DFB's Garage

The silver paint on some of these premium brands can look so good. I really like the darker silver the Lexus have, I think they call it Titanium.

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Yeah silvers have come a loooong way for sure, that color shimmers on the Volvo

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No prizes for guessing which color I would have chosen...............................Fusion Red!

 
No prizes for guessing which color I would have chosen...............................Fusion Red!

Have you noticed how (non garaged) bright red cars in AU quickly loose their shine, then start to loose clear and eventually get really dull.

Must be something to do with pigmentation, but this is so obvious to me with red cars ..
 
Have you noticed how (non garaged) bright red cars in AU quickly loose their shine, then start to loose clear and eventually get really dull.

Must be something to do with pigmentation, but this is so obvious to me with red cars ..

You know, when I took delivery of my Mustang, I had someone tell me in a matter of fact type of way that "red cars always fade so it won't look like that for long". :doh: What a nice way to take the wind out of someone's sail hey.

I think its to do with how red absorbs UV differently to other colors. Although it very paint dependant, certain red Honda's from the mid 2000's were renowned for turning pink within a few years.
 
You know, when I took delivery of my Mustang, I had someone tell me in a matter of fact type of way that "red cars always fade so it won't look like that for long". :doh: What a nice way to take the wind out of someone's sail hey.

I think its to do with how red absorbs UV differently to other colors. Although it very paint dependant, certain red Honda's from the mid 2000's were renowned for turning pink within a few years.



Honda cars are notorious for having thin and non durable paint. {Although my 2 Honda BlackBird bikes, 2006 & 2007 - one black, one 2 tone silver, both look fabulous and paint seems like new (go figure) !!}

On the other hand my cousin has a bright red VE Commodore I believe it to be 2007. This one never spend a night outside and was always garaged, day and night. The red still looks awesome.
 
You know, when I took delivery of my Mustang, I had someone tell me in a matter of fact type of way that "red cars always fade so it won't look like that for long". :doh: What a nice way to take the wind out of someone's sail hey.

I think its to do with how red absorbs UV differently to other colors. Although it very paint dependant, certain red Honda's from the mid 2000's were renowned for turning pink within a few years.
I've seen red Hondas and Acura TLX's turn pink, one TLX on my route was pink but he must've had it detailed because it's now soaking wet red

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Last week, I decided to drag the 2-stroke Mustang out of the shed to do some mowing in the back garden. Well, things didn't go to plan.

These engines are know to be diva's, suffering from a range of ailments that can make them a nightmare to own. This particular mower is eight years old now, so not a bad trouble-free run. Usually, these engines will fire on the first to third pull, any more than that, it's not going to happen! :nomore:

I say STOP at this stage because all you will be doing is making it worse and wasting your energy pulling that rope. From there you need to pull the plug, crank the fuel out of the cylinder and try again. It's amazing how you become in tune with an engine over time, any and all of them.

Anyway, looking down at the primer, there was fuel pouring out the base of the cap. So, I turned the fuel tap off and went and ordered some parts, which turned up just in time this morning. :props:

First job was the clean the poor thing. This unit gets pulled out when there some serious cutting to do, so it was showered in grass. A presoak with Bilt Hamber Surfex, a pressure wash, Surfex reapplied and agitated with a brush, followed by a final rinse. I then followed with some Hydr02, because I can! :laughing:



Onto the job at hand, the leaking primer cap. The rubber o-ring that seals the cap to the carb body is a known wear item, leaking from the base of the carb is the classic sign its time for replacement. These o-rings are available in a few different ways, in my case I ordered them as part of a kit so I had some spares on hand for next time. I also ordered two replacement primer caps as these are also known to perish and warp over time.

O Ring Kit for Victa Carburetor fits G4 Carbs CRO03227A HA253634 HA25126A
Primer Cap Needle & O'ring Kit for all Victa 2 Stroke Engines 1974 onwards



Now, you don't need to remove the fuel tank for this job, but its only three bolts and it gives you proper access to the carb. Remove the fuel inlet hose from the front of the primer cap while you are at it.



For those that don't know, the starter setup on these engines also forms the cap for the crankcase. The rubber o-ring that seals it all up is also a known wear item, and an important replacement as it prevents dust from getting into the engine.

With a towel down to soak up any leaks, there was none on mine, remove the primer cap screw, which is actually the main jet.



Inside the chamber was clean...............



The primer cap is made up of the cap itself, a float, plastic needle and the main jet. The rubber o-ring is what keeps it airtight, in this case seemed fine but I replaced it anyway.



After cleaning the cap, I replaced the o-ring with a new one and then reinstalled the needle (pointy end down) and the float. Held carefully, reinstall the cap, making sure to keep the arrow pointing upwards so the float functions correctly. Reinstall the main jet.





Fuel tap on, and NO LEAKS!! Im the MAN

This would have been at least a $150 repair if I took it into the shop. So to have done it for a few dollars and an hour of my time is brilliant. I also got to learn more about these engines.

While I was at it, I chose to replace the lower foam air filter insert, the original now half the size it should have been and basically falling apart. I actually ordered two of these because the one on my grandfather's Mustang had turned to dust. The original OE Victa filter was fine and will see another round.

https://www.greenacresmowers.com.au/foam-dust-seal-for-victa-air-filters









The thing fired on the first pull and is sounding as healthy as ever..............


This is probably my favorite mower, its unstoppable when the going gets tough. These versions of the Victa 2-stroke had the ability to throttle up when under load, even with the throttle at full. The resultant noise is glorious! Where even the stoutest 4-stroke would bog down and stall, this thing just powers on through. Such a shame the greenies killed this engine off.
 
That brings back memories, that's what my last mower was, but it was gold. I think it was like the 50th anniversary special edition, I'm not kidding. I even found a pic of it online.
6c665f2b2dfd26cfece760166864398f.jpg


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That brings back memories, that's what my last mower was, but it was gold. I think it was like the 50th anniversary special edition, I'm not kidding. I even found a pic of it online.
6c665f2b2dfd26cfece760166864398f.jpg


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Yep, was the 50th anniversary special edition -

Powerhouse Collection - Victa VSX 160 lawnmower
https://philipvirgilj.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/victa-spaceboy-fpc-ad.pdf



I spotted one for sale on Facebook Marketplace a while ago, brand new and still in the box................I would have jumped on it if it was closer to me.
 
Screwdrivers this week..........................



I'm not entirely satisfied with the Stanley arrangement, but they are at least accessible now rather than hidden in a case at the back of a cabinet.
 
Mustang's turn this week. Nothing new, although I finally tried something I have had for a while.





I have had this brush since it was released, but have hesitated with what I intended to use it for. You see, at $75, that is a lot of coin to subject such a nice brush to the messy job of dressing tires.

To be clear, The Detail Factory never intended for the brush to be used this way, rather a certain influencer who doesn't really like brushes decided to dress his tires with it. Now, the brush didn't cost him $75, in fact it retails for only $30 in the US. So, taking the plunge to screw it up with tire dressing is a more complex mindset for us in Aussie-Tax-Ville. But, letting $75 just sit un-used in the cabinet didn't compute, so I just went for it.

And.............yes, this thing is brilliant for dressing tires. The ultra soft, ultra fine bristles allow you to deliver an even, thin application without overusing product.

But I get it, this is a lot of money for a tyre applicator. Since the Curveball was launched, the usual Chinese-Copy phenomenon has done its thing and you can get similar things for half the price on Amazon or Ebay.

While I typically just throw away a foam tire applicator when it get's too grotty, something like this could be washed with some tyre cleaner or APC to refresh it, somewhat negating the cost.

Either way, I wish I had tried this brush sooner.
 
I get it, I've got a few different things I bought that I either haven't used yet, or haven't used much, mainly because I don't want to "waste" them on a basic job. One is the Autoglym Perfect Polish Applicator, another is some Carpro MF Gloves, and I have a Gyeon mitt made out of the same MF as my favourite drying towel, I've used it on the windows a couple of times, but only the inside, I don't want to contaminate it with outside dirt.

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I was wondering if that brush soaks a lot of product.

Just recently I bought a shaving brush for $20 (looks similar to yours) and I don't like the feel, I may use if for tire dressing ..!
 
I was wondering if that brush soaks a lot of product.

Just recently I bought a shaving brush for $20 (looks similar to yours) and I don't like the feel, I may use if for tire dressing ..!

Cosmetic and shaving brushes work very well for tire dressing. The softer bristles seem to work better at distributing the product rather than just pushing it around like.








I find brushes are better for low profile tires, foam applicators for SUV/truck tires. The exception to that would be using a flag-tipped brush on larger tires.



 

Great review, I love their content. I can see how the lack of ultimate precision is a negative for the S650, despite apparent improvements. For me, I'm buying this car for the naturally aspirated engine first, the styling second. Everything is else is a bonus. Yes, I'm shallow. :laughing:

It's a shame Ford can't nail the steering on Mustang, yet they had no trouble getting the European and Australian Ford's steering with precision. I think a lot of that brilliance was down to the chief engineer, Richard Parry Jones, who's dynamic philosophy spread across the wider Ford Europe/Australia chassis departments. It's hard to describe, but the front end of those cars was consistent across the range, keen initial turn in but consistently weighted all the way through the movement. And that applied to the traditional hydraulic and electro-hydraulic systems.

It's one aspect of the S550 I don't love, even with three steering modes. In fact, I drive the thing all the time in the lightest "comfort" setting because it feels more responsive. Whoever decided "sporty" steering should be heavy and gluggy feeling should re-evaluate their career choice. There is no feel whatsoever to the steering on this car, NONE. And because you sit so far back, so low and with that huge hood, you have no clue to what the front end is doing. It's to the point where I don't trust the car when driving hard, I can see why people crash these cars so often.

I actually discovered something about the Mustang-crashing-into-crowd thing the other day. I had to do a U-turn at the end of my street, first gear, steering lock applied, a generous boot full of throttle applied, fun.............until it nearly ended in tears. The S550 doesn't seem to unwind lock in a natural fashion, at least not like other RWD cars I have driven before. In other words, the steering needs to reefed aggressively hard in the opposite direction, FAST, which in turn promotes a bit of tank-splapper type of situation. Or worst, crashing into something solid. Now in this case, I was going slow enough to catch the thing, but I can definitely see how it goes so wrong.

And all of that nonsense was with the traction and stability control turned ON! I wish you guys could drive one of our Aussie Falcon's, Territory's and Commodore's, those things had THE BEST DSC/ESP calibrations anywhere in the world. And that includes the Aussie engineered T6 Ranger platform. In most cases, those systems were tuned on Aussie gravel roads, in turn they functioned in a smooth, controlled manner without feeling as if they were being overbearing or ineffective. My XR8 for example, I can initiate some power oversteer, arc the tail end just enough to have you giggling, apply some opposite lock before the DSC chimes in just in time to bring the car back into line smoothly. In comparison, my Mustang will get waaaaaay sideways before the DSC decides to wake up and attempt to control the situation, if at all like the above situation. When it does chime in, it's abrupt and noisy, so it doesn't flatter the driver. It makes me think if the chassis guys even attempted to finesse this system.

These are of course my observations after 6 years of ownership. I also think it's part of the "character" of the Mustang, as in it's a bit of an animal, one that needs to be respected. So you can see how and why these things end up wrapped around power poles and pointing backwards out of a hedge.
 
My first Pressol failure................



In this case, teamed with Brake Buster, I got about 10 months out of the Pressol "Industrial" spray head.

To be fair on Pressol, it was still spraying, but it had lost the double action functionality. Brake Buster tends to kill all sprayers eventually, even the chemical resistant versions, expensive or inexpensive.

I still think the Kwazar Mercury 360 are the better sprayers, be that the bottle quality or the superior spray head design. Even the pickup tube with the metal weighted filter is of higher quality than the hard plastic Pressol items.

But............I really, really like the OG labels and the clear bottle allows for easier product identification and level.



I actually have visions of creating a custom label for the Kwazar's, something that would team in with the blue/red/yellow/green colorings and cover up the standard brand lettering.

 
Many have said it Deyon, YouTube reviewer of some type is your calling

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The first detail of my sisters new Volvo XC60.

For some back story, my sister placed a deposit for this vehicle back in early February, with the explanation being that the car was built, was on the water and would arrive in the country by early March. When she told me this, I knew that wasn't going to happen. Well, as I expected, the car sat at the dock for 4 months waiting to be decontaminated. From what I have been told, cars are unloaded and then sit in a holding yard until they can be cleaned/decontaminated. I mean, what do the "experts" think is going to happen, that the "bugs" they are attempting to keep out of the country are just going to stay on the car and wait for their turn to die? No, they are not, so aren't we just wasting time with all of this?

Anyway, the car was delivered a few weeks ago and was ceramic coated within the first week of ownership. From my recommendation, the car went to Prime Finish in Oakleigh, Melbourne, which they ended up using Carpro Cquartz Professional.





At that stage, I hadn't seen the car in person, but could tell the clarity and gloss of the paint by the pics she sent me. Apparently, the car looked completely different afterward the coating was installed. This is why you can always improve/enhance a brand-new car.

As mentioned, today was the cars first wash after the coating. I started with the wheels; massive 21-inch machined faced items that look fantastic. I used Brake Buster for the wheels and tyres, at this point I discovered they didn't coat the wheels. I (partially) remedied that with an application of Hydr02.





The car wasn't too dirty, a few bugs from the trip up the highway and some mild road spray. I foamed with Carpro Reset, allowed to dwell, then rinsed. This step was incredible, the bugs just flew off the paint, as did most of the road grime. In fact, even the rinsing off the soap was easier than I'm used to. Following that, I then switched to KCx GSF for a light contact wash.



I get it now! For years, I always said that a ceramic coating was not for me, that a well-cared for wax or sealant was more than sufficient. But this car, the ease of washing was simply stunning. From the pre-rinse to the contact wash, to the final rinse, right through to the blow dry and wipe down, WOW, so easy.

I will also note at this point that they didn't coat the glass either, the water behavior being completely flat and very grabby underneath the towel. I ended up applying Gyeon Quick View to take care of that.

After teaming up, me using the Big Boi and my sister the EGO, we got the car mostly dry, before I went over the car using Carpro EliXir.........keeping it in the family you see. I will note that EliXir was a dream today, playing with the base Quartz underneath without a single streak in sight. I have found EliXir to be a bit of diva sometimes, but not here. I'm also loving the Creature Edgeless as a drying towel, so much nicer to manage without a boarder or extra bulk.



The interior needed nothing more than a quick vac and a wipe down with a damp towel................I wasn't allowed to taint that new-car smell with a scented cleaning product. :wink2 I wiped the door jambs with ONR, the engine bay got a quick wipe over with ECH20.

I also found polish residue on the rear wiper arm and the front number plate plinth. Some Meguair's M39 sorted that quick smart, but..............I guess this is the difference between an obsessed-level hobbyist and a shop that churns out ceramic coatings like a factory. This, the wheels and glass made me question the very premium price paid. The wheels I can understand, the glass could/should have been done, the polish residue is sloppy.

I then dressed the tyres. I think they used Carpro Darkside, but I removed that with two hits with undiluted Brake Buster. Instead, and it took me a while to decide which dressing to use, but settled on Adam's Graphene, and wow, such a great choice.









Love the crystal gear selector, very unique and a nice touch.



Spec wise, this is the XC60 B6 Ultimate Mild Hybrid, finished in Silver Dawn and has the black interior. Being a mild hybrid, the car can't run on electric power alone, even at low speed. But it does offer regenerative braking and very mild assistance from rest. Like all Volvo's, the engine is a 2.0 turbo, in B6 form making 220 kW and 420 Nm.

I actually got to test drive the car on "my" road last week. Without the active air suspension and with 21-inch wheels, the ride is rather firm. Not harsh, but you do get a bit of pitter-patter, which is sort at odds with the luxury focus. I drove the car in the comfort steering setting, which I found too light.

0-100 is rated at 6.2 seconds, who else remembers when those numbers were considered quite fast? For the size and weight, the thing has some grunt, enough for comfortable highway cruising and overtaking. The electric assistance is virtually undetectable, at low or high speed. The regenerative braking is imperceptible.

Interestingly, a quick look at the rear muffler, with two hidden outlets, revealed one side is actually valved. Not that this car has anything resembling exhaust or induction note...........and I guess that's Volvo's MO. Having said that, their older 5-cylinder engines at least had a distinctive character, this engine sounds like it could be from any car company.

Probably the most interesting aspect was the active lane assist. Get up to speed, let go of the steering wheel and then watch the car steer itself.........within reason of course. I see these systems as a buffer or safety net only, not something you would rely on while reading a book or playing on your phone.

Build quality is impressive, as it should be for $100,000. The leather is ultra soft and premium feeling, the glass shifter adding some character to an otherwise austere interior.

What sells these cars is the quality of build and the clean, restrained styling inside and out. This car is not for me, but in fairness, I'm not the target buyer either. If I was shopping in this segment, I would be heading straight to the Jaguar F-Pace. I know the F-Pace is getting old now, but I prefer the styling, rear wheel drive layout, the steering feel, and the engines at least have some character tuned into their exhausts.

Either way, they are very happy with their choice.
 
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