Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

[gatorrich]

It looks just like this, only blue.

The tape that's on the hood is a little faded from the sun. What can I use to bring it back to life?

These are the steps I'm taking..

1. wash and dry
2. clay bar
3. UC
4. UP
5. UW
6. treat and dress all rubber, exterior plastic, dress tires and clean windows.

[Murr1525]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

Can try a trim product like Ult. Protectant, Trim Detailer, etc on the vinyl stickers.

[gatorrich]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

yeah, that's what I'm going to use on the rubber and plastic. I'll try it on the tape too. Thanks!

[ricadodetail]

How much are you charging if you dnt mind me asking?

[davey g-force]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

I'd imagine that Gold Class Trim Detailer would get the stripes looking good at first but would only run in the rain and make a mess.

Ultimate protectant is a good idea though.

I'd even be tempted to try a light pass of Ultimate Polish on them. Don't hold me to it, but I think it may just work. Certainly keep the UC off them.

Do an incospicuous test spot first of course..

[ethereal45]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

I hope you have a DA polisher

When I was first starting out I thought I could do a full restoration by hand -- I quickly found out that this is not very realistic unless you have A LOT of time and A LOT of energy.

[daniel clark]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

By the time you finish joy riding that thing,how are you going to find time to do all this work?

It looks just like this, only blue.

The tape that's on the hood is a little faded from the sun. What can I use to bring it back to life?

These are the steps I'm taking..

1. wash and dry
2. clay bar
3. UC
4. UP
5. UW
6. treat and dress all rubber, exterior plastic, dress tires and clean windows.

[gatorrich]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

How much are you charging if you dnt mind me asking?

$100. It's my father in-laws, so I got to cut him a break.

[gatorrich]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

I hope you have a DA polisher

When I was first starting out I thought I could do a full restoration by hand -- I quickly found out that this is not very realistic unless you have A LOT of time and A LOT of energy.

All by hand.

[gatorrich]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

I'd imagine that Gold Class Trim Detailer would get the stripes looking good at first but would only run in the rain and make a mess.

Ultimate protectant is a good idea though.

I'd even be tempted to try a light pass of Ultimate Polish on them. Don't hold me to it, but I think it may just work. Certainly keep the UC off them.

Do an incospicuous test spot first of course..

What* (Family friendly language includes abbreviations -Mark Kleis) are these car manufacturers thinking anyways with putting tape on a painted exterior finish? They never last and always looks bad! Same thing with all of that plastic cladding they use!

[gatorrich]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

By the time you finish joy riding that thing,how are you going to find time to do all this work?

haha! He would kill me!

[ethereal45]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

By hand is doable, but you won't see the same results as with a DA polisher unfortunately -- I learned this very very quickly when I first started working by hand.

UC by hand is capable of removing swirls, but I would say you'll be doing more of a "moderate cleaning" than heavy defect removal if you work UC by hand.

[davey g-force]

Re: Detailing a Challenger R/T this weekend.

WTF are these car manufacturers thinking anyways with putting tape on a painted exterior finish? They never last and always looks like ****! Same thing with all of that plastic cladding they use!

I hear ya. I hate stripes / decals on vehicles..

[BrightonRT]

sounds good

I actually own a 2010 challenger RT in black, no stripes or anything, but I've found that doing the wheel wells if you weren't already and polishing the exhaust tips on this car really are nice touches. I used some APC and a scrub brush on the wheel wells and treated with Ult Protectant. Just used some wading polish on the tips. I don't envy you doing it by hand, there's a deceptively large amount of sheet metal on that car.

Good luck!