Out of hibernation: 2004.5 Dodge Ram 2500

[P1et]

Good afternoon everyone!

So I hadn't washed my truck since probably mid-December. Going to Europe for a while, plus an ice storm didn't help either. This morning the weather was decent, so the perfect time to wash the truck and try out some new items I had ordered from AG: The ShMITT and the Extreme Guzzler.

1) Wash with Megs Gold Class & ShMITT
2) Dry with Extreme Guzzler
3) Z5 on the cab and bed of the truck (I'll explain why!)
4) Natty's Blue on hood and fenders

As you can see, the truck was FILTHY:

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA1.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA2.jpg

This is where I got aggrevated. See below. I washed the truck with the ShMITT and dried it with the Guzzler. One of these two products caused some serious marring/holograms in my paint. I had just spent a lot of time making it look perfect, and then this. I was beyond RILED UP!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

I had no other choice but to whip out the Z5 and hope it would fill the damage, and luckily it did.

Still though: it makes me nervous now to use the ShMITT and the Guzzler. Which could have caused this???

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA3.jpg

[P1et]

Here are the afters:

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA4.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA5.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA6.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA7.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA8.jpg

http://www.southernsoot.com/DodgeA9.jpg

[Nuke33]

Looks great! like a mirror

[noname5]

great turnaround!

That marring is strange, though. The truck was rather dirty, so do you think that maybe a missed rinse step might have caused it?

But then again, I'm sure you probably rinsed extra considering the truck was this dirty. Maybe there was something stuck on the schmitt? But then agian, that's not supposed to happen with the schmitt. A mystery indeed.

[g00dy03]

Maybe the Dirt from over a month of no washing and the Ice storm created the marring which was uncovered when you cleaned it. I use both of those products and have never experienced anything negative. Great job on the truck. Looks great

[ehuth1]

Great Looking Reflection Images. What kind of camera were you using? Also how much pre-rinsing did you do?? I don't recall my truck marring that bad after a filty wash and even using a brush. I spend close to 5-8 minutes just pre-rinsing. Very nice detail and believe me you got all the reflection taking skills down !!! :applause: to P1ET

[Gary Sword]

Great Job! You take some really good pictures.

[DARKSTI]

He uses a Rebel XT.

Looks great! I love my Schmitt and Guzzler :)

[P1et]

Thanks for all the responses!

First of all, I absolutely loved using the ShMITT. I have the "all-white" version and it was very soft to the touch and didn't seem to be dirty when I was done washing the truck. I did rinse the truck down, but I think that since I didn't use the two-bucket method I might have just gotten some dirt trapped in the ShMITT and spread it around.

I was also very impressed with the Guzzler, that thing was excellent! I also cannot see how that would cause the marring as I washed it first and have kept it in a safe place up until using it. I dried the entire truck using the smaller version, very impressive and very little streaking!

And yes, I use a Rebel XT for my pictures now. Great little camera.

[FloridaNative]

The pics do look amazing! Awesome reflections! :applause: Both the Shmitt and guzzler both have undergone extensive testing and neither have been shown to cause marring. I agree with the former posters that that marring could have been the result of the combination of the dirt and ice storm and been uncovered by the washing or that there was dirt present on the shmitt during the washing that was may have been reintroduced by not using a rinsing properly. But you got it looking great in the end. :)

[P1et]

Thanks FloridaNative! It must have been that as the ShMITT is way too soft to introduce marring, and so is the Guzzler.

That will teach me to leave the truck so dirty, and not use the two bucket method!

[gandblah]

The truck loos great ...great photography skills too !!

Quick question - how do you get those black borders around your images? What software do you use to do that?

I've been looking for an easy way to do that with my pictures.

[ltoman]

fab photos!

excellent work as well imho.
blessings,
swirl queen
lauren

[turbos17]

Sweet job dude! :applause: Damn I hate doing black cars and you made it look amazing! :righton:

[P1et]

Gandblah: I use the software that came with my Rebel, it's called ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5, it has an option that says "add borders". I think it makes the pics look more professional!

Turbos17: I still have black cars and don't think I'll ever buy another one. At least, that's what I'm saying now!!! But they sure do look good when all done up...