[STiSpeed]

Originally Posted by SNE2040

happened to me. best bet is to remove the ballast from the bottom and dry it out (i dried it out by blasting my heat in the car and had the ballast right by the vent for ~10 min). Afterwords it worked!

Thanks man, I'll give it a try, I hope it isn't shot, or I'll have to take the lights apart and put the amber back in then warranty it.

[Peleg]

Originally Posted by dukenukem

Any truth to the Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze being a PITA to work with? If so, any good easier to use alternatives?

It could be if you work in the sun or if the paint is hot after the car was in the sun for a while.

[Peleg]

WD-40 is designed as a lubricant if I'm not mistaken. I wouldn't put it on my wheels.



I personally swear by P21S Wheel Gel. Made in Germany, officially approved by BMW, Porsche, MB and Audi.

I buy it in 500 ml (1/2 liter) bottles from autogeek and mix a bit with hot water. You spray this stuff on the wheel and let it sit for 3 min. A pressure washer will help too.

* Once in 1-2 years, I take the wheels off the car and put about 2 hours into them with this stuff. (See one of the earlier threads)

By the way, I recently purchased P21S all purpose cleaner and it is GREAT! It is based on orange oil and you can use it in different parts of the car. I still like Autoglym allot, but it's not widely available.

[escos]

1) Finding water or citrus based cleaners to use on my engine and car is hard here, I've recently run across some simple green, has anyone　used it on their car?

2) Can't get rid of water spots, what do I do?

[STiSpeed]

I used P21S for a while. I'm not a big fan after my experiences, I use 100% concentration with the stock brake pads, and it still had trouble taking off all the crap on the wheel even after letting it sit and scrubbing it. Not to mention, with how fast the stock wheels get dirty on the stock pads, using P21S can get very expensive.

The best method I have found to keep the wheels clean is change out your brake pads. I am running Axxis Ultimates pads on my car right now and they work really good. Good bite, good wear, and they reduce the amount of brake dust generated by a very good amount. I don't have to clean my wheels as often anymore and when I do, it doesn't take long at all. I just use Megiuars wheel cleaner on my wheels, and it works good.

[05aspenwhitesti_centralnj]

Peleg...any suggestions on how to clean side view mirrors with the rally pig stickers on them? And don't flame for having them on there, I'm sure there is a handfull of you with the pigs or other logos on your ride somewhere.

[dukenukem]

So i just got done with my very first attempt EVER at detailing and here is what i need to clarify for round 2
1. is too much quick detailing spray for claybar a bad thing? I went all out using the supplied spray in the smooth surface kit just to be safe.
2. Using the P21S cleaning lotion .. is it kinda hard to spread or should it spread like you were pouring oil on a smooth surface ? And also .. per panel say the hood .. how much amount should i use? I was going blind and i didnt know if i was using the thing correctly or not. Also .. is a very thin film a good thing or not so good thing ?
3. Same thing for the wax ... how much say for the hood or per door panel should be enough?
4. The clay bar didnt seem to remove some of the black dots on the paint .. what will i need to get them out the next time .. will update this with the pics in the morning.

I did the whole thing at 10 pm so i might have missed some parts but overall i rate it at a B for not being thorough enough... well round 2 comes this weekend.

[05aspenwhitesti_centralnj]

Originally Posted by dukenukem

So i just got done with my very first attempt EVER at detailing and here is what i need to clarify for round 2
1. is too much quick detailing spray for claybar a bad thing? I went all out using the supplied spray in the smooth surface kit just to be safe.
2. Using the P21S cleaning lotion .. is it kinda hard to spread or should it spread like you were pouring oil on a smooth surface ? And also .. per panel say the hood .. how much amount should i use? I was going blind and i didnt know if i was using the thing correctly or not. Also .. is a very thin film a good thing or not so good thing ?
3. Same thing for the wax ... how much say for the hood or per door panel should be enough?
4. The clay bar didnt seem to remove some of the black dots on the paint .. what will i need to get them out the next time .. will update this with the pics in the morning.

I did the whole thing at 10 pm so i might have missed some parts but overall i rate it at a B for not being thorough enough... well round 2 comes this weekend.

I too just did the detailing thing for the first time this weekend. The clay bar actually works wonders on a car that has never been clayed before. I followed the instructions in the link the Peleg provided on the second page post #29 on how to claybar. IMO you can never use too much of the detailing spray when claying. I have little black and orange flecks all throughout the front of my doors and fenders. Spray a gob of the detai spary in a section and take the flattened claybar and rub it back and forth with some light pressure and it should ALL go away. If it doesn't, spray it again and rub again. Very little pressure on the claybar with the right amout of lubrication is actually an incredible thing. I found that after doing the clay that my car was covered in this dirty haze from all the crap plus the spray, I just sprayed it again and then wiped clean with a microfiber towel. Then went on to the polishing. Man this car looks like it just came off the showroom floor. And the paint is smooth as glass. As for the wax, I would probably say that following the directions on the bottle is the best thing to do.

[dukenukem]

i ate through one of the two clay bars provided with the meguiars kit .. i will post a pic of the pieces so i will know if i under used the clay or over used it ...

[The Brick]

i have a problem... i finally got around to buying the ps215 wheel cleaner, and am sad to say it didnt do much... since the day i bought the car (used with 2k miles on it) there was a dust pattern on the wheel.


I have not been able to get it off... i thought hmm maybe its tar, but nope... here are 2 more pics...





its in between every strut on every wheel... what do i do?

[JiveMasterT]

Could try some of that industrial grade meguiars stuff. Be careful with it though.

[DCH]

Try some ScratchX. Worked for me

[Peleg]

Originally Posted by 05aspenwhitesti_centralnj

Peleg...any suggestions on how to clean side view mirrors with the rally pig stickers on them? And don't flame for having them on there, I'm sure there is a handfull of you with the pigs or other logos on your ride somewhere.

No flaming here, nothing wrong with some stickers.

You can try using a Meguiar's detailing brush (they have those on autogeek and there are a few different ones for different uses)

Otherwise, when you use the mitt, just be gentle when you go over the stickers, don't apply alot of pressure. That's what I do with the stock STi insignia and it's been fine.

P.

[Peleg]

Originally Posted by dukenukem

i ate through one of the two clay bars provided with the meguiars kit .. i will post a pic of the pieces so i will know if i under used the clay or over used it ...

You can usually use a clay bar on 3 cars (3 detail jobs) and then retire it.

It also depends what you put the claybar through.

As you use the claybar and it gets dirty, mold into a ball again and flattened it again. If the new surface is still very dirty, it's time to retire the claybar.

Retired claybars can be used on the windows and on the wheels.

[Peleg]

Originally Posted by The Brick

i have a problem... i finally got around to buying the ps215 wheel cleaner, and am sad to say it didnt do much... since the day i bought the car (used with 2k miles on it) there was a dust pattern on the wheel.


I have not been able to get it off... i thought hmm maybe its tar, but nope... here are 2 more pics...





its in between every strut on every wheel... what do i do?

That looks like brake dust the really got "baked" onto the surface of the wheel.

P21S will NOT be able to tackle this job.

I haven't encountered this yet, although I had a co-worker who did on his BMW.

I'm wondering if a dremmel tool and a brush tip might be able to polish this off.

I'll do some research and get back to you on this.