Going to be installing a full ceramic! - updated

[shane@detailedreflections]

Looks like I just landed a job to do a new truck prep and a full ceramic (trim, paint and wheels) on a 2017 Ford Raptor. The truck belongs to a friend of mine. He's a great candidate for the ceramics. His truck is often at motocross tracks and he loves for it to look good, but hates the detailing end of it. Since he's a wash, dry and drive kind of client...I figured the ceramics are right up his alley. After multiple people randomly (not at my prompting) suggesting ceramics, he called me to make it happen.

 

The prep phase shouldn't be horrible as the truck is brand new. That being said, it'll still need to be decontaminated and any small blemishes polished out. He has a set of aftermarket wheels for it which won't go on until spring. So since they're new and off the truck, that'll be a simple project.

 

All in all, I'm looking forward to tackling this project. It'll be a change from my usual process of layering products. I think he's a great fit for the product. And hopefully he will bring in some more vehicles for ceramic coatings or regular details.

 

The downside...I have to travel to his place to do the work which means loading up all my equipment. I have a garage the truck will fit in (I used to have a Raptor), but it won't allow enough room to work around it adequately to do the quality job I expect myself to put out.

 

I'll be sure to take a post photos of the process and the results when I'm done!

Edited January 14, 2017 by medic001918

[Sizzle Chest]

Will be looking forward to your write-up and pics!

[Jason S.]

Really looking forward to your full post-install review. Your posts are always some of the best.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Really looking forward to your full post-install review. Your posts are always some of the best.

Thanks for the compliment Jason. I try to bring some quality to the forum as I've been fortunate enough to benefit from other quality posters here. Just sharing "institutional knowledge" (as we say at work).

 

I'm really looking forward to doing this job and seeing the results. I've wanted to work with a ceramic for a while and finally have the chance. Placed an order tonight for the kits and all needed supplies for him to maintain it.

[Wolfeman]

Following as I have a 2017 Raptor on order.  Would like to see the products you use and the order you use them.

[TheWolf]

That's great Shane!

 

I just had a post this morning on the Ford Raptor Forum from a guy who said his buddy is doing a full ceramic on his new truck.  I bet that buddy is you!

 

I can't wait to see a 2017 Raptor in person.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Dan:

 

You're probably right.  I know my buddy is active on the forums over there.  He's a great guy and super into his truck and his toys.  I can't wait to see how it comes out for him.  Luckily I have high standards for myself, since he has high standards.  He did a bunch of research about coatings before he decided to go for it.  

 

The good news is that when this truck comes out awesome (I'm confident it will), I stand to pick up some more work from people he knows which will be a nice thing to have!  I think he said there's three or four people already that want to see his truck and then do it as long as it looks as great as everyone says.  Here's hoping I can catch at least a few jobs (ceramic or not) out of doing this truck.

 

I just need to remember to take during photos.  I'm usually pretty good about before & after, but during I just get in the zone of working and don't think to stop and document the progress or the story of how it's done.  I'm planning on writing a good write up of the whole thing once it's done and I've digested the process myself.

[shane@detailedreflections]

So today was the day to start installing a full ceramic kit on a 2017 Ford Raptor. So far everything looks fantastic. Tomorrow I'll finish up with some ceramic boost.

 

Anyway, on with it. Started with a strip wash and clay bar to remove contamination. Surprisingly the finish on the truck isn't too bad from the factory. The truck is only a couple of weeks old, so the paint was in great shape to begin with. After it was cleaned and clayed, there were no real blemishes to speak of that required polishing. That alone presented a huge time savings.

 

The owner has new wheels that he's going to mount up, so since they were off it was easy to coat them. I took care of the tires with tire and rubber cleaner and then dried with a MBR. Once sufficiently clean, I hit them with ceramic prep prior to coating. The coating process was simple, but on the matte black wheels it was a bit harder to really see the rainbow effect. This could have been a lighting issue as well. The wheels immediately had a nice clean, deep look to them. Score doe the wheel kit. Takeaways on the wheel ceramic is a little goes a long way. And with the cooler temperature of the garage, it allowed time to cover a decent bit of wheel before buffing off. All in all, pretty simple.

 

After the wheels were done, it was on to trim coating. Again, a simple enough process. Clean all the trim with tire and rubber cleaner. Follow up with coating prep and apply coating. Again, a little goes a long way. The product was straight forward and easy to level. A quick look with an LED light and seeing any spots that weren't level or that didn't get covered was a breeze.

 

After trim, it was on to paint. Coating prep and wipe off to ensure a clean surface. Applying the coating in two directions and the rainbow effect on the light paint was easily seen. Again, the cooler temps allowed a good work area. I also had the benefit of working with some else. One applied. The other took off. This was where I was most surprised by how far a little bit of product went. Despite being a large vehicle, there's plenty of coating left for another vehicle. There's plenty of coating left and plenty of prep. There will also be a good bit of boost after completion tomorrow. When I left the vehicle was curing and it definitely had a slightly rough feel to it. This will level off tomorrow with the boost and really bring out the shine!

 

The takeaways. A little goes further than you think. Toss your applicators and towels used to buff off the coating when you're done so you don't mix them up. Keep the cap on the coating. Two people is was easier than one!

 

So far I like the product. Looking forward to seeing it tomorrow when it's complete. And then again in the sun.

 

Here are some garage photos for now.

[Rich]

Wow. That looks great so far. The wheels are spectacular!  Hope your buddy pays you well, or at least treats you to a good steak and some beer!  Great job!!!   

[shane@detailedreflections]

Thanks Rich. He did pay us well. We can't complain. He actually paid for my paint thickness meter. Which lead to some surprises with this truck.

 

First, the front fenders of the new Raptor are plastic. Along with the hood. Second paint thickness varies wildly on it. Even among the same panel. It seems that the paint on the Raptor is thinner than other vehicles too from the limited measurements I've taken. Most seem to run 100 microns plus for clear coated areas and anywhere from 40-70 in areas that aren't clear coated as heavily (door jambs and such). There spots that came up at 70-80 on the exterior of the truck. Interesting bit of knowledge should you have to really polish one.

[falcaineer]

Looks awesome. I think you can swim in that hood!   

[TheWolf]

Nice work Shane!

 

Let's see some nice After pics once you get the Boost on tomorrow.

[bjoeaull]

Look forward to more pics!  looking good

[Thorsager]

Nice work! Will you have to pull the wheels again to apply the Boost?

[Jason S.]

Looks awesome, Shane. Question about the towels: As you work around the vehicle, wiping & leveling, does the coating start hardening in the towel, forcing you to use additional towels? Or was 1 towel enough for the leveling process? Just curious how many towels you consumed for a vehicle this size. Also curious to see a man hour breakdown of this entire job, if you feel like sharing.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Here's some final pics taken outside. I'll have more coming soon since he's putting the actual wheels back on today. The wheels in the photo are not sealed, coated or dressed at his request.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Nice work! Will you have to pull the wheels again to apply the Boost?

Luckily for me, the wheels are new and off. If you're coating the barrels of the wheels, you would have to have them off to apply boost. So when doing wheels, you have the option of putting it on jackstands or taking the wheels on and off twice. Having the wheels off will also allow you to coat the calipers if you want to.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Looks awesome, Shane. Question about the towels: As you work around the vehicle, wiping & leveling, does the coating start hardening in the towel, forcing you to use additional towels? Or was 1 towel enough for the leveling process? Just curious how many towels you consumed for a vehicle this size. Also curious to see a man hour breakdown of this entire job, if you feel like sharing.

Thanks Jason. I was able to get away with a single towel. I did use a towel on the wheels and then toss it. And repeated the same with the paint. I might have gotten away with using the same towel, but chose not to risk it so I never looked at it. I don't even know if it hardened up or not to be honest.

 

As for a breakdown of man hours, I'd have to sit down and figure it out. The numbers might be skewed a bit since there were two of us working on it, the wheels were already off and the truck had less than 1000 miles on it which saved the polishing steps. We also didn't really have to do anything inside the truck other than a wipedown and vacuum along with glass.

 

The first day was about seven and a half hours. At that point we'd had everything prepped and coated. The second day was about an hour and a half to finish it up. A lot of prep is similar to any other detail. Once you'd normally seal, glaze and wax is where you apply the coating. I can see the coating taking longer working alone though. We were able to get in sync and keep moving.

 

I think this was a story of having everything align perfectly for a faster and efficient job. We are going to coat my garage queen in the next couple of weeks (maybe this weekend). That will make for a better case study of time. It doesn't need crazy polishing but there's some spots on it. It's also got clear bra on parts of the car that will be hand polished with revive to make sure it's smooth and clean before coating. I'll also have to remove the wheels and put them back on twice (once to coat, once to boost). It's not easy to put on jackstands, so they'll just go on and off twice.

 

I'll try to keep a better record of time on that one. But again, it'll be two of us working on it; so adjust accordingly.

 

If you have other questions I'd be happy to answer.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Some photos with wheels on! I'm pleased with the job!

[Jason S.]

That looks amazing! And thanks for doing this in-depth summary. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been waiting for a great write up like this.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Thanks Jason! Appreciate the compliments. It was a pleasure to do the job and to write it up. I'll try to make keep better track of hours next weekend when I do my Lotus. Again, it'll be two of us working on the vehicle. But it'll be a full job where we will pull the wheels off and everything.

 

Another thing...a trim kit will do quite a few vehicles (unless doing an avalanche or something with a very large amount). The wheel kit will do multiple vehicles easily. And the paint kit will do at least two vehicles...possibly three. I was amazed at the amount of coating left with each product. So...you may want to order a couple of extra fresh single soft for buffing off and a couple extra applicators if you think you may do more than one vehicle. I didn't take the chance and tossed the towel and applicator with each step.

 

Another random thought is that the entire front end of that truck is plastic. Big change from the previous version. The interior is way nicer than previous generations. Just random truck thoughts.

[jackdurkin63]

this truck is sick, love the new raptors 

[WRX15]

great work!