Jeep Wrangler Sahara Limited - Adam's Coatings (PHOTO HEAVY)

[shane@detailedreflections]

We had the opportunity to do a ceramic coating using Adam's Paint Coatings on a Jeep Wrangler Sahara Limited this past week.  The vehicle came in with low milage at 7,700.  Unfortunately, it had been parked under a tree that dumped some sap on it, it had been through the automatic car wash more than it's share of times and was generally in need of TLC.  The owner also wanted some decals they had installed removed from the hood and sides of the vehicle.  We did a coating on their Ford Raptor previously, so we got the call to give the Jeep the same service.

 

The work flow went something like this:

 

- Pre-soak with foam and high pressure rinse.

- Wash with two-bucket wash

- Decontaminate the paint using Wheel Cleaner

- Clay the entire vehicle

- Once the vehicle was on the lift, the wheels were removed to be cleaned

- Wheels were cleaned with Wheel Cleaner

- Tires were cleaned with Tire & Rubber Cleaner

- The wheels were then prepped for coating after making sure they were completely clean.

- We've actually found that we obtain better results with spraying the wheel coatings on by airbrush.  It allows for a faster application and it's easier to get even coverage in the tight spaces that many wheels present with.  If you spray the coating evenly, the buffing required is minimal.  The caveat to this method is that you WILL go through more coating.  Safety first, so always wear a mask if you employ this method.  We use an inexpensive airbrush from Harbor Freight.  It works great for our use and if we scrap one since it wasn't cleaned well it's an inexpensive fix that's easy to obtain.

- The wheels had a tire dressing from another manufacturer installed that is known to last longer.

- Wheels reinstalled

- The graphics were removed using detail spray, a heat gun and a plastic razor blade (which can't be understated how useful these are).  Any remaining adhesive was removed with the plastic blade and adhesive remover.

- As we do on any job we polish, we took measurements of the paint thickness to see how aggressive we could be.  To get a feel for the thickness of the paint itself, we take measurements in the door jambs or ares that typically aren't covered with as much clear coat.  We then take that average and subtract it from the paint measurements on the exterior of the vehicle.  You can see the difference in values on the photos of the gauge.

- Given the condition of the paint overall, we started with Heavy Correcting Compound and used all of our polishers from the Rupes 15 to the Nano, including using it with the smallest pad.

- Being that the vehicle was white, we were able to skip the correcting polish and jump right to the finishing polish.  This produced a well finished look to the vehicle.

- The interior was vacuumed and cleaned with the hot water extractor.  Under the seats was blown out and all trash removed.

- All interior surfaces were cleaned with Total Interior Detailer then finished with Leather Conditioner.

- Carpets and upholstery were treated for stain resistance with another companies product.

- All glass was cleaned, the windshield was sealed with Glass Sealant and topped with Glass Boost.

- All trim was cleaned with Tire & Rubber Cleaner until it rubbed off clean.

- The entire vehicle was wiped down with coating prep prior to coating.

- Adam's Paint Coating was the next step.  Pretty straight forward in it's application and removal.

- Adam's Trim Coating followed.  Same deal with it's straight forward application.

- The vehicle was left overnight to cure.

- The following morning Ceramic Boost was applied, final looks given and photos taken.

 

I also included a gratuitous photo of the shop boss who was caught sleeping on the job along with some photos of our work space!

 

Enjoy...Sorry for the photo heavy thread!  The photos are in order of work flow.

 

 

[Rich]

Great write up Shane!  With that pup around, maybe Adam's should come up with a "slobber remover".    

 

Thanks for taking the time to take the pics and doing the write up. 

[JHL88]

Beethoven! 

 

Excellent job on the Jeep!

[BrianT]

I don't think you'll have have to apologize about a pic heavy thread, we love pics!!!

 

The jeep turned out great, looks so much better without the hood stickers!

[shane@detailedreflections]

Thanks for the kind words guys. We’ve done a few ceramic jobs recently, just not all in Adam’s Products so I haven’t posted them here.

 

We might have a couple other Adam’s jobs potentially coming through shortly. I’ll do similar write ups on each of them!

[Liralen]

Shane...how much additional wheel coating do you need when using the air brush to apply?  As had been wondering if that and the trim coating could be applied in that manner.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Shane...how much additional wheel coating do you need when using the air brush to apply? As had been wondering if that and the trim coating could be applied in that manner.

I didn’t find that we went through a huge amount more, but you definitely lose some to overspray. You can actually put it on so thick it runs. If it happens, just buff it off. I have a small jar on my brush and usually fill it about halfway. These wheels went through more simply because of their size.

 

You could apply the trim coating with airbrush. It will cause a risk of overspray and extra work buffing it off of areas you didn’t want it to be. We still apply it normally unless it’s a grill or surface with a lot of areas we couldn’t get to with the hand application.

 

To get a feel for how it’ll spray, test with some water in the brush. Make sure you clean it all out of the airbrush and dry it though before trying with coatings.

[Chris@Adams]

Nice job & nice looking Jeep!