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- Denver, CO
I know you hate that thing. Did you know that thing is actually part of the bumper? Yeah, it's plastic.
Does the KE hood [metal] extend all the way to the front?
It's plastic? I actually did not realize it, thanks!
I know you hate that thing. Did you know that thing is actually part of the bumper? Yeah, it's plastic.
Does the KE hood [metal] extend all the way to the front?
I always thought those things were supposed to be hard on paint due to abrasion. The cure might be worse than the problem. Never had one myself.
Woops! Hopefully you have a welding machine and DIY. For some reason I do soldering all the time, but I can never overcome those sparks of welding and have never tried.
I'd take airbag and all the upholstery out and take the bare seat metal frame to a welding shop.I solder as well(repair stuff as a hobby), but I can't weld. I was wondering, should I unplug the airbag, while it is getting welded back?
I solder as well(repair stuff as a hobby), but I can't weld. I was wondering, should I unplug the airbag, while it is getting welded back?
But shipping to you for a metal seat frame would be more expensive than the welding job ⋯I'll weld it, $20/hr here is my work.
But shipping to you for a metal seat frame would be more expensive than the welding job *
Finally got around to a deep exterior clean & wax. I've washed the car before but this is the first coat of wax I've applied (bought it in March).
-Washed the car
-Used Mother's 2.0 Clay substitute on the entire car to get the baseballs
-Used Iron-X on the hood & rear quarter panels. There was no oxidation, so I stopped there
-Clayed the entire car (Adam's Clay bar and Nanoskin lubricant)
--It picked up a little contamination from the hood, and virtually none anywhere else
---I don't know how much Mother's Clay 2.0 picked up, if any, but it did not get all of the contaminants
-Had some stains of varying size (pencil point to fingerprint) on the hood & roof that were still there. Looked like colorless hard water marks. The clay bar would not remove them
--Got nearly all of them off alternating Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Turtle Wax Bug/Tar Remover
--Some came off after one iteration. Others took 10. A couple are still faint
--This process took the most time, because there were a bunch and I let the Compound and the Remover sit each time I applied them
- Used my new Porter Cable Random Orbital Polisher
--Applied a coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Polish using Chemical Guys Polishing Pad Conditioner
--Applied a coat of Turtle Wax Ice, Seal & Shine
--You still gotta manually rub out the polish quite a bit (leaves a haze like classic paste wax), and the Turtle Wax to a much lesser degree, but those polishers sure save elbow grease during the application step. I could reach the back of my hood with it while standing at the bumper. Also helps reaching across the roof.
I ran out of daylight and energy, so I haven't dressed the tires or the exterior trim.
It looks nice. I did think it would be shinier. I don't know if the Ice/Seal/Shine is not gonna get as deep a shine as paste wax, or if my expectations were too high (or if it will be better in full daylight). When I applied the Turtle Wax to the hood, I compared it to the fenders with just the Meguiar's Polish and didn't really see any difference, so there's no strange reaction or conflict between them.
I read a lot of reviews on that Mother's Clay 2.0 pad. Folks like it because you can do so many cars with it, you can actually wash your car with it while "claying" (using the soapy water as the lubricant), and if you drop it you just rinse it off. Some said "I'll never use real clay again," while others thought it would get some portion of the contaminants off but not all of them. That last group was my experience. I don't think the Adam's clay picked up a small amount of contaminants because the Mother's got the rest, I just don't think my car had got many this soon (and the Mother's did leave at least some--if not all--behind). But there are recommendations out there to clay a new car because they say contaminants can get in the paint during the transportation process. And I wanted to have a known clean surface for the polish & wax. Besides, a second wash using the soapy water and the Mother's Clay 2.0 took no time at all, and since there were few contaminants, neither did using the Adam's.
I'm real happy with the way water beads on it. I got some cleaner/wax splash on my windshield I gotta get off. 2 iterations of spray cleaner and it's still spotted and slightly tacky. Hope the stuff did not react with my Rain-X.
After I dress the tires & trim, I'll see if I can get the picture upload feature on my account to start working (it never has, even with tech support). Or I'll set up another hosting account somewhere (PhotoBucket started charging if you want to tag your pics on websites).
Man, I'm tired...
For pic uploads, a lot of people seem to use imgur.com. I believe it's free and easy to use.
How many section passes did you do with the Ultimate Polish?
I'm not sure what you mean by "section passes." I applied the polish one area at a time (half the roof, half the hood, one door, etc) and wiped it off afterwards, but I did not go back over any area a second time...the car got a single application of it. Given the newness of the car/paint, I didn't think it was necessary. I just wanted to get a "deeper clean" before applying the wax, and to maybe add some gloss underneath of it.
Do you think I could have obtained that depth of shine I was expecting if I had done more than one pass? I was thinking of applying a paste wax next time and putting a wool buffer pad on the polisher. The Ice/Seal/Shine went on very easy, but it was more like applying a coat of sealant than it was actually buffing a shine, if that makes any sense.
I thought Mazda recommends SAE J1703 or FMVSS116 DOT-3 brake fluid? (uhm)⋯ Topped off with some Supertech (walmart) DOT4 fluid.
I thought Mazda recommends SAE J1703 or FMVSS116 DOT-3 brake fluid? (uhm)
You can get aftermarket DOT4 which is compatible with DOT3 but has a higher boiling point. That's the only difference really. Not to mention cheaper than OEM. You can deviate from OEM Brake fluid with no worries. Just don't use DOT 5.
SAE J1703 = DOT 3
SAE J1704 = DOT 4