First Detail - Adamized the Raptor

Missed a spot

H2O Guard & Gloss on Wheels

Well, its gonna rain tomorrow, but I went ahead and washed the Raptor so I could demo the H2O Guard & Gloss (HGG) on the wheels.

After I finished the wash, I left the wheels wet. I took a Single Soft Towel, got it wet, and wrung it out, not too dry, but not dripping.




I folded the towel in quarters, then put 5-6 sprays of HGG on the towel, and wiped the surfaces of the wheel, going over it 2-3 times, making sure I did not miss any areas.

I did not spray the product directly on the wheel, to avoid having gloops end up in places that would be hard to get wiped.




I used a dry Single Soft Towel and wiped the wheel, leaving a nice, even shine.

On the next wheel, I switched to a clean quarter of the towel, sprayed more product on the towel, wiped the wheel, then dried with the dry towel. Repeated for the remaining two wheels.

The reason I switched to a clean part of the towel for each wheel is that you end up with some dirt on the towel, getting to the inner parts of the wheels, since the towel ends up touching the calipers, rotors, barrel, etc. This prevents scratching the wheel by using a dirty towel. I will also wipe the outer face of the wheel first, and then do in inner areas last.

In this photo, you can see what the towel picked up, and I cleaned the wheel really good with the Short Wheel Brush, the Trim & Lug Nut Brush, and the Wheel Woolie.




Not the best pic, as the light was not great when I finished, but the HGG does give some good shine, and will last about a month on the wheels.




The good thing is, it took less than five minutes to do all four wheels. I found that this was faster than using Quick Sealant, as I would spend way more time than that just getting the wheels dry in order to apply the Quick Sealant.

One more tip, use dedicated towels on your wheels, don't use a towel on your paint that you previously used on your wheels, even if it gets washed. I use the Borderless Gray Towels for HGG on paint, trim and glass, then use the Single Soft Towels for wheels.

And no you didn't actually miss a spot

Wilson said:

And no you didn't actually miss a spot

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Of course he didn't miss a spot he's the Detail Sensei. He's well trained in the art of detailing and don't mess up.

Still going nice

Love it. Good stuff man.

I've yet to find a good rubber trim detailer that keep the trim from getting sun faded over time (years)

any practical feedback on this?
Same story for the cowell....

Dalamar said:

Love it. Good stuff man.

I've yet to find a good rubber trim detailer that keep the trim from getting sun faded over time (years)

any practical feedback on this?
Same story for the cowell....

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Your best bet on the rubber and plastic trim is to keep it sealed up with H20 Guard & Gloss so it does not get faded.

Plastics and rubber get damaged from sun and from harsh chemicals (stay out of the tunnel wash, especially the touch-less ones, and don't wash with dish soap).

If you keep sealant on these areas, then you have some protection against fading.

If your plastic and rubber trim get faded, then your only option is to use a trim dressing, like Super VRT. This will darken up the trim and add some protection, but it is temporary.

-Dan

Dalamar said:

Love it. Good stuff man.

I've yet to find a good rubber trim detailer that keep the trim from getting sun faded over time (years)

any practical feedback on this?
Same story for the cowell....

Click to expand...

I've had good luck using 303 Protectant on the Mustang so far.

Amazon.com: 303 (30308) Aerospace Protectant Trigger Sprayer, 16 Fl. oz.: Automotive

SVO 85 said:

I've had good luck using 303 Protectant on the Mustang so far.

Amazon.com: 303 (30308) Aerospace Protectant Trigger Sprayer, 16 Fl. oz.: Automotive

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I don't care for 303 because it is greasy and it streaks wet it gets wet. I have used it on my plastic kayaks before but would not put it on my truck. In fact, next spring I will just use H2O Guard & Gloss on the kayaks, too.

Hey Dan, what are your thoughts on taking care of the hood and bedside graphics (decals) on my truck? Can I use a clay bar on them? What about sealant, polish, wax, etc? Avoid?

Obviously they aren't meant to be shiny...in another thread you mentioned the H2O G&G.

I'm particularly concerned about lifting an edge up with a machine or even hand-polishing/buffing. Thanks!