Chevy Avalanche...Awful Trim

OK when I delivered the red F150 with Rubbish Boys OE on it to the guy at his work, one of his co-workers saw it and asked if there was anything that could be done for his white Chevy Avalanche. The trim was a light gray now after not being cared for correctly. He said he had been to a few different detailers and the trim would look OK for a day or two and then would go right back to looking drab again. He also said the first time water hit it you could see the black/brown streaks running down from the trim on the white paint. I told him that was from someone not doing a great job on it in the first place. He asked again if I thought I could do anything for it and I told him "Well about the only thing I can do for it is make it look better than the day it rolled off the showroom":thumb:. I told him I had some stuff called Black Wow that should do the trick.

He was really amped to get it done and even told me he went home that night and wrote the check out to me. We had to postpone the detail a few times because of rain and he was pretty dejected each time. Well in the days leading up to the detail he kept calling with weather updates for me. I was really looking forward to giving him a great looking vehicle for all his diligence in getting it done by me. Well the day finally came for the detail and here is what I did.

Tires/Wheels: Man the chrome wheels were in pretty rough shape but I knew Majestic Solutions Wheel Brite @ 4:1 would take care of it. The tires got Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff @ 2:1 and the wells got CGs Grime Reaper @ 4:1. I used Griots Long Handle Wheel brush, Swissvax brush, lug nut brush (thanks Tonya for getting me my "nut brush" :yikes and black Wheel Shmitt. The tires were dressed with a base coat of Majestic Solutions Super Dress All followed up with Optimum Tire Shine applied with a CGs tire applicator. The wells were dressed with CGs Bare Bones. I then used Surf City Killer Chrome on the wheels applied with the foam finger pockets and buffed off with a Cobra MF. The tail pipes got MS Wheel Brite and then polished with SC Killer Chrome.

Engine: Got the old faithful, rinse, spray with MS SGS, agitate, rinse, dry with leaf blower, dress with MS QDs.

Wash: I used my CR Spotless System and this was the 6th car with it and you can see my TDS meter is still reading 000 ppms.



After the wash it was still reading 000 ppms so that is great. I checked my tap water with a TDS meter we have at work and it read 107 which is really good so my resins should last quite a while. This system is great and really does leave a spot free finish as I let it air dry and not a single spot.

I washed with the foam cannon and a strong solution of CGs Citrus Clear and my Griots mop stick. All the trim was pre-treated with MS SGS and then scrubed with a wash brush. I didn't wash off the SGS I just foamed over it with the CGs Citrus Clear to make sure the trim was really clean. Bugs got MS Bug Off and a Pinnacle Safe Scrub.

Clay: Clayed with CGs Green Clay and DP 4n1 clay lube via a handheld pressurized sprayer like you get at Lowes. I like this method because it puts plenty of lube on the paint and sure beats the traditional sprayer.

Trim: OK now the test. Well I will tell you that as good as Black Wow is it is somewhat of a chore to use for large areas, and this thing had a lot of area. So I decided to use a thin line about 2.5" long on the center of my TW MF applicator and then I ran a line around the edge of the applicator with CGs Trim Gel. This combo worked great and I didn't have to use much elbow grease at all. I did all the trim with this method and boy did that trim just soak up my mixture of Black Wow and CGs Trim Gel. Here is a 50/50 shot for you:



I really wanted to make sure this trim stays like this and wanted to give it something to hopefully help it last. On bumpers that aren't that bad I usually use MS Quick Details (which is a lot like Stoners Trim Shine). So after my application of BW and CGs TG I decided to spray it down with MS QDs to kind of lock in the look. Here are some before and afters of the trim:









The first thing the guy looked at on the trim was the back cover for the bed. He said man the other guys never did anything to that because they said "you can't see it". He said "Man I'm 6'6", Damn it I can see it". I was really pleased with how well this came out and it made it look like a totally different truck. I also sprayed a little water on it and man it beaded up like crazy.

Interior: The interior got a good vacuum and then a wipe down of all plastic and vinyl with the new Optimum Interior Protectant. This stuff is great! It is like an AIO for the interior as it cleans really well and protects with a nice matte finish. This stuff gets a :thumb:. To me it ranks right up there with Cockpit Premium. The leather was really well cared for so all I needed to do was condition it and it got CGs Leather Conditioner. The door jambs got DG Fast and Clean with 2 oz of AW in it. The floor mats were cleaned with Awesome APC and wiped down with Optimum IP.

Glass: Glass inside and out got CGs Glass Cleaner applied with a CGs El Gordo MF and dried off with a Walmart WW. The windshield was then treated with a layer of DG AW and buffed off with a WW.

Paint: I decided for my go to on white. First up was DG 501 with the Flex on speed 3.5 and a white Sonus 6" pad. I went through 3 pads and each one was filthy when I finished with it. The DG 501 does some deep cleaning of the paint. It was buffed off with a CGs black and yellow MF. Next up was the DG 601 bonding agent applied with my polishing pal and a 4" blue LC CCS pad. After that was the DG 105 applied the same way. I then buffed them off with a CGs edgeless MF. After about an hour and before delivery I did a wipe down with DG AW with a cookie monster MF. The white was just blinding white after that!

Well the guy was thrilled with how it turned out. He told me he had a Harley Davidson Soft tail that he wants me to do so we'll see how that goes as it will be my first bike ever. Oh yeah I passed the guy on his way to work a few days later and he was blowing the horn at me and pointing to his truck and going like this :thumb:. I guess you could say he was pleased. Well here are the pics:

Before and Afters:

 

Another fine job Wolf.

 

Wolf..buddy..that looks amazing!! You sure weren't blowing smoke up his ass telling him it'd look better than brand new..I had to laugh at that b/c that's a line I use with people!! Just curious, how much b.w. did you use with that job?
Also, the wheels look amazing. I have always harped on the importance of the wheels and you made them JUMP!! :applause2: He must have been just thrilled. Great, great job there.:applause:

 

Looks great Wolf you did a sweet job on the trim buddy

 

Great job JL.

 

JL that is a sick detail there bro... phenominal work!!! I would like to know how much WOW u used as well... oh and on the chrome rims, use 601/105 combo and they'll look slicker than owl crap... feel that way too

 

Thanks Gary!

Thanks richy means a lot. I remembered reading before about you using that line so I kind of stole that one from you (should have given you a footnote credit for that one bud). I used a thin 2-3" line on the applicator about 8 times. The cover for the bed took most of it. I would guess that I used about 1/4 to 1/2 oz. Oh and he loved the wheels too and in fact told me when I brought it back that he thought there was no saving them.

My man joe p. thanks for the kind words!

Thanks Ashphalt! :headbang:

Dust like I told richy I would guesstimate about 1/2 oz max. Thanks for the tip on the chrome wheels, I'll have to try that.

 

:worship2:Wow this one ranks right up there for the best i have seen yet, what an impressive, impressive detail! Brought back to life is putting it mildly....

 

Awesome job WOLF! Trim should last him awhile now.

 

WOW WOW WOW!!!!!

 

maaan...woooow.. very very impressive... now that what we call a "DETAIL"

 

Some of the best work I've seen. Nice job!!

 

Well done there Wolf :worship: what a turn around wow

Man that's impresive turn around well done buddy :applause: :applause: :applause:

 

WOW WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

Just look at that trim, sick black!! I love it Wolf GREAT work as always bro.

 

Thanks bud I was especially proud of this one!

Yeah I sure hope so. Like I said I saw it about 5 days later and it still looked just like in the pics, so thats a good sign.

TWSS!

Thanks! :headbang:

Thanks! :headbang: It's always nice when a detail turns out just like you imagined!

Thanks Nica, its so nice to see a transformation take place right before your eyes!

Thanks pirex just trying to keep up with the Norwegian master!

 

Great job Wolf! Looks great!!! Awesome work bro!

 

wow simply amazing...good before and after shots

 

Well looks like you made yourself a long term client! awesome turn around!

Look froward to that Harley :headbang:

 

I really love what you have done to this tuck,specially on the trim,it's like night and day,of course the owner was thrilled when he got the truck back who wouldn't be,what makes this harder is the white paint ,you really made it pop ,I'm proud of you JL.:applause::worship2:

 

The durability will be the critical point because Chevy used an internal release agent on the Avalanche trim. This release agent continues to move to the top surfaces of the cladding when the sunlight heats it up and delaminates the dressing. GM used the Armor-Dillo coating followed by a Gatorback Coating but every solution is just temporary.