Show & Shine: "Big Red" meets Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating

[Dr_Pain]

I don't know about you guys but working long hours affords me a lot of time to think. Most of it falls under the "mundane" category but sometime, I mean sometime I just go full "existential". This weekend was one of those "existential" Q&A.

As some of you know, I was on a short hiatus due to medical complications. I did have some new products in my arsenal but did not have a "model" to try them on because I did not know when I could do the heavier details. I did manage to spring out a couple of reviews on my own personal truck but nothing which required hours of hard labor.

"Big Red" was my first paint correction since getting medical clearance. Unfortunately, it was not the model I was looking for to try and report on the new Pinnacle Black Label Coating. I did take a few pictures with my iPhone for documentation purposes but never really thought once about using those pics for a Show & Tell.

The detail started like any other one. We cleaned and clayed the truck (which I may say was very well maintained) and proceeded to do the full correction. So far so good right? I am guessing that some of you are asking yourself "Why did he not plan a Show & Tell on "Big Red"??" Well here it is: "Big Red" is a 1998 Red Ford F150 with well over 150,000 miles...... that has BAD clear coat failure ("crow's feet") and other paint defect. I was not even sure I wanted to do the paint correction, even though the owner was adamant that he wanted his beloved "Big Red" beautified. Well, I accepted the assignment and went on giving it the Flawless Finish Detailing touch.

What was I dealing with?





As you can see from those 2 pictures I was looking at a pretty good challenge. So on to the test spots.......



and a little close up



Another set of picture showing the before and after





Before proceeding with the paint correction (after I had selected my pad and products) I decided to surprise my customer with a headlight correction





As you can see, so far nothing to be too ashamed off. Well this is where I ended up full "existential" on myself. Am I so diluted with myself and so "elitist" that I should only show my flawless work on high end cars with simple minor scratches and swirls just because it is the name sake of my business (Flawless Finish Detailing)???

I remember being on the forum so many times gawking at all you guy's work and wanted to contribute at the same level so only showed the exotics and the rare..... but am I not forgetting that the forum attracts so many "newbs" and "average Joe's" looking to fix up their own "Big Red"???.

I am telling you, I had a hard look at myself!!! And that is when I decided that I was not going to wait for the Panamera nor the Maserati (which are scheduled) to demonstrate my skills or the product at hand, but that I was going to show proudly the real "bread and butter" of what helps puts food on most of you guy's table. Why be so elitist?? How much more self serving can I be? Alright, enough with the existential stuff

The beauty of this truck is that I was dealing with many flat surfaces and no real compound curved surfaces. In addition, I was dealing with a moderately soft (and brittle) clear coat. For those reason (and because of budget) I used my Rupes 21 with an 6.5" Orange LC pad (and the 6" backing plate) and used my FAVORITE one step compound, that is Menzerna PF2500.

As you can see, the above the preliminary results are not too shabby. Was I able to remove the crow's feet? Absolutely not, but was able to clean and minimize the visual cueing of the sharp edges on those ugly fissures through the compounding process. You can see from the picture below that they are still present (worse on the roof and hood) but almost negated by the gloss and brightness of the color. Next came the surface prep and coating.



I used a foam applicator and DP Coating Prep Polish to remove the compounding residue, and used a technique I learn right here at AG to apply the coating. If you wonder what the tire applicator and Carpro suede MF cloth are doing in the picture then I will admit that I borrowed Will's technique to applying coating. I wrapped the suede MF cloth around the tire applicator and used it to spread the product around.

Prior to trying the Black Label Coating I watched Son1c's video review and decided to mimic the application technique. I did find out that a slower arm speed and a combination of circular motion followed with a cross hatch motion helped in virtually eliminating all the high spots, while appropriately covering every millimeter. The coating was applied one section at a time and removed (as per instructions) with a MF towel. From other reviews, I did understand that "quantity of product" was a trial and error thing, which I found to be true. I tried a light application and found that a little more was definitely better that a little less. Unfortunately I don't have any words of wisdom as to "how much?" and will leave is as "you will have to experiment". Just as an FYI, I did throw away the suede MF cloth but threw the Cobra MF in the wash right away (as previously instructed by Nick).

Although I know it is preposterous to speculate based on the results achieved, but judging from the results, I would have to propose that the coating actually has filling capacity. I know the website description says "fills in the microscopic pits and pores" but those crow's feet were NOT microscopic..... anyways, judge the results for yourself. The truck was kept overnight and taken out of the shop the next day for the pictures.







The gloss factor of this coating is RIDICULOUS! That's all I have to say. Can't wait to try it on a lighter color, but so far I am impressed.

Obviously, the obligatory sun shots







........ and reflection shots








.................AND the "Glamor Shot"



"Big Red" is definitely NOT perfect but she went from a 20 footer to a 10 footer in about 19hrs.

I know it was a long read but I sure hope you enjoyed!!

My conclusion on the Black Label Coating is that is it a definite keeper. Super easy to use. Excellent bottle and atomizer, and long work time. I will also say that this is a coating within the reach of even the most novice detailer. To make this product completely "idiot proof" I will only offer these words of wisdom: "work slow" and "work clean".

I am looking forward to more reviews and would like to hear your experiences as to its capacity to "fill" minor defects as I am still perplexed that those crow's feet were able to discernibly disappear.

Thanks, and looking forward to your comments!

[The Guz]

Wow nice job. It came out looking great with the black label coating.

[Mike Phillips]

I'm very impressed.

[dpk20x]

Truck looks good doc!

I'm looking forward to trying the surface coating out on some of my family members rides once everything thaws out over here. Hopefully it lasts as long as advertised.

[Fast Eddie]

That is a massive improvement, very nice work.

[blkSRT]

Very nice. You definitely added some value to the truck.

[Tato]

Can't be, Photoshop? lol or you've changed the 'old truck' for a new one for the pictures?

Man, what a work you've done, Really impressed.

Also read your comments in the lines and I admire your thoughts. That's much more like what I deal as a 'Joe'. The X is if I could ever achieve closer to what you've done, my clients would fall in love with me!

Pretty actual topic, it's content can even be part of the answer to the topic about 'coating hype' ... My PBLSC shipping moved on today, I believe I'll get it this week! Getting really high expectations (not a good feeling, I know...).

'Ahn', Did I said nice job?!

Kind Regards.

[rdf]

Wow. Nice turnaround. Bet your customer's jaw hit the floor when he saw the results. Nice idea on the headlight restoration, too.

Re your existential thoughts .... Good point. There are a lot more Big Reds around than there are Maseratis, too. Though admittedly there probably aren't all that many people who would want (or, more accurately, would want to pay for) a full restore on their 15 year old pickup, it sure feels great to see someone's eyes widen in amazement at the improvement, doesn't it?

What did your customer say when he picked it up?

[MrCleanit]

WOW! Just WOW!

[Centexhokie]

Truck looks absolutely stunning. Great job.