Joe Dirt's 2000 Ex-El-Tee "Deuce"

Welcome to the registry for Wedgie 2.0, who has been affectionately named "Deuce"

From Shad's info to save keystrokes:

Here is the run down:

2000 Ford Explorer XLT 5.0L - AWD
Deep Wedgewood Blue
Gray Leather
Yada, yada, yada...

Highlights:

• Transmission rebuilt at 160,000 miles, and filled with synthetic
• Lifted 2" in front with torsion keys
• Lifted 3" in back with Add-a-Leaf and Warrior Shackles
• New Superlift shocks at 166,000 miles
• 31" x 10.5" tires
• As much rust as some southern trucks- she's clean...

Interesting fact- it was an XLT fitted with air-ride shocks from the factory. System was disabled with the kit and shocks were put on to avoid costly repair.



Next to Wedgie:

Today 1/28/11 was the first car wash.

And yes, it needs to be cleaned...

Um... This is going to be my biggest challenge to date.

But it's going to be fine. It's an incredible place to start- the steering wheel isn't even gummy or rolled. I'm very pleased with the canvas...

Anyway, after the car wash, I snapped some pics for starting point reference.
So, here are our obligatory before pictures...

Door seams always oiled

Hatch looks brand new as well!

Nothing on the rocker seams ...but a paint chip

Rockers nice. No rust even at the back- just grime and ice. I think the mudflaps really helped...

 

[2TimingTom]

"frickin' layzers.............."

 

[BigRondo]

Joe, you can do the same thing as that Marquis. Just set a couple of cinder blocks in front of your front wheels and hammer the gas man. Good to have you back Dirt. Retirement is for old folk and fools............?

 

[BigRondo]

omg, i was watching that 70's show, and they had chocodiles lol

Because they are up there with in Wisconsin with you Michiganders. It's not fair I tell you, not fair!

 

[Joe Dirt]

Bored on Sunday, so I decided to clay the truck in prep for the Meg's MF system trial onslaught coming soon. Gotta tell ya- this will be a test. I'd probably have rotary/wool'd this thing after seeing the swirls, but I'll give it a shot and see what I can get. Only thing I'm worried about is how much clearcoat I have to work with.

Anyway...



This is why you clay before waxing. This came off the driver's half of the hood.

And this from the top half above the molding on the driver's door. Not much area there... I've never used more than 1/2 of a small 50 gram claybar on a vehicle. I used an entire 200g aggressive claybar on Deuce. There was a LOT of red paint on the front half, someone was spraypainting something with the truck nearby...

And some pics of the swirls that I'm going to knock out... Truly going to be the most challenging I've tried to bring back... If I get 90% correction, I'll be happy...

 

[BigRondo]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I do, this one is wicked bad. I think it was washed with brillo pads...

 

[BigRondo]

Kind of looks like mine. I'm going to dedicate time to it this spring. I will probably be bugging you with questions when I kick off the project.

 

[BrianDye]

Damn did they miss the hole for the gas tank? Looks like the scraped the nozzle under the gas door every time they filled up

Cant wait to see this project start

 

[Joe Dirt]

That's from the gas cap- if you undo it and let it fall down, that's what you get...

 

[BrianDye]

Thats terrible! (I would have figured that, but im so used to cutting the cords off mine so I HAVE to set them somewhere)

 

[Joe Dirt]

Could you keep it in one of the rust holes on your bumper? Should pop-in...

 

[lynchy wa]

Hahahaha One of the benefit's of a rusty bumper.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Ok, so I did the first step of the DA MF system last night. All I can say is- Wow. For real.

I don't know of any reason that I wouldn't abandon using rotary buffers and woolies unless it's an insane project. This stuff is that good, and that easy. I worked in 2' x 2' sections, with 3-4 moderate pressure passes, then 3-4 light pressure passes, then buff off. Took about 1 minute per section of work time. Do not overuse the compound. I took a bit of a learning curve, after priming the pad, this is all the product I was using on a 2' x 2' section. Beyond that, the pad saturates.

On to some pics.

Before:

Taped off for a comparison:

Compound applied:

After:

Another angle:

Driver's fender before:

Driver's fender after:

Another angle before:

...and after:

Remember the dreaded gas filler door?

If I can get 98% correction out of that in a couple of minutes, I'm all over that...

Nice and sparkly...

This is what you want to see:

No full exteriors yet, as I finished at 1:30am, and well, it was dark outside.

I can't say enough about this product. I know it's been in development for about 6 years, and it's a true game changer, since it brings absolute professional results into reach for anyone. It's awesome.

The scary thing is that I haven't even done step 2 yet, which is the polish- you know, because it's not shiny enough yet? lol!

 

[rookieshooter]

That's impressive, good tip on the amount of compound on buffer. I would have overloaded for sure.

 

[bcbid]

Joe, That is incredible. Very nice.

 

[bcbid]

I forgot to ask. Have you used a clay bar on it yet?

 

[BrianDye]

 

[2TimingTom]

Very impressive indeed.

 

[Joe Dirt]

That's impressive, good tip on the amount of compound on buffer. I would have overloaded for sure.

I overloaded the first one- it's also very important to brush/air out the pad after every section to free up the fibers on the pad. I had a hard time getting through my mind that such a small amount of product could do so much work.

The first pad I did the passenger door, fender, and 1/2 the door. I was using 2 lima bean sized drops, and the pad was saturated. I dropped the compound amount down and finished the rest of the truck with the second pad. Even that pic of the compound shows the upper limit of what I applied.

I forgot to ask. Have you used a clay bar on it yet?

Yep- those before pics were after clay...

Pop up to post 424 for the clay pics. It was disgusting...




Stopped at home for lunch and to pet the Explorer, thought I'd show you what is on the other side of the garage.

Here is a hood shot. I can't pull it outside, it's raining. Boo rain.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

lookin good joe keep up good work