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While in winter storage, I've been tinkering with the car adding a few OEM parts to refresh the appearance. Today was the replacement of the OEM sun visors with a new factory set. While very costly and despite slightly different labelling (US vs. Canadian spec), it sure is nice to swap out the original sun stained parts!
Where did you find these? I'd be happy to buy a pair of them myself
Did the ceramic coating with Avalon King from the offer they had here on this site. Looked at some videos and followed the directions. Good washing, buffed dry with fresh microfiber cloths and then did some clay work. Some areas of the car were pretty nice and did not need clay. I then wiped the whole thing down with alcohol 91%.
Included in the package was an application sponge that you wrap with thin towels that resembled those eyeglass cloths. I cut a slit on either side of the foam applicator and used a screwdriver to "mount" the applicator cloth to the pad. Worked great; it never budged. I noticed in the videos that this particular brand did not dry out so fast and you had a little extra time to buff off. That was true. It reminded me of putting on Rainex with the supplied closed cell foam applicator. Similar smell. I found that my gloved hands would put prints of the stuff on the surface but it was no big deal to wipe down. There must be something in it that attracts bugs; I had about a dozen gnats land and check it out. I put a double coat on the hood and snout. The bottle is opaque so I cannot see exactly how much is left but by shaking I estimate about 1/3-1/2 bottle remains.
I am leaving it for a few days to harden. It was 50 degrees or so during application in the garage with a cold car. Directions stated at that temperature you should wait 5-6 minutes before buffing removal. In some cases it was longer but again the stuff never really dried up so I had no issues.
Have you heard about Graphene yet? Nothing wrong with a great Ceramic coating but there has been some next level discoveries with Graphene. Looks awesome BTW.
Have you heard about Graphene yet? Nothing wrong with a great Ceramic coating but there has been some next level discoveries with Graphene. Looks awesome BTW.
I do know that graphene is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a two dimensional honeycomb lattice. The name is a portmanteau of "graphite" and the suffix ene, reflecting the fact that the graphite allotrope of carbon consists of stacked graphene layers.
I have not seen it for autos but as this ceramic coating has a minimum of 2 year lifespan, I will see how things develop.
Thanks for the compliment. My lab was a great help pointing out flaws.
Bought a tire repair/plug kit to keep in the trunk.
I have had one for some time too. Have used it on other people's cars, not yet (I hope not) on any of mine.
I use the Tire Plugger and the BestRest Co Expedition inflator. (USA made with lifetime warranty.) I got another set for a car that has run flat tires. I don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. I go for extended drives in the west. I keep both in the spare tire compartment.
I finally did a valve adjustment and changed my spark plugs yesterday. Another AP2 with tight exhaust valves. I had a feeling both things had to be done as soon as I got the car last May with 135k miles. Did an oil change to top it off. Do these plugs just look aged to you guys? Or are those white/tan deposits corrosion from possibly running lean from the tight exhaust valves?
^^^
That looks like a good setup. Have you tried inflating a car tire with the pump (since it is advertised for a bike tire)? Seems good and compact.
Yes. From a completely flat tire it takes a few minutes. Topping off a tire is much faster. It put out the same amount of air as other electric pumps. I heard from some guys on duty in Iraq that they used this on Humvees. That is what peaked my interest in them initially: it just keeps going and going......
The tire plugger that I have used on other people's tire turned out to be a permanent repair. Those mushroom shaped plugs are actually pressed through that "gun" into the hole in the tire. You pull the plug to "seat" the mushroom cap and then add air. You trim off the plug when you are done. The guys I did the tires for never bothered to have the tires repaired; they just drove on them forever.
I had a flat on my S that hit the rear tire. I had to do the front tire/spare swap and I also had a trunk rack I could put the spare on as I had a full trunk and my wife as a pax. We were a days drive from home. After that I resolved never to be as vulnerable to flats.
tight exhaust valves. I had a feeling both things had to be done as soon as I got the car last May with 135k miles. Did an oil change to top it off. Do these plugs just look aged to you guys? Or are those white/tan deposits corrosion from possibly running lean from the tight exhaust valves?
