We Choose Rotary

After a few phone calls, Meguiar's graciously set up a Detail Day on March 19, 2009, so that Mike Pennington of Meguiar's could roll up his sleeves and bust out the Meguair's touch on my chalkboard finish. Although he agreed that it certainly was in bad shape, he didn't put me down for it. I know I'm not the only one out there with nasty paint!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

In attacking this highly-oxidized tonneau cover, we needed to first decide what our approach was going to be. Although we had an inkling as to what our approach was going to be, it is always a good idea to pick a small test area to confirm. Unless you are a pro like Mike Pennington, or a professional detailer, it's probably a good idea to double check your approach.

Logically, the best place to first start is with the least aggressive method. This method is application by hand, using Ultimate Compound. It is important to always use the right products and clean application pads. Luckily, most of today's compounds are not gritty like they used to be, as these will do more damage than good on today's paint jobs. Most of the time, application by hand proves to be a great, effective, safe approach, although it does tend to be slow and intensive. Although we saw a slight improvement, the amount of effort needed would take too long and probably not give us the best results.

The next method we tested was Ultimate Compound applied with the DA (Dual Action) Polisher, using moderate pressure. The DA oscillates and rotates at variable speeds, quickly and evenly spreading wax and safely removing surface defects without the risk of burning paint. (The DA is very user-friendly and you will get the job done fast, which means that you will have a cleaner truck and have time for more mods. Hint, hint - this DA should be on your Christmas or birthday list). The results were better than by hand, which was encouraging.

Because of the extreme condition of this particular tonneau cover, our third and most aggressive test was using a rotary with the Professional Line Ultra-Cut Compound. (More on this later.) Because a rotary spins like a grinder and builds up heat easily, it is best left to the pros or those who know, by experience, what they're doing. It became evident that this was going to be the best approach, because nothing can correct paint like a rotary. Just be cautious, and have enough sense to let someone else do the serious detailing on your truck if you sense you're in over your head.