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Adamized the Raptor


TheWolf

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WHEEL AND TIRE CLEANING AND PROTECTION

 

I needed to rotate the tires so I decided it would be a good time to give them a good cleaning and sealing. I sprayed on a cocktail of APC and Dawn Soap with the Kwazar Venus Pro Foaming Compression Sprayer, figuring the Dawn Soap would add some lather and give the APC more time to break down multiple layers of QS and Tire Shine. Having the wheels laying flat made scrubbing much easier. I used the Cyclo with the carpet brush attachments.

 

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Note that this Cyclo is dedicated to brushes for tires, carpets, and other dirty tasks. I do not use this machine for polishing to avoid any chances of getting dirt and grime onto the paint or polishing pads. The brushes kick up quite a bit of spray and splatter and the machine ends up pretty dirty.

 

After a good rinse with the pressure washer, I dried them with the Metro Blaster Sidekick and a Microfiber Waterless Wash Towel. Once completely dry, I put layer of LPS on the insides and backs of the wheels and barrels, wiping the residue with an Edgeless Utility Towel. After letting the LPS cure for an hour or so, I added a layer of QS to the backs and then two layers to the fronts. After remounting the wheels, I sprayed on some Tire Shine and then evened it out with a Hex Grip Tire Applicator.

 

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Of course, once I was done it was raining so I didn't get pics of the finished project, but here is one from a few months ago.

 

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Edited by TheWolf
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Nice updates Dan.

 

I agree on the Venus sprayer, I don't use it on tires because the sprayer is too fine to control amount of product coming out, and it uses way too much in the realm of APC.

 

I only use my Venus with Rinseless diluted, as a pre-soak on panels when doing a rinseless wash or for loosening up bug guts and bird poop before a traditional wash.

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Nice updates Dan.

 

I agree on the Venus sprayer, I don't use it on tires because the sprayer is too fine to control amount of product coming out, and it uses way too much in the realm of APC.

 

I only use my Venus with Rinseless diluted, as a pre-soak on panels when doing a rinseless wash or for loosening up bug guts and bird poop before a traditional wash.

 

Great minds, Jason!  My next post was going to be RINSELESS WASH PRE-SOAK WITH THE VENUS FOAMER.

 

I used the Venus Foamer with a solution of 4oz RW and 2 oz CWS with 1L distilled water as a pre-soak on the front of the truck.  It worked really good on the bugs.  I plan to pick up a second Venus to have one dedicated to APC and one for pre-soaks with RW solutions.

 

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Good idea with the Car Shampoo.  The soap should help give the Rinseless more "cling" to break up the grime.

 

You just may have found the perfect pre-soak of a hammered car when doing traditional rinseless washes as well.  Hit the car with that solution and let it dwell, rinse with a high pressure stream, then take your bottle of 1:16 diluted Rinseless, pre-soak the panel, and go into your traditional Rinseless wash method.

 

Nice!

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  • 3 weeks later...

It was time for the Fall Detail to add some fresh layers of protection before it starts to snow. While there were a some very minor scratches and scuffs, I did not do any paint correction as I plan to only do that for the Spring Details. With the snow, ice, road sand and deicing chemicals, there will be some inadvertent paint damage that will need to be addressed next time. Also, since I did the wheels a few weeks ago and did a full interior detail last weekend, the steps shown only addressed the exterior body of the truck.

 

FALL DETAIL AND WINTER PROTECTION

  • Strip washed the truck with pressure washer and foam cannon containing 4oz CWS and 2oz APC, used a wool wash pad and rinsed it in the grit guard bucket between panels, thorough rinse with DI water.
  • Clay bar treatment with DS.
  • Rinsed off residue with pressure washer, wiped down with 50% APC dilution and wash mitt, DI rinse and then dried with Metro Sidekick. Finish drying with Great White Drying Towel.
  • Applied Glass Sealant to the windows. I did this first to make is easier to remove residue when I put QS on the window trim.
  • Applied QS to all plastic and trim, leveled with foam applicator and wiped residue with Singe Soft Towel.
  • Polished with Revive, using the Cyclo and White Foam Finishing Pads. Removed residue with Double Soft Towels.
  • Used the Metro Sidekick to blow off the polish dust that collects in the nooks and crannies.
  • Wipe down paint with 50% IPA dilution and Single Soft Towels. Sprayed the towels rather than the paint to keep from stripping the QS off the trim.
  • Applied another coat of QS to the trim to add additional protection from staining and to seal the paint right next to the trim.
  • LPS with Black Machine Sealant Pads on the Cyclo, removed residue with Double Soft Towels.
  • Americana Paste Wax with Black Machine Waxing Pads on the Cyclo, removed residue with Double Soft Towels.

Since I did not want to strip the sealant off the wheels, I covered them with cardboard to keep the foam off.

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Here's the lineup.

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Since I rinsed with DI water, I did not have to dry or worry about water spots before using the clay bar.

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And some Revive Polish to clean the paint so the sealant gets a good bond.

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The towel on the left removed the residue from the Revive, but the two towels on the right show additional residue removal with a wipe-down using the IPA dilution. I think having the paint as clean as possible is important for the longevity of the sealant.

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One big benefit to the Cyclo on a truck this big is that I can reach the middle of the roof without having to lean against the side.

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Time to do the laundry. I will give these a rinse and then presoak them overnight in a wash bucket with 3oz of MFR&B. Then I will run them through the washer and dryer.

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And the required "Product Reflection Photo".

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Photos of the final results to follow...

Edited by TheWolf
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Dan, that Looks fantastic!

 

I am wondering- do you feel the Revive polishing step (and subsequent complete removal) really makes that much of a difference after the first two all-purpose cleaner steps? It seems that there wouldn't be a whole lot for the polish to do on beautiful paint like that. I have a bottle of Revive, but I am still trying to figure out what place it has in my routine.

 

Thanks for continuing awesome write-up!

Edited by gbod
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Dan, that Looks fantastic!

 

I am wondering- do you feel the Revive polishing step (and subsequent complete removal) really makes that much of a difference after the first two all-purpose cleaner steps? It seems that there wouldn't be a whole lot for the polish to do on beautiful paint like that. I have a bottle of Revive, but I am still trying to figure out what place it has in my routine.

 

Thanks for continuing awesome write-up!

Thanks Greg!

 

Yes, it seems like it did make the paint cleaner.  Using APC with a wash pad doesn't seem like it cleans as well as using the Revive with a machine.  While the APC did strip most of the remaining protection off, the mechanical action of the machine along with the cleansers in the Revive would be sure to leave the paint completely clean.  Using it with the white foam finishing pads on the Cyclo, it did make some improvements to very minor scratches.  I don't think the very minor correcting would be the same applying the Revive by hand.  This was my first time using Revive and I found that it did add some depth to the paint.

 

My goal with the strip washes, Revive polish and IPA wipe-down was to see if having super-clean paint results in the LPS lasting longer.  When I did the first detail this spring, I don't think the paint was clean enough since there was likely some wax left over from the DS used during the claying.  After 6 months, I was still getting decent beading but did notice an increase in beading if I dried with DS, rather than just air-drying with the Sidekick.

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  • 1 month later...

 A WINTERTIME WASH

 

After 6 weeks of bitter cold and then very wet weather, the truck was a dirty pig.  I am pretty sure the deicer that they use around here is mixed with glue, as the nasty road spray is hard to get off, even with layers of fresh protection.  I took advantage of a 38 degree, overcast day to get some shiny before it gets cold again.

 

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I started with a good rinse with the pressure washer and warm water to remove the loose crud.  Then a prewash soak with the foam cannon with 2oz CWS and 4oz RW.  I let this sit while I worked on the wheels and tires so that it would work to soften up the stuck-on dirt.

 

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While I always use the two-bucket method on the wheels/tires, when it is this dirty I will do all four wheels first, and then go back and scrub the tires and wells.  This keeps the water cleaner for the wheels to prevent scratches.  Since I have LPS and QS on the fronts and backs of the wheels, I only used CWS for cleaning as I don't want to strip the protection off the barrels as they can only be sealed properly when off the truck.

 

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A handy item I found for scrubbing the brushes clean while washing is this washboard/grit guard combo called the "Dirt Dropper."

 

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Once I finished with the wheels/tires/wells, I pressure-rinsed the truck with warm water.  Even after a pre-rinse, a sudsy soak, and another rinse, there was still a good amount of nastiness.

 

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I then foamed it with 3oz CWS and 2oz RW.  Using the wool wash pad, I did each section, rinsing the pad good between sections in a bucket of warm suds.  Since this truck is big, I can't get it all washed before the foam falls off, so I do the top half, then foam again, then do the middle portion, then foam again to do the lower portions and bumpers.  I then switched to the DI water for the final rinse, again using warm water.

 

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Dried by blasting most of the water off with the Sidekick, then moved it into the warm garage and finished drying with the Great White Drying Towel and DS.

 

Dressed the running boards with SVRT, then treated the wheels to two coats of QS, and finished with Tire Shine.

 

Final result was a swirl-free, super-clean, jaw-dropping level of shine that blows my mind every time.

 

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Still looks as fantastic as it did the initial detail! That's why Adams products are amazing! Absolutely love the truck, great choice!

BINGO!  Excellent products plus good technique equals awesome!  After 10 months, 8300 miles, and about 30 washes the truck still looks amazing.  And keeping the paint in great shape avoids the extra work of doing a paint correction at each detail.  Throw in some good equipment to save time and effort, and you get a first-class ticket to Shineville!

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Glad I found this.. So much awesomeness in one thread! Stealing your undercarriage pressure washer setup along with some tips you shared.

Thanks for the reply Stephen, I am glad you found some of this information helpful.

 

Here are some links on Amazon for the parts I used for the undercarriage setup:

 

Shepherd Hardware 6-inch Tri-Dolly

 

Quick Fist Mini Clamp

 

I attached the quick fist to the dolly with a 1/4" SS bolt, fender washer and nylon lock nut.

 

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AR North America Underbody Lance

 

Just make sure this lance will fit your pressure washer gun as it has a male M22 connection. Some other manufacturers make these style lances so you may be able to find one that matches your gun.

Edited by TheWolf
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this may be a dumb question but how did you get your head lights so clean and to reflect like that?

I polished them with Revive and then put on LPS and Americana Wax.  You can polish the headlights with the same products and techniques that are used on the paint.  If your headlights are in bad shape then use PCP and PFP, followed by the sealant or wax of your choice.

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I polished them with Revive and then put on LPS and Americana Wax. You can polish the headlights with the same products and techniques that are used on the paint. If your headlights are in bad shape then use PCP and PFP, followed by the sealant or wax of your choice.

Thanks
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Awesome write up!

 

How did you get the Red SVT like in your Avatar?  I have a black Raptor, but I don't have the red SVT.

Hey Shep, I popped the side vents off and then put a rectangular piece of red vinyl behind where the SVT cutout is.  To get the vent off, put a piece of masking tape along the rear edge and then use a very thin putty knife to slip behind the vent and then carefully pop it off.  When I had a local sign shop do my hood graphic, I had them save the extra vinyl.  It is 3M in Cardinal Red.  You could check at a sign shop near you to see if they have any scraps or you can PM me your mailing address and I will mail you a few small pieces.

 

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Hey Shep, I popped the side vents off and then put a rectangular piece of red vinyl behind where the SVT cutout is.  To get the vent off, put a piece of masking tape along the rear edge and then use a very thin putty knife to slip behind the vent and then carefully pop it off.  When I had a local sign shop do my hood graphic, I had them save the extra vinyl.  It is 3M in Cardinal Red.  You could check at a sign shop near you to see if they have any scraps or you can PM me your mailing address and I will mail you a few small pieces.

 

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Thank You Sir!  

 

Thank you for the instructions!  I am going to do that too.  It looks great!

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