What's In ALM's Garage?

[PTR GT]

Hola from Mexico City.

I'm always curious to see what the price of fuel is in other countries.
Using 1 Mexican Peso = 12.6 Aussie Pesos.

87 here, like the US, is equivalent to our 91 RON
23.99 Pesos translates to AUD$1.90/L

Their 91 (our 95) translates to AUD$2.13, amigos.

Much the same as back home, and more expensive than across the border in Texas.

Cool!! I'm in South Korea... the 91 Unleaded is about AUD$1.74
And the Premium 98 is about AUD$2.07 here. Good thing is Taxi and public transport are both very cheap so we don't need to hire a car. Plus it would be a nightmare to drive here

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[5.0ALM]

We went for a drive out to Lowood this morning for a coffee & sausage roll at Rudy & Ada cafe.

One of the best mochas I have ever had!

This would be a great candidate for a cars 'n coffee, as a Google street view reveals..
Nice cafe in a rural setting, a park opposite with conveniences, and lots of parking.

Back home, and before the expected afternoon storm, time for an overdue wash.

This will be my first try of NV Snow.
Brake Buster ready to start the show is fitted to a cheapy $20 BearForce foam canon, dedicated for wheels & engine bay duty.

I've been using this canon for 6 months now, and I reckon it's perfect as a secondary canon. I simply could not justify the extra expense of an IK Foamer.

After doing the wheels & tyres with Brake Buster, I then remembered I had some NV Purge sitting on the shelf, never used before.

NV purge is a reactive wheel cleaner (changes colour as it reacts with brake dust).
Although the photo doesn't do justice, there was quite a strong reaction on all four wheels.

Granted, the Purge was sprayed undiluted out of the bottle, and the Brake Buster is diluted by applying it with the canon, but I'm left wondering... what the hell did the Brake Buster do?

Perhaps an IK foamer (or a cheaper alternative) for dispensing BB undiluted might be required, or just use Purge, and give BB the ass.

I'm not sure why I purchased two extra Griot's bottles with the canon... because the metering tips renders the supplied bottle unnecessary anyway.

Product bottle simply screws onto Griot's canon.

Nice foam and cleaning with the NV Snow.

Still a novice, and I doubt I could pick the difference between the three shampoos I have in stock here. GSF, Reset and NV Snow. (Also have Lift for every third or so wash).


Rinse and then blow dry with the Ego 765.

I wasn't expecting much from the blower, as the previous wash used Carpro Lift, a high pH soap as I was trying to remove the Bead Maker... getting ready to try Collinite 845 wax.

I know Bowden's doesn't get much love, but I have always liked the Big Green Sucker towel, and how effective that is. That was on a hot standby.

But nope!
Months on, there must have been plenty of Bead Maker still doing it's thing.
The 845 wax will have to wait until after the next high pH wash.


In 7 months, this will be the first time I've thought about applying Darkside.
I've always liked the finished result on my RAV4 tyres, and it's always been easy to apply.

For some reason, these OEM Mustang tyres needed some extra effort to avoid having a streaky finish. I just don't get that with the tyres on the RAV.
Older rubber vs newer rubber? I don't know.

Even after Brake Buster, then NV Purge, then NV Snow, the tyres did appear to have some residual glossy and oily finish. I have no idea what they treated the tyres with in pre-delivery (if anything), but Darkside didn't go on as easy as I was expecting.


The ever reliable for the glass....

Approaching winter, and perhaps the Bilt Hamber might get one last try, before being permanently demoted to house window use only!


With the exterior done, back in the garage... and minutes later it started drizzling.
Good timing.

Interior work tomorrow.

 

[DFB5.0]

Back home, and before the expected afternoon storm, time for an overdue wash.

After doing the wheels & tyres with Brake Buster, I then remembered I had some NV Purge sitting on the shelf, never used before.

NV purge is a reactive wheel cleaner (changes colour as it reacts with brake dust).
Although the photo doesn't do justice, there was quite a strong reaction on all four wheels.

Granted, the Purge was sprayed undiluted out of the bottle, and the Brake Buster is diluted by applying it with the canon, but I'm left wondering... what the hell did the Brake Buster do?

Perhaps an IK foamer (or a cheaper alternative) for dispensing BB undiluted might be required, or just use Purge, and give BB the ass.

Glad to see you having some fun with detailing.

With Purge vs Brake Buster, they have a very different chemical make up and therefore do different things.

Brake Buster is an alkaline cleaner that targets dirt, brake dust and oily/greasy deposits. It also contains corrosion inhibitors and has high level of lubrication. It can't dissolve bonded iron particles, which come from the steel brakes and pad material........................that's where Purge comes in.

If you haven't used a wheel cleaner like that before, they yes, you will get a strong purple iron reaction as it dissolves the 7 month's worth of contamination. I find that you only need to use Purge every few months as a decon, which suits me as the stench isn't pleasant. I find I rarely get much reaction on my cars, which is from a combination of frequent washing and the wheels being coated and rejecting the iron contamination.

Still a novice, and I doubt I could pick the difference between the three shampoos I have in stock here. GSF, Reset and NV Snow. (Also have Lift for every third or so wash).

Those three soaps are at the top of my list for a reason as they offer the best combination of slickness, foam quality, cleaning power and scent. The main difference between them is the cleaning power.

GSF has the lowest cleaning ability of the three, so use that when the car is only mildly dirty.

Reset is said to be pH balanced, which I have verified, but they say it cleans like an alkaline cleaner.

NV Snow is claimed to be pH neutral, however I've measured multiple batches at closer to pH 9+. That means it will offer the most cleaning ability of the three.

Rinse and then blow dry with the Ego 765.

I wasn't expecting much from the blower, as the previous wash used Carpro Lift, a high pH soap as I was trying to remove the Bead Maker... getting ready to try Collinite 845 wax.

I know Bowden's doesn't get much love, but I have always liked the Big Green Sucker towel, and how effective that is. That was on a hot standby.

But nope!
Months on, there must have been plenty of Bead Maker still doing it's thing.
The 845 wax will have to wait until after the next high pH wash.

And people say Bead Maker doesn't last very long!

In 7 months, this will be the first time I've thought about applying Darkside.
I've always liked the finished result on my RAV4 tyres, and it's always been easy to apply.

For some reason, these OEM Mustang tyres needed some extra effort to avoid having a streaky finish. I just don't get that with the tyres on the RAV.
Older rubber vs newer rubber? I don't know.

Even after Brake Buster, then NV Purge, then NV Snow, the tyres did appear to have some residual glossy and oily finish. I have no idea what they treated the tyres with in pre-delivery (if anything), but Darkside didn't go on as easy as I was expecting.

Darkside is known to require more effort to properly massage into the sidewall and deliver a uniform finish.

With the P-Zero's, I've found that the smooth sections of the sidewall absorb dressing differently to the matte/textured sections. The smooth surface tends to become streaky, while also exaggerating a tyre dressing, ie a glossier finish. So no, its not old vs new rubber.

Next time you apply dressing, to get them right back to bare rubber, scrub with Brake Buster as normal, then after blowing dry, go in with a solvent. I use either Stoner's Tarminator or Mineral Spirits (Turpes) on a towel, then scrub the sidewall, repeat as needed. As the solvents evaporate, you are left with a clean, matte sidewall. You will then notice how easily a dressing will glide over the sidewall, as well as delivering a much more uniform and cleaner look.

 

[5.0ALM]

GSF has the lowest cleaning ability of the three, so use that when the car is only mildly dirty.

I have been a bit underwhelmed with GSF, and expected it to clean better than what it has.
Considering all the praise it receives, and it foams well with 100mL per 900mL water, I was beginning to think it was me.

GSF has the best scent (to me), but I place more emphasis on results rather than the user experience.
I won't be restocking GSF when this bottle runs out, despite the more attractive KCx pricing now.

Next time you apply dressing, to get them right back to bare rubber, scrub with Brake Buster as normal, then after blowing dry, go in with a solvent. I use either Stoner's Tarminator or Mineral Spirits (Turpes) on a towel, then scrub the sidewall, repeat as needed. As the solvents evaporate, you are left with a clean, matte sidewall. You will then notice how easily a dressing will glide over the sidewall, as well as delivering a much more uniform and cleaner look.

Noted, literally.
Have left myself a reminder on the bottle... until it becomes second nature.

Appreciate it.

 

[DFB5.0]

I have been a bit underwhelmed with GSF, and expected it to clean better than what it has.
Considering all the praise it receives, and it foams well with 100mL per 900mL water, I was beginning to think it was me.

GSF has the best scent (to me), but I place more emphasis on results rather than the user experience.
I won't be restocking GSF when this bottle runs out, despite the more attractive KCx pricing now.

I can understand that. I think the key to GSF is the "gentle" part, the lack of outright cleaning power is part of the MO. In which case, it's primarily a lubrication agent and perfume dispenser. I've said this before, but Reset tends to ruin you when it comes to other soaps.

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