DFB's Garage

Mustang's turn, and for some reason, I just didn't feel like playing with foam today. However, I still wanted something more than a rinse-less to properly flush out the door jambs and address the wheels. So, I did a bit of a "hybrid" wash.

Starting with the wheels, Carpro Reset went in the wheel bucket and Brake Buster for the tyres. Despite not using the foam cannon, I still used the pressure washer for rinsing. Atom Mac went on the rotor after finishing each wheel.



With the pressure washer hose still out, I gave the Mustang a good rinse, in turn flushing out the jambs, windscreen scuttle and grills.



For the wash, I went with ADS Hero. With this car wearing an ADS coating, Hero plays exceptionally well here. Despite rinsing beforehand, I still went around with a pre-soak using a slightly richer dilution to account for the water already on the surface of the vehicle.





On the XR6 yesterday, I used the TRC Ultra Black Sponge, but today I went with multiple TRC Eagle 500's.



I've been using the EGO after rinse-less washes to blast water and solution out of the panel gaps, grills and windscreen scuttle. This helps reduce some of towel work when drying.



I recently picked up a bottle of this Stoner Invisible Glass Hybrid Ceramic glass cleaner, which is a newer version of their Clean & Repel. On first acquaintance, it seems to be very easy to use and doesn't require special technique to get a clear result from..............cough, ClarifyPhobic, cough, Trace-less.

Interesting to note Stoner Car Care now have an official website and store in Australia, previously only a very limited selection of products from the brand were sold via auto stores and detailing retailers.






Again, it was such a nice day to be outside, so after finishing the Mustang I decided to make the most of it and took my best friend for a walk along the river.

Big Dave said:

I think they would have been fine dropping the sedan, as good as it was, and going with the SUV style, keeping the single and dual cab utes, and maybe doing a performance coupe halo model.

On a slight tangent, did you see that GWM has hired Rob Trubiani, ex-holden suspension wizard, to fix it's local suspension woes.

Chinese brand hires legendary Holden engineer to improve its cars

Vehicle dynamics engineer Rob Trubiani, who worked at Holden for almost 25 years, has joined GWM to tune its cars for local road conditions.

www.drive.com.au

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Hadn't seen that.

Kia did something similar a decade ago, which was heavily promoted in the media, just about every review or mention of Kia was along the lines of "Australian Tuned Ride & Handling" (Paul Maric was like a broken record on the subject). You don't really hear about that anymore, either it was a flash in the pan as a media stunt, or the Aussies taught the Korean's how to do it and no longer needed the input.

From what I gathered, the chassis "tuning" was limited to mixing and matching various components already in the Hyundai/Kia parts bin rather than wholesale changes or Australia-specific dampers/springs/bushings. For example, picking the Euro spring rates and teaming with US dampers (obviously not that, but you get what I mean). They were also throwing tyres at the situation to cover up a few shortcomings, as in factory fitting Michelin PS4 tyres instead of Hancook, Nexan ect.

The funny thing is, Mazda came out saying that they didn't need to spend money on Australian tuning because the cars were already sorted.

Tasmania said:

I put into Google (Stoners Australia) and boy did i get some weird sites.

Top tips on growing bud's

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On that note, I asked Google for the following...........................

"Valco Cincinnati Gel-Lube alternative".

The AI search result came up with the following........................

If you're looking for alternatives to Valco Cincinnati Gel-Lube, consider water-based lubricants like K-Y Intense Pleasure Gel Lube or Aloe Cadabra Natural Aloe, or explore natural options like aloe vera gel, coconut oil, or olive oil.
Water-Based Lubricants:

K-Y Intense Pleasure Gel Lube: A popular water-based option available at Walgreens. Aloe Cadabra Natural Aloe: A creamy, pH-balanced lubricant made from 95% aloe vera gel, safe for use with most condoms and sex toys. Other Water-Based Options: Many brands offer water-based lubricants, which are generally preferred for their compatibility with latex condoms and ease of cleaning.

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Um, not that kind of lube!

For those wondering, Gel Lube is a high-cling sprayable lubricant that forms into a gel within seconds of spraying. It's used to lubricate moving parts and doesn't drip, melt or shift when applied, making it great for vertical surfaces. It's also an engine assembly lube for valve springs, cranks, cams, bearings and seal installation. And unlike WD40, it actually lubricates.

Of course, no one sells it in Australia and the only thing that comes close is WD40 Specialist No Drip.

Had this delivered today, I'm useless at determining nut and bolt thread sizes......................

I rediscovered these images recently from back in February 2019, An Evening With Nigella..................

Stood for over an hour to get my moment with her, and despite being one of the last in the line, she signed my book as if I was the first. Oh how I went weak at the knees when you smiled at me like that, completely star struck!









She was lovely, very kind and inspirational to listen too. Come the end of the evening, I suspect after having signed books for a 100 old ladies, a young man was a change of "scenery".

Tasmania said:

Oh to have a beautiful woman like her and then wake up and she's made a full delicious breakfast.

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I don't know what it is about her, but when I watch her cooking programs or listening to her speak, she has this calming effect on me. You know how some celebs are prickly diva's, well not Nigella, she is pure class.

Landcruiser Detail

This job has been many months in the making, the owner asking me to get to it when I got a chance. This was last winter/spring, and well, I had a LOT going on. Single handedly doing the end of season potting, a job that once took a team of 4 or 5 to do, well that left me completely drained. Then the Spring rush, then a major trauma at work, then taking off on leave in time for the car to arrive. Then both the customer and I landed in hospital, which for me wrote off the better part of month. By then it was the run into Christmas, and because it was then summer, it was too hot to detail this car in my driveway (it won't fit in the garage due to the roof rack and GVM upgrade). Then I made a rather large "restructuring" decision, and well, I just wasn't interested in chasing work and wanted time to find my new normal. So here we are.

Unlike some of these Landcruiser's, this one has actually been used for it's 4WD capabilities. It's been driven all over the country, including through central Australia, up and down the east coast, all the way through the west. With that in mind, and 150,000 km (93,000 miles) on the clock, its got its fair share of dings, scrapes and general wear and tear. It's also parked outdoors 24/7, which would explain the completely crazed and yellowed headlights, well beyond what polishing could clean up. I was the last person to detail this car, but that was quite some time ago. So, I had some work ahead of me.







Note the light paint transfer around the wheel arch, which are from the owner brushing against the front gates. I managed to get these off with a towel and Rupes DA Coarse.







I actually started on the job I hate most................ vacuuming! I had forgotten how nicely this Toyota carpet cleans up, which is complete contrast to most Japanese and Korean carpets, cough, Subaru, cough, Kia. With the help of the Tornador, sand and debris were easily dislodged and sucked up with the vac. I got this part of the job done much quicker than expected, especially considering the size of the vehicle and how much debris there was to remove.



Next, the wheels and tyres, which I did in two stages. Last night I mixed up a full rate 2% PIR Bilt Hamber Touch-less. I went around and applied this to each wheel, wheel arch, and the steel front and rear bumpers. Check out how Touch-less turns the tyres brown without any contact, then drags it down and off the treated surface. I also used Touch-less on the rubber floor mats, then scrubbed with the DF Tyre brush.



Once the Bilt Hamber was rinsed, it was then time for the contact washing. I applied NV Purge to the wheels, which was allowed to soak while I scrubbed the tyres with Wise Guy. From here, I foamed Brake Buster over the top and went in with brushes. These wheels are pretty jacked up, so my efforts could only do so much. But they were at least clean.



Once the wheels and tyres were done, the Touch-less came out again for the rest of the vehicle. While it was soaking, I went around with a brush to agitate around the window frames, badges, the steel bumpers, grill ect. As always, its impressive what this soap can do without any contact, in turn making things easier once the wash mitt comes out.

For the contact wash, I switched to Carpro Descale, which helps address mineral deposits but also is a great strip wash. Because of how big this thing is and the need for a ladder to address the roof, I did the vehicle in two halves. Once rinsed, and there was a LOT of rinsing going on with this car, I went around with Hydr02 to lay something down to make drying quicker.



Once blown down with the EGO, I went around using an old Bowden's Big Green Sucker towel and NV Boost v2 to finish off the drying and add some gloss and slickness to the paint. The door jambs were then wiped down with ONR.

From here, back to the interior. The plastics weren't too bad, so I went straight in with P&S Swift, which has a lovely blend of cleaning ability and a subtle enhancement. Then, the leather was cleaned using a brush and KCx Pol Star. Grey tends to hide dirt quite well, so while they didn't necessarily look dirty, they certainly looked better after scrubbing. Once clean, I went around with Geist Leather Conditioner. I was pretty hard on this product in my initial reviews, but it's really grown on me with every use. On these seats, it applied super nice and gave a subtle enhancement without greasiness or excessive shine.



From there, I went in with P&S True Vue for the glass, which was a challenge in the warm Autumn sun. I then vacuumed the floors again, then reinstalled the now clean and dry rubber floor mats that had been dressed with P&S Swift. A misting of OG Leather & Pine scent and the interior was done. Finally, Carpro Perl went on the sizable Cooper Discovery AT tyres using the TRC Ultra Utility Brush for efficiency. I also dressed the spare tyre on the rear tailgate.

The mess left in my driveway.....................



The finished result, after hosing the filth from my driveway........................









With the owner only a few blocks away, I picked up and dropped off the car. Which considering how much I love the engine in this beast, any chance to drive it is a treat. I know the 4.5 diesel V8 was laughed at for being underpowered for the cubic capacity, you really wouldn't know it due to how smooth and effortless it feels. The owner has told me multiple times he will never sell it, the new V6 diesel 300-Series is not on his radar, and especially not the V8 petrol powered Nissan Patrol. And I totally understand why.

Big Dave said:

Nice result, there's a lot of effort involved in doing something that size. You must be due a rest day now.

I have to say though, I'm really not a fan of that style of wheel, I see them around everywhere, but I really don't like the look. As long as the owner likes them though, that's all that matters.

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Yeah, I hate them too.

At one point, this was his daily driver. He had the original wheels with HT tyres for regular driving, then swap to these with AT's for trips. He later bought a Subaru Forrester as a daily, so Landcruiser stayed on the all-terrain setup.