DFB's Garage

I always thought the need for wide mouth was overrated as I usually use a measuring cup to get right amount of product. Not hard to put water in either….. just didn’t really get it.

The ability to rinse out easier makes all the sense though.


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Same, I used to groan at all the people complaining and ruling out the MTM because of the bottle opening. As you and I have said, filling it with water first makes the difference.

But...................I do understand where they were coming from now, especially the rinse out at the end.
 
My sister's birthday gift this year, an exterior and interior detail on her nearly one-year-old Volvo XC60 B6.

This vehicle was last washed by me on Christmas Day last year, apart from a quick spray down after a road trip from Melbourne to Adelaid and back. Remarkably, the car was relatively clean, so Carpro Finest Reserve is doing its job.

Now, my sister loves cars, but more so in how they look and feel, not so much what is under the hood. Hence a slew of relatively tame naturally aspirated petrol 4's and sole diesel 4 in her back catalog. This Volvo with its turbocharged 2.0 putting out 220 kW and 420 Nm, combined with some mild hybrid assistance, is easily the most powerful car she has owned.

Her first comment to me after that road trip was, "wow, its great to have some power on the open road for overtaking and general ease of cruising"........................something I have ALWAY advocated for when recommending cars to people. I always get the usual "I'm not a racing driver" type of response. True, but the power is not necessarily there to drive like a maniac, but to make driving so much easier and effortless. This sentiment is more obvious these days now that we are not buying torquey Aussie made vehicles, their place taken by asthmatic diesel pickup trucks and gutless naturally aspirated hatchbacks.

Anyway, back to detailing.

The wheels were the dirtiest part of the car, typical euro-brake dust buildup. From dry, I sprayed them with NV Purge and allowed to react. I then rinsed, following with a contact wash using Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam. The tyres were cleaned with Undressed, the wheels given a quick application of Wet Coat. I also hosed out the engine bay and topped up the windshield bottle with N-914 at 128:1.

I then went in with the same W4 Citrus on the paint for a pre-soak. Rinsed, we then switched to Carpro Reset for the contact wash. After being hit with the EGO blower, the drying aid of choice was again Carpro EliXir, which works brilliantly with the Carpro coating. Door jambs wiped with ECH20, wheels wiped down with NV Boost v1, tyres dressed with Carpro Darkside.

For the interior, it got a vac, the rubber floor mats cleaned with McKee's, the glass done with Invisible Glass, everything else got a wipe down with a damp towel. We (I) also decided to clean the front seats, steering wheel and armrests using ColourLock Mild Leather Cleaner, followed by another application of ColourLock Leather Shield. This is what clean, protected leather should look like..................





Back to spec and off home, my job was done.
 
Up with the sparrows to get out while it was still cool this morning. It's amazing how much weather effects the enjoyment or otherwise of a job, too hot or too cold/wet and I've had enough before even getting out of the car. So, the getting onto things before the heatwave continued its early Autumn tirade made things more bearable. It's been a week of 38 degree (100 f) and above temps, making up for the somewhat mild summer.

Getting home at about 12pm, it was then into the shade of the garage begin the wheel repairs on the Rover. To recap, I lost drive to the left wheel, which I briefly fixed with replacement of the drive gears and pawls. Shortly after, it again lost drive to the left wheel, which would engage and spin in the air, but not under load, in turn causing it to pull to the left. After pulling the wheels off (again), the left wheel would spin within the rim, but not the right-hand wheel.

Now, these particular wheels are geared to engage with the drive cog. There are two versions of this wheel, one for the ProCut 50 and one for the ProCut 560 that I have, neither are interchangeable. So, a very specific part for a very specific mower. After searching and reaching out to a past contact, it turns out these wheels are still available from Rover, so I ordered four of them! I get it now, these are not parts a retailer will have sitting on a shelf considering how expensive they are and only fitting one specific mower.

In this case, this is the 9-inch rear wheel as used on ProCut 560, Rover part 634-05015 or A10669 -

ROVER 22" 560 MOWER REAR DRIVE WHEEL A10669
– Power Mowers






Knowing one of the two was broken, I didn't know which. As soon as I opened the box, I knew what the problem was, the new wheels not spinning withing the "tyre" so to speak, meaning the left wheel had failed internally and was free spinning rather than locking and then engaging with the cog.

With the hub cap removed, the press-fit wheel retainer needs to levered off with a screwdriver. The old wheel simply slides off, the axle cleaned and a little marine grade grease applied for good measure, the new wheel is then slid onto the axle and a new retainer hammered onto the axle using an old socket to drive it home square.

Old wheel on the left, new on the right. It's at this point I remembered what had been done last time the wheels had been attended to. These are not the original wheels, the shop replacing both the left and then right on two separate occasions, the left-hand wheel being the oldest, somewhat explaining its failure. It also had less "tread" than the newer right side.





New wheel against the old hub cap does things to my OCD...............:doh:



I also decided to order new front wheels. These are relatively easy to find and are considerably cheaper. Again, there are two sizes available, the 7.5-inch for ProCut 50 and the 8-inch ProCut 560. Actually, I was a bit confused what front wheels I needed. Measuring the old ones, it came in at 7.5-inch, which Rover sell under A10621. But the part number on the old wheels was indeed the larger 8-inch A10622. I guess I have lost 0.5-inch of tread in the 10 years I've had this unit. :laughing:

https://powermowers.com.au/collections/tyres-parts/products/rover-wheel-a10622





Again, the same process here, removal of the hub cap and the stupid axle retainer, which is part number A03092 for those wondering. Those retainers can be re-used if you are careful during removal, sometimes they snap, sometimes not.

https://powermowers.com.au/products...counted-10-pack?_pos=1&_psq=axle&_ss=e&_v=1.0



A quick startup, the wheels both turning in the air was a good first sign. Under load on the pavement and grass, we have two wheel drive again! Im the MAN

I now have two of those rear wheels brand-new, joining the good used one. The failed rear and both fronts went in the recycling bin! This will have the Rover in working order should I need it. I'm just waiting for the that bloody Krohler to blow up and then I can put a real engine on it...........a Briggs 850!

However, with how the Victa Commercial is going, I may have finally found the Rover's replacement! As I had planned, I'm trying to get some content out there on this mower, there just isn't much available, be that images or video. The below is pretty primitive, but it's a start...................

 
I mowed my lawn today, with my trusty Victa Mustang, with the Honda GCV160 engine. Then I watched your video, now I feel like an idiot pushing it around under my own power. You did inspire me though, I was going to take a quick picture of it, but I thought no, not looking like that, so I blew all the stray grass off, then, for the first, gave it a wipe down with ONR. I guess I have a dedicated mower cleaning cloth now. Cleanest it's been in awhile, notice the obligatory cracked hub cap.
9d532e6b32702d550958e890122062f8.jpg


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I mowed my lawn today, with my trusty Victa Mustang, with the Honda GCV160 engine. Then I watched your video, now I feel like an idiot pushing it around under my own power. You did inspire me though, I was going to take a quick picture of it, but I thought no, not looking like that, so I blew all the stray grass off, then, for the first, gave it a wipe down with ONR. I guess I have a dedicated mower cleaning cloth now. Cleanest it's been in awhile, notice the obligatory cracked hub cap.
9d532e6b32702d550958e890122062f8.jpg


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The classic Victa Mustang, the pinnacle of the range. In its current 19-inch format, I've had 5 of these cast alloy deck mowers. Not only is the deck more durable than steel, the axles are bolted rather than press fit clips, so you don't wear out bushings as quickly. 4 of them have had Briggs & Stratton engines (190cc side valve, 161cc DOV, 190cc 850 OHV, 163cc 750iS) and 1 has been the 160cc VEX 2-stroke.

The first was waaay back in 2006, although it was called the Razor, but it used the Mustang chassis. I loved the unique handle bar design it had with an integrated drink bottle holder (excellent on long, hot days). This one had the 6.0 hp XTS60 side valve Briggs, which was a thirsty beast. I basically run that mower into the ground, trading it on a lemon Honda Buffalo Buck. Apart from their excellent engines, I have never bought another Honda mower, junk. I would love to find another one of these, but there aren't many around now.





The second had the then new DOV engine. Instead of pushrods, these engines have lever arms that are bumped by a crankshaft mounted camshaft. I never liked that engine, it lacked torque and was quite clattery, probably the unique valve train. I traded it one on another Mustang, this time with the 850-engine.



The 850 engine is such a beast. I actually lent it out when I was on extended sick leave, the first comment on its return was how much grunt it had.



Mustang number 4 being the 2-stroke which I bought as a keepsake. This was shortly after Victa said they would stop making that engine due to emissions. I love this mower!




The latest being the battery start Mustang 750iS. I bought this for smaller jobs during winter.




I that sort of shows what I think of these Victa's, they are easily the best lawn mower for domestic use, and they are so good that they can easily take commercial use. They also make them with self propel now Dave. There is a 19-inch Commercial in push and SP, but you end up paying for the heavy-duty handles, height adjuster, fabric catcher and double ball-bearing wheels. There are two SP Mustang's, one with the 163cc Briggs, one with the V170 engine. DO NOT buy the V170 "Victa" engine, those engines are pure junk made in a single Chinese factory and sold to manufacturers wanting a house brand engine. From what I have seen, they are built cheap and nasty with questionable longevity.

https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/product-catalog/domestic/lawn-mowers/mustang-sp-725exi.html
https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/prod...awn-mowers/mustang-sp-v170-series-engine.html

 
Rims make or break a vehicle, more proof Deyon

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Wash day for the Ranger and Jaaaaag, and a chance to try a product that had a few had been gently recommending I try.



Now, in the past I have sampled a few of the overcomplicated Chemical Guys range. Nothing really grabbed me, although I did enjoy using VRP dressing. But, this was before I learnt more of the brand and their approach to covering every conceivable gap in the market, sometimes multiple times. As such, trying to make sense of the range is difficult because they have so many overlapping products. I remember going through their product range and counting something like 15 different tyre dressings, and unless you buy and try every single one of those, how do you know which is the best?

Until now, I have ignored the Chemical Guys offerings. Trying Honeydew Snow Foam comes after a few guys swearing by it, guys who have the means to buy and try any product they want on their very nice cars. And yet, they keep coming back to this soap. So, after resisting the urge, I finally caved and ordered a bottle to try.

Now, one of the key drawcards to this soap is the low cost, but not in Australia unless on heavy discount. Supercheap don't sell the smaller 473ml bottle, only the 1.9-liter for $59.95 RRP. For context, I can get double that volume in the form of a 4-liter bottle of NV Snow for only $18 more. Roughly speaking, that works out at about $5.15 per 100ml wash for Honeydew, or $1.95 per 100 ml wash for NV Snow.

Now onto the product itself. This is a pH neutral maintenance soap, which is nicely thin in consistency to make dispensing easy. Foaming ability is fantastic, the scent pleasingly fresh but not a standout like GSF, Incredible Suds or Reset. Lubrication is nice, but not to GSF levels.

Compared to some of the garbage within the wider Chemical Guys product range, Honeydew is actually quite nice to use. But it's a middle of the road soap for me. In the US, the performance vs price is extremely favorable. But it just doesn't perform like the premium soaps that its competing with on price in Australia.
 
Feeling pretty exhausted after a busy week, it was a day for tinkering.

The Ranger was covered in road grime after rain last week, but I just didn't want to get everything out for a full bucket wash. Instead, I foamed the car with Gtechniq W4 and allowed it soak while I prepped for a rinse-less wash.





After a thorough rinse, I moved into the garage and used DIY Rinse-less Wash to finish off. The car was then dried with the assistance of DIY Ceramic Gloss. This is a great combo, not as slick and glossy as P&S Absolute/Bead Maker, but satisfying nonetheless.

I then wiped down the tray using a beater towel soaked with the rinse-less solution, the wheels and door jambs wiped down with ECH20. The interior was wiped with DIY Interior Clean and Protect, windows with Invisible Glass. Tyres dressed with OG Tire Dressing, my current favorite.

I also didn't have the energy to address the old man's filthy Wildtrak, which was covered in dust, road grime and bugs from driving all over Victoria in the last two weeks. The perfect candidate to further experiment with Bilt Hamber Touchless.

I've had a rocky start with Touchless, to the point where I've been hesitant to use it. My initial usages were not successful, which was a source of frustration. I then realized the 10 LPM (2.65 GPM) flow rate of my pressure washer was overdiluting the chemical. I have since had better results from using it neat in the foam cannon bottle, which dilutes just enough without compromising it's "touchless" ability.



In this case, it was rather remarkable how effective Touchless was in removing the majority of crap from the car. Yes, it would've benefited from a follow up contact wash, but that wasn't the aim today. I simply wanted to see what I would get from a simple foam, rinse and blow dry. The result buys the car another week before getting a more thorough clean.

Speaking of foam cannons, I am so far liking these newly updated MTM PF22.2's. The repurposed Kwazar weighted filter is also working very well, helping the cannon to continue drawing soap no matter the fluid level or bottle angle.



Unrelated to detailing, I also had to replace one of the plastic hinges on the garage door. These things have a habit of snapping and causing noisy operation. Each hinge is numbered, so you need to have the correspondingly numbered hinge. I had one in stock, but not the number 2 I needed. So, I ordered one of each number to have in stock. Replaced, its working much nicer now.

Steel line nylon hinge 2 for garage door - Wholesalegaragedoors.com.au

I also got onto greasing the gearboxes on my line and hedge trimmers. For some reason, while I seem to remember to change the oil and clean out the air filters on my lawn mowers, I always forget to re-grease these things. The handy thing with the Stihl grease is that the tube will screw into the filler plug thread, allowing you to inject grease into the gearbox without making a mess.

(Not my image/video)

https://www.stihl.com.au/en/ap/heavy-duty-gear-lubricant-1068



 
Deyon, glad you got Touchless figured out, such a GREAT product

Also Ceramic Gloss vs. The P&S combo, not even close! Maybe not as slick but gloss and durability...DIY wins by a TKO

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Picked up a quick release chuck for my Milwaukee inflator. These just screw onto the OEM threaded chuck and prevent losing too much air when removing from the valve stem.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09TKMPX3K?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Much better now.......................



I remember using similar connections on the air hose at the servo, you always had to hold them on because they were so worn out, it was rare that they would hold on all by themselves. I'm sure yours will last many years, because you won't abuse yours.

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I remember using similar connections on the air hose at the servo, you always had to hold them on because they were so worn out, it was rare that they would hold on all by themselves. I'm sure yours will last many years, because you won't abuse yours.

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You can only imagine the idiots attempting use those things, so not surprised they would flog out.
 
Autumn, my favorite season. Sunny days, not too hot, not too cold..............perfect for pottering about. And so, having the last two days off has been a fantastic recharge.

Yesterday, I serviced a work colleague's lawn mower. She pays to cover the parts and I throw in the labor for free. Nothing overly complicated, it's only a few years old, but I changed out the oil for fresh Penrite 10W-30, a new air filter and spark plug. I then gave the unit a clean with Shine Supply Wise Guy, applied Hydr02 to the deck and a little P&S Shape Up dressing for the plastics. It was then returned, ready for work again.

Interesting to note the design of the airbox on these newer Brigg's engines lets in a lot of dust and debris. Where the oil-soaked foam filters on the old side-valve engines didn't allow any foreign material to enter the filter case, the new OHV engines have two entry points for grass and dust to enter the housing. This makes it vital to check, clean or replace the paper cartridge and foam pre-filters often.

After that and running around town for this and that, I zoned out for a few hours and settled into my happy place by washing the Mustang. I typically use soap for the wheels, but I decided to use Brake Buster from my foam cannon to get a deeper clean than usual.

Soap of choice was Koch Chemie GSF, followed by a blow down with the EGO and OG Drying Aid. With the cooler weather, I decided to tackle the inside of the rear windshield by folding myself into the back seat, using the Stoner Reach & Clean Tool to get right down to the base of the screen. The wheels got a wipe down with NV Boost v1 and the tyres re-coated with OG Tire Dressing.





Today, I made sure I had nowhere to go other than out into the garage. Again, it was on with the headphones to help me zone out, the delightful Table Manners podcast playing in my ear. After running them through the washing machine yesterday, the first job today was to refit the Ranger's waterproof seat covers. Actually, while they were out of the car, I cleaned under the seats and the headboard with Griot's Interior Cleaner, the rest of the interior with InnerQD.

For the exterior, again I used foamed Brake Buster for the wheels, then P&S Radiance for the wash. Drying Aid an old favorite, Meguiar's Last Touch, then the tires got another coat of OG TD and the wheels wiped over with Boost v1.



While it wasn't all that bad, it was then the Jaguar's turn. Foamed Brake Buster again for the wheels and tyres, soap of choice being Shine Supply Shift, and OG Drying getting another run. The wheels this time wiped with ECH20, tyres dressed with Opti-coat Tire Gel.



Finishing up the bliss, I mixed up a fresh batch of ECH20 at 15:1 and topped off various spray bottles, something I find very therapeutic for some reason.

Back to work tomorrow........................ :cry:
 
Deyon, what do you think of Radiance

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Deyon, what do you think of Radiance

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I like it waaaay more than I expected! I'm not the biggest fan of soaps with a wax or sealant in them, but the first time I used Radiance I was very impressed with the gloss and slickness it left behind. So far, I've only used it on the Ranger, which is coated with Gyeon Pure EVO, the two play well together.

Yes, the foam is on the runny side and the scent a bit meh, but overall, I really like it.
 
I like it waaaay more than I expected! I'm not the biggest fan of soaps with a wax or sealant in them, but the first time I used Radiance I was very impressed with the gloss and slickness it left behind. So far, I've only used it on the Ranger, which is coated with Gyeon Pure EVO, the two play well together.

Yes, the foam is on the runny side and the scent a bit meh, but overall, I really like it.
I haven't used it in the bucket yet, in my IK Foam Pro 12 I used 4 oz/1 gallon and thought it was ok, so maybe it's better in the bucket

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I haven't used it in the bucket yet, in my IK Foam Pro 12 I used 4 oz/1 gallon and thought it was ok, so maybe it's better in the bucket

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I'm a bit different in that I don't two-bucket wash. I use the foam cannon to apply soap to the car directly, then use one single "rinse" bucket. Actually, I dump the remains of the foam cannon into the bucket, along with a little soap directly onto the wash media.





I think I know what you mean by "it was ok", Radiance is not a benchmark soap. It's a fine maintenance soap and is decently slick, but I have doubts about its ultimate cleaning ability. The scent is straight out of 1985, and the runny foam consistency is common to this sort of soap and P&S in general. Combined, it makes for an "ok" soap, but not a standout.

From my perspective, I did notice increased slickness and gloss to the paint after using Radiance, which helps redeem itself.
 
Two of my favorite things today, lawn mowers and washing cars! Let's start with the mowers.

About a month ago, I lost drive on the Mulchmaster. Thankfully, it failed at home and after finishing my mowing run for the day. What I thought would be a simple belt change turned out to be more involved. In fact, the belt itself still had a few threads intact, but one of the tensioner pullies had slipped off the bearing.............







From what I have since learned, once the bearings fail on these, they heat up the plastic pully and melt them free.

After a few minutes searching the PDF parts manual, which I have saved for all of my machines now, I found that Victa only sells the complete tensioner assembly and not the induvial pullies. In any case, these are not all that expensive, but they are special order and why it's taken me a month to get around to fixing this issue.

Victa: CH86896AW

https://bwmachinery.com.au/wp-conte...-Mulchmaster-560-Mower-2691588-Parts-List.pdf

Victa Genuine Tensioner Mount Pack CH86896AW [BRICH86896AW] - $42.91 :



Replacement of the belt and tensioner is a bit of a fiddle, but not hard. First, remove the blade carrier from the driveshaft to give access later on. Then, release the speed control cable by loosening the double nuts that hold it to the assembly, then unhook the cable from the pivoting tensioner arm. Next, remove the nyloc nut from the second pully, this bold also holds the assembly in place and passes through the chassis, you will need two 13mm ring spanners.



New unit ready for install following the above in reverse.



The Mulchmaster was the last machine I entrusted to the "care" a local repair shop. I had dropped it in for a belt replacement, a month and $220 later, the machine was handed back on a Saturday morning. On the first job, the thing was driving way too slowly, even in top gear. Thinking back, I am certain they didn't even do a test run before signing off on the job, because if they had, they would have known something wasn't right. By this time, it was 1pm on a Saturday and the shop closed. Annoyed, I removed the belt shroud to discover they had put the belt on incorrectly. The short period of running had also cut the belt.





I then spent a month arguing with the arrogant shop owner, who was insistent I bring the machine back, which wasn't going to happen. My argument being they charged me for a repair that I ended up having to do myself to get it running and earning money again, and that the belt was compromised. In the end, we agreed for them to simply cover the cost of a new belt and call it a day. After waiting for weeks to be issued a refund, I sent an email to Victa head office that a "certified dealer" was doing the brand a disservice. I got no response from either Victa or the dealer, but the money was in my account 24 hours later.

I say all of the above because I already had a belt in stock, and that I'm shocked that the compromised belt lasted 14 months. Even so, I ordered another belt to keep in stock.

Victa - CH85666A

https://www.outdoorking.com.au/inde...t_info&cPath=1_17_88_275_603&products_id=8534



To fit the belt takes a bit of finagling. First, feed the belt from the top of the deck, pulling through to hook over the blade boss and then onto the engine pully. You then snake the belt around the pivot arm pully and up to the gear box pully. Get the belt started on the gearbox pully, then rotate till it walks into place.





Next, you need to reset the speed control. First, move the lever to the fastest position, pull back on the cable to tension the pivot arm, then adjust and tighten the double nuts to lock everything down. A quick test run, then another readjustment of the cable, the belt cover can be reinstalled.

I ended up giving the machine a test run on the neighbors lawn, and I'm pleased to report the Mulchmaster is now fixed and running well.

 
Last week, not having time to attend to the dirty, bug ridden Wildtrak, I decided to see what Bilt Hamber Touchless would do in a simply foam-rinse-blow dry type of treatment. Touchless got the car 90 percent clean, stripping off the grime in an effortless way. That meant today's wash would be far easier.

As always, the wheels and tyres were first. I used foamed Brake Buster for the wheels, the tyres scrubbed with P&S Undressed, followed by another application of Hydr02 on the wheels.

I then moved onto the engine bay, rinsing it down before applying APC and scrubbing with the Detail Factory Fender Brush and an EZ-Detail brush. Rinsed again, I applied Hyper Dressing and closed the hood.



Even though the car was still pretty clean after last weeks Touchless, I still used a pre-treat foaming, in this case Gyeon Foam. It was then onto a new soap......................



After having a few people suggest I try it, Hyper Wash is a highly concentrated soap aimed at pro detailers. I had previously dismissed Hyper Wash because of the high recommended retail price and ultra-thick consistency. Combined with the new wide mouth MTM foam cannon bottle and the thinner than expected consistency, dispensing the soap was easier than I had anticipated.

Hyper Wash produces thick, shaving cream-like foam that, unlike the Gyeon Foam used earlier, does thin down a little as it dwells. The scent is quite muted but pleasant, again I was expecting it to smell like some of Meguiar's older legacy products. Slickness is good but not at Reset or GSF levels, and it's relatively free rinsing. Cleaning power is impressive though, which you would expect from a product rated at pH 9.0.







I have to say, Hyper Wash is way better than I had been expected and I'm grateful for those who suggested trying it. This is why forums are the best, respectful sharing of knowledge and information rather than the trash to be found on other social media platforms.

After the wash, I used NV Boost v2 for the drying aid and P&S Epic for the door jambs. I cleaned the interior with P&S Xpress, followed by P&S True Vue for the glass. The leather was looking quite grotty, so I cleaned with KCx Pol Star and applied Geist Leather Conditioner. The Floor mats were scrubbed with Mckee's FMCLR and dressed with P&S Swift.



I then wiped the wheels over with Boost v2 and dressed the tyres with Shine Supply Decked Out.
 
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