I stole my Bro's Blue Ram!

[TSR6]

....and returned it in better condition.

My little bro just graduated, so while he went down to Chicago for the day with some friends, I drove to the grocery store that they had met at, and stole his truck via a spare key I just so happen to still have.

His truck was involved in a senior prank where people put ho-ho's, powdered donuts, and syrup on cars. He had washed it twice at the local drive-in pressure want place, but it was still in shoddy shape.

Here are the before shots.








This shot shows the nasty swirls and ickness, looks like a ghost in the picture!:




Afters coming up in less than a minute!

[TSR6]

Apparently my brother hit a pole of some sort in a parking lot with the rear quarterpanel.

The before shot is "after" my brother had tried to clean it up with "his" favorite wax......

BEFORE:



AFTER Scratch X and some determination:

[TSR6]

After shots:



The Hood:



As I put a crack in the sky:





Some of the scratches on this truck are actually through the paint, so it was tough choosing what I could fix, and what I could only "diminish."

My bro generally keeps a healthy coat of the "OTHER" wax on it, but has never clayed it, and has never used any sort of cleaner wax on it ever. Just a general paste wax.

Process:
Wash
Complete Scratch X coverage, with a lot of passion.
DC#2
DC#3
Random Tire shine that my bro had laying around

[TSR6]

I'm kind of disappointed in the "before" pictures. I don't think they really do justice to how bad of shape the paint was truly in. Bro keeps it waxed generally, but there were a TON of swirls that I thought only machine would take out. I spent a lot of time working with ScratchX, and got somewhere near 90% of them out. The good news is that once I get a DA, I still have his truck to experiment with.

One of his friends came over shortly after the "after photos" and said it looked like I made it a "different color."

[BigLeegr]

This is the type of "vandalism" that is appreciated!
(The detail, not the senior prank )
Looks MUCH better!

[sneek]

great job!
looks much better

[TSR6]

Thanks guys!

It definately got some comments during his graduation party the other night. I had a couple of his friends request that I work on their cars also - and while I was flattered, haha.. I just don't have the time and I think that at least a couple of those kids thought I would do it for free......

Meanwhile, I have a fleet of work trucks, two bobcats, two sports cars, and two enclosed trailers that I get to "play" with over the next couple of weeks.

Look for a thread in the "Show Off" area within the next two days of the "sports car." I'll just say it's yellow....

[FromThisSoil]

Wow, came out looking pretty good. Now the only trick is to get him to KEEP it clean!

[JulesE34]

Wow, wish I had a big bro like you !!

Good work.

[RZ Autodetailing]

Is that a Rumble bee in the background...i really like those alot and was thinking of parting with my gt conv for one not to long ago..Nice work on your brothers truck ,big transformation on the paint and dont forget to black out those wheel wells next time. .. picky bunch on here .

[TSR6]

Fromthissoil - Yeah, I know it won't be harmed again - prank wise. I had a "chat" with the kid that messed with his truck, and I now know where the kid lives... He promised he wouldn't again.

Jules - I try sometimes. He was pretty bummed about how the finish of his truck was looking - mostly due to what happened, and since I'm always wanting to try new stuff... I figured if I did it now, his truck could be a test-bed for when I get a DA.

RZ - Yes, that is my Rumble Bee in the background. I've had it for a little over two years now. For the wheel wells - they were pressure washed, but I ran out of both Back to Black and tire foam, so I had absolutely nothing to use on the wheel wells. Otherwise it would have been taken care of.

[Murr1525]

Looks great... just shows what you can do by hand with good produts.

Just need a jug of All-Season Dressing or Hyper Dressing laying around for the plastic trim, mirrors, wheel-wells, etc.

And we're not thaaaat picky...

[TSR6]

Originally posted by Murr1525
Looks great... just shows what you can do by hand with good produts.

Just need a jug of All-Season Dressing or Hyper Dressing laying around for the plastic trim, mirrors, wheel-wells, etc.

And we're not thaaaat picky...

Yeah, I need to go shopping. I had a bottle of "Back to Black" that I bought probably 2 years ago (give or take?) that finally went empty. I got his door handles, and went bone dry. I emptied my last can of tire dressing last week, so I "borrowed" a can my brother had - figured while i was borrowing his truck..hah..

I was amazed at how well everything turned out for "by hand" results. There are a couple spots on the truck that could really use a little more TLC via a machine, but I couldn't capture it on camera, let alone see it from more than 2-3 feet. I'm picky too. If I can get my camera to work, I'll show you what "dirty" is on my own vehicle...haha..

[TSR6]

This is my truck, also known as the "reflection" in the above pictures. This shot was taken later that night. It's actually pretty dirty...