Newbie first post with question about potential first customer

[Jermsrg]

So good buddy of mine is wanting me to detail his 2012 F250 Black for and upcoming event that he going to and I've been trying to come up with a game plan for it and figure out what all steps I should do to it to make it look it's best. What are your guys opinions?

[mathews31]

First you gotta figure out what condition the paint is in and what he means by detail...some people a lot of people think detailing is just putting on a coat of wax and calling it a day.

Does he want just a wash? Does he want you to just clay and seal? Does he want his paint corrected, all of these are going to play a role in deciding a plan.

If the paint is good and doesn't really have swirls and scratches, I'd probably do a simple clay and seal then maybe a coat of Americana for longevity and perhaps recommend he put some Brilliant Glaze before an event.

If the paint needs correcting, you need to decide how many stages it'll take to bring back the shine.

Good luck, take pictures...!

[Nathan]

First if it needs to be coated, clay it. If it has swirls and scratches compound/polish those out. Then if you really want that black to look crazy good polishing it with finishing polish will bring the gloss to a whole new level. After that I would seal with paint sealant, then brilliant glaze, then Americana or patriot wax on top if you want. (Buttery wax works too)

[Jermsrg]

Sorry I should have been more clear in the beginning. I have not assess the truck yet but I do know it will need at least some correcting but not sure to what extent yet. When I say "Detail" I'm talking about full deal with correcting polishing glaze and seal and maybe a layer of wax to for extra depth. The truck isn't a DD but it also isn't a garage queen. I'm really into the diesel world and most of all my friends have diesel trucks and so there fore that will be the majority of probably what I will be working on.

[Jermsrg]

This is the truck to done

[Jermsrg]

Sorry first try didn't work

[mc2hill]

If you clay this truck, it is very possible that it will leave marring.  Not a big deal if you are already planning to do a correction.  

With something this big you will want to try to do a one-step polish, if possible.  Do your test spot with the least aggressive method first, but I think you may be able to get away with CP on an orange pad.  Do the last two section passes with light pressure and a slow machine speed, and it may not need FP.  I have had this work on a few black vehicles.

[Jermsrg]

Yea I won't clay it if I don't plan to do any correction. Like I said before he is wanting it done for an event coming up so he wants this thing show quality or at least as close as it can be. Any suggestions as far as glazing or sealants wax or combinations of any

[Mariner]

Brilliant Glaze is the show style glaze if that's the look you want. It's short term though so apply last second. Americana and Patriot both are also excellent choices for a show look.

[Jermsrg]

So I have a couple more trucks lined up now. The Excursion shouldn't need much more than some minor correction or maybe just some good polishing it has been taken care of. The dodge on the other hand is rough and probably only gonna get 75-85% correction out of it I'm thinking

[PacificNWBuckeye]

Are you going for most square footage per detail with these?

 

How many miles do we get out of the pads?

[Jermsrg]

Haha yea man all my friends have large diesel trucks so no real easy quick jobs for me