DFB's Garage

[Klasse Act]

I use it; good product, easy to use, that bottle will last you forever.

Currently trying their coating on a new set of contis. I like it but application was more difficult.


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I've had a poor experience with Optimum tire coating, turned the tires a tan/gold color and what's worse I bought the big bottle. That said, good luck to you, maybe I got a bad batch

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[dgage]

Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel is my latest to try.

Optimum have three different tire products. 'Tire Shine' is a wet-look product that doesn't really interest me, same for their 'Tire Coating & Protectant' which is a long term product with a 6 month durability claim. The way I like to play around with tire dressings makes that product redundant for me. The water-based Opti-Bond Gel is more up my alley, although it's said to be a high gloss product, so I'm keen to see what it looks like.

You forgot something in your order with Opti-Bond.

Optimum Spray Gun works with your air compressor to apply even coats of Opti-Bond Tire Gel, Optimum coverage using optimum air gun

 

[Azure]

You forgot something in your order with Opti-Bond.

Optimum Spray Gun works with your air compressor to apply even coats of Opti-Bond Tire Gel, Optimum coverage using optimum air gun

Kinda interesting! Does that really work?

 

[Azure]

I used CarPro Descale this past weekend on my daily beater. I really like it! I used it in my foam canon and followed with a bucket wash. You don't have to use a bunch of it and it really flattens out the water run-off. It stripped what wax I had easily. I'm so used to using a drying aid that it was a bit of a pain to dry lol. I wiped it down with Eraser and applied Optimum Car Wax, so it's good for the summer months.

 

[DFB]

I use it; good product, easy to use, that bottle will last you forever.

Currently trying their coating on a new set of contis. I like it but application was more difficult.


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Do you find the finish glossy like the product description states?

 

[DFB]

I used CarPro Descale this past weekend on my daily beater. I really like it! I used it in my foam canon and followed with a bucket wash. You don't have to use a bunch of it and it really flattens out the water run-off. It stripped what wax I had easily. I'm so used to using a drying aid that it was a bit of a pain to dry lol. I wiped it down with Eraser and applied Optimum Car Wax, so it's good for the summer months.

Descale is brilliant, it's one of those products that I just knew was a winner the second I fired it out of the cannon.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

I've had a poor experience with Optimum tire coating, turned the tires a tan/gold color and what's worse I bought the big bottle. That said, good luck to you, maybe I got a bad batch

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I really believe it was due to not cleaning the tire well enough. BB didn’t cut it for me had to use 303 and TufShine tire cleaners. Cleaned deep with a drill brush 4-5 time that was clean enough.

With the amount of tire products you use I’m sure you needed to clean deeper.

2 things though. I don’t think tire coatings are best for low profile tires. The side wall gets a little scuffed near tread. Doesn’t look so bad in short tire but doesn’t look so goo on short sidewall.

Second is benefit to coating is longevity. You apply stuff to your tires regularly…


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[Coatingsarecrack]

Descale is brilliant, it's one of those products that I just knew was a winner the second I fired it out of the cannon.

Yeah I find it weird that it’s not offered in gallons yet. Also that AG doesn’t carry the 32oz bottle.


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[DFB]

Yeah I find it weird that it’s not offered in gallons yet. Also that AG doesn’t carry the 32oz bottle.


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Looking at the Carpro global website, it seems Descale is available in 50ml, 500ml, 1 Liter and 4 Liter bottle sizes.

The Australian distributor of Carpro only imports the 500ml version though. I suppose this product is aimed as a specialty maintenance product, not an every-time type of soap. As such, I guess offering the one small size is considered enough for most markets. Only reason you would want or need the larger sizes would be if you were a professional detailer needing to use it more than the average consumer.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

Looking at the Carpro global website, it seems Descale is available in 50ml, 500ml, 1 Liter and 4 Liter bottle sizes.

The Australian distributor of Carpro only imports the 500ml version though. I suppose this product is aimed as a specialty maintenance product, not an every-time type of soap. As such, I guess offering the one small size is considered enough for most markets. Only reason you would want or need the larger sizes would be if you were a professional detailer needing to use it more than the average consumer.

I would get the gallon if available. Would last for years but soaps have a longer shelf life. I don’t need to personally try the latest and greatest so if it works I stock up.

Plus I would use every 2 months to strip coating topper to apply new. Most likely the 32oz bottle makes sense but maintaining 2 cars plus random ones here and there it would last less than a year.


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[jlindyman]

Do you find the finish glossy like the product description states?

I only applied 1 coat and it finished a little on the matte side; another coat would likely add more gloss. I’m going to reapply at some point this summer, will update


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[DFB]

Restocking on pads. The postman says I'm keeping him in a job! :laughing:

 

[Tasmania]

Restocking on pads. The postman says I'm keeping him in a job! :laughing:

Spending the pocket money wisely

 

[DFB]

The Jaguar moved for the first time in 50 days, that is really bad on my part and tires seemed to be flat spotted. :doh:





This car has been living off site for a few months now. (I rent a storage shed to park one car and store the sort of crap people tend to accumulate in life. :laughing It really, really needs a wash but scheduling the time to get it done is tricky, especially with the horribly cold and wet weather that we have been having a lot of over the last month.

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

The Jaguar moved for the first time in 50 days, that is really bad on my part and tires seemed to be flat spotted. :doh:





This car has been living off site for a few months now. (I rent a storage shed to park one car and store the sort of crap people tend to accumulate in life. :laughing It really, really needs a wash but scheduling the time to get it done is tricky, especially with the horribly cold and wet weather that we have been having a lot of over the last month.

That could be a cold weather thing as well. Where I used to work the forklift tyres would develop flat spots overnight in winter, you'd have to drive it for at least half an hour to warm up the rubber and round them out again. You need some of these....

Camec Tyre Saver Pair



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[DFB]

Last week I had a light start to flicker, and as I'm sure you can guess, something like that really ticks me off. I know nothing about lighting so ripped out one of the tubes and went down to the lighting shop. These lights do the job, but I wanted to see what I could do with something a little brighter before I run down that rabbit hole. So rather than just replacing the dud tube, I replaced them all with these -



The difference is quite remarkable in person. The older tubes producing a yellowed glow compared to the stark white of the new ones.





Now I just need to swap out the front pair and see what it looks like. I think these will be much better for what I need.

After driving around all week in cold, wet and wintery weather, and two trips to the muddy green waste tip, the Ranger really needed some attention this week.

I cleaned the wheel arches and tires with Brake Buster, wheels with left over GSF soap from my foam cannon. I then did a pre-soak with NV Snow for 5 minutes while I cleaned up the wheel brushes/bucket. Snow in combination with fresh wax meant that the majority of the road film was removed with a simple rinse. I then re-foamed the car and washed as normal, I even went over the tray.

The excellent Maxtrac rubber matts did their job containing a weeks worth of sand and mud but they were pretty grotty so I scrubbed them with McKee's cleaner. Interior wiped over with InnerQD and spritzed with Eden.

The product I really wanted to use today was Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel.

As mentioned earlier, I scrubbed the tyres with undiluted Brake Buster to remove the Duragloss 253 which was applied last week.





I have met very few tire dressings that I didn't like, so is this a contender for regular use? Opti-Bond is less gel like than the name suggests and nor does it possess a scent. I also found it needs to be worked harder than Onyx or Perl to achieve appropriate coverage. These tires are probably not the best show piece for trailing a new product, the large sidewall always tends to exaggerate the finished results. As you can see, the finish is somewhat glossy, which I don't totally hate, and I suspect this look would be really nice on a low-profile tire.



Also, take note of the Eye Irritant warning on the label! With the pop-top lid I added, when pushed down after use it squirted some right up into my eye...........not a good thing to do! :doh:

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

The Jaguar moved for the first time in 50 days, that is really bad on my part and tires seemed to be flat spotted. :doh:





This car has been living off site for a few months now. (I rent a storage shed to park one car and store the sort of crap people tend to accumulate in life. :laughing It really, really needs a wash but scheduling the time to get it done is tricky, especially with the horribly cold and wet weather that we have been having a lot of over the last month.

Sounds like you have one too many cars. If you want you can ship one here and I’ll watch over it for you here.

I really want to buy a 3rd car but no where to store. The only other option is to have it live outside as an DD. Been thinking SuV or jeep Gladiator but I’ve got too many things I wanna do to the others I am trying not to get in that rabbit hole.


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[Tasmania]

The Jaguar moved for the first time in 50 days, that is really bad on my part and tires seemed to be flat spotted. :doh:





This car has been living off site for a few months now. (I rent a storage shed to park one car and store the sort of crap people tend to accumulate in life. :laughing It really, really needs a wash but scheduling the time to get it done is tricky, especially with the horribly cold and wet weather that we have been having a lot of over the last month.

Need to take out the summer air and add some fresh winter air in the tyres.

 

[DFB]

Playing around with an image I took some time ago.........



Those angry eyes are my favorite styling touch on this car, which lead me to thinking of where that graphic came from.



The first XR Falcon arrived in 1991, but the trademark 4 "eye" headlights didn't arrive until the 1993 ED Falcon. That look was created by molding a part that took up the space of the standard Falcon headlights and upper grill, four individual lights were mounted behind.



That same method applied to the EF and EL Falcon XR's, although a little more integrated and blended into the bumper itself.

1994 EF XR, note the smoother appearance around the lights and lack of upper grill -



1998 EL XR, note the more aggressive sculpting around the lights and a simulated upper grill -



AU XR's continued with the four individual lights, this time much larger and much bolder (Important to note, these cars were despised when new, the styling was either love or HATE.......guess which camp I landed in?) -

1998 AU Series 1 -



2000 - 2002 AU Series 2 and 3, note the more aggressive overall bumper design with slatted upper grill and extra definition above the inset/smaller light -



2002 - 2008 BA and BF XR's were probably the best looking Falcon's ever, they converted many a Holden fan back in the day. Gone was the four individual lights mounted behind a nose cone, in were fully enclosed items with a dipped down bumper to continue the styling heritage.



The 2008 - 2014 FG and FG MK II XR's refined the BA/F theme, the result was a smoother and flusher interpterion.





For the final Falcon, the FG-X, all Falcon's shared the same shape headlights. This was more to do with cost-cutting than anything else. The cool thing though was how they made the XR four eyes via LED daytime running lights. As I said earlier, I absolutely love how angry it looks. It's best depicted via the final run of Sprint models, these had black bezels around the actual lights themselves, they look positively evil........

 

[DFB]

Old blue turned 14 last month, she still turns a few heads..............