1975 ish Dodge Van
#1
1974 Dodge Van PICS!
Hey guys, so me and my friend are going to detail our friend's probably 1975 (somewhere in that era) Dodge Van. It looks oxidized and uncared for and like a giant driving piece of sin . We took a quick look at it today to see what we are in for. I believe it is a single stage paint but I am not positive. I will do a small test spot to see. We got a little QD cleaned off a portion of the mini hood and then got some clay with QD and holy !@#!!!!! I thought I didn't have enough QD on at first until I realized that it was dripping off the hood and it was completely drenched and the resistance I was feeling was the paint. I looked at my clay after wiping it back and forth about 5 times and it was covered in brown nastiness. I kept claying that same spot and spraying QD and guess what, it started to get smooth.
The guy is going to sell the van which isn't worth too much anyways, so he just wants us to do a simple clean up on the paint. Here is what I am guessing to do for the plan of attack.
Wash
Clay
Color X
NXT or 21
Any advice on my procedure. I am fairly certain it is SS and I think that if we do that it should help make the color pop. There are very very tiny swirls but you can't even see it under the oxidation and swirls are the least of the owner's worries with his car.
Thanks.
The guy is going to sell the van which isn't worth too much anyways, so he just wants us to do a simple clean up on the paint. Here is what I am guessing to do for the plan of attack.
Wash
Clay
Color X
NXT or 21
Any advice on my procedure. I am fairly certain it is SS and I think that if we do that it should help make the color pop. There are very very tiny swirls but you can't even see it under the oxidation and swirls are the least of the owner's worries with his car.
Thanks.
Last edited by andrewc_11890; 07-16-2008 at 02:22 AM.
#2
If it is original paint, it is for sure single stage.
Grab some aggressive or at least mild clay (not white fine) if you can.
Give it a good pre-soak with soap.
Wash thoroughly. then go at it with some clay and do your thing. FU with Color-X is a good call. The Color-x should hit the swirls a little bit as well.
Seal with #21 or NXT, whichever you want.
Grab some aggressive or at least mild clay (not white fine) if you can.
Give it a good pre-soak with soap.
Wash thoroughly. then go at it with some clay and do your thing. FU with Color-X is a good call. The Color-x should hit the swirls a little bit as well.
Seal with #21 or NXT, whichever you want.
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But, yes, Andrew, it will thrash at least one bar. And take forever. However, it will look and feel 1000x better than before.
Sometimes, hard jobs like these are worth going low on $$$$ if it means you get the job. Why? Because the pictures you can take and use to promote yourself are invaluable. "Look, I took this horribly oxidized and faded paint and brought it back to looking almost new-- on a van that was 33 years old!"...That kind of thing...
#13
Well, I know Andrew doesnt have a rotary... so that's out. And I dont know of a wool pad for a D/A... but I could be wrong...
But, yes, Andrew, it will thrash at least one bar. And take forever. However, it will look and feel 1000x better than before.
Sometimes, hard jobs like these are worth going low on $$$$ if it means you get the job. Why? Because the pictures you can take and use to promote yourself are invaluable. "Look, I took this horribly oxidized and faded paint and brought it back to looking almost new-- on a van that was 33 years old!"...That kind of thing...
But, yes, Andrew, it will thrash at least one bar. And take forever. However, it will look and feel 1000x better than before.
Sometimes, hard jobs like these are worth going low on $$$$ if it means you get the job. Why? Because the pictures you can take and use to promote yourself are invaluable. "Look, I took this horribly oxidized and faded paint and brought it back to looking almost new-- on a van that was 33 years old!"...That kind of thing...
It looks like I won't be able to get to the van until lunch. (I have white megs clay and blue megs clay, the blue megs clay will work on the van but I am assuming the white won't work too well, but if my part of the blue gets ruined the white should still work well if I do other cars right? (I haven't opened the white yet))
Last edited by andrewc_11890; 07-15-2008 at 12:58 PM.
#14
You pretty much hit exactly what I was thinking. I still have a question about the clay. Will I have to use my entire blue clay bar, or will the quarter of the bar that I am using be good enough? Because I really don't want to have to use my entire blue clay bar and ruin it. I kinda don't have the money to buy another clay bar after my last purchase :/
It looks like I won't be able to get to the van until lunch. (I have white megs clay and blue megs clay, the blue megs clay will work on the van but I am assuming the white won't work too well, but if my part of the blue gets ruined the white should still work well if I do other cars right? (I haven't opened the white yet))
It looks like I won't be able to get to the van until lunch. (I have white megs clay and blue megs clay, the blue megs clay will work on the van but I am assuming the white won't work too well, but if my part of the blue gets ruined the white should still work well if I do other cars right? (I haven't opened the white yet))
As with normal claying, use a fractional part of the bar-- 1/4 is a good number. But, as the bar becomes trashed, you may need to go to another chunk. Now, since this is a clean up, dont be afraid to use the bar longer than normal. I had a similar sentiment when I did the mercedes detail, and thus thrashed a half a bar. I really should have gone through 2 FULL bars, but I decided that since I was going to use #80 anyways, it wouldnt be too awful to induce a touch more-- the car (and in your case, van) was neglected for YEARS anyway, so its not *that* bad IMO. Some may disagree, but w/e.
The white will be fine for other cars. The reason why we told you to not use white on this van is because you are going to need to added power of the blue bar. Honestly, this is one of those RARE times when a red bar might be appropriate. Purple at least. But, like yourself, I have a limited funding thing going on here... no clay trifecta. Thus, a bit more time with blue is what it takes.
If you want/need to call me during the detail, shoot me off an email or PM. I will be away from the computer after a little bit (soon). I'd be more than happy to share some knowledge or answer any questions you have.
#15
Alright thanks f150sport. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and destroy some blue clay, but eh I still have an unused half of blue and two small white clay bars. I am really just doing this van to see how good we can get it looking. I saw it at first and thought it was hopeless until I did a test clay spot. I really hope this baby turns out good!