General Detailing Discussion

Depends on the effort you want to put in vs saving money. It’s a lot cheaper to do yourself, but not without expense, and takes a lot of effort.
If you don’t already have the equipment, you’ll have to buy it all. For a polisher, pads, compound, polish, and ceramic coating you can expect to spend in the neighborhood of $500.00. That doesn’t include other supplies you’ll need like iron remover, clay, soap, etc.
Then there’s a time investment. If your paint needs a good bit of work you’re probably looking at 8 hours minimum. (Likely much longer if you have no experience.)

Hard to say what it would cost to have it professionally done. The cost varies so wildly I’d hate to even ball park it.
I’d say it comes down to whether or not you intend to make a hobby of it. Buying all that stuff and using it once every few years wouldn’t be worth it to me.
Paying a pro to do it is costly, but then all you have to do is use good washing practices to keep it in good shape for several years.

I’m honestly not a fan of ceramic coating personally. I had it done about a year ago, and it just wasn’t for me. I like detailing and trying new products too much to get much benefit from it. I’ve long since stripped it off.
If you don’t enjoy washing your truck, it may be the answer for you. Just keep in mind that you’ll have to hand wash it anyway going forward. If you’re going to use automatic washes, then don’t waste your money.

 

That’s what I’m talking about! She sent me a text the other day apologizing for buying so much stuff for this thing already. I told her no problem at all. She needed some more vinyl for something she was working on the same day. I volunteered to stop and pick some up on my way home.

Kidding aside, I actually enjoy seeing her find something she’s enthusiastic about. I know the feeling.

 

I feel the same. We both enjoy her photography. I'm the driver, no camera. We usually head up towards Jackson Wyoming to take pictures of nature. Gets us both out of the house and we always have fun. I usually snap a few pictures with my phone.

 

I was out there two summers ago. The elk aren't in the reserve in the summer but the moose were around town. The rest of the Tetons/Yellowstone was excellent. Tetons are lesser known but way better for it. And I got to take my son mountain biking on the Jackson Hole ski resort. Taking the lift up seems like cheating but it was fun with a (then) 9 year old. We'll be doing Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho and the Icefield Parkway to Jasper this summer. I'll be bringing the Canon with me to get some good shots...

 

42and sunny today. Starting to do a wash with ONR
First time using it, I lost my bottle and found it today.
Also plan to wash wheels and tires. then apply some hydro2 to get me through winter.
I already hosed off the worst of the salt and the wheel wells. The frame is looking great and has zero salt, the fluid film is doing its thing

 

Got it all done and the interior vacuumed and cleaned up. The ONR really worked well, it was my first time using it, I like it. The first pic shows after I used ONR. It definitely provides some protection, I did have spots that appeared to have little to no protection left, it was where the truck was heavily covered with salt.
After I washed it I sprayed it down with hydro2 and then rinsed and dried with my XL griots pfm which dried the whole truck and weighed about 10lbs when I was done. Love those towels. Overall the truck came out good, I'm hoping this will protect til march when itll warm up again.
I used shine supply Dressed Up on the interior. It looks great with a nice satin sheen, but even though its water based it seemed a little sticky to me and may attract dust but we will see once it's set up. It smells really good too which is nice. Definitely would recommend it, I also have used their Clean and Shine which works well too but doesnt shine as well or smell as good.

 

Oh and something kinda crazy that I noticed. I tried to use some carpro perl on my tires but it wouldnt really stick well to the tires. This has never happened before. I realized that the Optimum tire coating was still on there and repelling the perl. I applied that stuff about 6 months ago. Some areas have washed off but not much. The gloss that is provided isnt really there any more but it's still protecting the tires. Pretty amazing stuff.

 

War Machine... his would you start with a brand new Cement CrewMax? Want to get something in it before any scratches. I’m in CO, so snow, rain and hot sun are all taking a toll on our paint here.

Thx

 

Rain and sleet today. I love hydro2, I dont need wipers from about 45 mph and up. Everything beads then forms bigger drops and flies right off.

 

Sorry I missed this question. I’d definitely recommend paint decon, like I do with any vehicle that hasn’t had it done yet. Makes a huge difference, even on new vehicles.
Other than that, depends on how much time and money you want to out into it. Jescar Powerlock looks great on MGM, and I’d think it would make Cement pop very well also.

I break down some of my thoughts and recommendations here:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/ask-the-detailer.18408/page-55#post-1480545

 

Oops!!! Need help!!!!!!!. My aftermarket headlights that I retrofitted started flaking. I don't know if it's some kind of factory lament or clearcoat. I doubt spec d puts a clearcoat on their headlights. After some research I started wet sanding with 800 grit, following with a 1000 grit. Polish then add protectant. Well epic fail. As you can see in the pick it just made it worse. The only thing I can think of doing is dropping down to a 600 grit maybe. Just trying to get some extra life out of my headlights before I replace them. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Driver side headlight is the one I started on. You can see where it brought out the peeling.

 

@Omohundro maybe?

 

A lot depends on your comfort level. I asked for a Griots Garage DA a few years back for Christmas.....and I've never looked back. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of doing our cars myself. If the swirls, etc are really bad, it may not hurt to consult a professional first to get a sense of what the paint correction will cost you. As far as the body damage repair, make sure you follow the body shop's advice on when you can apply anything to the new paint.

 

@Pudge and @War Machine

My boys got me some detailing stuff for X-mas. Quick question, do I need to remove the Meguires hybrid ceramic wax before using the sealer they got me or can it be used over the hybrid wax? Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day and my truck needs some attention.

 

You can put it over that. It may not last as long as it would without the hybrid wax under it, but it won’t hurt anything. How long ago did you put the Meguair’s on it? What sealer did you get?

 

I don't remember the name of the sealant, I can pass that on this evening. The Meguires has been on there for 3-4 months. Going strong, so far. We were out in the snow and roads were sloppy last weekend. When I wash it tomorrow I can give a better reply on how it held up.

 

I’m guessing you’ll be fine. You usually don’t want to put sealant on top of wax, but the Meguair’s Hybrid Wax is a wax in name only. It’s a sealant.

 

So the boys got me Chemical Guys VO7 and Black Light hybrid radiant finish. I think I'm going to try the radiant finish first.

 

Finish sanding all the clear coat off then buff, you will be golden then.

 

That's the thing, I've used 800 with no luck, I feel if I go lower I'm just gonna scratch them completely

 

800 is the lowest I’ve gone on headlights. If that’s not doing anything at all, I doubt you’re goin to have any success. I hate to say this, but you may just have to replace them.

 

Yeah, already planned on that, but wanted to try to clean them up and have as my spare. If they can't be saved then I will be selling some morimoto projectors, hid 35 watt ballast,and 6000k hid bulbs

 

Stupid question, but the failing part isn’t on the inside is it? My Spyders started peeling like that, but it was on the inside of the plastic. I’m sure you’d know if it was, just making sure.

Get you some of the Sequoia headlights. They’re very reasonably priced......not.

 

Na it's on the outside, I can feel it with my fingernail. Yeah the Sequoia headlights are nice, I really like the Alpharex Nova's too. Decision's to be made

 

A new truck comes with new headlights. Just a thought,

 

Hahaha, point well made, but the wifey gets the new vehicle. I won't be entertaining a new Tundra till a few years from retirement. I'm very confident in my 08. On a good note, I have persuaded my wife to look into test driving a Camry, she's always been s Nissan Altima fan. Gotta get her to jump ship

 

Heck yeah. My daughter graduates college in May. Once that Honda is gone we’ll be all Toyota here.

And yeah, no worries about the 08. Just giving you an excuse to tell your wife. “The headlights can’t be fixed or replaced. Gotta get a new truck.”

 

I applied some of the CarPro FogFight today. Got the kit on sale a while back but wasn't getting any fog until now (new truck and I've kept it clean.) I cleaned the glass with Stoner Invisible Glass, wiped it down with a dry microfiber cloth, applied it as directed (ie let it cure longer as it's cold,) and wiped it down. Kit came with block, applicators and a nice microfiber drying cloth.

We shall see how it holds up. They claim a month if you don't touch the glass. For the windshield that will be easy. For the rear glass, the kids will be the real trial... Too bad for that crappy winter thing though. The whole outside of the truck is an atrocity against all that is good in the world.

 

You undersold how much that sprayer sucks.