For years I have wanted to get myself into a good polishing setup but was a bit intimidated by all the machines, pads, and compounds out there. Until this point I have been doing everything by hand. We have an XC-90 and a full size F-150 so doing it by hand just got to be too much work - with only some of the possible results for the effort. I'm getting to be a bit of a minimalist so I wasn't in the mood to go experimenting with products until I found out what worked. The pros may like to experiment, but some of us shade tree detailers want a system we know works well without ending up with dozens of bottles of product that won't get used. I also wanted a polisher that a novice would not burn the paint with and that wasn't a throwaway if a $.50 part gets broken. Being short and having a full size truck on blocks as well, I needed something I could reach up the hood with, too and able to control it with one hand. After seeing the results of the Gloss-It Cyclo paint correction system on a few of my other forums I called Rich at Gloss-It. I told him my concerns and he recommended the same system for my cars. What he sent me was just what I wanted.
After my first time warming up on my silver Volvo which was just detailed a year ago I figured I was ready to try a navy blue truck. Getting used to the machine was easy. By the end of my truck I was feeling quite used to it. I LOVE the build quality of the Cyclo. The Volvo was basically a quick Evolution Polish with green and then Gloss with white pads.
Next onto my Ford. She's a big 'un, so I had to wait until I had quite a bit of time blocked off to do it. Total washing, claying, rewashing, drying, taping, and shining was probably 10 hours - and that's ignoring the wheels and interior! >>
The truck is an 04 with 16k miles, but the guy I bought it from took great care of it. After claying I was pleased with the shape of the paint. Minor drying scratches was all I had to deal with.
The worst of the defects were on the tailgate. It's a truck - I use it like one once in awhile.....
Note to self: Never close the tailgate with muddy work gloves on again.....
These are what scared me the most. I opened the tailgate onto gravel sitting on the bumper. The sound of stone cutting into clearcoat is pretty unforgettable....
Minor scratches from pulling pea gravel out of the truck:
And only one waterblade scratch up in front of the passenger window: To start out I was pretty chicken being such a greenhorn. Remember, this is only the second time I have EVER picked up a polisher, and the FIRST dark vehicle I have ever done. I taped some areas off, but next time I'll tape more. MUCH more....I spent way too much time at the backside cleaning up spots I hit with the polisher. Had I used a machine with one large pad it would have been ugly! The front quarters on the F-150 are pretty small so I figured they would be good test panels. I taped this one off and did the left side using yellow pads and Evolution cut.
Results were good but pretty slow to get. I'm not sure how hard Ford clear is, but it seems pretty hard to me!
I was still pretty chicken so I kept using the yellow pad/Evolution Cut combo for the rest of this side. I wanted to go more aggressive but figured I would continue to cut my teeth with the unit. It was definitely working....
When I finally worked my way down the passenger side and got to the tailgate I knew I had to get the bigger guns out. After consulting with Rich he told me to go full monty with Orange pads and Extreme Cut, which is what I did. After doing the tailgate I realized I could have saved about an hour of polishing on the side had I just had the guts to try. Extreme Cut on an orange pad worked wonderful. It has just the right amount of cutting ability to see results while working, but not too fast to let things get out of hand. The top scratches were now completely gone after hardly any time at all:
The bottom gouges needed more work so I hit them with the Cyclo the best I could but had a hard time getting over the hump at the base:
I decided to get in there with my fingers and hand rub out that final half inch until it was 90% gone. Given the depth (almost through) it was the best I could do. Results were much better.
From this:
To this:
I can't believe that someone with NO experience using a polisher could do this!
Remember the waterblade scratch in front of the window? Buh-bye....
After the tailgate I was feeling pretty confident about the rest of the truck so it was off to the driver side. I don’t have too many picks from this side because it was dark and a buddy had my halogen spots.
Still some swirls:
After cutting this side with the light I did have I could tell it was was shining pretty good.
I ended up finishing the rest of the truck with Extreme Cut on an orange pad and then RE-doing the entire truck with a green pad and Evolution Polish before hand wipe with Gloss Activator and then Gloss Finish with the white pads. Finally, I wiped the dew off the next morning and applied a coat of Gloss Enhancer. The final step was a quick coat of T.V.R. and the vinyl and grabbed the camera:
Hard to tell where the truck stops and the sky starts:
The sun sets on a finished project…..
I can’t begin to explain how impressed with these products I am, especially the more I use them. After just my second car I am ready to tackle more. It’s nice to know that 4 pad densities and 4 compounds are all I need to get this kind of shine. The Cyclo was definitely the right machine. And it’s also nice to know if I have questions he’s available to answer them. And if you think you will damage your paint, you won't unless you REALLY try to. What are you afraid of - Give Rich a call.
Thanks again Rich, thumbs WAY up for your products.
If interested in the same setup for yourself, here’s the link to the products:
Again, If anyone is interested in the same kit I bought, call Rich at Gloss-It. This kit has everything you need to do the same job. And Rich was great for answering questions. I had no experience prior to this, and he makes the process "idiot-proof".
That looks remarkable man. I did this on my 02' F150 for a capstone project for school, I go the same results, but living on a dirt road they don't last too long but oh does it feel great when you finish it up like that am I right?
wow, i own and operate a detail shop and im impressed with what you did....amazing considering you're a first timer....what a beautiful color. Oh and if you work at tirerack tell william dalton i said hi....that is if you work with him....i bought some nitto terra grapplers through him a few months back and they are working out great.
Very impressive! That truck looks great. Hard to believe you had never done that before. This thread could give people the confidence to jump and try it.
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That true blue is a nice color it looks real good when its clean. 
'99 F250 PSD LONG BOX X-CAB 4X4
