Adamized the Raptor

[TheWolf]

Wheel Cleaning and Polishing

 

While I routinely deep clean the wheels and tires twice a year when I take them off to rotate them, after 2.5 years they were in need of a machine polish to remove minor swirls and a few larger scratches from having fun in the sand dunes.

 

I lifted the truck with my new Ranger Quickjack to remove the wheels.

 

 

 

After pressure washing to remove most of the crud, I cleaned barrels of the wheels with All Purpose Cleaner, and used Tire & Rubber Cleaner on the backs of the tires.

 

 

 

Switching to the fronts, I hit them with the Foam Cannon using Strip Wash, then did the tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner.

 

 

 

After drying with the Master Blaster Revolution, I brought them into the garage for inspection.  There were minor swirls as shown on this center cap.

 

 

 

The first step of machine polishing with the Rupes Nano was done using Correcting Polish and the Rupes Blue Coarse Pad.

 

 

 

The 1.5-inch pads on this little machine made it possible to polish the tight areas.

 

 

 

The second step of machine polishing with Finishing Polish and the Rupes Yellow Fine Pad.  This photo shows the use of the 2.75-inch pad for polishing the faces of the wheels

 

 

 

Level of correction was very good.

 

 

 

 

Next up, Ceramic Coating!

 

 

[shane@detailedreflections]

Nice work. What do you think of the Nano? I love mine. I constantly find new uses for it.

[TheWolf]

Ceramic Coating on Wheels

 

To provide better protection on the wheels, and to make cleaning easier, I applied Ceramic Paint Coating while the wheels were off the truck.  Note that I actually coated these wheels last month, before Ceramic Wheel Coating was released, hence the use of the Ceramic Paint Coating.  While the two products are very similar, the Paint Coating is rated at 7H hardness, so it is not quite as durable as the 9H rating on the Wheel Coating.

 

 

 

The coating kit comes with everything you need for the application.

 

I started with the backs of the wheels and the barrels.  Using the new, clean towel included in the kit, I cleaned the surfaces with Coating Prep, to make sure all soap residue was removed.  The coating needs a completely clean surface to properly adhere and provide the longest lasting protection.

 

When doing the backs, I was a little concerned about having coating drip around to the front of the wheel when being applied to the backs, so I applied with the wheels vertical, so I could immediately wipe any excess from the front before it dried.

 

 

 

For applying to the fronts, I laid the wheels flat on the tables.  I also used a detailing swab to apply the coating to the lug wells, being careful not to get coating on the conical nut seat.

 

 

 

Using the provided applicator pad, I applied the coating to half of the wheel, then wiped off surfaces with a clean towel when it started to get tacky.  As shown in the product video, you may also be able to see the coating start to rainbow as it dries, indicating the time to start wiping. I then applied to the other half of the wheel.

 

I also prepped and applied coating to the painted lug nuts.

 

 

 

While the wheels were off, I prepped and coated the rear shocks.

 

 

 

After letting the coating cure for 24 hours, I then sprayed the wheels and shocks with Ceramic Boost and wiped down with a clean towel.

 

Dressed the tires with Tire Shine, then reinstalled them.

 

 

 

 

Now, the test of how the coating performs for making cleaning easier.  This wheel has endured a full month of nasty winter weather, lots of snow and slush, and way too much deicer chemicals given the single digit temps this month.

 

 

 

This photo was taken twenty minutes after the above photo, after the wheel was pressure washed and then blown dry with the Blaster Sidekick.  No soap or brushes were used, just pressure rinsed and blow dried.

 

 

 

You can see the wheel is not 100% clean, but the amount of crud that was removed with the rinse was more than I had previously seen last winter with just sealant on the wheels.  I have also washed enough times during the winter to know that the deicer used on the streets is like glue, and is very hard to clean from the paint even with soap and a wash pad.  I am certain that typical dust from driving during the non-winter months will rinse even cleaner with the ceramic coating on the wheels.

[TheWolf]

Nice work. What do you think of the Nano? I love mine. I constantly find new uses for it.

 

Its a great tool.  I need to do a full review eventually, but I am a bit behind on getting write-ups posted. 

[blcksilv08]

Great write up. Now I want a Nano, not that I didn't already have one on the radar.....

[LFairbanks]

Thanks for giving me an idea on how to spend my money.  

 

https://www.quickjack.com/car-lift-systems/bl-7000slx-portable-car-lift.html

 

Just realized though that it doesn't have the capacity to lift my truck.  Know of anything similar with heavier lifting capacity?

Edited January 1, 2017 by LFairbanks

[shane@detailedreflections]

Great write up. Now I want a Nano, not that I didn't already have one on the radar.....

Do it. You won't be disappointed.

[TheWolf]

Thanks for giving me an idea on how to spend my money.  

 

https://www.quickjack.com/car-lift-systems/bl-7000slx-portable-car-lift.html

 

Just realized though that it doesn't have the capacity to lift my truck.  Know of anything similar with heavier lifting capacity?

 

Your truck weighs more than 7,000 lbs?

[LFairbanks]

Your truck weighs more than 7,000 lbs?

 

 

Yes.

 

 7335  lbs curb weight

Edited January 2, 2017 by LFairbanks

[sahls01gmc]

Wow, I've read this thread countless times and I still learn something new every time! And just when I think I've seen it all, you amaze me with another post on how flawless you can make a vehicle.

 

Keep up the great work!

[Adam]

Strong write-up Wolf!!  

[TheWolf]

Strong write-up Wolf!!

Thank you!

[TheWolf]

Wheel Well Coating

 

To provide better protection on the plastic wheel wells, and to make cleaning easier, I applied Ceramic Trim Coating while the wheels were off the truck.

 

The Ceramic Trim Coating Kit comes with everything you need for the application.

 

 

 

I started by washing the truck in the driveway, spending extra time scrubbing the plastic wheel wells and plastic mud flaps with Tire & Rubber Cleaner, then rinsing good with the pressure washer.

 

This photo shows the rear splash liner after the regular wash.

 

 

 

Moving the truck into the garage, and removing all four wheels, I gave the plastic liners and the plastic mud flaps another scrubbing with Tire & Rubber Cleaner and a small dish brush.

 

 

 

 

Next, I rinsed with distilled water in the Pressurized Spray Bottle, with a plastic tub underneath to catch the runoff.

 

 

 

This scrubbing and rinsing process was repeated for the front liners, with the addition of a piece of cardboard on the floor to soak up some of the rinse that did not make it into the tub.

 

 

 

I used the Blaster Sidekick to get most of the water off the plastics, then followed up with a clean Utility Towel.

 

To prepare the surfaces for coating, I used the Coating Prep by spraying the plastic, while being careful not to overspray the paint, then wiped thoroughly with a clean Utility Towel.

 

 

 

Using the provided applicator pad, I applied the Trim Coating to the plastic surfaces, first applying in a vertical pattern, then going right back and applying in a horizontal pattern to ensure even coverage.

 

 

 

On the larger front wells, I applied the product to about ¼ of the area, vertical then horizontal, before moving on to the next area. This was done to ensure that the product did not start to cure before I could go back over it in the opposing direction.

 

 

 

After letting the coating cure in the heated garage for 24 hours, I then sprayed the plastic wheel well surfaces with Ceramic Boost and wiped down with a clean Utility Towel.

 

 

The Trim Coating did darken the plastics nicely, especially on the front liners.

 

Note that for each step/product, I used clean Utility Towels. You do not want to re-use any towels for the different steps.

[rkj4243]

​Dan, thanks for the great write-up on the Trim Coating and using it on the inner liners!  

 

​Wondered how it would work on my Corvette compared to Undercarriage Spray and seeing it completed makes it a "must do" once the weather here warms up a little!

[FrozenWS6]

Nice write up. I'm curious to see how well it holds up.

I've been thinking about doing my wheel liners too. Just can't have my truck down for 2 days and we have a lot of rocks to beat it up.

[DieselDude]

Your truck weighs more than 7,000 lbs?

 

Some of us do have trucks over 7,000.  The shop that does the alignment on SUV will not align my truck due to the weight of the front end of my truck.

[TheWolf]

Some of us do have trucks over 7,000. The shop that does the alignment on SUV will not align my truck due to the weight of the front end of my truck.

Yes, of course, but I forgot what truck that Chris has. I can always remember that you have a big truck, 'cuz you're the Dude with the Diesel!

[DonJuan692006]

I think my eyeballs might implode if this thread doesn't get updated soon....*ahem* *cough cough*...

[TheWolf]

I think my eyeballs might implode if this thread doesn't get updated soon....*ahem* *cough cough*...

 

I hope your eyeballs are still intact, since you motivated me to finally write-up another wheel coating session that was done the end of December! 

 

Stay tuned for a bit, while the photos upload...

[TheWolf]

Wheel Polishing and Coating

 

The wheels on the Explorer needed to be protected from the winter weather with Ceramic Wheel Coating, but it is hard to get any quality time with this vehicle, since my wife takes it to work on weekends, and also keeps a busy schedule with all the kids’ activities.  But since I had the week off work between Christmas and New Year’s, I was able to convince her to be without a vehicle for a few days.

 

Since preparation is the most important step, I gave the wheels and tires a thorough cleaning.  After pressure washing to remove most of the crud, I cleaned barrels of the wheels with All Purpose Cleaner, and used Tire & Rubber Cleaner on the backs of the tires.

 

Switching to the fronts, I cleaned them with Strip Wash in the bucket, and All Purpose Cleaner with the Wheel Brush.  I then did the tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner.

 

 

 

And yes, that is ice on the driving, and it was dark, since I did not get to the wheels until later in the day after washing and applying H2O Guard & Gloss to the vehicle.

 

After drying with the Master Blaster Revolution, I brought them into the garage for inspection.  Even though the wheels were only 8-months old, there were some minor scratches and swirls, and one of the barrels had some product residue compliments of the dealer prep.

 

To remove any bonded contaminates that did not get washed off (like brake dust), I clayed the faces of the wheels, and then clayed the backs/barrels, and then removed the residue with Waterless Wash.

 

Placing the wheels face down on the work tables, I did a one-step polish on the barrels using the Correcting Polish and Orange Foam pad on the Rupes Mini.

 

 

 

I then flipped them face up to polish the faces.  I added some plastic to the front of the car to protect from slinging product.

 

 

 

The first step of machine polishing with the Rupes Nano was done using Heavy Correcting Polish and the Blue Coarse Foam Pads to address the few areas that had actual scratches.

 

Next, the entire face of the wheel was polished using Correcting Polish and the Green Medium Foam Pads.  The final step used the Finishing Polish and Yellow Fine Foam Pads.

 

 

 

While the faces were polished with the 1.5” pads, in order to get into the spokes of the wheel, I had to use the larger 2.75” pads to reach the deeper portions.

 

 

 

For the majority of the polishing, I used the rotary attachment on the tool.  On most of the areas, the orbital attachment would just stall.  But I did make a pass using the orbital attachment and 1.5” pad across the face of the spokes and on the center caps.  While Rupes does not recommend using the larger pads for rotary polishing, I really did not have any other option, so decided that any pad damage was justified, and just figured these pads would get tossed.

 

You can also see that I added some vinyl electrical tape to the head of the neck, to keep it from banging against the spoke as I polished.  It would be nice if version 2.0 of this tool had a rubberized head and neck.

 

For the application of the wheel coating, I removed the center caps.

 

 

 

To make prepping the wheels and applying the product easier, I stood the wheels up on the table, and used chocks on the downhill side, and also used packing tape to secure them to the table.  This made it much easier than when I coated the Raptor wheels, since I did not have to keep one hand on the tire to keep it from falling over.

 

 

 

I wanted to have the wheels vertical when prepping and applying the coating to the barrels and backs of the spokes, so that I could make sure to wipe any product that ended up on the front.

 

I then cleaned the backs and fronts of each wheel with Coating Prep, going over them a few times to make sure all the polishing oils were completely removed.  I also switched towels for each wheel, to make sure that I was not leaving any residue behind.

 

Using the applicator, I applied to the backs of half the spokes, then wiped off the backs and also checked and wiped the fronts of any coating.  It is important to quickly wipe any excess coating from the fronts before it dries.  For the barrels, I applied to the whole barrel at once, then wiped off.

 

 

 

To coat the faces, I place the wheels down on the tables, then taped off the tires.  While taping may not be required on some wheels (it was not on the Raptor), these wheels have a rolled lip that goes right to the rubber.  This will prevent the coating from leaving dark areas were it gets on the rubber, and it will also keep the applicator clean.

 

 

 

Also note that I put marks on the tape to divide the wheel in half, so I could keep track of where I started and finished. With the complexity of the spokes, I only applied to half the wheel before going back and wiping the residue.

 

Starting at the center of the wheel, I used a foam detailing swab to apply coating to the lug nut recesses, being careful not to get coating onto the conical nut seat.

 

 

 

I also used this swab to coat the rolled wheel lips.

 

 

 

Then the coating was applied to the rest of the areas with the applicator pad.

 

After the application was complete, they were left to cure overnight in the heated garage.

 

 

 

I also applied coating to the chrome lug nuts.

 

While the wheels were off, I also prepped and coated the brake calipers.  Even though they are just stock, and not much to look at, the coating will make it easier to clean them.

 

 

 

After letting the coating cure for 24 hours, I then sprayed the wheels and brake calipers with Ceramic Boost and wiped down with a clean towel.  Finished by dressing the tires with Tire Shine.

 

 

 

The next day, I cleaned, prepped and applied Trim Coating to the plastic wheel wells and mud flaps, and let it cure overnight

 

On the fourth day, I masked off the entire car, and then applied undercoating using Amsoil HDMP. 

 

 

 

Note that when I washed on the first day, I pressure washed the undercarriage, and scrubbed as much of the undercarriage as I could with a pole brush and Strip Wash.

 

 

 

This product is their Heavy Duty Metal Protector, and sprays on as a fairly thin liquid, and then dries to a waxy finish.  This was applied liberally to the complete underside, including the suspension components.

 

 

 

While it does not look pretty, it does a great job at preventing corrosion.

 

Only downsides are that it is messy to apply and smells terrible.  I wore a hooded Tyvek suit and latex gloves, and use a respirator and goggles.

 

 

 

After letting this undercoating cure out for a day and a half, I reinstalled the wheels.

[DonJuan692006]

Your attention to detail (read between the lines as OCD) is definitely something to aspire to. I meant to ask since you've had a month or so of testing, how's the trim coating handling the wheel wells? I've, coincidentally, got the wheels off the Stang right now for a deep cleaning of the back sides. I've gone no where near as far as you do, mostly due to a lack of product, but was thinking about applying the trim coating to the wells while the wheels are off.

[TheWolf]

Your attention to detail (read between the lines as OCD) is definitely something to aspire to. I meant to ask since you've had a month or so of testing, how's the trim coating handling the wheel wells? I've, coincidentally, got the wheels off the Stang right now for a deep cleaning of the back sides. I've gone no where near as far as you do, mostly due to a lack of product, but was thinking about applying the trim coating to the wells while the wheels are off.

 

Thanks Ryan!  I have always been an Observer of Critical Details. 

 

The Trim Coating does make it easier to clean the wheel well plastics.  I have also noticed that the snow does not stick as much.  The snow still collects on the plastic mud flaps, but just a tap with my toe and it mostly falls off.  Prior to the Trim Coating, I would have to kick them fairly hard to get the slush/snow clods to fall off.

 

I think it is worth the effort to apply the coating to the wheel wells, since you also get the benefit of darkening the plastics, without having to dress them during a detail.

[SumBeach35]

Nice job, this has been a great evolving write-up. I'm a super jealous of your garage.

[LT1xL82]

Dan...Why did you choose APC to clean the wheels instead of Wheel Cleaner?

 

Nice taste in polishers BTW! 

[TheWolf]

Dan...Why did you choose APC to clean the wheels instead of Wheel Cleaner?

 

Nice taste in polishers BTW! 

 

Good question!

 

I used APC because the wheels were sealed the previous month, and Wheel Cleaner is not strong enough to strip off the sealant.

 

Also, even when I deep clean them with Wheel Cleaner a couple times a year, I see very little to no color change, so there is not really any iron contamination to dissolve.

 

Your question also made me realize that I left out the step of claying the wheels before polishing.  I will edit my post to include this.