2010 FJ Cruiser

[richy]

NOTE: I copied this over and tried to correct the colour change. It just made it worse. Sorry.


This vehicle belongs to a co-worker and friend. I wanted to really hit it out of the park for him. He bought it used at the beginning of the winter. I looked at it then. The only real issue was an old bird bomb that looked pretty badly etched into the hood. Unfortunately, it ended up not coming out. You be the judge on the rest however....

First things first, however...would it fit???





thankfully, yes!!

First up as usual:


Wheels/Tires/Wells/Ext Trim:

The obvious thing here is the degree to which the insides of the wells show as well as the size of the tires themselves.

The tires were cleaned with Zep purple. I have been asked why bother with both Zep products, the purple and the Citrus. I find the purple to be very effective at removing the brown crud (technical term) vs the Citrus but the Citrus is safer to use (breathe) and does a great job on everything else. Here is purple working its magic:




The wheels were cleaned with Carbrite acid followed by Zep Citrus.
The wells were cleaned with Zep Citrus.
The wheels were subsequently sealed with Opti Guard.
The wells were subsequently treated with Adams Undercarriage spray.
The tires were subsequently treated with Opti Bond.
The exterior trim was cleaned with ZC. I will go into their treatment later.
The back wheel was removed prior to cleaning so it could get the same treatment even though it is covered.


BEFORE SHOTS:
































FOAM/WASH/CLAY:

The vehicle was foamed first with DG 901 and then washed with 901 and Dawn to strip any wax. Here's the foam in action:





[SIZE=3]After being washed, it was pulled inside while wet and clayed with Riccardo yellow. I did what I always do, which was to microwave the clay to get it pliable, but then I followed Tad's advice and used a mug of very hot water to keep it that way. That saved me going in and out of the house.


PAINT CORRECTION:

The paint had a fair amount of light scratches, especially on the hood. I thought Toyota paint was usually soft, but I had to use my new Tuf Buff wool pad plus M105 to knock them out. This was followed by M205 and a B & S yellow pad which was then followed by Ultrafina and a B & S blue pad. Headlights and taillights were also polished out. The white roof got M205 and a B & S yellow pad with my DA.

Work in Progress:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][SIZE=2][SIZE=2][SIZE=3][SIZE=2][SIZE=3][SIZE=2][SIZE=3][SIZE=2][SIZE=3][SIZE=2]




Here's a shot of the bare paint after being polished:

[Marc08EX]

That looks good! Great job!

[richy]

PAINT/GLASS/TRIM PROTECTION:

The paint was prepared for Opti Guard by being washed with a strong solution of 901 and Dawn and was dried using a leaf blower and ww mf. Each panel was then wiped down with a soft mf and IRA prior to application. OG was applied to all the glass and all the paint, including the roof. The next day ReLoad version 2 was applied with a short nap mf and removed with a long nap mf with no streaking issues.
I tried it on the trim as well and I did not like it. I did not darken it at all. I have used UTTG on the last few vehicles and really like it. I went over the 2 front wheel opening moldings with it and proceeded to do the rest of the vehicle with the UTTG. It really added something to the look!


INTERIOR:

The interior was vacuumed with my strong PF51 and then steamed with the Gaia. The windows were steamed. The black painted inserts on the doors were polished with DG 501 and then topped with Colli 845. The mats were power washed and treated with Simonize tire spray.


INSIDE AFTER SHOTS:





























Bird Bomb Etching Not Repairable:




OUTSIDE AFTER SHOTS:

[scoobydann]

very nice.....also very cool as I am getting started on a 2007 TRD FJ

[Shawn T.]

Amazing looking car!

[richy]

very nice.....also very cool as I am getting started on a 2007 TRD FJ

Cool, good luck with it!!

Amazing looking car!

Thank you Shawn.

[Y2KSVT]

Awesome work, Richy! That black paint looks flawless!

I'm also very envious of your home; it's beautiful! I aspire to have a paver driveway like that some day!

Mark

[roguish-desires]

Looks awesome Richy! The vertical refelection shots say it all!

[LuxuryMobile]

Great work Richy. Good job with the pictures also.

Have always been a big fan of the FJs.

[kingofsorrow]

oooohhh look how shiny you got it looking. nice work.