Detailing my black truck

[Garys007]

Just found this forum and I wish I had a couple of months ago. I just got a new black truck (2012 Ram 1500) several months ago and unfortunately I've screwed the paint up a little. I have swirl marks from washing, drying, etc...

I had some old Klasse AIO & HGSG I figured I use. The results were less than steller. After applying, the swirls marks were still there and I think I put too much on because it was difficult to get off.

So I have a new plan of attack, all that I learned here. I'd appreciate it if you guys could critique my plan.

Wash the car using my new sheepskin wash mit and use two buckets. Dry the car using my leaf blower and then Sonus microfiber drying towels.

Clay bar the truck.

I then plan on using Blackfire Total Polish & Seal to get rid of the swirls marks. I'm applying it using my Porter Cable DA and Cake County 5.5" green foam pads.

My final step will be Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection applied by hand.

How does my plan look? Also, how do I remove the Klasse? Will the clay bar and then the Total Polish & Seal remove it, or do I need to wash the car with Dawn or something similar?

I don't have a garage, but I do have a carport. Unfortunately I have a lot of trees and I still get stuff on my truck almost immediately after washing it. Should I do one panel at a time and use some quick detailer to clean the panel off before working on it?

Sorry for the long post, but I want to make sure I get everything right.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[mrclean81]

Sounds like your on the right track in all aspects. By the time you clay and polish, there won't be anything left of the Klasse so no worries there.

 

[glen e]

Might try a pad more intense than green; maybe white.....

 

[Bunky]

Blackfire Total Polish and Seal can probably handle some light marring but not sure if it will remove all the swirls. It depends. It will improve it.

It also sounds like you are also trying to improve your wash process, but note that swirls can occur anything you touch the paint so technique is important: wash, dry, buffing, etc.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Just found this forum and I wish I had a couple of months ago. I just got a new black truck (2012 Ram 1500) several months ago and unfortunately I've screwed the paint up a little. I have swirl marks from washing, drying, etc...

Let's take a look at the plan. It sounds like you are on the right track so far (finding AutopiaForums). :autopia:

I had some old Klasse AIO & HGSG I figured I use. The results were less than steller. After applying, the swirls marks were still there and I think I put too much on because it was difficult to get off.

Klasse is definitely an old school sealant that will punish you if applied too thick. It is still (after all of these years) a great product but the learning curve is steep.

So I have a new plan of attack, all that I learned here. I'd appreciate it if you guys could critique my plan.

Wash the car using my new sheepskin wash mit and use two buckets. Dry the car using my leaf blower and then Sonus microfiber drying towels.

I would make sure you have a Grit-Guard insert in each bucket just to be safe. The other thing to consider (considering the size your truck and the color) is first flood the paint after rinsing. Take the nozzle off and let the water slowly stream out of the surface. This will cause the water to pool to paint, then cascade off. Since water sticks to water (viscous) you can dry 80-90% of the water by using water.

Then towel the paint first. Again because you are dealing with a larger surface area, if you try to blow the truck first, you may get some water spots. Towel dry the large areas, then blow, then come back and pick up any spots that remain. You could even use a quick detail spray, such as BLACKFIRE Midnight Sun Instant Detailer while doing the final towel drying to remove any light water spots. (No need to do this before you polish, just to maintain).

Clay bar the truck.

Perfect!

I then plan on using Blackfire Total Polish & Seal to get rid of the swirls marks. I'm applying it using my Porter Cable DA and Cake County 5.5" green foam pads.

The next step after claying would be to polish the paint. Total Polish & Seal is a great choice, BUT it might not have enough polishing action to remove the swirl marks. This depends on how deep the swirl marks are and how hard the paint is.

I could likely start with BLACKFIRE SRC Finishing Polish and a white polishing foam pad.

My final step will be Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection applied by hand.

Perfect!

How does my plan look? Also, how do I remove the Klasse? Will the clay bar and then the Total Polish & Seal remove it, or do I need to wash the car with Dawn or something similar?

After claying most of the sealant will likely be gone. Polishing with either Total Polish & Seal or SRC Finishing Polish will remove the rest.

I don't have a garage, but I do have a carport. Unfortunately I have a lot of trees and I still get stuff on my truck almost immediately after washing it. Should I do one panel at a time and use some quick detailer to clean the panel off before working on it?

Use a little QD right before polishing and you will be fine.

Sorry for the long post, but I want to make sure I get everything right.

Thanks,
Gary

Sorry for the long answer

We are hear to help!

Todd

 

[tropicsteve]

if the swirls are too deep, the blackfire total polish & seal may not do the job easily. you may have to step it up with a more agressive polish or pad combo. a white or orange pad, or bfsrc finishing polish or compund, megs m105 or m205, etc. definitely start with the least agressive first and one panel at a time. the bfwd will look awesome after your prep work.

 

[Garys007]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses.

I've already ordered the Total Polish & Seal so I will try that with the white pad. If that doesn't work I have several other options. I can pick up some Blackfire SRC, but I've just bought so much aready my wife might kill me. I am going to place another order, but I need to wait till next month (my birthday).

I also have Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 2 Fine-Cut Cleaner and 3M Swirl Mark Remover. Are they too agressive? Can I layer the Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection over either one of these?

Todd, as far as drying the truck, it is huge! That's a great suggestion to flood the paint, dry, blow and then dry using a quick detailing spray.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

 

[Sundaze]

?....., but I've just bought so much aready my wife might kill me. I am going to place another order, but I need to wait till next month (my birthday).

My last order I had delivered to my work and mixed it in with everything else when I cleaned my car.....wife never found out.....:rofl

 

[glen e]

You can definitely "over product" reading here...just choose a polish, a wash, a fine polish and sealant/ wax.....

I decided that I'm the only one that can see some my scratches. Tthe world thinks my car looks perfect so I'll keep my addiction in remission and just use black fire crystal seal every three months and go do something else.

Plenty of time to buy all the other products later...

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses.

I've already ordered the Total Polish & Seal so I will try that with the white pad. If that doesn't work I have several other options. I can pick up some Blackfire SRC, but I've just bought so much aready my wife might kill me. I am going to place another order, but I need to wait till next month (my birthday).

I also have Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 2 Fine-Cut Cleaner and 3M Swirl Mark Remover. Are they too agressive? Can I layer the Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection over either one of these?

Todd, as far as drying the truck, it is huge! That's a great suggestion to flood the paint, dry, blow and then dry using a quick detailing spray.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

Meguar's Fine-Cut Cleaner is a medium cut polish that often requires an additional step of polishing for best results.

Depending on which line 3M's SMR is from (Perfect It 2, Perfect It 3000, ect) if can be a medium step polish or a final polish.

In both cases you will likely need to follow either with a finishing polish and a polishing pad for a smooth, glass-like finish.

What you could do is a test spot in an inconspicous area. Apply either of the polishes then wipe off. Inspect in the sun and look for a light swirl marks or DA haze. Then follow up with BLACKFIRE Total Polish N Seal. The light polishing action of TPnS should remove the haze and restore brilliant clarity to the paint. However I have not tested either combination.

 

[Garys007]

Todd, I went ahead and ordered the Blackfire SRC Final Polish. I was actually able to add it to an order I placed over the weekend. I'm not at the point where I want to start experimenting with various combinations. I'd rather stick with a known combo so I know what to expect.

I plan on applying the SRC with my DA using white pads. Other than saving some time, is there any benefit to applying the Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection with my DA, or is by hand fine? As crazy as it may sound, I enjoy applying product by hand.

If there is a benefit, what pad would I use? All I currently have in a finishing pad is a Sonus 6.5" gray pad.

 

[Garys007]

Oh, and by the way, the 3M SMR is Perfect It 2 and it says it's for darker colored cars so I'm assuming it has some type of filler?

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Todd, I went ahead and ordered the Blackfire SRC Final Polish. I was actually able to add it to an order I placed over the weekend. I'm not at the point where I want to start experimenting with various combinations. I'd rather stick with a known combo so I know what to expect.

I plan on applying the SRC with my DA using white pads. Other than saving some time, is there any benefit to applying the Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection with my DA, or is by hand fine? As crazy as it may sound, I enjoy applying product by hand.

If there is a benefit, what pad would I use? All I currently have in a finishing pad is a Sonus 6.5" gray pad.

The main benefit to applying it by machine is getting an ultra even, ultra fine coat on the paint. However Wet Diamond applies perfectly by hand as well. The Sonus gray pad will work but the best pads to use are either the red pad or the gold pads.

If you wanna do it by hand, then sit back and enjoy!

 

[Orinda Auto Detail]

Just one more thing you might want consider after you get your truck all dialed in... It's completely impossible to keep a black anything from getting swirls and micro scratches soooooo you really dont want to polish it everytime you see one because your paint wont last more than a year that way. I really like Menz glaze PO115 for my own car. It covers up pretty much anything on the paint and it's not nearly as abrasive as actually polishing and can be done in a much shorter amount a time, and 2 years from your paint will thank you.

 

[Garys007]

Just one more thing you might want consider after you get your truck all dialed in... It's completely impossible to keep a black anything from getting swirls and micro scratches soooooo you really dont want to polish it everytime you see one because your paint wont last more than a year that way. I really like Menz glaze PO115 for my own car. It covers up pretty much anything on the paint and it's not nearly as abrasive as actually polishing and can be done in a much shorter amount a time, and 2 years from your paint will thank you.

Amazing how many options there are. It's almost limitless.

I agree you can't constantly polish the swirls out everytime. My theory is that now that I found this place, I'm "starting" over, so I want to get the paint as perfect as I can. Once I do that I will try to maintain it as best I can using the principles I'm learning here (proper washing and drying being probably the most important).

Can you stack Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection over the Menzerna? Has anyone tried that?

 

[Orinda Auto Detail]

Amazing how many options there are. It's almost limitless.

I agree you can't constantly polish the swirls out everytime. My theory is that now that I found this place, I'm "starting" over, so I want to get the paint as perfect as I can. Once I do that I will try to maintain it as best I can using the principles I'm learning here (proper washing and drying being probably the most important).

Can you stack Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection over the Menzerna? Has anyone tried that?

Bf and Menz are very friendly I'm discovering(just started using the BF line my self) Just remember you always should Wax after glazing to seal in the glaze. And glazing goes really quick compared to polishing. I do my own car once a month glaze/wax takes me about 2 hours start to finish and it always looks great. I onr and wash in between every week or so. If I polished everytime I got a swirl my paint would of been gone a really long time ago and I've only had my current car for 2 years lol. I think your on the right track, with your truck being black its gonna be huge that wash it by the book, it wont forgive you if you dont lol.

 

[Sundaze]

Another option would be to Opti-Coat your truck.

I bought a black mustang last summer...a daily drive....I've done pretty good keeping the paint looking good.....but now it's starting to consume too much time......this past weekend I decided it is time to do a full correction then opti-coat.....So far I've have coated the front bumper, hood and roof....

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Oh, and by the way, the 3M SMR is Perfect It 2 and it says it's for darker colored cars so I'm assuming it has some type of filler?

Many of 3M's products were designed for professional (body shop) applications where much less time is given to do a job. Many of the products do have fillers.

The "For darker colored cars" means that the product won't dry white (usually it is dark colored to begin with) so that that less time has to be spent cleaning the product from cracks and crevices. Weird, but true!

 

[Garys007]

Well I finally got a chance to detail my truck. I think it came out very well. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

I clayed it first. It didn't remove much, but it did get some overspray off of the bumpers.

I then used Blackfire SRC with a white Lake County pad. I think I should have used an orange pad, but didn't have one. I got rid of the swirl marks, but not all of the fine scratches.

Then I used Total Polish & Seal. I used a green Lake Country pad. This stuff is great. Went on very easily and almost no buffing was necessary.

I then wiped the car down with Wet Diamond Polymer Spray to make sure the truck was clean as possible and then hand aplied Wet Diamond All Paint Protection. A little really goes a long way with this stuff. Really easy to aply and remove.

Really not sure if the Total Polish & Seal was necessary, but I'm glad I did, it was great to work with.

I really just with i had a more agressive pad for the SRC, but otherwise everything went well.

I want to thank everyone for all of the great suggestions & help.

Gary

 

[Garys007]

Sorry, my close up pictures were all blurry so this is all I have.