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Joe Dirt's Wedgie
- Thread starter Joe Dirt
- Start date
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Joe Dirt
Explorer Addict
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- October 4, 2007
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 07 Camry
K,
So tonight I'm in the final stages of Interior reclamation 1.0, which will last me until after bow season. Then I'll go all OCD over the weatherstripping and whatever else gets me interested.
A few days ago, I ordered something to fix this mess:
That ridiculous faded lip, white, eewwww!!! I hate that. Problem is, nobody has a matching paint for that uber dim graphite interior for a Ford Explorer...
...unless you are familiar with Ford cars and trucks. There was one vehicle aside from the Explorer that used that interior color, at least partially, that someone produces the color for interior sprays since it's a bit of a collectible.
So, I got my cans of paint today. Here they are, minus the secret information. Who knows the vehicle that they're produced for? The answer is at the end...
So I had my paint, and was able to paint my sub cover to match, as well as the door trim panels, where they fade out.
Passenger after:
Driver's side before:
Driver's side after:
Before:
After:
It's a straight up match for a non-shiny surface, which after I magic eraser the panels in the truck, they will be. Sub cover:
It'll be spot on once I get that armor-all off there and get it back to a natural finish.
So anyway, now for the answer to tonight's trivia question, what Ford vehicle had a partial Dark Graphite interior that someone is producing interior sprays for since it's a bit of a collectible?
Here's the part of the interior that's Dark Graphite (the dash was the only Dark Graphite part in the truck's interior)
And here's the truck it resides in:
There- now don't you feel smarter after all that?
So tonight I'm in the final stages of Interior reclamation 1.0, which will last me until after bow season. Then I'll go all OCD over the weatherstripping and whatever else gets me interested.
A few days ago, I ordered something to fix this mess:
That ridiculous faded lip, white, eewwww!!! I hate that. Problem is, nobody has a matching paint for that uber dim graphite interior for a Ford Explorer...
...unless you are familiar with Ford cars and trucks. There was one vehicle aside from the Explorer that used that interior color, at least partially, that someone produces the color for interior sprays since it's a bit of a collectible.
So, I got my cans of paint today. Here they are, minus the secret information. Who knows the vehicle that they're produced for? The answer is at the end...
So I had my paint, and was able to paint my sub cover to match, as well as the door trim panels, where they fade out.
Passenger after:
Driver's side before:
Driver's side after:
Before:
After:
It's a straight up match for a non-shiny surface, which after I magic eraser the panels in the truck, they will be. Sub cover:
It'll be spot on once I get that armor-all off there and get it back to a natural finish.
So anyway, now for the answer to tonight's trivia question, what Ford vehicle had a partial Dark Graphite interior that someone is producing interior sprays for since it's a bit of a collectible?
Here's the part of the interior that's Dark Graphite (the dash was the only Dark Graphite part in the truck's interior)
And here's the truck it resides in:
There- now don't you feel smarter after all that?
Explorer Junky
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- City, State
- Grand Rapids, Mi
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 XLT 4 dr 5.0
You have AWD- drive across the yard...
7' privacy fence!! How do I get over it? No gate wide enough or I would LOVE to!
techieman33
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I'll bet the 'ol Ex would breach a hole in the fence juuuust big enough to slide through. Then- put up your gate!
x2
Explorer Junky
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 XLT 4 dr 5.0
Thats funny!
Keeper0311
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- 2000 XLT 4x4
Thanks for the link. My Ex suffers from the faded interior too. And you sir have some clean Explorers!
NHarris
Explorer Addict
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$50! I'd have a heart attack if the cans were really that much. They have the right interior for my 98, but not my 05.
That place is better to be hanging out instead of the ford parts desk (where I am every other dayI've been hanging out getting stuff there ever since my Foxbody days...
)...Good parts there (late model restoration). I have to favorite that to possibly start my restoration project on my dirty 98 X.
********************
Any updates on wedgie?
Joe Dirt
Explorer Addict
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- Messages
- 13,173
- Reaction score
- 31
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 07 Camry
Well, I spent yesterday and this morning with solid little guy time...
...since I've been working on the Wedge so much lately. Today I'll be (are) swapping on some new(er) front lights I had in the garage, and swapping my new striker latches off of Shamrock onto Wedgie since I really don't need to apend that $35 again.
After that, some time on Shamrock so I can get it on the interwebz- I've decided to sell 'er since I gutted all of the creature comforts out of Shamrock to put into Wedgie anyway. 2 car garage + 3 cars + OCD detailer = Can't possibly work...
...since I've been working on the Wedge so much lately. Today I'll be (are) swapping on some new(er) front lights I had in the garage, and swapping my new striker latches off of Shamrock onto Wedgie since I really don't need to apend that $35 again.
After that, some time on Shamrock so I can get it on the interwebz- I've decided to sell 'er since I gutted all of the creature comforts out of Shamrock to put into Wedgie anyway. 2 car garage + 3 cars + OCD detailer = Can't possibly work...
- Joined
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- City, State
- Charlestown, RI
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2014 Escape SE
Joe, Cute kid, nice head of hair, lol.
Is that a Big Boy? Never mind, I just saw the cup. They are long gone from here. My brother's first job was at Big Boy. Keep up the good work on Wedgie. Joe Dirt
Explorer Addict
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 07 Camry
Ok, so tonight I started on the Exterior. I swear- as good as it looks, this thing is NASTY. But, years of knowledge will be put to use and I'll get her back- for sure.
So I decided to test just how good some of Meguiar's consumer line products are, mainly because I don't have the patience to wait for my 105/205 to show up. So, we're using Ultimate Compound tonight, as well as some other products.
List:
Meguiar's Aggressive cut claybar
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer (UQD)
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax
Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Synthetic Wax
Meguiar's Foam applicator Pads
Meguiar's Microfiber Towels
More Megs Microfiber Towels
Meguiar's G110 Variable Speed Orbital
Meguiar's Red W7006 Cutting pad
Here are some of our players:
So just to give you an idea, here is Wedgie:
Not bad, right?
Not so fast- here's the real story. I like a challenge...
So first, I started claying the hood.
This is the area I clayed first:
why clay before waxing?
...well, this is what came off of it
Absolutely, positively, must claybar before waxing. Grab a ziplock, put your hand inside and run it over your paint. You'll feel the grand canyon if you need to clay.
If you don't clay and you should have, all you're doing is waxing the contaminents into the clearcoat/paint, as it will literally sink in over time. That kills your reflective characteristics, and makes your paint look tired and uninteresting, especially if you have a metallic paint.
Unreal. I've never had so many contaminents come off one panel, and it was only 1/4 panel!
I clayed the entire truck, windows included. The tailgate was bad, probably worse than the hood, sonce I gets a lot of raildust and kicked up grit.
As I said- I clayed the windows (as should you) and this came off the rear window:
I clayed for about 40 minutes. It was a task, and that was only prep for the real work.
So this was what I was starting with. Swirls, spiderwebs, holograms, everything. I have to say- if I wasn't going to replace the hood eventually (small 2" dent by the bugshield), I probably would have wetsanded it to make life easier, because it was just about that far gone. But, I'll give it a go and see if I can save it.
The starting line:
So I hit the hood with (2) Applications of Ultimate Compound with my G110, and got here:
That's not bad.
So I hit it one more time, and that puts me here:
Then after one more UC application, I applied some Gold Class as a base, then topped with NXT 2.0 as a cap. The Gold Class really popped the metallic.
So I ended up going from here:
To here:
And finally- swirl free, and blinking like stars in the sky with just an incandescent light 15 feet up in the garage... The mother lode!
For an idea- I got a lot done in a leisurely 3 hours... I finished... the hood. That's it. I have to get some more UC, (started with less than 1/4 bottle, and the (2) 7006 pads needed to be cleaned, plus I was out of microfibers. Those are in the washer right now getting ready for the rest of the task at hand...
So I decided to test just how good some of Meguiar's consumer line products are, mainly because I don't have the patience to wait for my 105/205 to show up. So, we're using Ultimate Compound tonight, as well as some other products.
List:
Meguiar's Aggressive cut claybar
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer (UQD)
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax
Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Synthetic Wax
Meguiar's Foam applicator Pads
Meguiar's Microfiber Towels
More Megs Microfiber Towels
Meguiar's G110 Variable Speed Orbital
Meguiar's Red W7006 Cutting pad
Here are some of our players:
So just to give you an idea, here is Wedgie:
Not bad, right?
Not so fast- here's the real story. I like a challenge...
So first, I started claying the hood.
This is the area I clayed first:
why clay before waxing?
...well, this is what came off of it
Absolutely, positively, must claybar before waxing. Grab a ziplock, put your hand inside and run it over your paint. You'll feel the grand canyon if you need to clay.
If you don't clay and you should have, all you're doing is waxing the contaminents into the clearcoat/paint, as it will literally sink in over time. That kills your reflective characteristics, and makes your paint look tired and uninteresting, especially if you have a metallic paint.
Unreal. I've never had so many contaminents come off one panel, and it was only 1/4 panel!
I clayed the entire truck, windows included. The tailgate was bad, probably worse than the hood, sonce I gets a lot of raildust and kicked up grit.
As I said- I clayed the windows (as should you
) and this came off the rear window:
I clayed for about 40 minutes. It was a task, and that was only prep for the real work.
So this was what I was starting with. Swirls, spiderwebs, holograms, everything. I have to say- if I wasn't going to replace the hood eventually (small 2" dent by the bugshield), I probably would have wetsanded it to make life easier, because it was just about that far gone. But, I'll give it a go and see if I can save it.
The starting line:
So I hit the hood with (2) Applications of Ultimate Compound with my G110, and got here:
That's not bad.
So I hit it one more time, and that puts me here:
Then after one more UC application, I applied some Gold Class as a base, then topped with NXT 2.0 as a cap. The Gold Class really popped the metallic.
So I ended up going from here:
To here:
And finally- swirl free, and blinking like stars in the sky with just an incandescent light 15 feet up in the garage... The mother lode!
For an idea- I got a lot done in a leisurely 3 hours... I finished... the hood. That's it. I have to get some more UC, (started with less than 1/4 bottle, and the (2) 7006 pads needed to be cleaned, plus I was out of microfibers. Those are in the washer right now getting ready for the rest of the task at hand...
Hitchhikingmike
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- January 21, 2008
- Messages
- 1,490
- Reaction score
- 26
- City, State
- Dallas, Texas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '02 XLS
no, you are not crazy. I have pulled all the seats out of my explorer before just to spot treat stains on the carpet and to cover it all with some scotch-guard stain protectant.
I've also spent an entire day before going over the ex taking off the old wax, claybaring it, going over the once around with swirl removal, remove that, and go back over again with the final wax applicant.
I also cover up all my plastic trimmings and window weather stripping with blue painter's tape
I use mcguire's paint products too. I do like the smell of mcguire's, especially in cool closed off garage.....
I've also spent an entire day before going over the ex taking off the old wax, claybaring it, going over the once around with swirl removal, remove that, and go back over again with the final wax applicant.
I also cover up all my plastic trimmings and window weather stripping with blue painter's tape
I use mcguire's paint products too. I do like the smell of mcguire's, especially in cool closed off garage.....
Hitchhikingmike
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- January 21, 2008
- Messages
- 1,490
- Reaction score
- 26
- City, State
- Dallas, Texas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '02 XLS
That also reminds me, its about time for my every-other-moth-wax-the-explorer time. Yes I know it's a lot to some. I plan on keeping my ex for a long long time. And don't want my clear coat to peal to heck. I guess that's why most people are very surprised when I tell them my explorer is eight years old. Most people tell me they think it looks close to brand new....
A well taken care of paint is what sets you apart from everyone else with a 10 year old vehicle and is also a sure sign the you also give the same amount of attention to your engine as well.
A well taken care of paint is what sets you apart from everyone else with a 10 year old vehicle and is also a sure sign the you also give the same amount of attention to your engine as well.
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Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!.
Joe Dirt
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- October 4, 2007
- Messages
- 13,173
- Reaction score
- 31
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 07 Camry
Oh yeah- the blue painters tape is a necessity, especially with textured trim all you weekend detailers out there... If you do get wax residue on your black trim, go ahead and use your kids' pink eraser to remove it. Works like a charm.
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