Trashed Trailblazer

[C. Charles Hahn]

Originally Posted by opie_7afe

really shiny? i never knew that......i thought it would be PPG or something....thanks for the info! now wondering who makes the best touch up.....

Yep; I just went to a Ford dealer a couple weeks back to get some touch-up for a customer's car and not only is the bottle identical to DupliColor's 2-in-1 setup with the brush and ballpoint pen type applicator, but the label says right on it "Manufactured by DupliColor for Ford Motor Company." I've seen the same on GM ones in the past as well.

The major distinction to be made between the two is that most touch-up you get at retail stores and dealerships is Lacquer paint, which is also what you get in the Langka and Dr. Colorchip kits. If on the other hand you have a PBE jobber near you and you get them to mix some custom touch-up for your application, it will usually be Acrylic Enamel -- something like PPG Delstar (DAR) or Omni A/E (MAE) with which you'd use reducer instead of lacquer thinner to level.

I work with a pretty equal amount of both types, and I wouldn't necessarily classify one as any better than the other, it all just comes down to preference, price, and availability of what you need to complete your project.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Bill, just remember that when you're done, a self-portrait is obligatory:

[Hoytman]

Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

Bill, just remember that when you're done, a self-portrait is obligatory:

I will certainly try my best. I may wait until the spring to tackle this since its gotten so cold so early. We'll see. I'm hoping to get some better photos of the damage for the show-n-shine.


We shall see how this Dynabrade works.

[Flannigan]

Hey Bill. that truck looks like it is in pretty rough shape. I would start with the Meguiars MF pad with D301 (i think you mentioned you had this combo already) When I worked on the black Tahoe I did, that combo was able to pull out 2000 grit sanding scratches with ease. If that doesn't work you could look into purple foam wool and m105, but I honestly doubt that will be needed, at least for the majority of the car.

Per your PM, if you did want to wetsand part of it I would get a paint gauge for sure. Even just a cheap one. It won't tell you how much clear is there, but it will help you avoid spots that don't have much paint or clear to begin with. Hope that helps, and good luck with this project! It will be a lot of work, but the results should be well worth it!

[Hoytman]

Thanks Flannigan. I was going to tell you that I don't have a paint gauge. It's probably best I skip the sanding until which time I can afford to get a paint gauge.

I'm also going to take some more pictures with better lighting before I get started. Will be starting this project in the next week or so. I just put a new set of Michelins on her, so it's a good time to get things done.

I have to get some touch up paint as well.

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Where you at with this project?

[Hoytman]

I've had other projects to complete before this...to my wife's dismay of course.

The real reason is that since this is black in color I wanted to wait until I could get a better camera. The above photo's were taken with a not-so-good cell phone. I wanted to be able to use the photo's to showcase my work, but not before getting a better camera. However, I just bought a Canon Elph 100 HS 12mp, 4x optical zoom, and 1080 full HD video.

I'd have liked to have gotten a camera similar to the Canon Rebel T3i but couldn't swing the price right now. That little Canon will hopefully suffice for now.

I've been trying to add to my list of detailing tools and a decent camera was at the top of my list...essentially a must have item for good quality before and after pictures. Someone on this forum keeps saying how important it is to take good before and after photo's. Wonder who that person is? LOL!

This little Canon elph 100 hs, for only $109, fits nicely into my budget while giving me a good camera to work with for the time being. I hope to get to this project in the coming week, with photo's of course.

I think I will retake pictures before starting the project, and then start another thread linking these to threads. What do you think, Mike?

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by Hoytman

Someone on this forum keeps saying how important it is to take good before and after photo's. Wonder who that person is? LOL!

Guilty as charged...

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots

How-To capture swirls, scratches, etchings and other surface defects with your camera

Originally Posted by Hoytman

Originally Posted by Hoytman

I think I will retake pictures before starting the project, and then start another thread linking these to threads.

What do you think, Mike?

I like your idea. Read your owners manual and learn to use the features with your new Canon camera. I take almost all my photos with only one or two settings,

• Flash Off
• A-Dep with Flash On

Sometimes the Close-up with the Flash On to capture defects.

Practice with a few settings like the above till you get good with the camera you have. That's what's key.

Then wash that Trailblazer like a mad man and get it as clean as you can to show how accurately bad the condition is and then photograph it.

Then do the restoration work. Take a few process shots and before and after shots. Then take a your beauty shots and then share with the world.

And along the way, make the wife happy!

[Rencor]

I did a friends black Saturn Sky that got caught in a house fire. Looks a lot like the photo's you posted. Some areas of the car were hazed out pretty badly. I had Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover and their Finishing Polish on hand at the time. I used LC orange pads first with ASR and then white LC pads with the finishing polish. His car came out beautiful.

You should have no problem restoring with similar pads and products.

Good Luck.

[Hoytman]

Mike,
I'd like to repair those deep scratches on the doors and hood...

I have a feeling I'm going to have to do some sanding. What concerns me is not owning a paint gauge. Being pure black, without metal flake, should make this something I can accomplish on my own...I hope.

...but I have a concern about sanding only in some areas leaving super shiny spots. I picked that up from the video of Hink's mustang. Am I on the right track?

If I owned a paint gauge I wouldn't be afraid of sanding the entire suv, but this is a daily driver and I don't really think it's worth the effort in the long run. I really think the goal should be to fix those scratches as best as possible and blend them in, and take the paint to its best potential for a daily driver that will sit outside 24/7. I will be coating with opti-guard when finished.