What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[skinnyb]

I second Kobrajet. It does knot up a bit, but a quick flip with the swivel on the wand and it flips right out. I love my Kobrajet hose MUCH more than the uber flex one I had. And my pump doesn't surge on start up like it did with the flex hose (Active 2.0)...

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[DFB5.0]

Also, any recommendations for a pressure washer hose that won’t twist into a pretzel when dragging it around the car? I have an Uberflex hose currently and it doesn’t kink (which I like) but will also twist up itself pretty easily. Any suggestions or is that just the nature of these things when they’re under pressure?

A few things to consider when choosing a pressure washer hose -

Hose Size - Most people go for a 3/8" hose when upgrading. I will say though, a 1/4" hose is easier to manage.

Hose Length - For car washing, you want a minimum of 15-metres / 50-feet. This allows you to move around the vehicle without shifting the pressure washer. If doing a wall mount, I start with 23-metres / 75-feet to account for the location of the machine relative to the driveway.

Kinking and Binding - All hoses, not matter the cost, will bind up at some point. It's just part of the deal, be that a pressure washer hose, or a garden hose.

Swivels - Most people think that hose and gun swivels stop binding and kinking. In reality, the swivels help limit hose bind, then help untangle the hose when they do. I've had people grandstand about how swivels are nothing more than hype because his hoses bind up with or without a swivel...............................forgetting the fact he had purchases something cheap from Amazon, he either had unrealist expectations or just didn't understand what he was talking about.

Swivel Location - You want the hose mounted swivel connected to the pressure washer outlet. That's because the gun itself will have a swivel (if you have a good one), so this setup provides a swivel point at both ends. Relating to the previous point, the gun swivel not only helps untangle, but it gives you articulation while the system is pressurized and running. (This is what old-mate above didn't realize)

There are plenty of pressure washer options on the market, too many for me to hunt down, try and recommend. So, unless you want to play that game, just head to the MTM website and look for the CobraJet. This is a 3/8" hose available in a variety of configurations. I would be looking at the smooth jacket versions, these are considered "non-marking", which refers to the hose not marking your concrete driveway, not the hose itself. These are available in blue or grey, but I'd do the blue. Just make sure you order the hose with the fittings to suit your setup (ie male and female ends). If you need help there, just reach out.

Hoses and Hose Reels - MTM Hydro
Buy KobraJet 3/8 Pressure Washer Hose Smooth Couplers - MTM Hydro

The other one I'd look at is the OG High Pressure hose, which they assemble themselves using a Gates hose and either MTM or Mosmatic fittings. From what I can tell, these hoses don't scuff up as badly as the MTM's. The only thing with these is the bend restrictors don't fully cover the crimped fittings on each end.

Custom Branded High-Performance Pressure Washer Hose Upgrade Kit – Obsessed Garage

 

[DFB5.0]

I know most would say this car is too quiet, but that's how I like it.



I've never been a fan of 6-cylinder engines with aftermarket exhausts. That doesn't mean I don't like the sound of a 6-cylinder engine, some of my favorite sounding cars have 6's in them. However, its a very fine line between pleasant and awful when it comes to 6-cylinder engines.

Of the locally made cars, the V6 Holden's take on a very unpleasant warble, The Falcon's inline 6 tends to drone, especially the naturally aspirated Barra. The Nissan VQ V6 takes on that off-beat buzz to another level. The rudest insult is when someone takes a sawzall to a Porsche GT3/GT4 and ruins the hours of work Porsche put into tuning a very specific sound. Same with the gloriously tinny E46 M3 exhaust.

Now, having offended every P-Plater of my generation, I think it's best to leave 6-cylinder engines alone. Enjoy the smoothness for what it is.

 

[DFB5.0]

Having a little play with the camera, lighting and backdrop to feature four of my favorite brushes.

From left to right -

Detail Factory Ultra Soft - I use this grey brush for wheel nuts and brake calipers.

Detail Factory Boar Hair - Used for general interior and exterior cleaning.

Detail Factory ProGrip Tyre Scrub Brush - Pretty self explanatory, I also have another one for cleaning rubber floor mats. Probably my favorite brush overall.

Maxshine Curved Grip XL Mixed Bristle - This one is used for dressing low profile tyres.

 

[Diegosuave]

@DFB5.0, could you suggest any good headlight restoration kits? I really appreciate your help!

 

[DFB5.0]

@DFB5.0, could you suggest any good headlight restoration kits? I really appreciate your help!

Depending on how bad they are, I will hit them with a cutting compound on a wool pad, then following a finishing polish on a foam pad. That usually brightens them up without having to delve into messy wet sanding. I use Sonax Cutmax on a Rupes blue wool pad, then finish them out with Sonax Perfect Finish on a Rupes yellow foam.

Otherwise, you need to go into wet sanding them. I'd look at this kit, expensive but has everything you'd need -
Headlight Polish Set | The Rag Company

Otherwise, Meg's have two kits available -
Meguiar's® Two Step Headlight Restoration Kit, G2970, Kit | Meguiar's
Meguiar's Ultimate Headlight Restoration Kit - The Perfect Headlight Repair Kit to Remove Yellowing and Cloudiness from Headlights - Easy to Use and Seals Headlights with 18 Plus Months of Protection | Meguiar's

 

[MrMike]

I used the Cerakote kit on my mother's car and I was surprised how well it worked. Be careful to not over-apply the clear. Be careful not to hit any paint during the process -- use lots of tape or remove the headlamp.

 

[skinnyb]

I second the recommendation from DFB. If (IF) I was going to buy a boxed kit, I would go with the one from Koch Chemie. I also have done just a heavy compound and then followed with polish and it gives great results unless they are crazy bad. Biggest thing is to protect them when done with a ceramic of some kind. Even then it will come back 3x as fast as any aftermarket protection will never come close to the original UV protection from the factory.

 

[blankman]

So i recently used megs scratchx on my car, for the spoiler hazing or oxidation and after a couple applications it completely removed the effect. I recently also did it on the black top and it looks like glass now , when i followed the same procedure for the spoiler.

I tried the same thing on my parents all black avalanche as it suffers from the markings of an automatic car wash brushes. So I tried the same stuff and the exact way I did my mustang, but there are still deeper scratches in the CC. It has taken some of the depthnout, and looks like glass in all areas, except were the scratches run deeper.

Is there anything I can try to grab to hand polish or even machine polish to try to take their scratches out?

Edit :: I also talked to a gentleman next door that does car cleaning, etc and it would cost about 300$ and a day to remove everything. He doesnt do paint correction so im not sure if i should try myself or take it to a professional shop?

 

[MrMike]

The strongest I'd go without a machine is Meg's Ultimate Compound and a terry towel.

It sounds like you need a DA polisher and at least a solid one step though.

 

[blankman]

So I do have a da machine, ive just never been brave enough to use it. I have nonidea what's pads or speeds to go with fir anything. When I did the hazing spoiler on the mustang it took me about 4 to 5 applications to remove the haze, and 2 on the roof to make it glass like also.

Is their ultimate polish harsher than the scratch remover?

Im just not sure what to expect out of polishing with less or more harsher polishes.

 

[DFB5.0]

So I do have a da machine, ive just never been brave enough to use it. I have nonidea what's pads or speeds to go with fir anything. When I did the hazing spoiler on the mustang it took me about 4 to 5 applications to remove the haze, and 2 on the roof to make it glass like also.

Is their ultimate polish harsher than the scratch remover?

Im just not sure what to expect out of polishing with less or more harsher polishes.

I could link you to multiple polishing tutorials, but there is a reason why I have chosen this one. I've trained with this gentleman and he is a truly gifted craftsman and natural born teacher, not everyone has that ability to teach. So, when you have a moment, sit down at watch this video, and ask questions.



It's daunting starting out, but you have to start somewhere. Pick a moderate compound and pad choice and work from there. I'd also recommend products like Sonax Perfect Finish, P&S Rehab and Scholl S20 Black, these are user friendly one-step compounds that correct and finish in a single step. Look at Lake Country Orange foam, Rupes Intermediate foam or ShineMate Blue foam pads.

Remember, you won't always totally remove every single scratch, sometimes it can be better to know when to stop. To achieve total 95 - 100% correction will take you days of micromanagement of every single square inch. So, know when to draw the line between a finish you will be happy with and one that is also safe for the paint in the longer term. This can be hard for a naturally thorough person to accept, but its an important part of paint polishing.

 

[DFB5.0]

Toyota Landcruiser 200-Series Detail

I seem to be the Landcruiser 200-Series expert of late. This example with 160,000 km on the clock came to me as a referral, and well, he got his monies worth today! Upon retrieval, the car looked deceptively tidy. However, on closer inspection I knew this would be a long one, hence the lack of progress images, I just had to get on with the show.

Wheels & Tyres -

Quite a lot of time was spent on the wheels, I suspect they have never had the barrels cleaned due to the stubborn build-up of brake dust. I threw everything I had at them, even wheel acid, in the end I got them decent but not perfect. You can't reverse years of neglect in 2 minutes. Also, the tyres were brand new and required two rounds to remove the blooming.

Product & Tools Used -

- NV Purge
- Shine Supply Wise Guy (Tyres & Wheels)
- Meg's Acidic Wheel Cleaner
- EZ Detail Large
- EZ Detail GO
- Detail Factory XL Tyre Brush
- Chemical Guys Boars Hair Brush

Engine Bay -

Suspecting the owner wouldn't even notice my efforts here, I kept it simple with this one. I foamed with BH Touch-less, allowed to soak, then rinsed. A healthy dose of Megs Hyper Dressing and quick hit with the blower, job done!

Product & Tools Used -

- Bilt Hamber Touch-less
- Meguiar's Hyper Dressing (5:1)
- MTM PF22.2 Foam Cannon
- EGO 765 Blower

Exterior Decontamination & Cleaning -

On inspection, it was clear the owner has kept this car in decent shape. Other than some baked-on road film and a few bugs, it just needed a decent deep clean.

As per recent details, the vehicle was treated with NV Purify, allowed to dwell, then foamed with Koch Chemie Active Foam. As you can see, I got a fair bit of reaction on the paint, and as always, the rear tailgate was the most contaminated. To be honest, I was expecting more.

With the car rinsed, I went around with a brush and APC to clean the badges, grill and around the door handles. For the contact wash, I used Carpro Descale in both the foam cannon and bucket. Because of the size of this thing, and the fact its warming up now, I broke the car into three sections to avoid the soap drying on the car. For a pH neutral wash, you can sort of get away with that, but not with an acidic or alkaline soap.

After another rinse, I ended up claying the rear tailgate and glass as it was super crunchy. I then went around and applied Carpro Hydr02 to the entire vehicle, wheels included. The big 200 was then moved into the garage, this one actually fits, then hit with the EGO.

Product & Tools Used -

- NV Purify
- Koch Chemie Active Foam (Alkaline)
- Koch Chemie Green Star (6:1 APC)
- Carpro Descale (Acidic)
- Carpro Hydr02 Lite
- Detail Factory Boars Hair Brush
- TRC Cyclone Bone Wash Pad
- Economax Clay Mitt
- MTM PF22.2 Foam Cannon
- EGO 765 Blower

Post-Wash Details -

After the blow down with the EGO, I went around and applied NV Boost to the whole vehicle. The door jambs were then cleaned/dried using a towel and more APC. The exterior glass was then treated with Optimum Glass Clean & Protect.

Product & Tools Used -

- NV Boost v2 (Ceramic Spray Sealant)
- Koch Chemie Green Star (6:1 APC)
- Optimum Glass Clean & Protect
- TRC Car Wash Towel (For drying/sealant application)
- TRC Car Wash Towel (For door jambs)
- TRC Dry Me A River (Glass Towel)

Interior Detailing -

Along with the wheels, this is where a lot of time went. As you will see shortly, this vehicle has vulgarlour seats and not leather. I much prefer leather as you can soak it down, scrub and dry with a towel. On fabric, you can't really do that unless you want to be extracting them afterwards. Also, leather doesn't end up being a dust trap like cloth, which will often migrate deep down into the foam base.

To start, I went in with the Tornador to remove as much trapped dust and debris from the interior as possible. I then vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed. Then I vacuumed some more, then a little more after that.

For those seats, I sprayed them down with Koch Chemie Pol Star, scrubbed with a carpet brush, then used my Bissel to lift up as much of that Pol Star as possible, followed by a rub down with a towel.

The door trims were quite grotty, so I cleaned these with the Carpro InnerScrub and P&S Xpress. The steering wheel was so glossy that you could use it as a mirror. In this case, I scrubbed with Xpress and a leather brush, likewise the gear shifter and handbrake, then followed with NV Nourish. The transformation here was remarkable, the wheel in particular back to a lovely soft matte finish. This is what I love about detailing, taking something neglected and bringing it back to life.

From here, the glass was cleaned with Invisible Glass, likewise the gauge cluster lens and central touchscreen. The whole interior was then wiped down with P&S Swift. Having earlier cleaned the rubber floor mats, these too received a treatment with Swift before being re-installed. Finally, the carpets and seats were misted with Koch Chemie Fresh Up.

Product & Tools Used -

- P&S Xpress (Interior Cleaner)
- Koch Chemie Pol Star (Textile Cleaner)
- P&S Swift (Interior Detailer/Dressing)
- Stoner Invisible Glass
- NV Nourish (Leather Quick Detailer)
- Koch Chemie Fresh Up (Odour Neutralizer)
- Tornador Basic (Air Gun)
- Karcher WD6 Vacuum
- Bissell Spot Clean
- Vikan Carpet Brush
- TRC Car Wash (Interior Towel)
- TRC Dry Me A River (Glass Towel)
- Carpro InnerScrub
- ColourLock Leather Brush

Finishing Touches -

Returning to the wheels, I wiped them down with Carpro ECH20, then dressed the tyres using Shine Supply Decked Out. Long story, the owner completely serious asked me if the price included "putting tyre black on the tyres". Present at the time, his brother immediately erupted into laughter before I said that tyre dressing was my favourite part, so naturally it would include "tyre black". His brother later asked me to do one thing, leave one tyre undressed to see if he'd notice. Oh, how I wanted to do that, but I just couldn't do it. Anyway, he got his "tyre black", of which Decked Out is hard to miss as its quite glossy.

Finishing up, the engine bay was given a quick Q/C wipe down, and the tail gate scuff plate treated with Mother's Naturally Black.

Product & Tools Used -

- Carpro ECH20 (16:1)
- Shine Supply Decked Out
- Mothers Naturally Black
- TRC Ultra Utility Brush (Dressing Applicator)
- TRC Car Wash Towel (For final wipe down)
- TRC Rip-N-Rag (For Naturally Black & Final wipe of the tyres)

Final Results -

Note the lack of off-road gear on this 200-Series, this one being used purely for family car duties. Something else I noticed is the flat / non-metallic white, not the pearl metallic used on the other 200-Series I've detailed.

For what is easily a $100,000 vehicle, it's pretty stingy of Toyota to spec crappy grey cloth trim on this vehicle. And this GXL isn't even the base model! In reality, Toyota could have specified hessian and straw for the seats and people would still buy these things.

I much prefer this MY2016 version of the 200-Series, the slimmer headlights give it a more confident look compared to the blob-like headlights of the original. And I have to say, looking out over that sculpted bonnet is epic, which was also part of the MY2016 facelifted.

I'm not much of an SUV fan, especially ones as big as this that are used to carry around one or two children (if that). I'm also not a big on diesel engines. But.................that 1VD V8 is such a honey of an engine, especially with the Power ETC engaged. Smooth, super torquey, and sounds nice too.

For US readers, you didn't get this engine. With a 4.5-litre capacity, this twin-turbo V8 diesel produces 210 kW (282 hp) @ 3,600 rpm and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) @ 1,600–2,800 rpm. So, while these things are big and heavy, this engine with its rich torque delivery is the perfect powerplant for this vehicle. It's also why these 200-Series command a very healthy premium on the used market, basically a name your price proposition for a seller as no one likes the new 300-Series with the V6 Diesel.

Anyway, I'm buggered!

 

[blankman]

I could link you to multiple polishing tutorials, but there is a reason why I have chosen this one. I've trained with this gentleman and he is a truly gifted craftsman and natural born teacher, not everyone has that ability to teach. So, when you have a moment, sit down at watch this video, and ask questions.



It's daunting starting out, but you have to start somewhere. Pick a moderate compound and pad choice and work from there. I'd also recommend products like Sonax Perfect Finish, P&S Rehab and Scholl S20 Black, these are user friendly one-step compounds that correct and finish in a single step. Look at Lake Country Orange foam, Rupes Intermediate foam or ShineMate Blue foam pads.

Remember, you won't always totally remove every single scratch, sometimes it can be better to know when to stop. To achieve total 95 - 100% correction will take you days of micromanagement of every single square inch. So, know when to draw the line between a finish you will be happy with and one that is also safe for the paint in the longer term. This can be hard for a naturally thorough person to accept, but its an important part of paint polishing.

I will definitely take a look into it when I have time. I have the tools and can make the time to get into it. Luckily my garage has bright led floods are ceiling lights, so ive got the light to see it all. In the summer when I wash and wax it, it is kind of an ordeal to remove my winter car from the garage and pull it to finish drying and wax it.

But alas I did that for all my suspension work and exhaust. Ive gotta see if ive got enough room to maneuver the car in angled so I can get it between the 4 support posts.

Its a real PIA to pull it in, do one side then pull it out and back inning to finish.

 

[DFB5.0]

Funny how social media feeds you with whatever is on your mind.

For me, it was numbers 1, 3, 4 (THIS especially), 6 (again, THIS x1000) and 7 (that's why I left with 120 hours of sick pay, 400 hours of annual leave and two lots of long service leave owing).

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