Eidolon

Hey, all! I've got a bit of red ink residue set into the back side of my windshield from a tech inspection sticker that was there for probably two years. Like so: It's on the inside of the windshield. I've tried Adams Glass Cleaner to no effect. I don't think it's strong enough. I could give APC a go, but I'm worried it'd haze the interior coating. I've got some Goo Gone. Think it'd do the trick without hurting the coating? Thanks all!

Thanks, all! Canon 5D mk III with Canon's 50mm f1.4.

Aw, shucks! I'm blushin'! But seriously, thanks for the compliments! See, now, that's doing it right. I agree with your approach, good sir. Then again, part of my problem is also that I'm selectively cheap. I don't like the idea of paying someone to professionally paint it.

Thanks, all! It's sort of aftermarket. The gauge pod is imported from Oz through a guy named Paul (you can find him on GRRRR8.net or G8Board.com as HSV-GTS-300), and is made by Holden Special Vehicles. So it's OEM, but not stock. The gauges themselves are just Aeroforce Interceptors plugged into the OBDII port. Thanks! The ride can be punishing at times, but I, too, love the look. I've thought about blacking out the grille. I could try plastidip for a first go, I suppose. But long-term I'm just never happy with the look of plasti-dip. So that would mean going to a more permanent solution, and THAT's one of the things that keeps me from doing it.

Thanks, all! I do it for both, really. To show it off and because I like it clean. I can see clearly out of the front windshield now! It's great! Events like GONE give me the kick in the pants I need to get it done. Yup, see you on Friday! Canon 5D mkIII through a 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Alright, all done! Unfortunately, I ran out of light on the final exterior pics, so they're a little dim. The job wasn't perfect. A few tiny scratches left here and there. It's about the best I can do in my apartment complex garage, where I have three feet free on each side of the car. I need a house with a proper garage to do better, specifically with better positioning the lighting. Interior: Americana application in progress. Rear bumper and trunk are the only things left here. All done!

Thanks! Removing the side markers is easy. They've got a plastic spring at the front and a hook at the back. Grasp the marker gently with both hands, slide it toward the front of the car, then pivot the back of the marker away from the car. Then disconnect the wire harness and you're done! It doesn't take any force at all. Removing the grilles is hard for some people, easy for others. Just depends on the car. Grasp the honeycomb firmly with both hands, then pull straight out away from the car, in the direction the car is pointing. Don't pull up and out in the direction the honeycomb is facing; straight out, in the direction the bumper surface is facing. For the hood scoops, you'll need to open the hood and pull the rubber covers off underneath. They just snap in via little molded hooks on the rubber itself, so they're easy to remove and reinstall. The hood scoops are harder. They're made of plastic, and they snap in with metal snaps that are slid onto the plastic tabs in the rear. So they latch in up front, rock in, and snap in the back. So you'll need to come in from underneath and press up with a finger while prying from the top. Honestly, the grilles and side markers - especially the side markers - are the low-hanging fruit that are worth bothering with. The hood scoops you can leave, since they're pretty easy to avoid. I removed them just because I could, knew how, and had done it before.

I'm still using the Gen4 pads and older polishes, but they still work like a charm. Started before 11 AM today, wrapped up just before 8. I'd washed the car last night with APC + Adams car wash solution to strip any wax left on the finish. This morning I treated the rubber and plastics with SVRT and then clayed it using DS as lubricant. That was followed by a polish with FMP and the Flex using the Gen4 pads. I only had to break out the SHR for a few deeper scratches on the hood, plus a few random other spots. I'd only put 5000 miles on the car since the last polish, and I use the two-bucket wash method and keep it waxed relatively regularly, so it was in decent shape already. After the polish, I then topped it off with some Machine Super Sealant. I still intend to coat it with Brilliant Glaze and then Americana, which is why the side markers and grilles and whatnot aren't in; so I suppose these pics are a bit premature, but I loved the results and wanted to share, dangit! So without further ado... As always, thanks all for the help to get this stuff right. I used to use WAY too much polish and wax, such that it soaked all the way the through the polishing pad and soaked the polisher backing plate. Not even close this time, and the results were much easier to achieve. I'll follow up with more pics once I get the glaze and wax on and get the interior cleaned up!

Not a bad idea, but this doesn't fully solve the problem because each time I complete a panel, there's a minimum time gap before I can put Americana on that panel while the MSS cures. So the time gap for the first and last panels will overlap, but each panel individually maintains the same gap. So each panel still has the chance to accumulate dust between stages. I think this is the simplest approach, really. I just bought some Waterless Wash and it should arrive... tomorrow. I tried to clean the garage out quite well, including mopping the floor. So dust accumulation will hopefully be at a minimum. Any accumulation I can see should be easy to gently and safely remove. I wish I could remember the order I usually do it in. I believe I clay then tape, because otherwise I'd be soaking the tape with DS. I think the issue is just that the lubricity of the DS makes the tape refuse to stick. So I'll just have to wipe it off. Yeah, I always apply SVRT post-wash, since it's supposed to protect the rubber trim from wax, as well. So that way I doubly ensure the trim is protected when I apply MSS and then Americana. Thanks, all, for the tips!

Alright, so questions! Specifically, a few niggles with the current process I have for working on my car that I feel need improvement. I'm looking to improve my process, so I submit them to you, Oh Fellow Shine Addicts. Clay and Tape-up So before I polish, I always ensure the finish is as free of particulates as possible by claying, using Detail Spray as the lubricant. And before polishing, I tape up some of the rubber and painted trim to ensure that I'm only hitting the surfaces I want polished. Trick is that the painter's tape adhesive isn't that strong, so either the tape loosens with exposure to the copious amounts of detail spray needed for claying, or it won't stick after the fact. So that's the question here, then... How do you guys move from clay to tape and deal with the effect of detail spray on the tape? Working Across Multiple Days So I plan to polish my car next weekend. Wash, clay, light polish - I hope to only need FMP since I haven't driven the car much this year - and then a seal and wax. Trick is that I plan to do it over multiple days. To try to reduce the amount of dust in my garage, I plan to sweep it out and then give the floor a quick mopping to get up the fine dust so that moving about in the garage doesn't kick stuff up. But first is the wash and clay, nice and quick. Next day will be the polish and maybe the seal. Then I need to let the MSS set for 24 hours. Then I can put a coat of Americana on. Between days, however, should I try to drape something over the car to protect it? I'd previously tried using old bedsheets lightly draped over it, but the coverage was rather patchwork. So that's the question here, then... How would or do you protect the car from dust when doing paint work over multiple days? Thanks, all, for the tips and help!

My hopes, they are up!

Gave the car a bath, treated the plastics and rubber, put some Brilliant Glaze on it, took it to Cars and Coffee the next morning.

Can someone share the secret of how to get the videos to show up? I copy in every possible variation of the embed code from YouTube, click the "No formatting" button dozens of times, and still get NOSSINK!

I forgot about Klipsch. Good to know, since my old Zune headphones are getting kinda ratty. I'd pondered a set of Klipsch headphones. ... which kind of contradicts my recommendation of Sennheiser above. There's a reason for that, though. One, I really did forget about Klipsch for the above. Two, I have two sets of Sennheiser headphones (HD555 and HD595) and love them, and I have two sets of Klipsch speakers (Quintet IV sats + KSW-12 sub for home theater, Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 for computer) and love them. You really can't go wrong with either.

Towels are STILL linting, though. Might be time to boil.

Um.... Well, trying to wash my double soft towels to get all the product out I doused them with a bit of revitalizer/restorer, then rubbed them against themselves, then put them in the wash with still MORE revitalizer/restorer. So this is what my HE washing machine looks like right now... Yes, that's... all foam. Feel free to enjoy the sight of my expensive and goofy mistake. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Congrats on the move! Glad you were able to move closer to work. That must've been one HECK of a commute before! The Rockies really are amazing, though. Any other "mountain range" pales in comparison, such as our Appalachians out east.

Sennheiser. *nods* Though honestly, I can't speak to the quality of their sporting headphones. I just know I love my HD595 over-the-ear headphones. They handle bass like a champ while also delivering beautifully clear highs. Perfect for the techno I love to listen to.

I'm sure everyone will agree, this stuff is great! So here's a bit of a story... (Pardon Postzilla here, por favor.) The Setup I've got about 7 soft microfiber towels in my possession: one new single-soft, two newish double-soft, two older double-soft I had retired due to linting, and two classic true-blue that I had also retired due to linting. The newish double-softs had finally started to lint lightly on me depending on which side of the towel I used, and I was a bit disappointed considering they were one of my last options for buffing. For my recent round of polishing, I ended up leaning heavily on my new single-soft. The newish double-softs had also begun to smear around any detail spray that I spritzed on the car, rather than absorbing it. Care has been machine wash cold with liquid detergent (Tide or Tide Coldwater), then tumble dry low or air dry. (I love my new Samsung dryer, by the by. It has an extra low setting that is so low, I can tumble two double-softs together for 40 minutes and they still come out damp.) The Experiment So since the towels were on their way out, I decided to go for broke. Rather than boiling them, I'd try a washing machine equivalent: hot water, pre-wash with Revive/Restore, plus the wash cycle, then double rinse to ensure all product was removed. Remove, tumble dry low or extra low. The Result? Absorbency restored! They'll actually absorb detail spray again! The linting? Reduced, but not eliminated. The towels are back in service, partially. I decided to also try my older towels. Amazingly, similar results! In fact, the true blues don't lint any more! I recently used one of them to buff off Revive polish on my wheels. No lint, at ALL. So here's my theory. In this case, I know that the lack of absorbency was caused by saturation with product. I think I may be using too much Americana when I wax the vehicle (a problem for a separate thread), so the towels get caked over a few uses and the wax prevents proper absorption. But I think the wax buildup is also what causes linting. Rather than picking up fibers from my washer or dryer, I think the fibers that come off on the paint are the fibers of the towel itself releasing as the towel ages and wears. This would explain why the old true blue fibers were longer when they linted, besides being ... blue. Normally, the fibers release in the washer and dryer, or come out harmlessly during use without adhering to the car. But the same wax that coats the fibers and prevent absorption also binds the loose fibers into the towel, preventing them from releasing during wash and dry. Instead, when the towel is dragged across paint, the friction pulls the fibers out and the same wax buildup that adhered them to the towel now adheres them to the car's paint. If it were simply static attraction, a wipe with another towel should do the trick to release them. But the way the linting fibers stick to the car and actually require a cleaner to remove makes me think something on the fibers is causing the adhesion. It also kind of explains the recovery of the true blue towels, which have a looser nap than the double softs and would more readily release any caked product. That's all my theory, anyway. So to try to recover the towels fully... I washed my newest double-softs with the new single-soft last night, then ran a tumble dry extra-low for half an hour. The single-soft came out fully dry and soft (can't tell if it's any rougher; I'll try the CD test to be safe), while the double-softs came out nice and plush and still a bit damp. This morning, I felt them a bit and the double-softs still feel a bit... gummy, perhaps, deeper into the towel. Not sure if it's still moisture left, but I'm wondering if there's still product in the towels. So maybe a bucket with warm water, some Revive/Restore, let them soak overnight and agitate occasionally, then wash again? Either way... ...care is now wash warm with MRR, double rinse, tumble dry low. It keeps the soft towels nice and ... soft. The GWDTs seem more appreciative of air drying, though. Then again, I think my current towels are toast from being dried in the dryer back at my old house. On that thing, low was still scorching. Only Complaint? I think my only complaint about the Revive/Restore so far is that each of the two 16 oz. repurposed Adams bottles I've put it in have developed cracks! The first was admittedly a 2-year-old SHR bottle, but the second is an APC bottle that's less than a year old! So either I'm batting 0 on finding bottles for this stuff, or it actually makes the plastic brittle!

Wow! That's the worst linting I've ever seen! Funny thing was I asked Dylan this question via PM a while back after ordering two new towels to replace two old ones that were linting. They seemed different. I finally compared them just recently. They're the same. I dunno why I thought they were different. ... especially after washing them on hot with the microfiber revitalizer and restorer (MRR?). Now I wash on warm. Stuff's done a great job so far for me of removing the products left over in the towels. My double-soft towels had stopped absorbing anything and were linting. I thought they were done. Turned out they were just caked with product. Specifically with Americana, I think. Maybe try soaking your towels in a bucket of water and MRR overnight, then wash the next day with MRR in the washer with warm water?

Put VRT on the new vinyl matte wrap, cleaned the interior glass, cleaned and treated the interior leather. Drove the car briefly in the rain today, and my polished, sealed, and waxed paint is all water-spotted. Must resist the temptation to clean it! I'm about to drive 1000 miles up to a national G8 meet and it'll need a bath when it gets there anyway. Driving with the water spots will drive me nuts, but I just don't have the time to give it a proper bath.

Nice and subtle, but still aggressive. I approve! Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Rick Crawford-tuned, yo!

So I got a very pleasant surprise tonight. I was out to unwrap the roof and trunk so I can get them professionally rewrapped tomorrow (I did them the first time) and I noticed something. The trim actually seems to be "healing" by itself. Here are pictures. This is the piece I'd previously worked on, though a bit further back. And this is the rear passenger door, which I haven't even touched. The bumps are smaller and, running by fingers over the trim, feel smaller to the touch, too. So I might just ought to wait a bit longer, see what happens. This is after putting some more SVRT on the trim. I'll keep applying, see what happens.

They'd also likely recommend one of their own products as a fix, such as the adhesive remover. Speaking of removing things, APC will strip wax, right? I am getting a bit of it on the paint beneath the trim. I'd previously sealed, glazed, and waxed (Americana) that paint. Any suggestions for how to build the wax back up in that area?