What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[skinnyb]

Had a little gift package when I got home today from KCx. Yay. I have a car show to go to tomorrow morning, so I mixed up a batch at 256:1 and tried it this evening. Used in my IK sprayer for a pre spray and a DIY Detail legacy sponge for the clean. I must say it smells good, it works great too. Slickness is on par with all the others I have tried and use (Absolute, ONR, DIY Detail), jury is still out though. I think my favorite still is Opticoat for Polymer and DIY for a Surfactant based Rinseless. I say if you are heavy into the KCx infrastructure (like I am LOL) it would work great...

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[FKE SNK]

Im anxious to get some thoughts on the new Rupes cordless. They definitely designed it with comfort and use in mind in regards to battery placement.
I want to see if it would be worth the upgrade from the Milwaukee's, which have proven to be absolute battle axes that work for almost everything over time.

I still prefer the Milwaukee over the Rupes stiletto.

 

[Brisvegas]

The first of two Knipex tools I ordered, and my first interaction with this brand.

Knipex 31 15 160 Flat Nose Pliers -

Knipex 31 15 160 Flat Nose Pliers (Needle-Nose Pliers) Chrome Plated with Multi-Component Grips, 160 mm : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

Flat Nose Pliers (Needle-Nose Pliers) | KNIPEX

Initial impressions are of quality, the soft touch handles in particular.

As an Auto tech i can tell you knipex pliers are the best you can get . A lot of snapon vans used to have these under the 'counter ' and would sell these to techs , probably the only non snapon tool sold out of a snapon van ever , says all you need to know imo . If you got the handstrength you can cut a 6mm bolts with the 'side' cutters ,

 

[DFB5.0]

Im anxious to get some thoughts on the new Rupes cordless. They definitely designed it with comfort and use in mind in regards to battery placement.
I want to see if it would be worth the upgrade from the Milwaukee's, which have proven to be absolute battle axes that work for almost everything over time.

I still prefer the Milwaukee over the Rupes stiletto.

I think if you already have the Milwaukee, I wouldn't be rushing into the new Rupes. I would have bought the Milwaukee already if they offered the 15mm 5-inch here in Australia. For whatever reason, only the 21mm 6-inch is available here.

I'm still waiting for my unit to arrive, which I plan to give my Mustang it's final polish in my care.

However, I'm actually a little concerned about my purchase at the moment due to the below two videos. The first use of the new Rupes in the first video where he say's "this is terrible" had my heart dropping. The unit was walking all over the paint and needed to be manhandled. The second video has him comparing directly with all of his machines, including the Milwaukee.





So, it would seem the new machine is very pad sensitive. So much so that Rupes actually redesigned the wool pads for the release of the new battery machines. A lot of this comes down to the ultra-thin backing plate they went with, which would seem to need a thicker foam interface to quell that pad walk. From what I can see, he was using the older design Rupes wool pad. I actually brought this up with him and his response was as follows -

I think it was the combo of super soft single stage and the polish I chose. Microfiber and Cut Max on the glass was smooth as silk.

That clicks for a couple of reasons. As stated, the soft single stage paint, and the fact that the Rupes microfiber pads had already been redesigned about a year ago to include a thicker foam interface. So, this to me suggests the new machines need a thicker pad to compensate for the thin backing plate.

A couple of other people's contributions to that conversation -

The lack of a thicker backing plate needs additional foam interference from the pad. So it makes sense that the newer pad style would reduce the jumping.

Single stage tends to be extremely grabby with a dry wool.. that’s one of the benefits of the LC pad washer is it’ll lubricate the pad and help.

I hope this doesn't mean being locked into Rupes pads though, as I have a cabinet full of the older Rupes, ShineMate and Lake Country pads.

My take away? The above videos are observations from a single user, an influential one at that. I think the pad, polish and paint system heavily influenced the issues he was having. I mainly use foam myself, although I have been liking the Rupes yellow wool of late. I was all set to sell off my ShineMate machines, but I think I'll hang on to them for a little while until I have some miles on the new Rupes.

 

[DFB5.0]

As an Auto tech i can tell you knipex pliers are the best you can get . A lot of snapon vans used to have these under the 'counter ' and would sell these to techs , probably the only non snapon tool sold out of a snapon van ever , says all you need to know imo . If you got the handstrength you can cut a 6mm bolts with the 'side' cutters ,

Ha ha, I love it!

 

[DFB5.0]

Wildtrak Seat Trim Replacement

Some time ago, the drivers side seat base trim valance on the Wildtrak broke. From memory, the XLT that this car replaced also did the same, so I’m pretty sure this is a common failure part.

From what I can tell, the way the trim is shaped and attached to the seat has it subjected to substantial pressure as the driver enters and exits the vehicle. Repeated cycles of compression and release sees the plastic fatiguing over time, which then leads to it cracking.

Could I have made a warranty claim on this failure? Perhaps, but unlikely. Apart from the fact that it's just outside of warranty now, Ford would likely claim it as wear and tear, which is fair enough. As such, I decided to order the part from Bayford and do the job myself.

There are a few different versions of this part, all dependent on trim and model spec, and of course driver or passenger orientation. For example, the same part in my Ranger would not have cut-outs for power seat adjustment but would have a mechanical backrest lever. There are also two versions for the 8-way powered Wildtrak, with or without seat heating. This particular Wildtrak is not equipped with seat heaters. At this point, I would list the part number and provide the link, but more on that in later.

First, I removed the two electric seat adjustment levers with my fancy skin wedge tool. There is also a singular Phillips head screw on the rear of the seat. The trim is then "massaged" from the locator tabs.

Next, remove the two screws holding the switch module to the trim, you then need to release it from the tabs.

For the new trim, refit the switch module, then wrangle the trim into place to align and then snap into the three locator tabs, replace the rear screw. The adjuster levers then snap back into place. But........................

Despite being a professional online shopper, for some reason I bought the wrong part. I think the new one is for an XLT and not the Wildtrak with its black rather than grey plastics. I've tried searching the part number for the old piece but I can only find the grey version.

Does it matter? To me it does, to my father, not at all. I might try and track down the correct part, but I guess its not critical concern. I'm just chuffed I managed to do this myself.

Whilst I had the car, I also gave it the monthly wash. This was my second use of the XL version of the Detail Factory tyre brush.

https://detailingshed.com.au/produc...h-scrubbing-brush?_pos=1&_sid=28f449057&_ss=r

While the XL version doesn't have the same joyous flex to the bristles when compared to the original, it's still a very nice user experience and makes short work of these large tyres.

The pre-wash on this car was Bilt Hamber Touchless, used neat in the foam cannon. My earliest attempts using this soap were unsuccessful due to the flow of my Kranzle KHD-10 diluting it too much. So, I use it straight/un-diluted in the foam cannon canister.

Following the pre-wash, which removed all of the bugs and general road grime, I decided to use Koch Chemie Nano-Magic Shampoo, basically a fancy wash-n-wax. Normally, a soap like this would not have enough cleaning ability to deal with this car, but because of what Touchless can do, I decided to give it a try.

Koch Chemie Nano Magic Shampoo (750ml) - Ultimate Car Shampoo (detailingshed.com.au)

Nano-Magic was not designed for foam cannons, it really doesn't foam, but I did anyway to at least get it onto the paint like I normally would. It's also strangely lacking in lubrication compared to a pure soap.

The car was then dried with the excellent Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, tyres dressed with 1:1 Perl, the interior wiped down with Griot's Interior Cleaner, leather given a once over with ONR.

I also got the XR6 out for a drive, taking the loooong way to the Big-Green-Shed. This gave me a chance to really lean on those new brakes, which now gives me confidence to drive the car hard. That same low speed smoothness that I was impressed with initially translates to performance driving as well. I did get them to fad a little bit in the end, but they don't start shuddering after two heavy applications like the stock setup would. The Project MU pads do produce more dust than the OE Ford pads, but not terrible like Brembo pads do. I'd still love to put Brembo's on this car, but overall, I'm happy with how the changes have translated.

 

[DFB5.0]

My second set of Knipex arrived today, this time the 38 25 200 -

Mechanics' Pliers | KNIPEX
Knipex 38 25 200 Mechanics' Pliers Chrome Plated with Multi-Component Grips, 200 mm : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

 

[Ozcraig]

As an Auto tech i can tell you Knipex pliers are the best you can get . A lot of snapon vans used to have these under the 'counter ' and would sell these to techs , probably the only non snapon tool sold out of a snapon van ever , says all you need to know imo . If you got the handstrength you can cut a 6mm bolts with the 'side' cutters ,

I totally agree. Knipex are the best and strongest tools I have ever used. As an Electric Motor rewinder for many years, we often had to modify hand tools to suit a particular task. We would often grind down the jaws of tools to fit into restricted spaces to cut copper conductors prior to welding. The Knipex sidecutters would last many times longer than any other brand, even when the jaws were subjected to the much higher leverage applied by grinding the jaws short.

 

[MrMike]

Tried some new stuff last week.

Griot's Track Spray is quite good as a tar remover, at least as good as Mother's R3.

I tried Griot's wash and coat since both of my vehicles were done with their 3-in-1 last year. It is very slick and I had no issues cleaning with it, but it does not sud very much which I am not used to coming from Meg's Gold Class or Hyper Wash. I'll keep using it since I'm already in on the 3-in-1. I also use the ceramic QD as a drying aid.

As an addendum the 3-in-1 lasts much longer than I expected, but my vehicles are also garaged.

The Gtechniq C5 I put on my wheels is unsurprisingly very durable. I splooshed a decent bit of brake fluid on one wheel by accident this weekend and it didn't even get through the coating.

My second set of Knipex arrived today, this time the 38 25 200 -

Mechanics' Pliers | KNIPEX
Knipex 38 25 200 Mechanics' Pliers Chrome Plated with Multi-Component Grips, 200 mm : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

I don't have these ones yet but I definitely want something like this. Think I want thinner and longer.... or maybe both.

 

[kilobravo]

Despite being a professional online shopper, for some reason I bought the wrong part.

"professional online shopper" gave me the first grin of the day, D. <smiling> But in 2024, I am guessing that a whole lot of people have joined your group, myself among them FOR sure and, Bezos' bank account solidly verifies that fact. <BSEG>

However my friend, don't feel TOO badly, I often screw up and order the wrong damn item and I doubt that you and I are the sole perpertrators. <wink>

 

[DFB5.0]

My new Rupes turned up today!

The first thing you notice is how light the unit is, with or without the battery. It's also butter smooth, lacking the clattery wind down of my ShineMate's.

More detail here -
Rupes HLR Battery Polishers | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

 

[Brisvegas]

OMG i just googled the price of that , damn hope it's got FSD . I'd be scared to use it

 

[DFB5.0]

After a short break, I'm again providing blog posts for Detailing Shed. While these are not credited with my name, rather the business owner, I wrote and collaborated with the team to arrive at the final result.

The latest post is a Bilt Hamber range overview. While I could easily write multiple pages on the topic, I've had to dial that back to make it approachable for all readers rather than just for diehards like me.

For Bilt Hamber, I've tried to convey what each product does and why you would use it. Even for someone who lives and breathes detailing, I find Bilt Hamber's product descriptions rather confusing. Hopefully the article provides a better understanding of the brand and its products.

Bilt Hamber Product Range: Detailing Precision (detailingshed.com.au)

 

[kilobravo]

After a short break, I'm again providing blog posts for Detailing Shed.

It seems I have forgotten your extra curriculur activity, D or, I never knew about it previously. But, you certainly did them a solid with the in depth descriptions with which we here, are very familiar! <smile>

How did you get hooked up with them?

 

[DFB5.0]

It seems I have forgotten your extra curriculur activity, D or, I never knew about it previously. But, you certainly did them a solid with the in depth descriptions with which we here, are very familiar! <smile>

How did you get hooked up with them?

I was one of Detailing Shed's first customers going back a number of years now, something like 2017 or there abouts. From what I have learned, the owner started it up as a side hustle, but as Covid hit, the business went nuts and he had to quit his day job and run the side hustle full time. They began with a small range and have gradually built up the store to be THE leading supplier of automotive detailing products in Australia.

I first spoke with Nick in mid 2020 when I ordered my Kranzle K1152 (1122). I placed that order as I normally would and thought that would be it. The next day, he phoned me to run through the purchase, which when I think about it, was a nice touch on such an expensive purchase. I then went on to buy several other high dollar items from him because of that first phone call. When I decided to do a wall mount pressure washer, I considered no one else.

Over the last four years, we sort of kept in touch, exchanging emails, text messages and phone calls, I even got live on the ground images from last year's SEMA. In many ways, I'm one of his sounding boards for other potential customers, with me providing feedback on certain products. I also got his name and business on the short list for Obsessed Garage when they were looking for potential Australian distributors. When OG contacted me, Detailing Shed was not on their shortlist, which was I thought was an oversight. Not long after that, I got a thank you call from Nick and care package once I placed my first OG order through Detailing Shed.

Mid last year he asked if I would be willing to take my Blog writing skills to the next level and help him build a better collection of articles to put on the website. In many ways, this is the perfect fit for me. My biggest challenge is moderating my desire to write everything I know rather than being direct and to the point. It's funny, if you were talking to me in person, I would much rather listen rather than talk. But put a keyboard in front of me, and I can easily type for hours........................ I suspect you knew that already.

A number of those articles on the website are mine, just without my name on them. These are my favorites -

How to Prepare and Decontaminate Your Car | Detailing Shed
The Difference Between Wax & Ceramic Coatings | Detailing Shed
How To Clean Wheels and Tyres | Detailing Shed
How To Clean Car Interiors – A Start to Finish Guide | Detailing Shed

So, yes I'm thrilled to be playing a very small part in product reviews and testing, and learning about new products and brands that may be on the horizon. I'm also flattered that he can trust me with that information.

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