them240i

This was one wild and frustrating winter. I was rear ended in mid-December by a guy who was inattentive, and completely missed the turquoise coupe stopped at the light (read: me). I knew that it was going to be a battle when he attempted to offer me $1000 to repair the bumper. That was not going to fly, and then he told me that there was a "problem with [his] insurance," on that specific vehicle (late 1980's GMC panel truck). I figured that this was going to be an uninsured motorist claim, so I advised my own insurance company, and forwarded them the dash cam footage that has be stopped at the red light, and even the camera recorded the impact from the the truck. However, it turns out that the guy *does* have insurance, but they are debating whether to cover it as apparently the truck failed smog inspection, so it did not have a valid registration. Weeks turn into months, as the other insurance company continues to slow walk their 'investigation.' The estimate from the collision center was between $4100 and $5000 (using all OEM parts), and a few days after getting that done, the other driver calls me to once again offer me $1000. I then tell him that the $1000 would be insufficient, as the estimate dwarfs that. Fast forward to late-March, when my insurance company calls me to let me know that the person who was handling the file at the other driver's insurance (Infinity) "was no longer with the company," and apparently had done nothing. 😡 Finally, on the last week of March, I was cleared to have the repairs completed as it was going to be filed as an uninsured motorist claim. The final total for repairs was $4490, plus an additional supplement of $900 for extra paint shop time. So finally, I have my car back, and even though it was detailed at the collision center, I needed to go over it again. And of course, I've ordered a ceramic coating kit since the paint is fresh. 😁 One thing that I was impressed with was that after 7 months since the last time I cleaned the engine bay, there was just a little bit of dust, which was taken care of with some DS and then I used VRT on the plastic bits, as well as the rubber gasket that runs around the engine compartment.

I had been delaying the inevitable for a few weeks now, since it was oppressively hot, and my car had to go in for its yearly maintenance last week, I bit the bullet and washed off all of the dust, grime, and other pollutants that had landed on the paint surface. I was planning on using WW, but I inspected the paint and found that there was just too much for the WW. I do have to say, I love using BG on the windows and lights, as it adds just a little bit extra over DS.

Yesterday, I finally took the time to get some of the dust off of my toy as it is sitting in the garage. I washed the wheels first with a 1:1 eAPC for the tires, wheels, wheel well, and surrounding panels. Then, I hit the tires with TRC, followed by WC. After that, I used UF soap, but I had to act quickly as the sun was strong, but the washing step seems to be the quickest part of the process. After rinsing, I immediately brought the car inside the garage to cool down and dry off, using DS as the lubricant. Following that, I waxed all panels with BW and used BG on the external glass and lights. Today I’m going to focus on the interior.

I love the car, but the dealership’s action are not proper. I would probably speak to the Service Manager first to see what happened. By chance, do you record your odometer readings before and after service, or notice what the fuel level was? On another note, I wanted to get the dust off of the car, so I hit it with some WW and followed by BG. BG is amazing and the car looks like the day that I picked it up from the dealer.

Finall got my hand on my SO’s Outback. And now it is properly clean. And I went the extra mile and applied some VRT to all of those trim panels. It was very satisfying.

They don't have any grit to them as they are brand new (got them in bulk from Harbor Freight). However, now I know that the WW does work on wheels!

Would generic shop towels be ok for that then? Or should I use something like the utility towel?

I saw the dilution ratios for the Rinseless Wash, I'm assuming that no dilution is necessary for the Waterless Wash?

Yesterday, I was planning on doing a full detail of my car, but it started to rain, so I switched my plan to using Waterless Wash. While I was "washing," I was wondering, what would be the best way to clean the wheels when I'm using WW? Could I use WW on the wheels or just skip them until my next full wash?

It is so satisfying when I hit the wheels with water first to get the loose dirt/dust off and it is just rivers of brown running down the driveway.

Thank you! I really enjoy using the hand polish.

As the title states, I've noticed that the Revive Hand Polish is out of stock, and for those of us who don't have a machine polisher, will the hand polish be coming back or is it "off the table"?

With some nice mild temps and no rain for a few days, it was time to rid myself of the various dirt and aerosolized tar (paving a road .5 miles from me). I ended up using the W&W soap today on the rest of the car, but for the wheels, it was still a multi-step process of using: T&R Cleaner, Eco APC and WC.

Yesterday, the weather conditions actually allowed me to properly wash my car as it was 78F instead of the normal 98-104F that it has been out here, so I wasn't afraid to add in a cycle of IR. And I got to use the IP for the first time.

As the title indicates, I had a vacation day that I had scheduled for today, mainly because I need to use a pile of them before the end of the year, so I gave my newest toy a full on detail today. 1. Engine Bay Cleaning Since this was going to be a full-out detail session, I diluted some APC at a 1:1 and used my new iK foaming sprayer that came last week. I do have to say, I was nervous about lightly hosing down my engine bay, but there is so much plastic and the wires/cables are wrapped up that I just needed to make sure that I didn't use the hose at full pressure. After applying the APC, I then used one of my lug nut brushes to agitate all of the surfaces and immediately following, I rinsed it off. 2. Tire and Wheel Cleaning While I let the engine bay air dry, I attempted to use my iK foaming sprayer with the NWC...however, it seems that it is too thick for that, so I used my normal spray bottle and Wheel Mitt and Lug Nut Brush to get within every nook. But, before cleaning the wheels, I used the TRC to hit the tires as well as the wheel well, and I used my Tire Brush to agitate. Then after rinsing that off, I then used the NWC to go after the wheels. 3. Iron Removal After cleaning the wheels, I emptied out the iK foaming sprayer and refilled it with IR, at a 1:1 dilution (primarily due to the fact that I have a 1 Gallon container on order). Having the Foaming Sprayer helped tremendously because at least with a constant stream, I didn't have to deal with using the spray bottle and hoping that I got every surface covered. In fact, I was even doing so well with making sure that it wasn't drying on that I sprayed down my wheels as well. 4. Washing the Car Because I normally wash my car outside, once I fill up the foam gun with water and UFS, I do not stop for any reason so that the soap does not dry on. I have found that using the Wedge seems to make my life a bit easier compared to the washing mitt. I start with the roof, then hood, then passenger side, then rear, and then finish with the driver's side. After this, I hose down the car really well and immediately pull it inside into the garage bay. 5. Drying the Car After pulling the car into the garage, I rinse out all of my washing tools and get them on my drying racks inside the garage. I then refill my bottle of DS from my gallon container and go to town, using that as a dying aid. I'll use the DS as one panel at a time, then use one of the Great White Drying towels to wipe (in one direction, generally downwards) to dry the car. I'll start with the roof and work my way down. 6. Waxing Once the car was completely dry, I moved onto waxing, with the BW and my handheld applicator. Because I was out of direct sunlight, I was able to hit an entire side at a time, so on the passenger's side, I'll apply the wax from front to back, so that when I'm done, the wax had enough time to cure so that it was ready to wipe off with a Polishing Towel. 7. Tire Shine This is self explanatory, but after waxing, I sprayed some TS into the Hex Grip Applicator, and went around from tire to tire. 8. Engine Bay Detailing I opened the hood and used the DS on every visible part of the Engine Bay, as well as the cowling and the rubber gaskets. 9. Interior Cleaning I used the New IAPC Gel to clean the driver's side seat and steering wheel, and then moved onto the AGC to clean the windshield and all windows, as well as the MFD and Instrument Cluster. While I was letting the IAPC Gel cure, I used the VRT on the door sill trim as the sun isn't kind to it. 10. Interior Detailing Using the ID, I sprayed some of the plastic bits on the center console and the Infotainment controls. 11. Leather Conditioner Finally, I used the LC on my dash, as well as on my seats and the center console arm rest.