Chemical Guys Jetseal is good stuff. I don't care for their marketing team at all, but some of their products are good.
Chemical Guys Jetseal is good stuff. I don't care for their marketing team at all, but some of their products are good.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Good news then. Please show me the ways [emoji1]
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sooooo THom? Urrrr how do you do a leather restore? (Unless you super scored low mile seats? Im assuming they had some wear?
Current lineup(click on links):
His: '05 Impreza STi / '91 Suzuki Cappuccino / '15 Honda NM4
Hers: '04 Forester XT / '02 S401
Past lineup:
His: '95 Legacy Brighton / '93 Suzuki Cappuccino / '08 Kawasaki Ninja 250R
Hers: '97 Legacy GT-B Ltd / '05 Mercedes E500 4matic / '02 H6 VDC Sedan
^^^ What he said. Which is what I said... when he said things. Not to be confused with what she said. What were we talking about again? :smt101
Oh. Right. Leather. Everybody knows that the usage level of a seat is not determined by miles, it's determined by how many times @Dead91silvia has unleashed unholy taco time farts upon them. Mine show some wear... there was some white paint on one of the seats, some really minor discoloration, tiny crack in the rear seat bottom. I don't plan to do anything more intensive than a good cleaning and deeeeeep conditioning to make up for all the years of neglect.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Hey, mine have held up well to Taco Time farts!
Much of the wear is also with how the car was sat in and also how big/heavy the person was. Some how mine with 268K on them are still in excellent condition! Even with Taco Time, Taco, Bell, and now Chipotle farts...
I've got my (initial) kit assembled, I should get around to this over the next few weekends. I'll check in if I have questions.
Last edited by nepbug; 04-14-2015 at 07:01 PM.
Nice choice with the DA. I love my Porter Cable.
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
Ok, quick question. How should I accomodate 3M clear bra?
Clear paint protection film can be washed and protected with wax or sealant just like your paint, just be mindful of the edges of the film while working on/around it. It can be cleaned/maintained with Plexus. The film can be clayed to remove bonded contaminants. If it has minor scratches, you can use a Lake Country white foam pad and a fine polish with very little cut to remove them. Use light pressure, barely anything, or you risk burning the film's surface.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Current da?
Thom has said before he doesn't typically use a DA, but uses a rotary (not for beginners). If you're looking for a recommendation, I like my Porter Cable - it can be had for ~$100ish on sale. The harbor freight ones are quite a bit cheaper, but not for people who want to get great longevity out of them. I believe people also like the Meguiars DA.
Thom - best "easy" product for maintaining leather seats that are in good condition?
Also, you should PM me back
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
unfortunately here is canadian the pc is 170+ and i could import a harbour freight one for 128$
Yikes, that's a lot for a Harbor Freight one that is about $50US on sale.
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
Yes it sucks, I think I'll just wait until the pc goes on sale locally here
Two 7424XPs, a flex 3401, and a harbor freight beater that rides around in my trunk. I've been using DAs a bit more often these days, but my rotaries are king for cutting.
Mark, I like Lexol for leather. Prefer their separate cleaner and conditioner, but the Lexol 3 in 1 would be fine for general maintenance. Meguiars cleaner/conditioner isn't bad either.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Thom - any experience with Lexol's vinyl protectant? The dealership that sold me the Impreza used something on the vinyl/dash/console surfaces that was kinda greasy and I didn't like that much as it attracted dirt and was nasty in the Sun. I just noticed a 3 pack on amazon that's good deal.
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
I haven't used any of their non-leather products. I would highly recommend 303 aerospace protectant for your plastic, rubber, and vinyl. Wipe everything down with a dry microfiber to remove excess dressing, cuts down the shine and greasy look/feel.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Great! Thank you. I want this car to look new for a loooong time.
If anyone is wondering about the sudden downsizing of this thread, I removed extraneous posts that were cutting down on actual content (even removed some of my posts ) so that the burnished specimen of perfection that is Thom's dedication & hard work in this thread is all that remains. Comments are great, but I'd love for this to be one of those threads that gets linked outside of SLi all the time because it's filled with knowledge, not testosterone and boredom. The good jokes, remain. Yay!
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
So I bought of pair of these glass microfiber towels.
http://www.detailersdomain.com/Uber-...wel_p_588.html
I used them for the first time last night and holy clean windows Batman! Its the cleanest I have ever gotten any window on any car I have had. For my glass cleaner I have Stoners Invisible Glass. The question I have for Thom is, what do I use to clean the towels? DD says to use a microfiber detergent (no bleach or fabric softener), but would it be OK to use dish soap? I use liquid dish soap to wash my microfibers for paint.
My cars:
2019 Impreza Sport
2008 Miata
2009 Legacy 3.0R Limited- Sold
1998 Legacy L wagon- Sold
2000 Outback- Sold
I used Collonite 845 wax on the Tribeca today. Wish I'd had time to clay & polish the car first, but it really needed something to protect the clear coat, so I'll likely do that in the fall when the wax wears off.
Metallic Flake (click for full size):
Mirror finish (Hi, SLi!):
Impressions: Very easy to use & buff off, even when done 100% by hand. Finish is very smooth when done. I can only hope it lasts the 4-6 month period it's supposed to as I'm not a huge fan of the time & effort that goes into waxing. The initial results are impressive, though.
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
I guess @Thomistopheles isn't getting emails about this thread again? I could benefit from some of you knowledge good sir.
My cars:
2019 Impreza Sport
2008 Miata
2009 Legacy 3.0R Limited- Sold
1998 Legacy L wagon- Sold
2000 Outback- Sold
I check the thread every few days. I use Micro Restore. If you don't want to get a special detergent just for MF, then something like Woolite will work fine. Dish soaps are perfumed and can leave residue. No heat, no bleach, no softener, avoid perfumes.
97 BD GT - Baller Husky Hauler II
06 OBXT Limited - Baller Husky Hauler III
Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
Thank you good sir.
My cars:
2019 Impreza Sport
2008 Miata
2009 Legacy 3.0R Limited- Sold
1998 Legacy L wagon- Sold
2000 Outback- Sold
So I used the Lexol stuff on the seats and got quite a bit of grit & dirt off, then conditioned them & wiped the excess with microfiber. I have to say, no greasy feeling and the seats look great.
Then I realized my steering wheel is wrapped leather, too. I wiped it off with the cleaner and this is what the pad looked like (the pad was clean & white prior to this):
Yikes!
I cleaned it a few more times to be sure it was actually clean (think about how much dirt & oil from hands goes on a steering wheel) and then conditioned it. The wheel is impressively grippy now and it looks really nice.
Moral of the story is Lexol is good stuff. Very easy to use and effective.
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
I did a thing the other day
For the price,lifetime guarantee and power I couldn't go wrong
Hey everyone, just a bit of an update on my Collonite 845. After 6 months of winter & Wisconsin salty roads, this is the condition of my wax after a hard rainfall:
I have to say, I'm impressed at how well the wax is lasting. I did notice that the Tribeca's wax is starting to fade on the bottom side of the door - less beading there, but both cars lasted the full six months, quite a few automatic car washes, and thousands of miles. Nice!
~Mark [SLi Admin]
2015 Dodge Charger AWD
2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited, 7 passenger w/ Navigation
Former vehicles:
03 Forester
95 Legacy Outback
Hmm. Looks amazing still. Thnxs for the update. I may have to look into it.
I know it's been asked, but I'm not reading all these pages to fine it... lol
What do I use to get tree sap off?