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Jaded Burnout posted:I'm sure our testing standards have their flaws, but they do seem to be better than a lot of states purely based on stories I hear. Our MOT takes about an hour of a dedicated mechanic's time, per car, each year, and it's a national database so the cops can ping you on ANPR if it's expired. I was a mechanic for a long time in a state with no mot testing and there are so many blown out shitboxes rolling around that are a danger to everyone. More than once I've asked someone how often they put brake fluid in their car and got "in the morning before I leave for work, and again before I go home" as the answer.
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Aug 15, 2020 22:00
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Ah the perpetual brake fluid flush.
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Aug 15, 2020 22:06
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I know being poor is expensive, but that's gotta be about a $100 in brake fluid per month...
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Aug 15, 2020 23:36
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I’m not recommending anyone do this, but I know for a fact you can buy brake fluid at the 99c store. But yeah, being poor sucks and costs a lot.
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Aug 15, 2020 23:55
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LeeMajors posted:Apparently I'm an idiotic, rear end in a top hat rube who's just used Windex for several decades and Invisible Glass is way loving better. Holy poo poo. fyi next time you use the griots synthetic clay, you can use it with a batch of fresh, soapy water instead of the expensive quick detailer stuff
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Aug 16, 2020 00:01
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Jaded Burnout posted:I'm sure our testing standards have their flaws, but they do seem to be better than a lot of states purely based on stories I hear. Our MOT takes about an hour of a dedicated mechanic's time, per car, each year, and it's a national database so the cops can ping you on ANPR if it's expired. *laughs in Floridian* Unrelated, I literally just saw a dude driving a Lada in Doral. It’s totally related.
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Aug 16, 2020 00:31
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BraveUlysses posted:fyi next time you use the griots synthetic clay, you can use it with a batch of fresh, soapy water instead of the expensive quick detailer stuff And if you want the ability to make bulb quick detailer for cheap, just buy Optimum No Rinse. I forget the ratio but it's something like a cap or less plus water to refill a bottle of quick detailing spray. Also, it smells very nice and that is also important.
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Aug 17, 2020 00:49
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BraveUlysses posted:fyi next time you use the griots synthetic clay, you can use it with a batch of fresh, soapy water instead of the expensive quick detailer stuff I'll give it a shot. I saw it in some of the videos I watched (I think the one on their website too) but I think it was just too loving hot and it dried out pretty immediately. Even soaked. gently caress these 90F mornings before 8am.
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Aug 17, 2020 01:09
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Since I washed and waxed the car this weekend, the next step is the interior. Took advantage the cool weather and sitting in the car dropoff line for 20 minutes this morning and brought the vacuum and detailing supplies.
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Aug 17, 2020 16:13
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Almost time for the fall sealant application. Should I clay again or say gently caress it?
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Aug 18, 2020 02:16
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Does it feel completely smooth?
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Aug 18, 2020 02:22
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 Now they are! Spent 9 hours getting them both shined up and now I'm praying it doesn't rain for a few days.
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Sep 3, 2020 01:58
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I have so much sap on my truck I don't think I'll get it off in one session. We had an extreme heat wave a few weeks ago and it made the oak tree that hangs over both my cars jizz sap like crazy. I have sap remover and all that, but in my past experiences pretty thick sap doesn't just wipe off instantly.
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Sep 3, 2020 06:35
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Update: the sap that was covering my car washed off very easily with just a regular wash. I think my collinite + bead maker combo may have had something to do it with as the windows still had some sap on them post-wash, but that came off easily with Ammo's breathe or whatever their drying agent is called (it's some easily evaporated hydrocarbon)
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Sep 4, 2020 19:04
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What’s the thread favourite, easy to apply, sealant?
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Sep 4, 2020 20:25
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Carbon collective hybrid is the best imo
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Sep 4, 2020 20:31
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Does anyone have any experience with CarPro CQuartz UK 3.0 ceramic coat? This is an SiO2 product My specific questions are: Life On The Car: How long does it last on the car? The manufacturer says it lasts about two years, with the “possibility” of it lasting longer. I’ve heard from a few people insist that it can “last a long time” with proper maintenance. I don’t think these people are the type to put in full maintenance. Maintenance: what is the typical way to maintain a ceramic coat? I’ve heard everything from wipe off dirty spots once you see them to wash the car every two weeks like clockwork. What would I do during winter? It’s usually cold and occasionally precipitating. Wash it? Just wipe it? I’m in Denver and they use a lot of magnesium chloride here, so I’m sure I’d have to do something to get that crap off. I just don’t know what. Replace/Redo the coat: Let’s say I decide to put this stuff on my car. This is a coat where you have to wait for a flashpoint before you wipe it off. Say it’s about two years from now, and the coat looks like it’s worn off in several spots, or it’s worn down at least. Do I have to strip the old stuff off before I could redo it? How difficult would that be? I have an amateur understanding of this stuff and don’t want to get over my head. Home application gets messed up: Let’s say I put this stuff on my car and I’m unhappy with it and it’s been a few days. Is it possible to take off at home?
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Sep 5, 2020 20:59
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TheBoyBlunder posted:Does anyone have any experience with CarPro CQuartz UK 3.0 ceramic coat? This is an SiO2 product Ceramics “lifetime” varies by manufacturer and product line. Generally the professional stuff done by an authorized shop is warrantied longer. How long it lasts is determined by how you take care of it. I wash mine every 2-3 weeks with optimum maintenance wash and do spot cleaning in between with optimums quick detailer. Some ceramics have maintenance products to use at certain intervals. Ive got XPel fusion on mine and they make a ceramic spray for upkeep, but its like a twice a year thing. Warranty on mine is 4 years, Optimum’s pro line product has a 10yr warranty or something stupid too. Dont use any solvents or whatever once its on, just water and ph neutral soap. Winter time just hose it off once a week. As to it wearing thin you’d want to strip the car before reapplying and it can be polished off with an orbital and some ultimate compound or whatever polish you prefer. Same goes for if you dont wipe a panel off on the first application. I had mine done by a shop and Im super happy with it, but i also got it for “free” cause they did a whole car ppf job too. Call around and get pricing on having it done vs doing it yourself if youre worried about it.
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Sep 5, 2020 23:17
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MomJeans420 posted:Update: the sap that was covering my car washed off very easily with just a regular wash. I think my collinite + bead maker combo may have had something to do it with as the windows still had some sap on them post-wash, but that came off easily with Ammo's breathe or whatever their drying agent is called (it's some easily evaporated hydrocarbon)
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Sep 7, 2020 23:39
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:I would love some more info about this. The driveway at my parents' place is lined with pine trees that have utterly murdered every car they own with sap. It's so bad that when I go there I park towards the street. They get their cars detailed a couple times a year but it's not enough to get the sap out, and they are left with some sealed in that eats away at the paint and turns into spots. I used to clean pine sap off my mom's car after it had sat on and baked for a long time and the only thing that really got it off well was acetone. Use at your own risk as half the people online think it will 100% ruin your paint, the other half seem to think it's fine, but it never damaged my mom's older Isuzu Rodeo. Probably wouldn't use it on a nice newer car without more investigation. Currently I have oak sap on my cars from the heatwave, but just Meguiar's gold class is getting it off fairly easily. The cars were washed, my white car received iron decontamination spray, then I used a synthetic clay bar. After that is a coat of Collinite 845, which is pretty easy to apply except it needs to be warmed up in hot water so it will flow out of the bottle if the ambient air temperature isn't high enough. Once that was on for the appropriate amount of time (I think I may have waited a day, not sure if that is necessary though) I followed it up with a coat of P&S BeadMaker, which is incredibly easy to apply and smells very nice. I don't know how much of the protection comes from the Collinite vs the BeadMaker, but the combo makes my pearl white car blinding in the sun and the sap just wipes off. I did notice the sap on the windows was harder to remove, so that's what makes me think the wax and sealant combo helped a lot.
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Sep 10, 2020 16:42
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Is ultimate compound good to use on headlights? I just bought a 2nd gen Prius and they need a polish.
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Sep 15, 2020 03:23
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I used Plastx or whatever it's called and it worked a treat.
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Sep 15, 2020 03:50
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fknlo posted:Is ultimate compound good to use on headlights? I just bought a 2nd gen Prius and they need a polish. If anything it might be overkill, but should be fine. Depends on how bad they are. Edit: Don't forget to protect them after, or they'll haze up in no time again.
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Sep 15, 2020 06:26
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I got a quote on a full workup for the Volvo and gave my GF some sticker shock for having a pro do it for me.local detail shop posted:we would deep wash, clay bar, iron fallout and paint correct the entire vehicle. Then we would ceramic coat all paint, glass, and wheels. We would perform a deep clean and detail on the interior. Pricing for everything mentioned above is $1500. Overall not bad, and I'll probably get on the schedule and post pics here after. I'm just tired of trying to do everything with no garage/shade.
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Sep 15, 2020 12:02
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Sounds reasonable depending on the level of correction. I'd expect a high level of defect removal (that can be safely removed) for that price.
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Sep 15, 2020 12:23
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MrOnBicycle posted:Edit: Don't forget to protect them after, or they'll haze up in no time again. What's best for this? There seem to be plenty of options with really mixed reviews.
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Sep 15, 2020 13:40
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I had Xpel headlight film applied on my Mazda3 after one of the lights started to haze up, and it's kept the lights looking fine for the last five years, despite the car being parked outside. I think I paid about $200 to get it done (you can buy the kits to DIY for about $70-80), and it's got a 10 year warranty with the installation. The film is slightly visible if you know exactly where to look and are standing right next to the car, but it's basically invisible from more than 3 feet away, and it's held up very well in the five years I've had it installed.
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Sep 15, 2020 16:15
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fknlo posted:What's best for this? There seem to be plenty of options with really mixed reviews. If you want to do it properly, put on some 2k clear coat and it'll last. You could put on ceramic coatings as well (I did this), and it should last a couple of years before you need to reapply it. There are headlight protection sealants etc, but you'll have to put those on pretty often (kinda same principle as on paint, really). Honestly, it's probably easiest to just 2k clear them if you got them off.
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Sep 16, 2020 05:40
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Digital_Jesus posted:Because its not 303 aero I got 303 and used it yesterday and wow. I was using greasy armor all like the other poster and 303 is great. Completely revitalized the dash on a car from 2015 with nearly 100k miles. Like other posters mentioned no greasiness at all. How do you guys wash your microfiber towels? Warm water and tide? dangling pointer fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Sep 29, 2020 |
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Sep 29, 2020 00:12
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dangling pointer posted:
I run mine through on a cold cycle with a detergent that doesn't have fabric softener, and then either air dry them or run them through the dryer on low.
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Sep 29, 2020 02:39
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I chuck them in the washer like anything else and dry them on whatever setting the dryer auto dries at.
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Sep 29, 2020 02:44
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I go fancy with a cold wash on the delicates setting with a microfiber wash detergent, it was relatively inexpensive for a gallon container which seems to last forever and they come feeling like new so I feel it was worth it for the no worry hassle free approach. Also tumble dry on delicate setting and lowest heat setting with nothing added to the drier.
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Sep 29, 2020 02:49
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If you dry them, don't use dryer sheets (the fabric softener clogs up the fibers), and be aware that microfiber towels stick to things like a sonofabitch because of how much static they generate.
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Sep 29, 2020 03:17
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Digital_Jesus posted:I chuck them in the washer like anything else and dry them on whatever setting the dryer auto dries at. This is me and I can't tell the difference between my washed microfibers and brand new ones out of the packaging.
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Sep 29, 2020 03:28
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Thanks, I was over thinking it. Regular detergent with no fabric softener it is. Since I’ve been staying home more, for obvious reasons, I’ve been enjoying keeping my car clean. This thread has been a solid resource for that. YouTube people pushing products or just going way overboard on poo poo like calculation the impact panel ratio or whatever makes it tiresome to find products that are actually worth it. Now I just need to decide if I want to pull the trigger on a random orbital polisher before winter gets here. I’m in northern Ohio, during the winter months I try to rinse the salt off when I can and that’s about it.
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Sep 29, 2020 03:59
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I think this will go against the grain, but I don't think the DA polisher is worth it unless you have a big job ahead of you. I've used mine to put wax on the Sierra, which is a lot of area, and it was good but not $100 of tool good. If I'm going to apply wax quarterly I can stand to do it by hand. That being said I get a lot of use out of mine as I use it for sanding, buffing and polishing on my painting job. I did use mine I was practice on some old paint, and if I had a car that was looking rough but solid underneath I'd buy one for sure.
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Sep 29, 2020 04:36
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StormDrain posted:I think this will go against the grain, but I don't think the DA polisher is worth it unless you have a big job ahead of you. I've used mine to put wax on the Sierra, which is a lot of area, and it was good but not $100 of tool good. If I'm going to apply wax quarterly I can stand to do it by hand. Yeah that’s why I’m on the fence. The few times a year I wax my car it’s not a huge time investment. Maybe I’ll ask my dad is he wants to split the purchase, he has a Silverado high country he loves to keep clean and waxed. Most of the time I go over my parents house to wash/wax anyway because they have a carport I can park under to keep it in the shade while I work.
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Sep 29, 2020 05:40
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On the contrary, a decent cheap DA makes life so much easier when you need to polish something. I also bought a smaller rotary with a ton of different sizes of backing plates and man is it nice to have. Could access places the DA was too big for. Pads are the expensive bit really.
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Sep 29, 2020 13:12
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The actual wax/sealant step of detailing is like the least labor intensive step (outside of a panel wipedown) so a DA really isn't necessary for it. However, if you want to do ANY defect removal, it's pretty much required if you don't hate yourself.
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Sep 29, 2020 15:08
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bull3964 posted:The actual wax/sealant step of detailing is like the least labor intensive step (outside of a panel wipedown) so a DA really isn't necessary for it. Oh yeah, I've never used a DA for that.
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Sep 29, 2020 16:25
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