Cherried the wife's Explorer...

[The_Bishop]

Just in time for it to rain.

Le ****.

http://home.comcast.net/~The_Bishop/explorer1.jpg

Not bad for 16 year old paint.

It only took 6+ hours of washing, claying, polishing and waxing.

[Blackbirdws6]

Looks great. In for the direct sun shots! :)

[WildBillyT]

Wait a second.

Does this truck have an aftermarket exhaust?

[The_Bishop]

WTB: Not yet, 100% stock so far. The exhaust has a missing hanger or two, so I'm looking at a Gibson cat-back for it. No other options as far as I can find, aside from stock replacement. Does it look like an explorer you recognize?

Blackbirdws6: Why, you want to see if I made any nifty holographic swirl action? :laugh: Pretty sure I didn't. Was interesting doing the job on an SUV in my car-sized garage under the house to keep out of the sun.

[sweetbmxrider]

Ain't even purple :|

[The_Bishop]

When I hit the lottery I'll have it painted. :laugh:

[ThoR294]

Wait for the flowers to start making love right above it....

[WildBillyT]

WTB: Not yet, 100% stock so far. The exhaust has a missing hanger or two, so I'm looking at a Gibson cat-back for it. No other options as far as I can find, aside from stock replacement. Does it look like an explorer you recognize?

Blackbirdws6: Why, you want to see if I made any nifty holographic swirl action? :laugh: Pretty sure I didn't. Was interesting doing the job on an SUV in my car-sized garage under the house to keep out of the sun.

Big time.

A good friend of mine's dad used to own a twin of that Explorer with a Mufflex exhaust on it. Right down to the pinstriping. Do you remember buying it locally?

[Blackbirdws6]

Blackbirdws6: Why, you want to see if I made any nifty holographic swirl action? :laugh: Pretty sure I didn't. Was interesting doing the job on an SUV in my car-sized garage under the house to keep out of the sun.

Black and direct sunlight separate the men from the boys. :wink:

[The_Bishop]

WBT: Bought it from a used car dealer in Belvidere, NJ. Claimed one owner and garage kept. Certainly seems to be true from what paperwork I can find and the condition of the truck. It's ridiculously clean.

Thor: Already happening, at least it has some wax protecting it now.

Blackbirdws6: I guess we'll find out if I'm a man or a teenager, then?! :laugh: I'm a little rusty on the orbital but not completely blind. ;)

[sweetbmxrider]

When you hit the lotto, you better hit that thing with a wrecking ball! :D

[The_Bishop]

Too much jelly in here!

:laugh:

[BigAls87Z28]

Looks damn good!

[The_Bishop]

Thanks!

[unstable bob gable]

At least it looked good before the rain. Looks like the kind of vehicle that would have guys in black suits, dark Raybans, and an earpiece riding in it. :) Or just Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. :)

[The_Bishop]

I actually toyed around with the idea of stripping off all the emblems and the pinstriping to make that impression more. :)

[unstable bob gable]

I actually toyed around with the idea of stripping off all the emblems and the pinstriping to make that impression more. :)

Nice x 100!!!!!

[The_Bishop]

Maybe like this:

http://home.comcast.net/~The_Bishop/explorerblack.jpg

Decisions, decisions.

How hard can it be to remove that pinstriping?

[sweetbmxrider]

Not worth it!

[BonzoHansen]

must be nice to have time on your hands!

[Blackbirdws6]

Def leave it on. I'd guarantee the paint is a different shade under there.

[The_Bishop]

Bonzo, that second pic was a five minute 'shop with the clone stamp tool.

This one isn't though.

MiB Status:

http://home.comcast.net/~The_Bishop/MiBexplorer.jpg

It took longer to clean up the few scraps of glue and buff it in than it did to pull off the pinstriping.

The truck was garage kept, so the paint fade was minimal. Once it was polished in, it's just about unnoticeable. If you look closely you can see where the striping was, but you need to be less than a foot away. I think the truck looks a lot more 'modern' without the 90's pinstriping.

Bonzo, the only reason I have time on my hands is I'm on vacation for 4 days from my primary job, and my second one is closed today! :-o

[sweetbmxrider]

You don't have a third job? You bum :|

[WildBillyT]

https://curiouskeith.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/hey-mon.png

Two job? I got fifteen job mon.

[BonzoHansen]

^^^the headlys!

[The_Bishop]

So today was my truck's turn. Used the 'Chemical Guys' Blacklight / Jetseal 109 / V7 Spray Sealant. Holy crap, this stuff is about 1000x times easier to use than the Meguires/3M stuff I have been using, and the results are a lot nicer, too. The paint's got a 'depth' it hasn't had since... Well, ever.

Might actually re-do the wife's truck. Not today, though; it's Beer o'clock.

[unstable bob gable]

When ya gonna do my truck? :)

[The_Bishop]

Hahaha!

I don't mind doing this stuff to my own vehicles, but I don't think I'd like to do it for a living!

I seriously need somewhere to do this work inside, though. Nothing like having tree sap fall on your freshly polished paint while you're trying to seal it.

[unstable bob gable]

Hahaha!

I don't mind doing this stuff to my own vehicles, but I don't think I'd like to do it for a living!

I seriously need somewhere to do this work inside, though. Nothing like having tree sap fall on your freshly polished paint while you're trying to seal it.

Who said ya have to quit your day job? Side job...and I pay in beer!!!

[Blackbirdws6]

So today was my truck's turn. Used the 'Chemical Guys' Blacklight / Jetseal 109 / V7 Spray Sealant. Holy crap, this stuff is about 1000x times easier to use than the Meguires/3M stuff I have been using, and the results are a lot nicer, too. The paint's got a 'depth' it hasn't had since... Well, ever.

Might actually re-do the wife's truck. Not today, though; it's Beer o'clock.

I really like the Blacklight as well (Thanks Paul). I've been really happy with the Blackfire products. I have their finishing polish and picked up a few more products recently to see how they do. When the bird is back together, I have a nice surprise in store.

[The_Bishop]

I had previously been using blackfire wet diamond. On my granite metallic Ram, the CG stuff gives the paint a 'deeper', more wet look than I was ever able to achieve with the blackfire stuff. The three products apply easily, too. I actually only used my porter cable to apply/buff the Blacklight. The Jetseal I applied by hand and the V7 spray sealant is a dream to apply with a microfiber towel. Bonus is the V7 can be applied to *everything*; glass, plastic trim, rubber, paint, etc. A little goes a long way, too; I barely made a dent in any of the bottles of CG product.

[The_Bishop]

Today, on one of my exceedingly rare days off, it was the wife's Explorer turn with the Chemical Guys routine.

http://home.comcast.net/~The_Bishop/explorer/explorer1.jpg

The obligatory reflection shot:

http://home.comcast.net/~The_Bishop/explorer/explorer2.jpg

It looks about as good as I can make original 1999 black paint look. :) Definately has a depth and darkness that the Blackfire Wet Diamond didn't provide.