Sup everyone been a few days. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Happy Hump day.

Been busy with work and reading up on how to improve my detailing skills with my "fancy" HF DA polisher. Did all three cars over the last three weekends. They are much better than before...but not perfect. Think it has to do with my technique and lack of 100% shade which forces me to rush. So I bought a pop-up canopy to fix that.

Just learning about different pads (apparently you need a lot? lol) and products. Geez.

Also want to do some "upgrades" to the polisher such as replacing the cheap grease (to quiet it down and perform better) and relocate the on/off switch from the side to the top (where it should be).

Saw a sweet Red Golf-R yesterday...wanted to take a pic due to his tasteful mods but he was too fast

People in Jland were so nice when I was there in 2015. Can't wait to visit again.

 

hey there shinjari! hope you had a good holiday.

as for pads it really depends on how much polishing depth you need to do. i only use 2 different kinds of pads and with amount of pressure and speed covers basically all swirls and haze i have on my cars. with the thin paint on modern cars i don't want to go too aggressive.

 

i saw this cheezeball asian fellow pushing my tumi bag forcing his oversized bag to fit into the overhead bin with my bag and thought those are the kind of garbage that dents your cars in the parking spot!

 

What pads do you use? I was looking at the green heavy polish (suggested with their VSS polish), white light polish and black finishing hex logic pads from chemical guys to replace the harbor freight orange compound, blue polish, black finish pads when they are done.


Also...weird note....I had to switch to Microsoft Edge to post this....for some reason Chrome wouldn't let me see the most recent page...

 

i just use the orange and red pads from Griots. they have the 3" ones too which i use in my mini RO.

huh, i'm posting from my iphone so don't know..

 

back at the office, a few hours of grinding and off i go in my GTI.

 

wheew, finally home and relaxing in my music room. the drive home was nice, even had a opening in traffic to open up my GTI.

so tired..older kid is making us mapo tofu. he's a great chef. going to relax and watch TV tonight. need to rest for another big meeting tomorrow afternoon.. but this one is at the office so no need to fly around or drive rentals.

 

Kenchan do you use one pad type for the entire vehicle? Meaning, (1) compound/polishing pad for the car...and (1) finishing pad for a total of (2) pads? Or do you use multiple compound/polishing pads and (1) finishing pad for (1) car?

Seems finishing pads typically just need (1) as they dont get "full" since they aren't cutting any paint.

I wish I was as interested in cooking as I am about cars/mechanical things...I have no interest in cooking whatsoever. Sure I can follow a recipe but its such a task.

Also Chrome is working here at home...at work...still wont let me see the more recent page of this thread.

 

shinjari- i thought you were talking the type of pads i use. i use 2 types.

as for quantity of pads, i use as many orange and red pads i need to finish the work. i have like drawers of pads. if i use polymer i dont even wash them, just toss it in the trash after use.

my wife is a great chef and she taught him how to cook so she can just pay him and she lazyarse. haha when i got married, my wife went over 60 days of different dinners before repeating the menus. i was very impressed. honestly she could start a restaurant if she wanted to.

 

alright on the menu today.. just another work day at the office, will enjoy the drive to and from work in the GTI.

looks like i got a nice dry weekend coming up, will motor my R.

have a good thursday everyone!

 

woot, on the way home on the expressway my GTI ran over some metal bracket and took off about an inch of paint off the rear wheel lip. haha touched it up to prevent rusting but man this car sees all sorts of damage. every 3-4 months thing gets damaged.. here's a list:

dinged 2 weeks after ownership on quarter panel, can't fix with PDR without drilling - filled, matte black decal.
hit birds on expressway leaving scuffing on fender - fixed with RO
some faking chick or dood with purse rubbed it across passenger door scuffing it - fixed RO
some faker rubbed his /her bag on the rear bumer - fixed RO
garage drain under heavy rain caused stains on hood - fixed RO
side skit damaged due to something hitting it hard - replaced skirt
bent wheel on pot hole - replaced wheel and tire
rock hit windshield cracked it good - replaced twice due to fitment issues
bird crap stains - fixed with RO
now wheel damage - time for new wheel set!

been wanting to get some neuspeed wheels in 19's. 18's are too faking small for the GTI anyway.

 

alright got a few house chores done, time for some pizza!

where is dat pizza guy..

 

All I'm seeing is how delicate the VW's are for paint and finish.

I promise you that all of my cars have seen all of that same stuff. Our Golf has just hit a new record for not being able to handle things like bird poop, water stains, and highway debris.

In comparison, my 50k mile Lincoln, 190k mile Fit, and multiple previous vehicles have seen all the same stuff and just shrugged it off.

I love our Golf, but the delicate nature of it's paint and body are getting really old, really fast. It's at 8k miles and the wife is already not happy and I'm trying harder than ever before.

Never before this car have I had to bring out heavy detailing equipment this early on. It's usually reserved for an annual event.

How is your Subaru in comparison? I'm trying to figure out a future game plan for a better vehicle as far as durable fit and finish.

 

hey there GAFIT. ive had a handful of black and dark colored cars and they were all more work vs lighter colors. i dont think the VW's paint on my GTI is THAT bad. ive not had to polish the entire car yet, only areas that were scuffed by hard objects.

granted my car has clearbra on the front end so it is pretty well protected. bird crap acidity and etched paint depends on wat the bird ate. some bird crap just wipes off, some will etch through clear on pretty much any modern day car paint.

subaru paint.. i had a black obsidian a while back. i dont remember it being any better than any particular brand. my STI is silver and parked in the garage most of the week so not a fair comparison. paint on my STI is pretty much flawless, same goes with my R.

 

my pops sent me a pict of his new ride.. 18' Lexus NX-F fully loaded.
looks like my wife and i are going to be driving the same car pretty soon. hahaha

k on the menu today... happy friday! going to take it easy at work today. basically make 2 presentations for meetings next week, lunch with my buddies, and go home.

have a good friday everyone!

 

hummmm.. looks like the cr2023 or 2032 or 3023 or watever battery i swapped out the GK's fob was bad. sat in the car cant start it. reminded me of the faking steering lock problem 370z's had. LOL'ed wat a pos that car was.

anyway, swapped with fresh 2023 or 2032 or 3023 or 0323 or 2320 and got the thing fire up.

 

btw CR2032 is the correct number if anyone's wondering. the thing needs to be replaced every 2-3yrs it seems.

 

The NX is sharp looking and, being a Lexus, I bet it's quality all the way. The only two negatives I've read are that, even in F Sport trim, it's soft and that the actual fuel economy is fairly low.

The soft part is probably not a bad thing. I wouldn't want a stiff riding Lexus suv. The fuel economy probably just is what it is. The same thing used to be said about the turbo RDX.

The only thing similar I've driven is the Lincoln MKC 2.3t. It's about the same size, speed, luxury level, etc. I really enjoyed it. Seemed like something that could do just about everything while making it's driver/occupants happy.

 

Original batteries are still in our Fit's keys while I've already changed my Lincolns.

I think these modern key fobs with push button start wear out batteries much faster. Totally worth it though.

 

yah, the NX would be my primarily weekend pm cruiser which my wife would use during the week. im not going to be doing any performance driving in it. more of a take my wife on a lunch date car. more looks and convenience vs performance. thinking about doing a cross country trip with the family in it too.

i did notice the mpg on the lower side and premium fuel but it's fine. i think it was about the same as my GTI. 25-29mpg range, right? and awd. the one my pops got is a hybrid and i think it got like 35mpg or something. he had a RX-H before and it was doing like 30mpg i think, they use liters so i get confused.. lol

he's a geezer so wanted something smaller he said.

i bought a bunch of 2032's the other week so should be good for a while. im glad all my fobs use the same battery..!