Just thought I'd make a thread for those of us that aren't hardcore about our stock paint/don't have the time to devote to hardcore detailing/don't want to spend huge money on top of the line shit. My truck's got the stock paint from 05, I take it in the mud, offroad, it sits outside at home and at school, we have acid rain like hell down here not to mention hard water to wash with. So I don't waste too much money on something that's not ever gonna look show quality. Once I'm done, she looks damn good tho.
Materials I use:
$30 10" parts store buffer
Meguiers Ultimate Compound
Meguiers Polish
Meguiers Cleaner Wax (not carnuba because that seems to make water spots worse in my experience)
Krylon Fusion satin black
Meguiers chrome polish
whatever tire shine you prefer
Here's how the paint looked to start with. Absolutely terrible, scratches, swirls, and water spots like hell. I haven't done a detail since last June. And only washed it like 3 times, just been busy.
The roof and hood were the worst but I buffed the whole truck. I washed it wish some RainX carwash (the blue stuff with little beads in it in a clear bottle). Then I let it dry and pulled it in the shade. I then worked a small area at a time laying the compound onto the paint and smearing it around with the buffer. This cheapy buffer's only got one speed so smear it good to avoid slinging it everywhere. Also be careful of the edges so you don't burn through. Then I just worked it slowly, wiping it off with a microfiber cloth and using one more clean one to really get it off. I had to do the hood and roof twice.
Here's the results:
I also did the tail lights. I used to have smoked tails and in doing so, I used a red scotchbrite pad to scuff them so when I stripped it off they looked like ass.
Just put plenty of compound on them, and buffed the hell out of them. Again, being careful around the edges. The came out looking new
Afterward I used the polish on the buffer with a wool pad. Used two microfibers to clean it off. One to get it off initially and one more to really get it off. Then just 2 coats of wax applied by hand and removed with microfibers.
I also buffed the headlights and corners too because they were sandblasted to hell from highway driving. Same process as tails. Afterwards, I began taping off all the chrome/paint/etc near the black plastics so I could repaint them.
Faded flares looking aweful
Just make sure to tape off ALL around the areas to avoid over spray. Good rule of thumb for me is a foot to foot and a half all around the areas to be painted.
I also painted the frame using duplicolor satin black and duplicolor bedline in the rear wheel wells. Also high heat brake paint on the drums/calipers
And the final results. Nice and shiny and black
Hope this helps show you don't have to spend a bunch of money to make your truck look good. Just a few days of elbow grease and paint :trolldance2:
**forgot to add, be very liberal with the compound, polish, and wax. There's no such thing as too much (well until you start slinging it errwhere).
Materials I use:
$30 10" parts store buffer
Meguiers Ultimate Compound
Meguiers Polish
Meguiers Cleaner Wax (not carnuba because that seems to make water spots worse in my experience)
Krylon Fusion satin black
Meguiers chrome polish
whatever tire shine you prefer
Here's how the paint looked to start with. Absolutely terrible, scratches, swirls, and water spots like hell. I haven't done a detail since last June. And only washed it like 3 times, just been busy.
The roof and hood were the worst but I buffed the whole truck. I washed it wish some RainX carwash (the blue stuff with little beads in it in a clear bottle). Then I let it dry and pulled it in the shade. I then worked a small area at a time laying the compound onto the paint and smearing it around with the buffer. This cheapy buffer's only got one speed so smear it good to avoid slinging it everywhere. Also be careful of the edges so you don't burn through. Then I just worked it slowly, wiping it off with a microfiber cloth and using one more clean one to really get it off. I had to do the hood and roof twice.
Here's the results:
I also did the tail lights. I used to have smoked tails and in doing so, I used a red scotchbrite pad to scuff them so when I stripped it off they looked like ass.
Just put plenty of compound on them, and buffed the hell out of them. Again, being careful around the edges. The came out looking new
Afterward I used the polish on the buffer with a wool pad. Used two microfibers to clean it off. One to get it off initially and one more to really get it off. Then just 2 coats of wax applied by hand and removed with microfibers.
I also buffed the headlights and corners too because they were sandblasted to hell from highway driving. Same process as tails. Afterwards, I began taping off all the chrome/paint/etc near the black plastics so I could repaint them.
Faded flares looking aweful
Just make sure to tape off ALL around the areas to avoid over spray. Good rule of thumb for me is a foot to foot and a half all around the areas to be painted.
I also painted the frame using duplicolor satin black and duplicolor bedline in the rear wheel wells. Also high heat brake paint on the drums/calipers
And the final results. Nice and shiny and black
Hope this helps show you don't have to spend a bunch of money to make your truck look good. Just a few days of elbow grease and paint :trolldance2:
**forgot to add, be very liberal with the compound, polish, and wax. There's no such thing as too much (well until you start slinging it errwhere).
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