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After browsing these forums for a while and getting a bunch of advice from Mike in this thread, I finally completed my first detail of the exterior of my '95 Ford Explorer Sport. After 10 years and just over 200k miles, I needed to do something about the poor condition of the original paint.
Overall I'm very happy with the results. The paint still isn't completely flawless but it turned out better than I ever expected. I think with a little more work, it could be even better.
Here's the products I used:
-DC Car Wash
-Quik Clay system (used on the entire body)
-Hot Rims wheel cleaner
-NXT tire cleaner
-#83 and #80 with 8006 pads
-NXT Tech Wax liquid (2 coats) with 9006 pad
-Endurance tire gel
-GC Trim Detailer
-PlastX
Unfortunately it wasn't sunny the day I began the detail so I wasn't able to get some good before pics as much as I had hoped to. The flash of the camera did a good job of showing the swirls in some of the pics though. I noticed that some of the pics I posted may not show enough detail because of the small resolution so I also have links to ultra-high resolution pics below those posted pics if anyone was interested in seeing them. Im sure they're too big for 56k guys to load.
-Before/After's
This is a pic from January '04 that basically sums up what the condition of the paint appeared like when it reflected the sunlight anywhere on the body. I wish I had more of these pics but I always avoided taking pics that exposed the swirls.
High Res
-Tires, I wanted to try Metal Polysh on the wheels but it's currently on backorder.
-Driver's door
High Res
After....
-Hood, this was the worst part of the truck. It still needs some work but looks 10x better.
-Rear hatch, another spot that always bothered me. With all the swirls and scratches, it looked faded. The clear coat still has that 'orange peel' appearance like the rest of the truck only much worse here for some reason.
High Res
The finished product!
Next will be the engine bay and interior once a few products come in. Thanks for checking it out!
Overall I'm very happy with the results. The paint still isn't completely flawless but it turned out better than I ever expected. I think with a little more work, it could be even better.
Here's the products I used:
-DC Car Wash
-Quik Clay system (used on the entire body)
-Hot Rims wheel cleaner
-NXT tire cleaner
-#83 and #80 with 8006 pads
-NXT Tech Wax liquid (2 coats) with 9006 pad
-Endurance tire gel
-GC Trim Detailer
-PlastX
Unfortunately it wasn't sunny the day I began the detail so I wasn't able to get some good before pics as much as I had hoped to. The flash of the camera did a good job of showing the swirls in some of the pics though. I noticed that some of the pics I posted may not show enough detail because of the small resolution so I also have links to ultra-high resolution pics below those posted pics if anyone was interested in seeing them. Im sure they're too big for 56k guys to load.
-Before/After's
This is a pic from January '04 that basically sums up what the condition of the paint appeared like when it reflected the sunlight anywhere on the body. I wish I had more of these pics but I always avoided taking pics that exposed the swirls.
High Res
-Tires, I wanted to try Metal Polysh on the wheels but it's currently on backorder.
-Driver's door
High Res
After....
-Hood, this was the worst part of the truck. It still needs some work but looks 10x better.
-Rear hatch, another spot that always bothered me. With all the swirls and scratches, it looked faded. The clear coat still has that 'orange peel' appearance like the rest of the truck only much worse here for some reason.
High Res
The finished product!
Next will be the engine bay and interior once a few products come in. Thanks for checking it out!
Nice job!
Ive been to Lake City a few times.
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