DFB's Detailing Garage

[xrs]

You inspired me to go back out and finish the wifies FG 250k daily, looks ok from 10 yards away lol. I put some new disc and pads on it today, six months ago I got the club mechanic to do all the rear bushes then we were chasing a noise, so he glued in the pads, which I didn't like so new disc and pads, noise turn out to be loose front wheel well plastics, I have also installed Billsteins into the front with the standard spring rate. oh this is Gyeon ceramic MOHS on all the sitting services.

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[DFB5.0]

You inspired me to go back out and finish the wifies FG 250k daily, looks ok from 10 yards away lol. I put some new disc and pads on it today, six months ago I got the club mechanic to do all the rear bushes then we were chasing a noise, so he glued in the pads, which I didn't like so new disc and pads, noise turn out to be loose front wheel well plastics, I have also installed Billsteins into the front with the standard spring rate. oh this is Gyeon ceramic MOHS on all the sitting services.

How did you fix the rattle on the front wheel arch liner, mine does it too.

 

[xrs]

drilled a hole in the wheel well liner and cable tied it to the car not too sure what he cable tied it too he did it, I just gave him the drill and cable ties and looked the other way lol. It the plastic moving at the foot well side of the liner. I will take some photos this week for you. The reason it is rattling are these little clips that holds the liner to the car body they fall out.

 

[DFB5.0]

drilled a hole in the wheel well liner and cable tied it to the car not too sure what he cable tied it too he did it, I just gave him the drill and cable ties and looked the other way lol. It the plastic moving at the foot well side of the liner. I will take some photos this week for you. The reason it is rattling are these little clips that holds the liner to the car body they fall out.

The liners in mine are still attached but the fasteners are sloppy and cause them to rattle over bumps. I'd probably try and find oversized fasteners rather than drilling.

 

[DFB5.0]

Cutting grass for the first time in decades...............................



I had two passes by today say how cool this thing is, and like a proud "grandson" (it's just too old for me to be its fatherly figure), I couldn't help but proudly agree. It's not perfect, it's go a few battle scars, its noisy and kinda dangerous.......................but oh-so full of character.

So, while there is some tinkering still left to do, but I'd consider this 67-year-old Victa recommissioned!

 

[DFB5.0]

Wash day for the Mustang!

Tyres were scrubbed with Undressed, wheels and body cleaned with GSF. Following the blow off, I used Amplify on the paint, wheels, exhaust tips and door jambs. OG TD for the rubber, and a damp towel was used for the interior wipe down.

As the car continues off-gassing, I also wanted to give the interior glass another hit to remove that hazy film. This meant an undignified entry to the back seat armed with Invisible Glass the Clean & Reach Tool.

Just about to hit 800 km.................yeah, I know.

 

[xrs]

Um 2400km must be time to buy some ADS I will look up what you're using for class cleaner chem guys sucks. Order Placed -

 

[DFB5.0]

I also did a bit of mower detailing today in preparation of a little photo shoot.

The little MasterCut 460 got a pre-soak with Bilt Hamber Surfex mixed at 1:1, the rinsed with the pressure washer. I then went back in with an old detailing brush and Surfex, agitated, rinsed again, then applied Hydr02. I followed with a liberal dose of KCx Motorplast and dried it off with the EGO. Almost brand new.

This was in preparation for a photo shoot between old and new. Just over 60-years separates these two Victa Utilities. Despite one being very obviously bigger, both offer an 18-inch cut.

Old vs New Specs -

I said this before, despite the 60-year age gap and additional 35cc, I find it amusing that the 2018 Victa doesn't have the power advantage you might expect over the 1950's Victa. Obviously, one is considerably more fuel efficient and significantly quieter, while one revs to the moon and sounds amazing doing it.

 

[DFB5.0]

Um 2400km must be time to buy some ADS I will look up what you're using for class cleaner chem guys sucks. Order Placed -

Ha ha, that's an understatement!!!!

For glass cleaner, keep it simple. I'd also highly suggest any Mustang Hardtop owner have the Clean & Reach Tool for the rear glass.

1st - Stoner Invisible Glass, affordable and available everywhere.
2nd - P&S True Vue, again simple and effective. Available in RTU and concentrate.
3rd - Gyeon Q2M Glass, smells great and works well.

You also want these 16x24 towels for glass -
The Rag Company Dry Me a River Waffle Weave Towel – The Detail Store

 

[xrs]

ok second order is in for glass cleaning, time to use new stuff on the mustang, finish of all the other stuff on the other cars in the family. I haven't said anything about drying my cars so for about a year and a half now I have been using a BLO AIR-S Car & Bike Dryer. Next step is remove the wife's office (she has retired now) I built, in 3 x 6 of the garage, get my entire 6 x 6 back, put flooring tiles down, building in new cabinets, move the XY Falcon Project to the Left Side of the garage (old office), install the hexagonal LED lighting, then the Mustang gets a new freshly painted and tiled 3 x 6 on the right side. Oh yeah, I build everything myself lol put a new deck on the back of the house in colour bond steel, the wooden one sucked, refurbed the laundry and re plumbed it with a new sink.

 

[DFB5.0]

ok second order is in for glass cleaning, time to use new stuff on the mustang, finish of all the other stuff on the other cars in the family. I haven't said anything about drying my cars so for about a year and a half now I have been using a BLO AIR-S Car & Bike Dryer. Next step is remove the wife's office (she has retired now) I built, in 3 x 6 of the garage, get my entire 6 x 6 back, put flooring tiles down, building in new cabinets, move the XY Falcon Project to the Left Side of the garage (old office), install the hexagonal LED lighting, then the Mustang gets a new freshly painted and tiled 3 x 6 on the right side. Oh yeah, I build everything myself lol put a new deck on the back of the house in colour bond steel, the wooden one sucked, refurbed the laundry and re plumbed it with a new sink.

What flooring tiles are you looking at?

Are you set on Hex lights? I know they look amazing, and if its a pure show garage, they are fine. For working under them, they are super fatiguing and not all that good for consistent light dispersion. Just something to consider.

 

[xrs]

I am looking at these guys and the new Smooth Flex Pro https://design.flexspec.com.au/. Hex lights I have broken it into two atm. 3 x 6 with just the boarder, setting up the other 3 x 6 with the hex pattern

 

[DFB5.0]

I am looking at these guys and the new Smooth Flex Pro https://design.flexspec.com.au/. Hex lights I have broken it into two atm. 3 x 6 with just the boarder, setting up the other 3 x 6 with the hex pattern

When I did my floor back in 2021, there were like two options for that style of tile, so I went with the original Swisstrax Ribtrax. Now there are countless options that offer the same size/spec for similar or less money. Wish I had the choice back then.

 

[DFB5.0]

Well, summer is making a belated appearance. In the past few summers, we haven't had long stretches of above 38-degrees, just the odd hot day followed by a cool change. However, the next 7-days doesn't look pretty, with the lowest temperature predicted being 35 on Wednesday and Saturday. Otherwise, it's going to be a string of 38 and 40-degree days. Have I mentioned I hate summer, there is just no escaping the heat. And no, the air-conditioning still hasn't been fixed.

I'm trying to get what I need done early in the day before retreating back inside. I have a bunch of lawns to do this week as well, which is hard on the body and the machinery. So, I spent some time this morning doing some maintenance on my most used tools.

First up, an oil change on the Rover. This machine has been working hard since I got it back in October, and with the hot weather, I decided it wouldn't hurt to have some fresh oil in there. Before that, I decided to give it a clean, using Bilt Hamber Surfex as a pre-soak.

No agitation was needed, so I just pressure rinsed it, then applied Carpro Hydr02. With the mower still wet, I soaked it down with Motorplast then dried with the Ego. I'm not the biggest fan of Motorplast as I find it too glossy on cars, so this is a good alternative use for it.

Considering the heat, I probably didn't need to warm the engine oil up before draining it, but I did anyway. While the oil was draining, I removed the blade carrier and put an edge back on the blades. I don't normally bother sharpening blades, mainly because I wear them so quick that it's just easier to replace.

New oil added and the air filter cleaned, hopefully its ready for tomorrow.............I'm not.

I also went through the 2-stokes. The Stihl BG86 blower got its air filter blown out and a new spark plug. I also removed the spark arrestor in the muffler and burnt off the carbon. The BG86C I have set up as a vacuum got the same treatment as the blower, except the spark plug which was still pretty new. The Husqvarna 522L trimmer got its air filter and spark plug cleaned, I also removed the exhaust screen but it was clean and clear, this engine never seems to carbon up. Finally, I went around nipping up various T27 screws.

 

[DFB5.0]

I've been looking forward to this! A day in the garage with two cars to detail and nowhere else to be! Despite the heat, nothing was going to stop me getting out there!

I decided to start on the Ranger. Like last week, no rain for several weeks now and everything is just so dry and dusty. The amount of brown that came off the crisp white paint was alarming. I gave the tyres a scrub with Brake Buster, the wheels got cleaned with NV Snow+. I then hit the paint with Megs Hyper Wash before finishing off a bottle of NV Boost v1 for the drying aid. I then vacuumed the interior and wiped everything down with Pilot. Glass with classic Invisible Glass, the engine bay given a quick wipe down with ECH20. I then topped the wheels with Amplify and dressed the tyres with Tire+.

With the Ranger sorted, it was the Jaaaaaag's turn next. Yep, it's on the road again........................

Today's theme was to focus on using NV products, kinda like a refresher after using mostly Amour stuff recently. You will note the Ranger was part of that, but the Jag got it more liberally.

NV Car Care – Nv Car Care USA

Shop NV Car Care Products Online | Waxit Car Care

I've been using NV Snow+ for many years now, but this is the first time I've sampled the latest version which is now colored in a vivid blue rather than clear, still unscented thought. Snow+ produces a runnier foam compared to Snow, but it has excellent dwell time to help break down dirt and grime.

With the Jag having recently done a 500km road trip to Geelong, I felt the need to be a little more thorough today. The engine bay was part of that, which was foamed with Snow+ and then agitated with a Detail Factory synthetic brush and EZ-Detail brush.......................

Rinsed, the entire engine bay was doused with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing mixed at 5:1 for a super subtle finish. If you have the 1:1 pre-mixed RTU bottle of Hyper Dressing, you will need to further water it down to achieve that natural finish. If you are using Carpro Perl, I'd probably use 2:1 or 3:1. Motorplast, use undiluted but know that it will be a more pronounced enhancement.

Don't stress about getting it on the painted sections, it's totally fine and doesn't harm anything or look greasy.

From here, you can simply close the hood and walk away, but I like to go over the engine bay with the EGO first. This removes excess water and helps distribute the Hyper Dressing. I then lower the hood and start the engine to help with drying. I typically leave the engine running while I clean the wheels, long enough to get things 95% dry under there. I will then return to the engine bay at the end of the detail.

With the rolling stock, I scrubbed the rubber with Wise Guy, needing two rounds as they were producing quite a bit of brown. The wheels were cleaned with NV Snow+. I then topped up the Hydr02 and spritzed the rotors with Atom Mac.

Dirtier than normal, I decided to pre-soak the car, again with Snow+............

After rinsing, it was time for the contact wash. Sticking with the NV theme, I switched to Snow. This version produces much thicker foam and has a lovely subtle scent. This is a world-class soap that I tend to forget how good it is.

S for Snow.....................

Clean and blown down with the EGO, I then grabbed another NV product, Boost v2. It's been a very long time since I used this product, and I'm sad to say, Boost has been left behind. It's easy enough to use, but after grabbing ADS Amplify to wipe down the door jambs, Boost just doesn't have the user experience. Amplify is far slicker, far easier to work with and smells absolutely epic.

Overall, Boost v2 feels and behaves much like P&S Defender, as in it doesn't have much lubrication underneath the towel and feels quite grabby to use. So, while longevity is supposed to be decent, the user experience just isn't good enough.

From here, I vacuumed the interior then wiped everything down with ADS Pilot. I also needed to clean the driver seat and steering wheel, selecting Carpro Cleanse. What a dud of a product, one of Carpro's worst. Likewise, the matching Lotion that followed. Actually, I'm annoyed at myself for wasting time using these two. After cleaning the glass, it was time to return to the exterior.

The Wise Guy did a great job resetting the tyres, ready for dressing.

Once again, NV was in the box seat, with Onyx being chosen for the tyres. Compared to Boost which has fallen behind, Onyx is still one of my absolute favorite tyre dressings. It's velvet smooth to apply, offers a just-right enhancement, and smells divine.

Finally, I returned to the engine bay with a towel to level off any Hyper Dressing high spots. I used to detest engine bay detailing, but the method I have adopted makes it a breeze. And doing it like this on a periodic basis, it means you don't need to spend hours fastidiously cleaning nooks and crannies.

Back to spec........................

Returning to NV, it's amazing how fast things move. Five years ago, the NV brand was punching well above it's weight across most of the product line. But other than Boost v2, not much has changed. Without doubt, the soaps are still class leading, as is Purge, Purify and Onyx. However, I think its time for some reformulation elsewhere.

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