Debadging & Polishing my 96'

[moviewithnotitle]

So My Hoe has been in need of some TLC for some time now. The wife and child are away for a few days so I have been busy on Debadging, washing, compounding, polishing and waxing. I'm 7 hours in right now, and only half way done. BUT, the debadging was kinda fun and I took a bunch of pics and a short video. I'll update as I get things completed.

For now here's some pics. I wasn't shocked to find the amount of dirt that I did behind the trim/emblems. I also took off the chrome trim around the wheel wells to aid in getting the compound and polishing done more easily. (these are going back on) There too was a lot of dirt. After removal I washed with soap/water. Dried. Then I used a plastic paint scraper to help in removal of the trim/emblems adhesive tape. Then I used Castrol Super Clean to aid in the removal of the remaining adhesive. Worked like a charm. then I went to town with the polisher.

side note... If your into doing your own work, a good polisher is worth 5x it's weight in gold. A quality set of pads is crucial too. I have a Makita 9227C and use Lake Country 8.5" polishing pads and a combination of waxes and compounds from 3M and Meguires, I highly recommend a good polisher from Makita or Porter-Cable, you won't regret the purchase

That's all for now.
MWNT

 

[RSymons]

Cool, look forward to updates.

 

[blueflamed03]

cool man, you'll love the transformation!

 

[99Yuk]

I'd like to see the after pics!
I'll bet it shines real nice!

Congrats for having the grape fruits to do it!
Me? I'm too scared of wrecking something to do that...

 

[TruckBoss223]

I did mine recently came out good but i got these little bubbles under where the trim was i have to get off . makes the truck look so much nicer also took of the factory running boards and removed all chrome and got a black grille

 

[grnrpr68]

debadged mine awhile ago with a good buff and polish job it looks great

notice the windshield tinted now looks good

 

[moviewithnotitle]

Hey all,
sorry I haven't posted updates in a few days. I am in Cali visiting relatives. The drivers side came out really good, as did the barn doors. I actually still have the passenger side left to polish. I got a paint pen as well to help touch up some of the little dings. all much needed TLC.

 

[moviewithnotitle]

I need to do updates here...

I got the debadging and polishing completed some time ago, but I am stuck on the chrome trim around the wheels. I had the trim off for a while and it was growing on me, then I put them back on and I think it looks silly!

Thoughts? (sorry for the crappy pic, the sunlight was playing against me)

 

[tahoeface]

I need to do updates here...

I got the debadging and polishing completed some time ago, but I am stuck on the chrome trim around the wheels. I had the trim off for a while and it was growing on me, then I put them back on and I think it looks silly!

Thoughts? (sorry for the crappy pic, the sunlight was playing against me)

IMHO take of chrome..i did with mine and like it

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

loose em.

 

[bowtiefreak]

no chrome. I am so glad this truck had no trim on it when I bought it. lost a few emblems and a pin strip and that was it

 

[IRQVET]

You have got to remove that ugly chrome around fenders. They really take away from the look your going for. I removed mine from my old 98 Yukon and they come off easy enough, just a screw driver and some tug-o-war and your there.

 

[moviewithnotitle]

You have got to remove that ugly chrome around fenders. They really take away from the look your going for. I removed mine from my old 98 Yukon and they come off easy enough, just a screw driver and some tug-o-war and your there.

Yea man, I know. I tossed them back on to see how it would look, and just haven't had the time to remove them.Even the wife said something to the effect of "that doesn't look so good", then I knew for sure that I was on the wrong path! LOL

 

[moviewithnotitle]

So I am BENT right now. I put the stupid chrome trim back on the wheel wells to see how it would look after the de-badging. They weren't on long (2 weeks), but the damage is done. I took the trim off yesterday and every well has some minor scratches from the trim rubbing that wasn't there before. Time to get the buffer out again and see if I can remedy the damage.

 

[bowtiefreak]

See, chrome sucks.

So do scratches, hopefully they are light and come out quick

 

[TonyJ]

I agree it would look better without the trim, but if you have issues underneath, you could always go with the black wheel well trim from LMC. It's only $50 or so and wouldn't stand out as much.

 

[Disturbed]

I took some of mine off my 96', come to find out that part of the paint was faded!?!?!? Any ideas why this is? I left the trim on the 4 doors on and the one on the fenders was removed as well as on the back. The fenders was ok, but the back was where it was faded, and it was faded in the middle between the 2 sticky strips of the molding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TonyJ]

I took some of mine off my 96', come to find out that part of the paint was faded!?!?!? Any ideas why this is?

It sounds more like oxidation. Try clay bar on a spot and see if you can polish it out. There's a good chance your truck just needs a good compounding/buffing.

 

[raptorforme93]

When you guys say compounding do you mean using a clay bar or is compounding something else? What does compounding do?

 

[TonyJ]

Clay bar is a less aggressive way to get down to the clear coat. Usually used prior to a full detailing job to get the nicest surface to start with. It cuts through sap and other crap that builds up on the clear coat. Compounding is a more aggressive buffing that uses paste-based abrasives and power tools to get through oxidation and pits in the clear coat. It's also easy to jack up a paint job if you get too aggressive...