DFB's Garage

Coatingsarecrack said:
Love the PP wheels but seeing in real life had me cringe at the thought of cleaning them.


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I've never loved them, be that the S550 or S650 flavor. They are just too fussy looking for a muscle car.
 
Today I went down to Nagambie to help my Dad pull the boat out of the river for winter. While this thing is just waaay to big, it's one of very few indulgent purchases he has ever made. When he bought it, my Mum and my sister were disgusted, but as far I'm concerned, he worked his ar.e off his whole life, let the man have his boat!



I have to say, even though it was quite chilly on the water this morning, the sun was shining and the air had that lovely sweet, fresh winter scent.

POWER! I love the sound of these at full tilt!





Considering I don't have a boat licence, someone had to wrangle the car and trailer into position on the ramp while Dad stayed with the boat. I'm over the moon to say that I did this in one shot! I struggled for years to reverse trailers until a client of mine broke it down into very simplistic terms. Am I confident reversing trailers? No, not really. But can I do it, well, I can now.



The trailer and vehicle were actually reversed further back into the water to allow Dad to drive the boat up onto the trailer. I even engaged 4H to drive it up the ramp.

You can see the Wildtrak is nose up with the boat and trailer hanging off the back. The 2.0 Bi-Turbo diesel engine has the torque to pull this rig, but it certainly works hard and makes its presence heard. The 10-speed auto becomes a great asset for towing as it keeps the engine in the torque band. Anyone who has towed with a 4 or 5-speed auto will know the compromise, you either labour the engine in top gear and lose momentum, or end up revving too hard in 3rd or 4th, making more noise and consuming more fuel. The 10-speed will seamlessly cycle through the upper ratios to keep the engine at peak performance. I also had it in S mode to help the cause.



Back home, both boat and Wildtrak are in need of some detailing love.
 
DFB said:
Today I went down to Nagambie to help my Dad pull the boat out of the river for winter. While this thing is just waaay to big, it's one of very few indulgent purchases he has ever made. When he bought it, my Mum and my sister were disgusted, but as far I'm concerned, he worked his ar.e off his whole life, let the man have his boat!



I have to say, even though it was quite chilly on the water this morning, the sun was shining and the air had that lovely sweet, fresh winter scent.

POWER! I love the sound of these at full tilt!





Considering I don't have a boat licence, someone had to wrangle the car and trailer into position on the ramp while Dad stayed with the boat. I'm over the moon to say that I did this in one shot! I struggled for years to reverse trailers until a client of mine broke it down into very simplistic terms. Am I confident reversing trailers? No, not really. But can I do it, well, I can now.



The trailer and vehicle were actually reversed further back into the water to allow Dad to drive the boat up onto the trailer. I even engaged 4H to drive it up the ramp.

You can see the Wildtrak is nose up with the boat and trailer hanging off the back. The 2.0 Bi-Turbo diesel engine has the torque to pull this rig, but it certainly works hard and makes its presence heard. The 10-speed auto becomes a great asset for towing as it keeps the engine in the torque band. Anyone who has towed with a 4 or 5-speed auto will know the compromise, you either labour the engine in top gear and lose momentum, or end up revving too hard in 3rd or 4th, making more noise and consuming more fuel. The 10-speed will seamlessly cycle through the upper ratios to keep the engine at peak performance. I also had it in S mode to help the cause.



Back home, both boat and Wildtrak are in need of some detailing love.
Click to expand...
Ceramic coat the boat 2025 "Make the Boat Great Again"
 
DFB said:
Today I went down to Nagambie to help my Dad pull the boat out of the river for winter. While this thing is just waaay to big, it's one of very few indulgent purchases he has ever made. When he bought it, my Mum and my sister were disgusted, but as far I'm concerned, he worked his ar.e off his whole life, let the man have his boat!



I have to say, even though it was quite chilly on the water this morning, the sun was shining and the air had that lovely sweet, fresh winter scent.

POWER! I love the sound of these at full tilt!





Considering I don't have a boat licence, someone had to wrangle the car and trailer into position on the ramp while Dad stayed with the boat. I'm over the moon to say that I did this in one shot! I struggled for years to reverse trailers until a client of mine broke it down into very simplistic terms. Am I confident reversing trailers? No, not really. But can I do it, well, I can now.



The trailer and vehicle were actually reversed further back into the water to allow Dad to drive the boat up onto the trailer. I even engaged 4H to drive it up the ramp.

You can see the Wildtrak is nose up with the boat and trailer hanging off the back. The 2.0 Bi-Turbo diesel engine has the torque to pull this rig, but it certainly works hard and makes its presence heard. The 10-speed auto becomes a great asset for towing as it keeps the engine in the torque band. Anyone who has towed with a 4 or 5-speed auto will know the compromise, you either labour the engine in top gear and lose momentum, or end up revving too hard in 3rd or 4th, making more noise and consuming more fuel. The 10-speed will seamlessly cycle through the upper ratios to keep the engine at peak performance. I also had it in S mode to help the cause.



Back home, both boat and Wildtrak are in need of some detailing love.
Click to expand...
Collinite does have a whole marine range.
 
I always forget how much extra work it is to maintain a car in winter. Wet or damp roads, and the road film and mud the comes from that, well it generally takes more time and more chemical aggression to deal with. In the Wildtrak's case, transporting a dog with wet and muddy paws every day, off roading and pulling a boat out of the river doesn't help the situation.

I actually pre-treated the wheels, tyres and wheel arches with Bilt Hamber Touch-less, followed by contact washing with P&S Brake Buster and Undressed. For the paint, I tried P&S Frostbite, which apart from the unique Eucalyptus-Green Tea scent, it's thoroughly unremarkable. Just shows you that even with benchmark products in their lineup, they can still make a dud.



Contact wash was via Reset, drying aid Megs HCD, windows via Invisible Glass. Tyres dressed with Carpro Perl.

The interior was filthy. I started by foaming and scrubbing the floor mats with Touch-less. After a vacuum, the plastics got wiped down with Nextzett Cockpit Premium, such an obscure product that is well worth tracking down. The leather was wiped with Bowden's Leather Love, although I had to break out the ColourLock Strong cleaner for the drivers seat, steering wheel, gear shifter and central armrest. I followed that with ColourLock Leather Protector.



Clean again.....................for now.
 
Well, I got carried away...........................................












It’s hard to know exactly why I love chainsaws so much. The sound? The smell? The look? The teetering on the edge of danger? All of the above? But since I was 12 or 13, I've been obsessed with these noisy, dangerous and oh so addictive machines.

In 2022 I bought a brand-new 50cc MS 271, my first proper saw. Then three months later, I inherited a 1986 Stihl 028 AV Super, which is also a 50cc saw. Suddenly, I had two 50cc chainsaws. About a month ago, I decided to move one of them on, and with my attachment to that particular 028, the 3-year old 271 was moved on. In truth, I didn’t really need to replace the 271, in the same way I don’t need 4 cars, 5 polishers, 12 lawn mowers, instead, I just wanted one…………………………………….

I didn’t consider any other brand, it was always going to be another Stihl. In my formative years I was a Stihl boy, and I’ve turned into a Stihl man. The same applies to those who have a passion for Ford’s, maybe a certain brand of camera, maybe a clothing line or shoe brand. We want what our hearts want.

With that in mind, I narrowed the choices down to a MS 462 and MS 500i, both pro-grade saws with magnesium case. The 462 is a weapon, producing 4.4 kW from a 72.2cc engine. But, the 500i takes things to another level, be that engine size or power, but crucially, technology as well. With the current Stihl winter sale, both models are currently priced within $100 of each other, with the 500i being cheaper, well, it was pretty clear which would be the winner.

The MS 500i is the first and only fuel injected chainsaw in the world. Launched in October 2019, it’s still in a class of its own. In addition to the fuel injection, the 500i uses M-Tronic to automatically adjust the fuel mixture on the fly, which can help compensate for ambient temperature, hot or cold starting, fuel quality, elevation, and air filter condition. It also means rapid throttle response, Stihl claiming it can go from 0-100 km/h in 0.25 seconds.


With injection, the starting procedure is vastly improved over a traditional Stihl chainsaw, no more multi-staged choke settings, no more flooding. The simplified starting procedure involves pressing the primer bulb a few times, then pull the rope and the injection and M-Tronic will adjust to conditions. A single push of a button then stops the saw.

The specs speak for themselves -



I actually had to order this saw as demand for them is high, especially in winter and when on heavy discount. I was told to expect delivery in mid July, but in fact it turned up yesterday just before close of business. After explaining what I do in my spare time, the dealer kindly kept the saw boxed up and unassembled for me to photograph and film. Despite being Stihl policy to fuel, oil and test fire tools before they leave, I was kindly given the option to take it as is, but I got them to do the pre-sale process to be safe. Being a Saturday, if something was wrong, I didn’t want to wait until Monday to sort it out.

After I had done my thing, it was time to fire it up, fire it up, fire it up! With the decompressor pushed in, the primer pressed 13 times (as per instruction), one firm pull and the big girl fired. One pull! Like, I’ve NEVER used a chainsaw that has started from dead cold in one pull. And because it doesn’t have the multi-stage choke that is standard fare for all Stihl saws, you don’t have to listen for the “pop” on full choke, nor do you have the saw screaming to life on part choke, it just starts and idles. I’d say that is a safety feature in itself.





And OH MY GOD! I’ve never used a two-stroke engine with this much throttle response before. Like, instantaneous! And the sound, FARK! Yep, I now have that big badass sounding chainsaw I had always dreamt of. :cool:

Also, I was expecting the 500i to be heavy, but its much lighter than I thought and is surprisingly well balanced.

I know, waaay off topic. Stay tuned though, there will be some detailing involved before I go and chop down anything in my path.....................;)
 
DFB said:
I always forget how much extra work it is to maintain a car in winter. Wet or damp roads, and the road film and mud the comes from that, well it generally takes more time and more chemical aggression to deal with. In the Wildtrak's case, transporting a dog with wet and muddy paws every day, off roading and pulling a boat out of the river doesn't help the situation.

I actually pre-treated the wheels, tyres and wheel arches with Bilt Hamber Touch-less, followed by contact washing with P&S Brake Buster and Undressed. For the paint, I tried P&S Frostbite, which apart from the unique Eucalyptus-Green Tea scent, it's thoroughly unremarkable. Just shows you that even with benchmark products in their lineup, they can still make a dud.



Contact wash was via Reset, drying aid Megs HCD, windows via Invisible Glass. Tyres dressed with Carpro Perl.

The interior was filthy. I started by foaming and scrubbing the floor mats with Touch-less. After a vacuum, the plastics got wiped down with Nextzett Cockpit Premium, such an obscure product that is well worth tracking down. The leather was wiped with Bowden's Leather Love, although I had to break out the ColourLock Strong cleaner for the drivers seat, steering wheel, gear shifter and central armrest. I followed that with ColourLock Leather Protector.



Clean again.....................for now.
Click to expand...
That beautiful concrete driveway 😍
 
DFB said:
Well, I got carried away...........................................












It’s hard to know exactly why I love chainsaws so much. The sound? The smell? The look? The teetering on the edge of danger? All of the above? But since I was 12 or 13, I've been obsessed with these noisy, dangerous and oh so addictive machines.

In 2022 I bought a brand-new 50cc MS 271, my first proper saw. Then three months later, I inherited a 1986 Stihl 028 AV Super, which is also a 50cc saw. Suddenly, I had two 50cc chainsaws. About a month ago, I decided to move one of them on, and with my attachment to that particular 028, the 3-year old 271 was moved on. In truth, I didn’t really need to replace the 271, in the same way I don’t need 4 cars, 5 polishers, 12 lawn mowers, instead, I just wanted one…………………………………….

I didn’t consider any other brand, it was always going to be another Stihl. In my formative years I was a Stihl boy, and I’ve turned into a Stihl man. The same applies to those who have a passion for Ford’s, maybe a certain brand of camera, maybe a clothing line or shoe brand. We want what our hearts want.

With that in mind, I narrowed the choices down to a MS 462 and MS 500i, both pro-grade saws with magnesium case. The 462 is a weapon, producing 4.4 kW from a 72.2cc engine. But, the 500i takes things to another level, be that engine size or power, but crucially, technology as well. With the current Stihl winter sale, both models are currently priced within $100 of each other, with the 500i being cheaper, well, it was pretty clear which would be the winner.

The MS 500i is the first and only fuel injected chainsaw in the world. Launched in October 2019, it’s still in a class of its own. In addition to the fuel injection, the 500i uses M-Tronic to automatically adjust the fuel mixture on the fly, which can help compensate for ambient temperature, hot or cold starting, fuel quality, elevation, and air filter condition. It also means rapid throttle response, Stihl claiming it can go from 0-100 km/h in 0.25 seconds.


With injection, the starting procedure is vastly improved over a traditional Stihl chainsaw, no more multi-staged choke settings, no more flooding. The simplified starting procedure involves pressing the primer bulb a few times, then pull the rope and the injection and M-Tronic will adjust to conditions. A single push of a button then stops the saw.

The specs speak for themselves -



I actually had to order this saw as demand for them is high, especially in winter and when on heavy discount. I was told to expect delivery in mid July, but in fact it turned up yesterday just before close of business. After explaining what I do in my spare time, the dealer kindly kept the saw boxed up and unassembled for me to photograph and film. Despite being Stihl policy to fuel, oil and test fire tools before they leave, I was kindly given the option to take it as is, but I got them to do the pre-sale process to be safe. Being a Saturday, if something was wrong, I didn’t want to wait until Monday to sort it out.

After I had done my thing, it was time to fire it up, fire it up, fire it up! With the decompressor pushed in, the primer pressed 13 times (as per instruction), one firm pull and the big girl fired. One pull! Like, I’ve NEVER used a chainsaw that has started from dead cold in one pull. And because it doesn’t have the multi-stage choke that is standard fare for all Stihl saws, you don’t have to listen for the “pop” on full choke, nor do you have the saw screaming to life on part choke, it just starts and idles. I’d say that is a safety feature in itself.





And OH MY GOD! I’ve never used a two-stroke engine with this much throttle response before. Like, instantaneous! And the sound, FARK! Yep, I now have that big badass sounding chainsaw I had always dreamt of. :cool:

Also, I was expecting the 500i to be heavy, but its much lighter than I thought and is surprisingly well balanced.

I know, waaay off topic. Stay tuned though, there will be some detailing involved before I go and chop down anything in my path.....................;)
Click to expand...
POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR🪵🪵
 
Big Dave said:
Yeah I've had people walking past give me a "look" when they have to step over foam that's run down the driveway on to the footpath.
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I hate that sort of sh.t, like get down off your high horse. We ALL contribute to the pollution of the planet, you'd have to be living naked in a cave for that not to happen, and even then you would be burning something to keep warm.

And guess what, humans are pouring soap down the sink every single day, be that in the bathroom, shower or kitchen, way more than washing a car once a week. I once had someone tell me to use reclaimed cotton clothing as towels for my car, apparently microfiber is clogging up the oceans.
 
Ceramic Coating –

Yeah yeah, I know, but I'm sure you expected this would happen. :ROFLMAO:

On a machine that will spend its life covered in oil and fuel, the coating is probably not going to last very long. But……………………it makes me happy, so I’m going with it.

For something like this, you would probably use a high-temperature wheel coating. However, I didn’t have any leftover wheel coating for this task, and I wasn’t dipping into a fresh bottle either. I did have an open bottle of Gyeon Can Coat EVO, so here we go.............................



First step, a wipe down with Koch Chemie Panel Prep Spray. Any prep spray would work, but I had this left over from another project and I thought I would stay with the German theme. In tandem with TRC Rip-n-Rag towels, the entire power head was cleaned, followed by the freshly unboxed 20-inch bar.



From here, it was time for the coating. Can Coat EVO is a sprayable coating, but for this task I used it like a traditional ceramic coating by applying a small amount to a Gtechniq finger mitt, then applied to the saw in sections. From there, more TRC Rip-n-Rags were used to level the coating. Can Coat was applied to the pretty much everything, from the top plastics to the chain brake, the recoil cover and name badge, the wrap handle and clutch cover, the rear handle and throttle, the stop switch and the front case. I even applied it to bar and fluid caps. The muffler, dogs and bottom of the saw missed out. Four hours later, I went over it again with a layer of Gyeon Cure.

You can see I also mounted the bar and chain.





In the past, I've done something similar to other new equipment purchases. Does it make a difference to how the tool performs? Absolutely not. Will it last for forever? Highly unlikely. Does it make me feel better? You betcha! 😁
 
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