DFB's Garage

Those bristles of the MaxShine brush (w/white tips) looks like it's soft. Do you think that would work well on the front grille too?
 
Those bristles of the MaxShine brush (w/white tips) looks like it's soft. Do you think that would work well on the front grille too?

Absolutely. Even the "mixed hair" version is very soft.
 
Do you use any curveball type brushes on wheels?


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I started using the Chinese knockoff version of the soft/synthetic version on wheels the other day, works great!

Post #1269 for the rundown.



 
the advantage of using that ^ brush is it's size (and bulk) so it will cover more area (quicker as well) and not flatten easily like a small/little brush would. use one head for cleaning the wheels and the other for dressing tires. so many different uses for that brush...


btw DFB, the pic in your avatar with the rock star is looking smooth :dblthumb2: the cars in the background look cool too... :laughing:
 
the advantage of using that ^ brush is it's size (and bulk) so it will cover more area (quicker as well) and not flatten easily like a small/little brush would. use one head for cleaning the wheels and the other for dressing tires. so many different uses for that brush...


btw DFB, the pic in your avatar with the rock star is looking smooth :dblthumb2: the cars in the background look cool too... :laughing:

I'm actually quite surprised how much I love those two new brushes, for wheel cleaning and tyre dressing. I've always seen people cleaning wheel faces with boars hair detailing brushes, but I've never really liked that method for the exact reasons you outlined. The larger brush is far more effective, and can also deal with the lugs, meaning you eliminate the wash mitt and lug brush from the wheel bucket. And at more than half the price of the Detail Factory equivalent's, its a no brainer. I've never really had a problem paying the premium price for the premium brand and product, but the Curveball and Screwball are a $80 proposition in Australia, which is just ridiculous for what they are.

As for Faychie............................



He has been a bit naughtily lately, I managed to catch him as he took off with bag of roasted cashew nuts the other day, broke his heart taking it off him. Looked so funny though as he trotted across the living room with the bag in his mouth. He's also been barking at the neighbor's cat who sits on the shed roof and taunts him from above. The postman also got barked at a few times as well.
 
My two bark at the Postie as well, but she knows if she stops the electric buggy she can come over and pat them.

Have you been seeing some online ads for some new Australian detailing supplies places? I can't remember what they're called, but I've seen 2 or 3 in the last month, looks like generic rebranding to me.

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My two bark at the Postie as well, but she knows if she stops the electric buggy she can come over and pat them.

Have you been seeing some online ads for some new Australian detailing supplies places? I can't remember what they're called, but I've seen 2 or 3 in the last month, looks like generic rebranding to me.

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I'm always getting spammed with new detailing brands. I follow them to their respective websites, but they are all the same thing. Basically, someone has the dream of being the next big brand, but all they are doing is re-bottling existing chemicals from a bulk contract manufacturer. They take a collection of catalog chemicals, rename and rebrand them, then rely on Facebook or similar to spam sell the products.

Good luck to them, but unless you are the chemist or actively involved in the chemistry, then you will never offer anything groundbreaking.....................or for that matter, anything very good.
 
Finally had the replacement wheel cover plates delivered today, after a strange interaction.





After sending emails to a couple of vendors asking if they had some of these floating around, all bar one came back with a YES.

"Hi …yes we can help ..I have a new 1 and I know where another is!"

Bloody brilliant! I direct deposited the asking price within an hour, along with a tip in appreciation, and was told I would get an email when it was on the way. A week later and I asked if the items had been shipped, the response was "Not yet …maybe tomorrow!". What?!

Anyway, two weeks later they are now here and ready to fit.

Except...............................:bolt:
 
I know the next few posts are not 100% about detailing, but stay tuned because the subject does appear.................................

Let’s get this out of the way before I go any further, yes I know, yet another lawn mower. This makes it mower number eleven, but curiosity got the best of me. Sue me, I’m deranged! :doh:

For the most part, I cycle through the majority of those eleven mowers, with a couple of regular workhorses getting the call up most often, those being the Honda powered Bushranger 800SP and Krohler powered Rover ProCut 560.



The Bushranger mulches and catches great on lighter growth, it’s built like a tank, the 3-speed gearbox is handy and the engine is more powerful than Honda let on. But the mower struggles on thick and tall grass or when trying to process bulk autumn leaves. It’s important to note that this is not because of a lack of grunt from the GXV 160 engine, but the partial discharge chute tends to block and prevent clippings from being deposited into the catcher. This then leaves a messier finish and necessitates frequent stoppages to unblock the chute, which adds time to the job. I would also prefer finer adjustment on the height settings, the steps between each position being too big.





In the height of summer, the Rover with its full width discharge chute makes catching overgrown Kikuyu so much easier. For this reason, I have kept the Rover well beyond the normal duty cycle for a “main” mower. If Rover still offered a ProCut, I would have traded it years ago now. As such, I have been making repairs where needed to keep it running, which is proving more and more difficult because the ProCut used bespoke parts different from the rest of the Rover lineup. As such, finding parts is difficult and Rover have basically abandoned the market for these machines. In recent times, it seems like I have been snapping up the last of what is still around, axle mounting plates and bushes, drive cogs, wheels, cables ect.





To be fair, the above situation has been a workable situation, swapping between the two as the season dictated. But I’m always on the lookout for something new or better. The decision to buy the Bushranger in the first place was an attempt to replace the Rover in total, it being the best of what was around at the time.

Shortly after I bought the Bushranger, Victa returned to the commercial mower scene with a new 21-inch self-propelled machine. For some reason, Victa come and go in this segment, and every time I was ready for a new wide cut mower, Victa were missing from the options list. So ever since the current model was made available, I have had my eye on one.

https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/product-catalog/professional/lawn-mowers/commercial-21-850-ic-sp.html



So why did I procrastinate so long? Because there is nothing out there on this mower. Dealers don’t like stocking them because of the high asking price, so seeing one in person is limited. There are virtually no videos or written reviews to help potential buyers, and the content created by social media influencers is just too limited to be of any value. After umming and ahing for more than three years now, I caved in and decided to be that person providing this information. I had to buy this unit online sight unseen, an expensive sacrifice for the greater good. Oh, and I get to have a new mower. Im the MAN

Overview -

There is now a range of 19 and 21-inch Victa commercial catching mowers available, joining the MulchMaster 560 and MasterCut 460 Utility.

https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/products/professional/lawn-mowers.html

For efficiency, I chose to focus on the 21-inch machines, which are offered with the 190 cc Briggs & Stratton 850 engine, or the 200cc Chinese Victa VC200. Both have cast iron bores, but a quoted torque number is conspicuous in its absence on the VC200, not that I was considering anything but the Briggs 850 anyway.

Simplistically, this is a widened 19-inch Mustang alloy chassis, with several changes made to make it more suitable for commercial applications. The following applied to both 19 and 21-inch commercial mowers -

- Metal rather than plastic catcher flap
- Cutting heights from 10 – 70mm with 10 positions (25 – 76mm and 7 positions on Bushranger)
- Heavy Duty Gearbox (as used on the MulchMaster)
- High-capacity fabric catcher with heavy duty steel frame, double layer dust deflector and leather wear points on rear corners
- Heavy duty cast aluminum deck
- Replaceable steel wear plates on the deck
- Cast iron bore engines

Something else to note is the lighter weight of the 21-inch Victa’s, tipping the scales at 46 to 48 kg compared to 52 kg for the Bushranger. First impressions prove this is noticeable.

But there is no such thing as a perfect mower, so there are some compromises. The chief of which being the half rear chute. In the end, I sent an email to the supplier and kindly asked for images of the chute, which was promptly sent. From this limited information, the chute appeared to be slightly wider than the Bushranger, and certainly bigger than the Honda’s.



Another thing to note, the belt rather than shaft driven gearbox is also a single speed unit, but the 5 kph speed is actually faster than the Bushranger’s 4.6 kph in top gear. And the catcher only holds 50 rather than 70 liters.

So that’s the overview! More to come!
 
Un-boxing, assembly and fluids!

Victa’s are all semi-assembled and shipped in a singular large box. If bought from a mower shop, they will finish the final assembly as well as adding oil and fuel, an initial startup and inspection. In my case, having blacklisted the local shops, and no other neighboring towns stocking the Victa Commercial range, I bought this online from a vendor that I buy parts from. That means I get the honor of getting the new toy up and running.

VICTA Commercial 21" 850 I/C SP Mower (2691600) | B.W. Machinery















So, so satisfying.....................


First step after opening and unpacking the box is to install the lower handle, angled side pointing up...........ask me how I know this.............:doh:





Next, the upper handle is secured using the locking handle cams.



Throttle and clutch cables are pre-installed, but the throttle control needs to be secured to the handle.





At this point, you will need to make sure the cables are routed cleanly and without the possibility of rubbing on the catcher flap. Both cables are then secured with a plastic clip.





The catcher is supplied pre-assembled.

For some strange reason, Victa only fit two blades to this model, despite the unit shipping with a four-blade carrier. I'm not sure if this was the seller or Victa, but there were an additional two blades included in the box. I don't have a firm reason why they do this, all I can think of is the fitment of two blades would slow down the discharge of clippings into the chute, perhaps making it more manageable for the half-chute arrangement? Either way, I decided to fit the additional blades.







It’s then time for the vital fluids. Now, I typically use Penrite 10w30 semi-synthetic oil in my mowers. The exception to that being my older Briggs engines, where I use the SAE30 monograde mineral oil to help reduce oil consumption. For a new engine, its generally recommended to use mineral oil for the initial fill, before swapping to synthetic after the first 25 hours. In this case, 600ml of Penrite SAE30. Then a full tank of 91-ron unleaded petrol (I don’t bother premium in small engines).



Assembled, oiled and ready to go, the engine fired right up. This is the first 850 engine I have had with the newer plastic carburetor, which seems to idle a bit lower than before. As I always do, I'll run the engine in, change the oil and then up the revs to about 3600 rpm.

Next, something completely pointless, but satisfying!
 
Ceramic Coating!

Yes, I know! But why not?!

To be honest, I’m doing this for a laugh, and to use up some left-over coating. In this case, that coating being Armour Detail Supply High Temp Wheel Coating, which was designed for high-heat applications.

After a wipe down with IPA-based prep spray, in this case P&S Paint Prep, the coating was applied to all accessible surfaces including the deck, handles, throttle control, engine cover, valve cover, wheels and rear flap. Working in sections, the coating was applied, allowed to flash/sweat, then levelled with two towels.





As is the case for this coating, it is then left to cure for 12 hours before use or getting wet.

A pointless endeavor, but one that makes me happy! Im the MAN



 
A Closer Look

One of the difficulties I faced when contemplating this purchase was the complete lack of information on this mower. A lot of that comes down to an apparent lack of interest from Victa itself, the website is pi.s poor with incomplete or inconsistent published spec’s, and incorrect or insufficient product images. And it's that second part that annoys me most, there is simply no excuse for it in the digital age. Where most mower manufacturers highlight key features with clear imaging and text, Victa is not that sophisticated.

After that, I went looking far and wide for online reviews, images and videos. But little to nothing was out there. Victa clearly sent a few units to key social media influencers, but that sort of content is designed around short, algorithm pleasing videos that offer no value to someone contemplating a purchase.

And so, having spent the money, I present basically the first published review and photo essay of the Victa 21-inch Commercial SP mower –

Commercial grade gearbox -





Commercial grade double ball bearing 8-inch wheels -



Steel height sector plate with 10 positions, ranging from 10 to 70 mm -



US-made Briggs & Stratton engine, 190cc, cast iron bore, automatic choke, spin-on oil filter and 11.5 Nm of torque -





Heavy duty front bumper -



50L fabric grass bagger with heavy duty steel frame, double layer dust deflector and leather wear points on rear corners -











Steel catcher flap -









Rear discharge chute. I can say this is wider than the Bushranger -







Plastic mulching plug -













Missing from the spec list is a zone starter mounting, which I remedied with a clip I had in stock. Compared to Honda engines, the Briggs has a long enough rope to make this possible -





More to come, stay tuned!
 
After getting the new ready for action, I turned attention to the old.

As discovered when I replaced the drive cogs on the Rover, the wheel backing plates were damaged and letting too much debris to enter the drive systems rotating assembly. After scouring the internet proved fruitless, I sent emails to a couple of mower shops pleading my case. All but one couldn't help, but I now have two replacement wheel backing plates, probably the last in the country.



So, it was off with the wheel and drive cogs, a now familiar process.



The backing plate is secured by a single pop rivet, which I drilled out.





The new parts didn't have the hole for the rivet, so I put the new cover on the machine, offered up the old one and used it as the guide. After trying to secure the new cover with some bolts I had in stock, I gave up and had to go out and get some replacement rivets.





With the new backing plates fitted, I applied grease to the axle and drive shaft, re-installed the drive cogs and pawls, followed by the wheels and a slug of graphite powder to lubricate the cogs.

A quick test run to verify the repair, and its driving both wheels and seems to be producing less noise as the old plates were scraping against something.

So, one repaired mower, and one brand new mower. :D
 
Man, that Victa is the Mad Mulcher lol.

Looking at your fresh underbody on that little beast reminds me of what I did with my new mower before I started using it. I had some Adam's Polishes undercarriage spray in my garage and thought I'd try it on the mower underbody. The hope is that I'd get better mulching with thick healthy lawns. It worked pretty well. I gave it an initial spray and wiped off the excess. After that, I'd spray off the underbody at least once a month and re-apply. It was worth the effort and cost for a little better mulching and catching as well as easier cleaning.
 
Had the Jaguar serviced yesterday. Of particular concern was a lack of AC performance, which is something that has occurred before. Last time, the system was inspected and found to be low on gas, but no leaks could be detected. This time, a leak was found, and a replacement pipe needed. This is a common problem on early build XE's, so I'm not surprised or concerned. The replacement part and fitment are a relatively cheap fix.

What's not a cheap fix, and something I politely declined, was the quote of $250 to replace the wiper blades. :wowwow:


Yeah, no thanks. Parts already ordered and I'll do that myself.
 
Had the Jaguar serviced yesterday. Of particular concern was a lack of AC performance, which is something that has occurred before. Last time, the system was inspected and found to be low on gas, but no leaks could be detected. This time, a leak was found, and a replacement pipe needed. This is a common problem on early build XE's, so I'm not surprised or concerned. The replacement part and fitment are a relatively cheap fix.

What's not a cheap fix, and something I politely declined, was the quote of $250 to replace the wiper blades. :wowwow:


Yeah, no thanks. Parts already ordered and I'll do that myself.
You could recondition the rubbers like I do, if the rubber isn't actually damaged, you just need to remove the contamination.

I'll understand if it takes a while to answer, I'm just seeing on the news that there are major power outages down your way. Hope you're safe down there.

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You could recondition the rubbers like I do, if the rubber isn't actually damaged, you just need to remove the contamination.

I'll understand if it takes a while to answer, I'm just seeing on the news that there are major power outages down your way. Hope you're safe down there.

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The wipers are the originals since 2015, so well worth replacing.

There are some nasty storms crossing the state, but haven't lost power..............yet.
 
Man, that Victa is the Mad Mulcher lol.

Looking at your fresh underbody on that little beast reminds me of what I did with my new mower before I started using it. I had some Adam's Polishes undercarriage spray in my garage and thought I'd try it on the mower underbody. The hope is that I'd get better mulching with thick healthy lawns. It worked pretty well. I gave it an initial spray and wiped off the excess. After that, I'd spray off the underbody at least once a month and re-apply. It was worth the effort and cost for a little better mulching and catching as well as easier cleaning.

This is what Victa call the Mulchmaster 560......................or in your words, the Mad Mulcher! A dedicated alloy deck 22-inch commercial mulching and side discharge mower aimed at professional use. Has multispeed gearbox the same as the new mower, but with speed control via a belt tensioner. Same engine as well, just an earlier iteration that had a metal rather than plastic carburetor.



 
Looks like the mower shop that screwed me over 15 months ago is in trouble.

As I've explained previously, the shop changed hands nearly two years ago and the customer service went to crap. At the time, I understood that people make mistakes, that businesses like this are flooded with work. But making two mistakes in a row at MY expense, then not owning the mistake or making it right for the customer is pathetic. I vowed to never go back, telling everyone that I know to do the same.

I have since gone on to stock my own spare parts and repair machines myself, in the process, I have been enjoying the challenge.





Ever since, the business has gotten worse and worse. The front yard is a complete mess. There are rows of junk push and ride-on mowers, catchers and engines sitting along the fence in full view of the public, sharing space with rows of brand-new riders. That's just lazy and makes the place look hokey. If they can't be bothered keeping the place neat, then what is the quality of their work or customer service? Oh wait, I already know the answer to that.

And now they are having a "Save My Bacon" Event. I would say that as the economy has dived and sales have slowed post Covid, its the end of summer, and the lack of customer service has finally caught up with them. And they had the audacity send me an invite via text message and Facebook to this "Event" that is clearly a fire sale.

 
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