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I bought a lexol 908 kit a few months back and I'm happy with it. I saw the other day that my local Walmart carries those products too, just not in kit form (separate cleaner and conditioner). Not gonna lie, I love the smell.
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Apr 18, 2016 17:48
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I have a cheapie ozone generator that I got off amazon and have tried using it in my 330i to clear up some of the ~funk~ that I smell when I turn off the air conditioning. Should I run it again or try spraying some lysol down into the vents to kill off whatever is growing down there?
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Apr 18, 2016 18:44
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BraveUlysses posted:I have a cheapie ozone generator that I got off amazon and have tried using it in my 330i to clear up some of the ~funk~ that I smell when I turn off the air conditioning. Should I run it again or try spraying some lysol down into the vents to kill off whatever is growing down there? How long did you run it? Was the fan on high and set to recirculate?
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Apr 18, 2016 19:17
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EVERYWHERE 
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20 minutes, recirculate was on IIRC
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Apr 18, 2016 21:01
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Do the same thing, again. Make sure the doors/windows are shut, so you are in as much of a closed system as possible. Timer for 30 minutes, then leave it closed for another 30. Should make a big difference (did it make a difference the first time?)
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Apr 18, 2016 22:56
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Not sure when I'm washing my car next, but might as well ask now before I forget. Is there a trick to cleaning the door sills and other places like that? I always forget until after I dry everything off and open a door and see the sill looking like rear end. Is it just a matter of remembering to go in and wipe it off with a soapy/wet sponge/rag or something first before washing the rest of the car?
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Apr 19, 2016 00:56
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japtor posted:Not sure when I'm washing my car next, but might as well ask now before I forget. Is there a trick to cleaning the door sills and other places like that? I always forget until after I dry everything off and open a door and see the sill looking like rear end. Is it just a matter of remembering to go in and wipe it off with a soapy/wet sponge/rag or something first before washing the rest of the car? If they're really dirty, yeah. Once they're clean, it's easier to keep up with. I wash the outside fully, making sure to spray into the door gaps. Once the car is dry, I open the doors/hood/trunk and wipe all those dry. Don't forget the insides of the doors, especially the area below the door panel that you rarely see... it gets hella dirty if you don't wipe it on occasion.
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Apr 19, 2016 01:08
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Lexol>Megiuar's for leather IMO. I've actually used it on shoes too and it's pretty good there too, though for deep conditioning Obenauf's is better. I detailed my car this weekend, I'll post some pictures in a few days with some results.
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Apr 19, 2016 04:50
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Are there some types of auto paint that don't use a clearcoat? I went over my zx2 with a clay bar then some ultimate compound, and the blue from the paint was showing up on the clay bar and the cloth I was using with the ultimate compound. There aren't chunks of clearcoat coming off of the car so I guess that either the clearcoat came off over the entire car already or it never had it to from the factory. Also all that work didn't make the paint look any less lovely.
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Apr 23, 2016 19:52
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Yes, single stage paint
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Apr 23, 2016 20:03
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Rubiks Pubes posted:Yes, single stage paint Is that type repairable? All the metal surfaces that face upwards are very dull looking.  The sides and plastic parts like that bumper and the pic still have some shine to them. That pic is after washing, clay bar, ultimate compound, and wax.
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Apr 23, 2016 20:12
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SperginMcBadposter posted:Is that type repairable? All the metal surfaces that face upwards are very dull looking. From what I can see from the picture I'd say this link (and whole channel to be honest) would be pretty good to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hikW5GwRGW8 In essence: It should be able to be polishable, and since it's single stage you can actually do it by hand. I'd watch some videos to get a better understanding of the process(es) and gear needed, and then give it another go.
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Apr 23, 2016 21:18
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I have always big into washing/waxing my cars but I started to realize that "wash/dry/wax" wasn't cutting it on some of the cars I touch. I bit the bullet yesterday and picked up the recommended Porter Cable DA and some Meguiars utlimate compound. I just used the white pad that came with the PC, knowing that i need to get better ones. I took the hood of my girlfriend's super abused 2010 Forester and went from to  It was terrifying first, then pretty fun. I used the only wax I had on hand after (meguairs cleaner paste). I did have some questions though. 1) How can I deal with the deeper sap marks towards the top right corner of the "after" picture? Would a more aggressive pad have helped? 2) This same car has rust forming at the top windshield lip, spots about half the diameter of a dime. They are still paint-covered but very obviously bubbling. The shape of the ridge means that it just gets hammered with road debris and some sand/salt obviously made it through the paint. How can I deal with that? Sand/duplicolor/wetsand/heavy buff? It's not worth paying someone on but I'd like to at least get the rust stopped and covered. Since it's a knockaround vehicle, I thought about cutting a clear piece of clear bra into a strip and slapping it on there after. 3) More of a theory question: this vehicle is driven all year round in the Northeast by someone that doesn't give a poo poo about it. Is it even worth removing those spots, or am I better off not removing anymore clear to give what's left a better chance of survival? I'm pretty pumped though, I think I can save some of my older cars now that don't look as good as they should.
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Apr 24, 2016 15:45
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Laserface posted:Has anyone here used one of those polymer coated 'clay' rags? I tried a G3 Clay Mitt and found it to be really great. I washed the car thoroughly, then you squirt some detailing fluid (but water is probably fine as well) and lightly rub the area with the sticky "clay" side of the mitt. Even after being washed, you can still feel tiny particles on the paint, then the clay pulls them off and it ends up feeling perfectly smooth. Leaves a great surface for waxing and is quite satisfying to know how finely you've cleaned the surface.
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Apr 24, 2016 16:35
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SperginMcBadposter posted:Is that type repairable? All the metal surfaces that face upwards are very dull looking. Plastic parts are a different type of paint. The faded stuff is single stage. I'd avoid wet sanding if you are not super familiar with it. Meguiars Ultimate Compound is magic with trashed single stage paint, but it takes some work. Look up my old MR2 thread if it's still around, I took something worse than that and jeweled it up with Meg's UC and a Porter Cable DA Polisher. TacoHavoc posted:
Looks great! Welcome to the rabbit hole. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that the spots you're seeing are actually into the paint at this point, nothing you can really do about them. With the rust, be careful... take the size of the bubbled area you see and double it, that's how big a spot you'll end up with when you stop grinding. For small areas, you can do what I just did with my Envoy last week. It started with one half-dime-sized bubbled area. I took a grinding stone and my Dremel and went to town. I ended up with a spot just bigger than half of a quarter... and two other spots that I noticed as I was doing it. From there, I used the POR15 kit (degreaser / metal prep / POR15) on the areas that I opened up. After a bit, while the POR15 was still soft, I added a bit of touch-up to the mix... the instructions say to do this to ensure good adhesion with the final round of touch-up. I let it cure out over night, touched it up and put it back together. Should be good for a while. I was working in an area underneath the liftgate handle, though. The windshield rust spots are more often problematic due to the rust going into/under the windshield and windshield channel. Best advice is to keep on top of it as much as possible.
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Apr 24, 2016 16:51
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TacoHavoc posted:I have always big into washing/waxing my cars but I started to realize that "wash/dry/wax" wasn't cutting it on some of the cars I touch. I bit the bullet yesterday and picked up the recommended Porter Cable DA and some Meguiars utlimate compound. I just used the white pad that came with the PC, knowing that i need to get better ones. I took the hood of my girlfriend's super abused 2010 Forester and went from Awesome Job! quote:1) How can I deal with the deeper sap marks towards the top right corner of the "after" picture? Would a more aggressive pad have helped? I would go up to a orange pad with Megs 105 and see if that helps, if it doesn't, then the sap has chewed it up too far and you will have to get it repaired. quote:2) This same car has rust forming at the top windshield lip, spots about half the diameter of a dime. They are still paint-covered but very obviously bubbling. The shape of the ridge means that it just gets hammered with road debris and some sand/salt obviously made it through the paint. How can I deal with that? Sand/duplicolor/wetsand/heavy buff? It's not worth paying someone on but I'd like to at least get the rust stopped and covered. Since it's a knockaround vehicle, I thought about cutting a clear piece of clear bra into a strip and slapping it on there after. You nailed it on the head, you are going to have to sand it down to bare metal to fix it, and the sooner the better. A clear bra would also be a good idea as well, just make sure to change it once a year or whenever dirt starts to peal it up, whichever comes first. quote:3) More of a theory question: this vehicle is driven all year round in the Northeast by someone that doesn't give a poo poo about it. Is it even worth removing those spots, or am I better off not removing anymore clear to give what's left a better chance of survival? Remove them, she may not give a poo poo about it, but rust is a cancer, will hurt the resale value, and she might care about it in the future at which point it will cost a huge amount more to fix than if you did it now. quote:I'm pretty pumped though, I think I can save some of my older cars now that don't look as good as they should. Welcome to the bad back club! 
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Apr 24, 2016 16:54
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I'm going back and forth between CQuartz and Opticoat for my black car. I would prefer longevity more than anything because I have a baby due in October so my detailing time is probably going to be significantly reduced. What are the pros and cons of each?
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Apr 24, 2016 18:18
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Windshield question: after cleaning both sides of the front windshield I've discovered that much of what I thought was dirt, etc is actually itty-bitty pits and scratches absolutely covering the windshield, due to the horrid winter road sand, etc. Is there anything that can be done to cure these, short of replacing the windshield entirely? They're super annoying when the sun is in your face; makes it hard to see out.
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Apr 24, 2016 18:42
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Not really, unfortunately. You may have some luck with using jeweller's rouge to polish them, and if you're at the point of replacing the screen anyway, there's no reason not to give it a try.
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Apr 24, 2016 18:58
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TacoHavoc posted:I bought a lexol 908 kit a few months back and I'm happy with it. I saw the other day that my local Walmart carries those products too, just not in kit form (separate cleaner and conditioner). Not gonna lie, I love the smell. Mat_Drinks posted:Lexol>Megiuar's for leather IMO. I grabbed a Lexol kit (cleaner, conditioner, sponges) off of Amazon. The back seats were filthy beneath my kids' car seats, and the cleaner made short work of all the accumulated gunk. I cleaned and conditioned all the seats and the whole interior looks like new now. Thanks for the recommendations!
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Apr 24, 2016 20:40
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El Scotch posted:Windshield question: after cleaning both sides of the front windshield I've discovered that much of what I thought was dirt, etc is actually itty-bitty pits and scratches absolutely covering the windshield, due to the horrid winter road sand, etc. There is polish for windshields, and it's worth giving that a try. Then again, it's up to you to determine if 3 hours polishing a windshield is worth not spending 150~$ on a new windshield. 
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Apr 24, 2016 21:51
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El Scotch posted:Windshield question: after cleaning both sides of the front windshield I've discovered that much of what I thought was dirt, etc is actually itty-bitty pits and scratches absolutely covering the windshield, due to the horrid winter road sand, etc. Check with your insurance company, since windshields are covered with zero deductible in some states, and in other cases the windshield may be covered under comprehensive insurance, so it doesn't affect your rates. I had to replace the windshield on my '15 Mazda3 after it got horrible pitting from sanded roads, and State Farm covered it via the comprehensive policy, so my out of pocket cost was $50 (for a $400 windshield), and my rates won't go up since it counts as an "act of God".
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Apr 24, 2016 22:07
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El Scotch posted:Windshield question: after cleaning both sides of the front windshield I've discovered that much of what I thought was dirt, etc is actually itty-bitty pits and scratches absolutely covering the windshield, due to the horrid winter road sand, etc. Cerium Oxide. It can be had cheaply on amazon, just be careful because the poo poo gets everywhere. There are plenty of videos on youtube of people using it, but this will give you an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcFe-WrrNz4... Me, I made a slurry, applied it to a pad and went to work on the glass. In my case it wasn't a windshield, but a weird gash on a side window. Be careful about generating too much heat. Good luck! edit: it does take a while to polish. As someone mentioned above, it could take a few hours depending on the extent of the damage.
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Apr 25, 2016 06:38
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meatpimp posted:Plastic parts are a different type of paint. The faded stuff is single stage. I'd avoid wet sanding if you are not super familiar with it. Meguiars Ultimate Compound is magic with trashed single stage paint, but it takes some work. Look up my old MR2 thread if it's still around, I took something worse than that and jeweled it up with Meg's UC and a Porter Cable DA Polisher. How long did that take on each area before it started to look better? I went digging through my shed and found an old orbital polisher with a thick foam pad on it. Went to the store to get a bonnet for it and nobody had the right size so I ended up holding a microfiber cloth on with a rubber band. I used that with the compound for a little over and hour on a section of the car's hood with no visible change.    Guess the spot I was working on the area in the top left of the pic
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Apr 27, 2016 05:01
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SperginMcBadposter posted:Guess the spot I was working on the area in the top left of the pic haha get a real pad and Ultimate Compound. I can't tell you did anything. The difference should be night and day after only a few minutes.
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Apr 27, 2016 13:42
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Larrymer posted:haha get a real pad and Ultimate Compound. I can't tell you did anything. The difference should be night and day after only a few minutes. Yep, the type of buffer you're using does little more than vibrate. You need a real DA polisher to build up some heat and put some work into the product/surface. Also, don't work on any area for more than 5 or 10 minutes. By then you've either gone through the paint to the primer, or are using something completely insufficient. Either one is bad. Truly, though, to bring back flat single stage paint like that, you need to have a feel for it. You can easily burn the paint, go through, or just waste time.
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Apr 27, 2016 14:57
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Also that paint looks like you didn't clay it. I hope you did though!
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Apr 27, 2016 15:01
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Are you sure that's single stage paint? The bumper looks like a metallic with a clear coat. I know there are single stage metallic paints, but it seems like Ford wouldn't have used one on a car that new.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:34
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zundfolge posted:Are you sure that's single stage paint? The bumper looks like a metallic with a clear coat. I know there are single stage metallic paints, but it seems like Ford wouldn't have used one on a car that new. more than likely that's just pitting from years of road debris.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:41
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I thought it was a DA polisher. The pad part is free spinning from the part that does the orbiting motion. What brick-and-mortar stores sell pads/plates for polishers? I can't tell what would fit from looking at pics on amazon. Also what kind of plate and pad should I be using anyways?
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Apr 27, 2016 15:55
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That "orbital" is a piece of poo poo. Do it by hand, using a real pad, or buy a real machine.
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Apr 27, 2016 19:14
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It's getting there. I got a DA polisher from harbor freight and some foam pads, and I didn't rewax the hood after I worked on it this time. The reflections look like poo poo in the picture, but those are the outlines of the trees overhead visible on some parts of the hood. Some areas ended up looking better than others so I need some more practice.
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Apr 28, 2016 01:40
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You're moving in the right direction. Keep going!
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Apr 28, 2016 13:00
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Not to be a dick at all - I appreciate what you're trying to do - but I see a dented hood with no clearcoat left. For a ZX2. Could you not find one in better shape at a pick-n-pull for the price of the gear you're buying to restore that one?
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Apr 28, 2016 17:11
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amenenema posted:Not to be a dick at all - I appreciate what you're trying to do - but I see a dented hood with no clearcoat left. For a ZX2. Could you not find one in better shape at a pick-n-pull for the price of the gear you're buying to restore that one? The way the hood looks in comparison with the bumper makes it look like it's a single stage paint, which can be brought back.
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Apr 28, 2016 20:43
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Worked on the roof and trunk this time. I was doing 6 passes over a section at a time before wiping the area and applying more compound. I think I did about 30 passes total over the worse looking areas of the trunk, but they still don't look as good as the area that was shaded from the sun by the spoiler. I've been following the hard pad and ultimate compound with some polishing compound on a softer pad, but it doesn't have any noticeable effect.     
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Apr 29, 2016 20:04
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It probably isn't single stage paint or you're still working with lovely equipment.
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Apr 29, 2016 20:26
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SperginMcBadposter posted:Worked on the roof and trunk this time. I was doing 6 passes over a section at a time before wiping the area and applying more compound. I think I did about 30 passes total over the worse looking areas of the trunk, but they still don't look as good as the area that was shaded from the sun by the spoiler. I've been following the hard pad and ultimate compound with some polishing compound on a softer pad, but it doesn't have any noticeable effect. Is your pad filled with color as you do this? If so, it's single stage. You probably won't get to the protected gloss level of the area underneath the spoiler, but you can get close. Keep using the Megs UC, work in a 1'x1' area at a time. In that space, two quarter-sized dollops of product will do it, get on the buffer and stay in that area. For a couple minutes. With some pressure. That will get a good baseline gloss. If you do this and your pad is mostly tan and not blue, you're working with a clearcoat.
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Apr 29, 2016 20:33
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The harbor freight DA (at least the one I tried) is absolute loving garbage.
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Apr 29, 2016 21:06
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meatpimp posted:Is your pad filled with color as you do this? If so, it's single stage. Yeah the pad turns blue after using it on the car.
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Apr 29, 2016 21:09
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