F250 - The King of Tar

[PorscheGuy997]

Well, I've been detailing for about two years now. I've just now been getting into the serious products. I also recently bought a buffer - not that cheap.

I work for a small business in which they have many company cars. This includes 3 F350's, 2 F250's, 4 Sables - one is a Taurus, one Lumina, and an Expedition. I've been detailing constantly this week because everything is dirty and the shipping is going slow - I ship parts. Today, I got to detail a F250 Super Duty Diesel 4x4 Extended Cab. This truck has almost everything except leather - don't understand that. I'm not sure of the year, but I know it has 90,000 miles and still runs great. Of course that mileage is low for a diesel. I've never detailed a truck before.

This detail took me FOREVER! What usually takes me an hour took about 2 hours. Because this truck is constantly dirty, I decided not to use my Professional Series stuff. I didn't want to waste it.

Products used:
1. GC Wash
2. Quick Clay
3. DC1
4. DC2
5. GC liquid wax
6. Plastx
7. Exterior Trim Detailer
8. Craftsman 7in buffer - works great and cost effective - explain later

These picture aren't great because they were taken inside the warehouse. Here is what I had to start with:




Hood - It was raining this morning when I pulled the truck in.


As you can see, the side seems to absorb the water instead of beading.


Here is a crop of the hood when it was dry-

[PorscheGuy997]

Pic of the back-

Another sign that this truck has been offroad-




I first washed it then I proceeded to clay the whole vehicle including the chrome.

Here is a pic of the hood after 30 minutes of claying. It has this whitish look to it - oxidation


This is how I came up with the title. Those water drop kind of things were hard to get off.

[PorscheGuy997]

Here is the floor after I backed it out into the lot. It had a thick layer of mud everywhere.

I then put Plastx on the headlights, taillights, and the bug deflector. They looked almost new. I later put a coat of Exterior Trim Detailer on the running boards, bed rail caps, and the mirrors. Anyone else agree that it smells like cough syrup? I then backed it out into the lot
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[PorscheGuy997]

Here is what impressed my the most: The reflection on the hood is amazing after the coat of wax.




So what do you think? I think it turned out pretty well considering what it started from. In the 2 years I've known this truck, I didn't know it is was this shade, nor did I know that the rims were polished. The owner said that the truck looked better than when he bought it.

I could have used some #7 followed by #21, but I just didn't have time - started at 8 and finished at 4. I could have also spent a little more time with the clay, but there was sooo much to do!

Comments are greatly appreciated! Anothing to change next time?

[Michael Stoops]

Originally posted by PorscheGuy997
In the 2 years I've known this truck, I didn't know it is was this shade, nor did I know that the rims were polished.

...............

Comments are greatly appreciated! Anothing to change next time?

Wow, what a difference!! I don't ever want to detail something that big but I've promised my sister and her husband that next time they're in town I'll tackle their F550 crew cab dualie.

Anything to change next time???? I don't see why. Really, I think the end justfies the means. You say this truck is always dirty so you didn't want to "waste" your good stuff, and I think that's prudent. If you did this good of a job with the products and techniques you used, then I don't see a reason to change anything.

[sneek]

AMAZING TRANSFORMATION!!

[skitelluride531@cubs]

That's funny - I detailed the EXACT truck yestarday, except for it was white. It was just a wash and a wax though - it had a lot of tar that was PITA to remove .



The one you did looks great!