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This thread is mostly just to keep track of what I have done to the truck.
A little background on this truck. I am the second owner and it had 68k miles when I got it. The truck was in pretty good shape when I got it. I've literally become obsessed with this thing. I take meticulous care of it, it is my baby. I've done a lot, but mostly subtle changes. Hope you enjoy. Also, let me know if there is anything else that you think I should do to it.
Here is a picture of the truck after I just got her:
The first thing I did was change the spark plugs. The mechanic said only one of them broke so not so bad.
The truck has been taken care of, but the previous owner had a sound system on it and decided to remove it and only left the front speakers on it. He did give me some cheap Walmart speakers for the meantime though. I decided I would match the front speakers and order new Kenwood speakers for the rear.
I also decided I would upgrade the radio to a Kenwood double din:
Next I polished the wheels because they were in desperate need of some love. Here's the before and after of the center caps, big difference IMO:
I then upgraded all of the interior and exterior 194 bulbs to LED's this a before and after of the map lights, which I later decided were too blue and bought new white LED bulbs:
I noticed that the door jam protector? was wearing and bought some new ones for all for of the doors. I think they look great:
I also decided to add side steps because everyone would complain of getting in and out of the truck.
Next I decided the the emblems looked too boring so I decided to plasti-dip them and and a red overlay. Again, I think they make a big but subtle difference. Also, in this picture you could see that I added a license plate backup camera, but since then it has been upgraded.
The bed rails were looking a little old so I decided to plasti-dip them , but that didn't last long. So then I decided I would try spray on bed liner, which has held up great. Here is a picture of the bed rails before and after:
I decided I would add two 30" LED light bars:
The light output was good, but I just didn't feel satisfied so I moved one of the 30" LED light bars to the lower grille opening, where much more light was exposed:
Wait, there's more... I decided that I didn't like a straight LED bar down there so then I went ahead and bought a 30" CURVED LED bar. It looked 100 times better IMO. Here is the straight vs the curved:
I bought all three of the LED bars off of Amazon. They are all different brands.
The first two that I bought, the straight ones are Penton and Eyourlife brands.
The curved LED bar (my favorite and the brightest) is by Auxbeam.
The Eyourlife LED light bar is a bit brighter than Penton's, but Eyourlife makes a high pitched sound. Auxbeam is by far the brightest, I would go as far as to say that it is as bright as the Penton and Eyourlife light bars combined. So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Rigid, I would definitely suggest Auxbeam.
BTW, all LED bars have been moisture free and all LED's are still working like the day I put them on!
Last edited by TheRedF150; 08-31-2016 at 02:12 AM.
So then I started toying around with the idea of getting new wheels. I wasn't sure how black wheels would look, so photoshopped some on:
Well a few days after I photoshopped this image, I decided to pull the trigger and well here are the new wheels:
I think the wheels make a big difference. I never did like the old wheels. So i sold the old wheels and never looked back!
Here is a shot of the truck being foamed:
I keep the truck detailed and it has really become an obsession.
Here is a list of the detailing products I use if anyone is interested:
Exterior:
Wax: Collimate 845 (Best wax I have used)
Soap: Meguiars gold class (nothing special, does a good job)
Buckets: I use a two bucket system with grit guards
Pressure Washer: Honda 3200 PSI
Foam Cannon: Generic Amazon one $20 (Works great, no complaints here)
Tire dressing: Chemical Guys Silk Shine (diluted for more of a matte look)
Washing: I use Adam's wash pad
Wheels: I use the large EZ Detail Brush among other brushes for lug nuts
Tires: I use a dollar store brush and soap to keep these 35" tires clean
Drying Paint: I use Adam's Great White (waffle weave) along with Meguiars X-press wax.
Drying Wheels: The rag company's all purpose black microfiber towels
Buffer/Polisher: Porter-Cable
Buffing/Polishing/Waxing pads: Chemical Guys, and Meguiar's microfiber pads for deep correction.
Chrome Polish: Mother's mag and aluminum polish
Plastics: Mother's back to black every few months
Windows: Just a mist of ISP or water and buff off with microfiber towel of your choice.
Interior:
I just use a shop vac to vacuum and I use microfiber towels to wipe down the interior with a tiny mist of water.
Let me know if you want to know anything else about detailing or washing your trucks. On average it takes me about an hour and half to two hours to do a normal wash of my truck.
If I'm detailing it, it is probably going to take me a few days in order to do it in stages.
Last edited by TheRedF150; 08-31-2016 at 02:13 AM.
08-31-2016, 01:47 AM
05 Red F150
