SUVs are always… a lot. This 2017 Tahoe LTZ received a pretty comprehensive package:

• Scratch Free Wash
• Wheel Off Detail and Coating
• Decontamination
• Ceramic Coating
• Interior Deep Clean
• Leather Coating

The paint was in fairly poor condition at 60,000 miles. There was extensive acid etching, swirl marks, and RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches) throughout.

Wash

First up was a foam bath with Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam to remove the majority of the dirt and road grime. Since it was threatening rain, I just wanted to get as much of the dirt off as I could before I moved on to a rinseless wash.

Wheels

A wheels-off detail is what it sounds like – the wheels are removed so the barrels can be cleaned and coated as thoroughly as the faces.

Meguiar’s Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner, Gyeon Iron Remover, and Gyeon Tar Remover were all used to clean the wheels and tires. Following cleaning the wheels were wiped down with Gyeon Prep to prepare them for coating with CarPro CQuartz DLUX.

Paint Correction

The lengthiest part – as usual – was the paint correction. Black paint is the most rewarding to work on, as you can get awesome, dramatic results; but also the most challenging for the same reason. My trusty Flex 3401 with 6.5″ pads was used for the majority of the paint, with a Porter-Cable 7424 XP and 3″ pads for pillars and trim areas. I settled on Griot’s Fast Correcting Cream with Griot’s Microfiber Fast Cutting Pads and Lake Country Orange Cutting Pads, followed by Griot’s Perfecting Cream with Lake Country White Polishing Pads.

This horribleness appeared to be where the dealer had globbed on some touchup paint and then tried to sand it down – apparently with some dry 1000 grit sandpaper. I ended up having to bust out the Menzerna Super Heavy Cut Compound 300 to at least clean it up.

I was able to remove the vast majority of the acid etching – guessing from sprinkler water. There was only one spot that had gotten entirely through the clearcoat.

Coating

After wiping down the entire vehicle with Gyeon Prep, I moved on to the ceramic coating. CarPro CQuartz UK 2.0 was used, and I had a harder time than usual applying it. It was quite a bit more humid than normal here in OKC, so the window to wipe it off was very short. Too early and it was smeary, too long and it had dried too much and was grabby. After several painful hours the paint was looking DEEP.

Finito

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos in the sun, but it ended up looking VERY good. If properly maintained the coating will last a good two to three years of easy washing and excellent scratch resistance.

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