Ask the Detailer

One bottle of Iron X should be plenty, then follow up with a clay bar or clay mitt.

 

Looks like some serious sun / weather damage with a combination of neglect. Seeing evidence on plastic, rubber, emblems, even the finish on the nerf bars. The paint may be helped but some of the other may not be helped much.
He / You could spend some time trying to help the finish; if very labor intense maybe look at getting repainted.

 

Alright guys, I got my covers painted for the chrome on the bumpers. I noticed the paint has some orange peel. I wanted to install them on the truck, sand them with some 1000 grit sand paper, compound and polish and the coat with jescar power lock and some Collinite. Is this the approach you would take? Or would you do all this before installing them?

 

Did you ask the shop to finish the job the right way? I bet you paid a pretty penny for that paint job, orange peel was not likely part of the deal.
The wet sanding step would be easier with the parts off the truck. But DA polishing would be tougher with them not mounted, but maybe not. I'd try the shop first to see if they will do it, if they won't then DIY and try the steps before mounting to see how it goes.

 

I agree with Pudge.....shop should take care of the orange peel. Only down side is that they'll probably look better than the rest of the truck, which I'm betting has it's own case of orange peel. As soon as you touch them with that sandpaper, the shop is totally off the hook.

 

Anyone had gunk on the windshield that won't come off? Must have been an alien bug or bird that flew into my windshield. I scrubbed with standard glass cleaner, rain-x glass cleaner, and lots of elbow grease. Could not get this patch of gunk to come off. Picture may not help much, but there's a small patch in the lower corner that is beyond stubborn. Never thought that anything would stick to glass like that. Anyone have experience with this or recommendations on how to remove?

 

You can try a clay bar, some bug and tar remover, polish it, or even use a razor blade at a low angle so scrape it off

 

Along with Sean’s recommendations, I’ve had great success with Barkeeper’s Friend. It will clean damned near anything. That stuff is truly exceptional. I’ve gotten some pretty stubborn crap off of auto glass and shower doors with it.

Just be careful and don’t get it on your paint. I’m not sure if it will harm it or not, but better safe than sorry. You can usually find it at Walmart, and it’s cheap.

Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser Premixed Formula | 13 Oz | (2 Pack)

$13 BAR KEEPERS FRIEND Soft Cleanser Premixed Formula | 13 Oz | (2 Pack)']

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B28ZYPU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_IiAQDb0BCDE46

 

I got some of this from Auto Zone the other day. I tried it yesterday. It cleaned the tires so so, but they weren’t very dirty to begin with. Nowhere in the ballpark with Wise Guy.

That said, I sprayed it in the fender wells, and it worked very well there. The foaming action helped it soak up the dirt under there, and required very little agitation to get them clean.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/produc...MI3s6qotul5QIVDvDACh2gug2xEAQYASABEgLoWfD_BwE

 

Car Pro Ceriglass kit...available here:

 

I haven’t tried that, but the price is good. Does it work very well for you? I think @Pudge got some of that also.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. @War Machine - glad you mentioned this because I also have some speckles of sludge in my fender wells that won't come off.

 

Believe it or not I've had better better results using this as a tire and wheel cleaner than their tire cleaner. I've also sprayed the wheel wells with it and it does a mighty fine job removing contaminants. One of the big pluses for me is that this one has Iron remover and its been my go to whenever I run out of IronX , its not as good but it works and doesn't smell as bad.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/heavy+duty+wheel+cleaner.do?sortby=ourPicks

 

Just came across this today. Looking to see how this works as I am getting ready to start prepping my car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmoLBK0dlKw

 

No, The tundra..need to get it ready for all that rain and water spots. Going to do the whole detail thing(claybar and ceramic). But the product won't go on the shelves till Nov 11, 2019.

 

Yeah I got some ceriglass polish and some rayon glass pads about a week ago. The combo worked very well to make the glass very very clean. It didn't really remove any scratches or help with pitting but overall for the price I think it's good for a really deep cleaning of your glass. You could possibly get similar results from a regular polish and the glass pads but like I said, for the price I think the ceriglass is worth it, the 150ml bottle will last a very long time.

 

I don’t know if I should thank you or hate you all.

My Amazon order

Carpro:

HydrO2 500ml
Reset 500ml
​

Optimum No Rinse 1 gallon

The Rag Co:

4-pack Eagle Edgeless 500gsm
2-pack Cyclone Korean MF wash mitts
10-pack Creature Edgeless 420gsm​

Chemical Bros spray bottles 16oz 3 pack

P&S BeadMaker 1 gallon

I haven’t even decided on tire clean/dress, plastic stuff. Likely a Home Depot bucket as well.

You people know how much money you’re costing me?

 

Welcome to the club

 

“Good”.....I can get good results with a t bone steak in a butcher’s ass, but I’d rather stick my head in the cow....I mean...you put the cow in the steak’s ass....wait.....

 

You’re welcome

 

Lol. In all seriousness, I wouldn’t have the first clue about any of this stuff without a lot of evenings on this thread.

You lunatics have outdone even my OCD. So, er, thanks?

 

Alright detailers.

My name is Brad and I own a black truck. (All Respond: Hi Brad)

The good news is that it has never been through an automatic carwash with brushes (it has been through the touchless auto about 5 times).

The bad news? It has only been washed about 7 times since 2015 with 5 of those being the garbage touchless automatic wash. I just never really prioritized the time it would take to keep it clean with all the dirt roads and mud I regularly drive through.

My life is calming down a bit and I am more motivated to ditch the chrome and emblems and keep this thing a little cleaner. Unfortunately my lack of attention to the black is making this a more troubling project.

Disclaimer: this first pic looks like there is a lot of swirls, but it really doesn't seem so bad when it is clean and waxed (trust me, I saw it like that about a year ago ).

Untitled by Brad Davis, on Flickr

You can see the difference in paint condition from where the sticker was and where it wasn't. I resolved that this was just the way it was going to be until I noticed where the tree limb scraped down the side of it, it all matches! This gives me hope!

I also have this where I removed the Limited badge:

Untitled by Brad Davis, on Flickr

It really seems like a glue line but I have hit it with goo gone, wd40, denatured alcohol, the whole nine yards and it is still there. Especially prominent on the top where the dirt has sat.

The question:
Is there hope in getting my paint in the condition to not see these lines so much? What would that process look like?

I'm a detailing noob compared to you guys. I do have a Porter Cable variable speed DA, but I would be nervous about buffing out the entire truck. I've never done anything like that before. Lets try to keep that as a last resort.

Edit: I DID try the obvious and washed and waxed that portion of the bed a while back and the decal line was still there.

 

Wash, decontaminate with iron remover, then clay. That will get the paint as good as it can get without using your DA. It may do the trick on that line you’re talking about also.


Speaking of the DA, no need to be nervous about it. If your polisher is dual action, you’d have to try very hard to do any damage with it. They are made to be much safer than rotary polishers.

 

Thanks! I assume youtube university has some videos on the iron remover and clay process.

I see links for Iron X 500ml at the bottom. Is the 500ml enough to get the whole truck?

Is the Nanoskin mitt better or faster than a clay bar?

What kind of time investment am I looking at for this process? A couple hours or a day off work?

 

Has anyone used the Adams DA Polishers. I have a porter cable DA right now but was looking into their swirl killer mini to get into the smaller places. Or if anyone wants to recommend a different brand I'm open to options.

 

Yes sir that bottle is plenty. And yes the mitt is much faster, and better because it’s reusable.
I can generally do a full wash with paint decon in a couple of hours. That includes putting sealant back on afterward.