1999 Toyota Tacoma Metallic Red

[OctaneGuy]

Here are some pictures of an upcoming Toyota that I will be detailing next weekend. The owner is an MOL member who is very dedicated to her cars, but just doesn't have the time to really take care of them. So I will be holding a private detailing class / detailing day to both show her the ropes of the 5 step process, while restoring a flawless finish.

[gb387]

Can't wait to see the afters!

[LiquidBlack]

Looking forward to see your plan for the toyota paint. Any insight to how you work with it is good info to me!

[OctaneGuy]

Thanks! I'm planning on demonstrating a couple of process steps, from the typical M80/M83- NXT/M21 with a rotary/PC to using M66 Quick Detailer as a single step. I'll also likely include a test spot of Colorx so the different processes can be compared.

[MattN03]

That is a nice looking truck, and with some lovin' from Meguiar's it'll look awesome I bet! Please keep us posted.

[Brian Catalano]

How did the Tacoma turn out? It hurt me a little to see all the swirl marks on there.

I'd like to hear what products worked with the paint.

Brian

here's mine-

[OctaneGuy]

Nice truck!

This detail got delayed due to the rains and limited availability of the customer--so we're scheduled for the end of the month now.

Stay tuned!

Richard

[Paulvr4]

Yes,

Looking fwd to the outcome! What kind of camera do you carry?

[OctaneGuy]

I shoot with a Nikon D70s (digital slr) with a Nikkor AF 28-70mm lense which I used to use on my film camera--N90.

It makes shooting a lot more confidence inspiring that things are in focus the first time. Prior I used a Nikon Coolpix 880, then 4300, and it worked well, but with a lot of trial and error.

Richard

Originally posted by Paulvr4
Yes,

Looking fwd to the outcome! What kind of camera do you carry?

[OctaneGuy]

AFTER Picture

For every car I detail, there is always an interesting story behind the car. When Erika contacted me about detailing her truck, honestly I was less than enthusiastic. I mean, there is nothing wrong with working on a daily driver, but I imagined a beat up old pickup with scratched paint, rust, and all kinds of issues. But there was something very different about the attitude of this customer, so I agreed to go meet her and perform a free inspection.


What I found was nothing like I had imagined. Here was a very well kept Toyota Prerunner. Despite some dirt on the paint, the owner walked me around the truck and told me about the flaws--a little scratch here or there, but overall it was in good condition. And to my pleasure, lots of swirls!






What I found was that the owner was very passionate about her cars. She invested in a machine to produce soft water and even worked with a detailer over at a local BMW dealer to learn the ropes, but her current job situation is forcing her to work incredibly long hours and she just doesn't have the time or energy to maintain her cars the way she would like. So one thing lead to another, and she found me on MOL, and here we are!

[OctaneGuy]

I arrived at 8:30 AM, but shade setup continued until about 10:30AM. Then we worked until approx 8PM.

Here's all my gear unloaded


Check out the shade protection that the customer bought just for our class!


Just checking to make sure the swirls didn't go anywhere!

We began by washing the tires and wheel wells. I sprayed APC on the mudflaps and wheel wells, then used a stiff brush to scrub them. I used a pressure washer to remove that. I also washed the sidewalls, then used NXT Tire Cleaner foam followed by a stiff tire brush to get them really clean. I used the pressure washer again to remove that.

The tires had recently been changed and the installers had gotten glue residue on the wheels. Some Goo Gone removed the majority of the residue, and claybar removed the rest. Then I sprayed on some Wheel Brightener and pressure washed that off.

At this point, knowing that the paint still needed to be washed, and the tires being so big, I didn't want to dress the tires then risk getting them wet, I proceeded to wash using Gold Class Car Wash and my Karcher pressure washer. After the truck was fully soaped, a wash mitt was used to clean off the paint. I dunked it in a 5 gallon bucket with a grit guard and some Car Wash soap to rinse off the mitt as I made my way around the truck. With the truck fully rinsed off tires were dressed with my favorite tire dressing, Endurance High Gloss, for both ease of application (no drips or runs) and for longevity (weeks!) and a foam applicator pad. Make sure to wear a disposable glove cause it gets quite messy.

BEFORE


AFTER

[OctaneGuy]

With the paint still wet, but the truck in the shade, we began claying the the paint. Erika worked on one side, while I worked on the other. I showed her how even after having washed the truck, that the paint was still rough, but after a few seconds of claying, that it was now smooth as glass!



Here's what my clay looked like after a few passes



Considering this was a 1999 truck and hadn't been waxed in many years, the paint was in very good condition. Because she hired me to teach her how to restore the finish and learn how to maintain it, I showed her what the finish might look like using two common 1 step methods, and then showed her what a multi step method could do, and because she allocated the whole day for me, time wasn't an issue.

I did 3 "Test Spots". Two on the hood and one on the rear panel. I tried to choose areas that would most easily catch the sunlight. The two hood spots used two passes of the PC using the W-8006 pad with ColorX and M66 (Quick Detailer)--Single Step, and the rear was M80. I admit that these test spots weren't truly accurate since I didn't use a new pad for each chemical. I was low on pads, and couldn't devote a pad for each product.



Here is 2 passes of ColorX applied using a PC.


Next is 2 passes of M66 with the PC


And now 2 passes of M80 with the PC


Standing a little further back, you can see M66 again


And ColorX

[OctaneGuy]

After a quick discussion of the benefits on a one step system, we decided that using M80 followed by M21 was the effect we REALLY wanted since time wasn't an issue.

So first we taped off the truck using 3/4" blue painters tape.

With 2 PC's we buffed out the whole truck. In some areas where the PC couldn't reach I used ScratchX by hand. I pulled out my Makita rotary for a couple of etchings.

I dressed the cargo bed liner with Hyperdressing, and used Tire Trim Gel on all the plastic to retore the blackness. NXT Metal Polysh was used on all chrome surfaces and Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner was used wherever I got polish or wax on the adjacent plastic.

Even though I couldn't check the work under direct sunlight, having seen how effective the process was during the "Test Spots", and using both the dual Xenon "Swirl Finder", my vertical Fluorescent fixture, and spot lights from the house, I'm pretty certain we got a completely swirl free finish.


When working on any vehicle, it's important to be comfortable. A platform scaffold like this allows me to stand and work on the roof of a large car, or sit on it and buff a side panel in comfort. Eye protection is also a must. Notice that I've got blue tape on my ring finger to prevent it from scratching the paint, and I've removed my wrist watch just in case.

[OctaneGuy]

As usual, we were fighting the sun--all day we wanted to stay out of it, but we wanted it to hang around when we finished! Of course it didn't work out that way. As soon as I started to see the sun going down, we stopped at the first coat of M21, and left everything in place. Plastic and chrome hadn't been dressed yet. Tape was still in place.






All in all a lot of fun, with a great student, and a fun subject!

Final Product List:
M80
NXT Metal Polysh
Quik Clay system
Endurance High Gloss
ScratchX
M21
#39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner
MF Bonnet for removing M21
Wheel Brightener
APC
NXT Tire Cleaner foam
Hyperdressing
Last Touch

Tools:
Karcher 1400 PSI Pressure Washer
PC with W-7006, W-8006, W-9006
Makita Rotary with W-8006 for a few defects
Cosco workhorse scaffold

[gb387]

Great write up and demonstration, truck looks like new!

I like your Cosco scaffold type thing, I currently have a rolling seat to move around low, but nothing to stand on. I have been looking at the Cosco brand painters ladders, very handy, two steps and a standing platform on top with a tool storage/holding area at arms reach.