later LOL! What process did you use on the front bumper's wrinkle finish?
Nicely done. It looks just great. I don't know how you didn't break out the pressure washer for this one...supercharged is on to something...:thumb:
Glad you enjoyed the write up, I'm not in the best of shape, used to be in great shape played soccer 7days a week, that was then. Now I run 5days a week, not the best of shape but reasonable :shrug: As for the bumpers, well I scrubbed them with a Meg's brush and then used some Black WOW on them. To be honest though, I'm not sure how well Black WOW will hold up but it made the bumpers stand out even more....oh and my wrist was getting soar from all that steaming but other then that rest of the body kept up :thumb: Thank you super, glad you enjoyed it eace: Yea, you can say that again. This truck barely squeezed in my garage. Lucky for me I have a taller then average door and sealing :thumb: Oh and I managed to bang my head on the flat bed a couple of times :wall: You know, I thought I would have been using the pressure washer more and more but it just sits there waiting to be used. I should use it more often but I stick to my old routine and well I forget all about the pressure washer :shrug: Thank you for the feed back glad you enjoyed it. I enjoy putting the steamer to good use :headbang: Glad to hear you guys enjoyed it the pictures and write up :chest:
Sorry, off topic but what kind of floor coating is that? Looks a lot better than the 2-part epoxy garage floor coatings found at HD and Lowes.
It's called Ucoat it, I did it my self I just purchased the kit and it wasen't difficult to apply. It has held up remarcably well against all sorts of chemicals I've thrown at it I rinse it off every time I spill or spray a chemical on the floor though but it has added a much better apperance to the garage and best part it's brighter :thumb:
Good god Nica.. that interior came out fantastic!! Well done!! I had to laugh at a couple of your comments "that's one big exhaust pipe" followed by "now that is a dirty jam"... ha ha:afro:
Well done Nica, That streamer looks very promising and something like that might look great in my supplies also. Thanks for the write-up and it did come out awesome ! Gracias por todo mi amigo!:applause:
lol..yea I did my best to add some humor in the write up lol. Glad you enjoyed, thank you for the feed back. Glad you enjoyed it, steamer is a life saver and it's a blast to use :thumb:
I tell ya Nica... the more I see you use the steamer... the more it makes me REALLY want to get one. DAMN YOU FOR MAKING ME SPEND MORE MONEY!!! :crash: Amazing turn around as always!!
I know what you mean about spending money when it comes to detailing, when you purchase the steamer you'll wonder how you got by with out it, trust me :thumb: Glad you enjoyed the write up eace:
