Well, I took on a job nobody in their right mind would ever take on – a dump truck. (No comment on my state of mind.) I’d done this one once before – 3 years ago. But it sits outside 24/7 in our wonderful Rochester weather. It also hauls blacktop, landscaping debris and snow depending on the season. Said another way, as well cared for as it is mechanically, it leads a tough life.

The truck is a 1998 Ford Aeromax with about 380,000 miles on the clock. It was repainted once, many years ago, so the paint is not original. It’s also single stage so it clogs pads like no tomorrow. How bad was it? Well, I’ll let the following photos tell the story. And remember, these were taken after the truck was washed, blasted with Stoner’s Tarminator and clayed.









You’re probably wondering what technique one would use to try to bring something this faded and oxidized back to life. And remember, the owner just wanted to make it look “as good as possible” without killing myself. (Killing myself would have cost more.) When you have something this far gone, there’s only one product in my arsenal that I reach for Meguiar’s M105. Yes, I hate the dusting too, but the stuff cuts like no tomorrow. So starting with the M105, here’s what I spent the next 6 hours doing:

- M105 on an Orange Lake Country CCS pad on the DeWalt Rotary
- M105 on a Purple Foamed Wool pad on the rotary
- Menzerna P085RD on a Green LC CCS pad on the Flex
- Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Sealant
- Hyperdressing on the tires

How did it turn out? Well the owner stopped by just as I was wiping off the Power Lock and couldn’t believe his eyes. To tell you the absolute truth, neither could I. No, it wasn’t anywhere near perfect, but “significantly better” doesn’t come close to describing the results. See what you think:

 

Wow -- that paint looks like it was in pretty tough shape -- dragging a wash mitt across it must have felt like you were dragging it over sandpaper! That would be a difficult project to work on for a variety of reasons:

- How detailed does an industrial truck like that need to be before it's considered done?

- Lot's of paint area and tough places to reach.

- For me personally, I don't know if my heart would be in a job like that because I'd know that in a few months time all of my hard work would likely be for naught.

 

Correct David, it was a difficult project. But the owner is a very good friend of mine and a loyal customer, so what the heck. And the paint pretty much felt like 80 grit sandpaper (horizontal surfaces only) when I started. As to your questions:

- I considered it done when I ran out of gas. I started at 8 AM and pooped out at about 3 PM.

- Yes, in fact there were many, many places I couldn't reach. Fortunately, the owner understood. And the dump body didn't get touched at all!

- Yes, it will be kind of tough to watch it get hammered. But think of what a good test this is for the Power Lock!

 

Awesome work; that truck looks like it's been repainted!

 

You did an AWESOME job!

What a HUGE difference!

The clarity and shine are amazing!

 

Wow kudos to you man. That came out great. My Dad had a trucking company had the same truck but regular tractor. Lets just say semi's are really tough to keep clean.

Made it look brand new.

 

Thanks guys. It was a bear, but well worth it in the end. The owner had me look at a 1993 F800 he's also got. I may just give it a whirl.

You know, something just struck me. Phil gets all of the cool exotic stuff over at DD. But I get a slightly different kind of exotic stuff. Hmmm. Phil, ever consider dump trucks?