Saturday, mow lawn, wash MINIs, Banana Gas mine, pack, go to a friends BBQ.
Sunday, head to the Dragon

Mark

 

I don't see how that would be possible. The Hawks are pretty darn awesome in that regard.

The story on the CarboTech Bobcats is that they supposedly have slightly more dust than the Hawks, but significantly more bite... and they're a little softer so they don't wear/groove the rotors as fast as the Hawks. But I haven't actually found anyone who has run both for an objective comparison... so that's what I'm gonna do... Of course, I'm changing two things (with the non-OEM rotors) so my comparison won't be perfect for just the pads, either...

But, well, I'll be at the ultimate street brake testbed next week... so at least for performance and dusting, a week from now I should have a strong opinion one way or the other...

BTW, I put about 25,000 miles on my Hawks and 32,000 on my OEM rotors... not bad for a maniac.

 

quite windy here today, but dry. hope to get the in-law's car finished up
this afternoon.

 

I was planning to hit Dr Evil with the full detailing today in preparation of MOTD.

But, the chronic bad back is flaring up on me this week. Besides, the last full detail was less than 3,000 miles and twelve washes ago. Looks pretty damn good still.

So... Blimey, if you see a couple of swirl marks in the paint, please forgive me, my fellow OCDetailer !! Having a couple of swirls is better than ending up back in the ER and missing MOTD all together.

 

... and i just realized i get $25/hr from the wife for doing the work.

cause it's a gift from myself and the wife. (my rate is $50/hr for everything).


which means... if i take my dandy time i can get that 3" orbital....

 

Packing is done, one off the list, load Poco later. Scruffy dog is bathed. Now it's time to give the lawn a haircut, do a few things in the yard.

Then wash the MINIs, Poco is getting a coat of GB, and yes he will have some swirls too.

Mark

 

WOW! You can get the wife to pay ya. I'm doing something wrong!

 

lotsie- sounds like everything's going as plan so far?


well, this is a very special rare occurance which may never
happen ever again... so i better take my dandy time.

 

come to think of it, i better take my quick nap now before my sons'
grandma arrives.

 

Heck... I might be right there with ya'.... depends on how motivated I feel tomorrow...

 

Brakes - DONE!

Dang, that was EZ! I had done pads before, but hadn't done rotors since I had a set turned on my '77 TR7... and on that beast, repacking the wheel bearings was part of the process... these removable rotors are easy... especially when you have all the right tools... (impact wrench, right torx bit, breaker bar for the caliper carrier bolts, etc.)

Took me 3 hours start to finish, including lots of beer breaks. Coulda done it in under two with a gun to my head... can't believe the stealer charges $1200 for a brake job... mine cost $410 with better parts then the stealer would use...

Now gotta detail my summer wheels (wash, polish out any blemishes, wheel armour) and install... then bed in the brakes...

Any recommendations on the best way to get dried/baked on tar outta the wheel wells? I'm thinking something more aggressive than your normal tar remover... because those are so gentle they don't strip wax... I want to DECIMATE the tar... and it's in my wheel wells... so whatever I use isn't going on the paint...

 

^^ good job, blimey!

i ended up starting at 1pm and ended at 5:30pm.

tire rotation
tire pressure adjust including spare
interior vac, Nero5050, install new child seat
clarity all glass...man the rear was dirty.
painted the muffer...yah, the black paint was flaking off so sanded
and painted it.

polished up the tip
washed the car, Hydro
clay areas that needed most... lower panels mostly
rainx the winshield
clarity the outside glass
dressed tires, hydro'ed the wheels
PDR'ed a small dent
test drive (needed to re-torque the lugs)

damn, it looks new again. no did not take any picts.

 

Ken, that sounds like you need to submit a bill for $112.50 to the wife. Good luck collecting!

But man are you thorough, you painted the muffler?

 

Yeah... muffler paint is in the category of "extreme detailing"...

BTW - found the solution for wheel wells... WD-40... with a green scothbrite if you REALLY wanna scrub the helloutta it and don't care about scratches (I don't - I mean, it's a dang wheelwell...) - followed by Black WOW... leaves then unfreakingbelievably beautiful... for a wheel well.... and is FAST and EASY...l

 

I bought and installed Shop Vac 4.5hp 5 gal wall mounted vac. It's got a 25ft hose and attachments. Seems pretty good on the suction. I was a little worried because of the length of the hose. It mounts nice high on the wall and is pretty slim. It's got a accessory rack but I need to find a hose reel or something for the hose. Right now I have it bungied on 2 drywall screws.

 

Never thought of WD40, smart idea!

 

yah, maybe i'll just get like a tip for $20.

yah, the car's in good condition and looked nice (for a solara )
but the flaky muffler visible from the side and rear was just an
eye sore. it's actually real easy to do. just strip off as much flakes
as possible. do one light coat to stimulate a primer. it sticks directly
to metal pretty well since it's engine enamel paint. and then do another
thicker coat. all i did was masked off the chrome tip.

sounds good.

also, Griot's sells a purple colored spray made for dressing up the wheel
wells. Undercarriage Spray or something it was called. it's like tire
dressing and quite a slippery mess, but works well. just dont get it on
your garage floor unless you want your annoyances to fall on their butts. jk jk

 

ooooo~!!! nice. do you have a nice garage setup?
any picts?

 

No I think you guys got me beat on the garage setup. CR&PW&JB has a NICE setup! I'm working on it though, but it's just a 1 car attached so its not very large. I've been drooling on the detailing idea's for the garage thread. I've got to try to make the most of the small space I've got. Not bad for working on the MINI though. I'll try to get some pics of the Shop Vac setup. Just have to get the camera and computer talking to each other again.

 

yah, CR&PW&JB stole my flooring idea and put it in tangible form
before me and patented it.

my garage is not the easiest to work around either. it's a wide
2 car garage (they call it a 2.5car) but the depth is fine on one side,
but one of the inner corner is cut-off in a 45 degree angle which gets
into the way unless it's a small car like my MCS or FitS.

the other side of the 45degree is our porch and it was just designed
that way. on the blue print it didnt look too bad but when we
actually saw the house while it was built, i mean a
minivan sized car would 'fit' in there on that side, but nothing else, kinda.

so in the future, im planning on just having one car in there most of
the time and use the other half for detailing/work shop.

 

dang, sorry to hear about your back.

yah, with our OCD washing techniques, 12 washes is nothin'.
although i only blot dry my hobby cars...

 

so i guess tomorrow (or whenever it's dry and wind dies down) i will
need to sweep the garage floor. was real windy today and got leaves
all over.

anyone have any ideas of how to prevent leaves from coming inside
the garage while it's still open? was thinking a short net or something
close to the floor? (but then ill probably trip over it. )

 

I'm trying to keep a low profile so the wife don't catch on about me spending $$ on the garage but I think she's on to me! I never thought I would be working on my own cars again but these MINI's have changed that.

 

OK... I'm violating the rules and discussing politics. I'm going to vote for WHOEVER promises to push through a law guaranteeing the DEATH PENALTY for anyone who spreads tar on an open roadway... just got through the wheelwells... the left side was easy... the right side (as well as my right side summer wheels) had, at some point last year, run through a LAKE of fresh tar... OMG... I have a whole garbage can full of tar soaked paper towels and used about a half a can of WD40... but the wells and wheels are CLEAN now... and I used a TON of Black WOW...

OK, it only took about 1/8 bottle of BW, which is half an ounce, which is 1/64,000 of a ton... but it took almost as much as I had used TOTAL on my trim in the past 12 months (picked up the bottle at MOTD last year...) - so I'm down to 2/3 of a bottle now... darn it... I'm gonna run out in like 2 more years... better order more...

OK, the death penalty may be a little harsh... but at LEAST castration...

 

I got some orange/red paint off the road from I don't know where but its all over the Wheelwell on th left side and a little on the rocker lower door area. Can I add this to the Tar Law!