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Nacs - dang... you make my engine bay look like something died in there for weeks and no one got it out. LOL.
Beautiful STOCK bay. I don't think I've seen a better stock (for the most part) setup. I love the touches. I still have my stock manifold cover sitting in the basement. Since my maggie, I have no more use for her. LOL.
Btw, what PPF/Clearbra do you have on your front end? Full or partial hood/fender wrap?
Nacs - dang... you make my engine bay look like something died in there for weeks and no one got it out. LOL.
Beautiful STOCK bay. I don't think I've seen a better stock (for the most part) setup. I love the touches. I still have my stock manifold cover sitting in the basement. Since my maggie, I have no more use for her. LOL.
Btw, what PPF/Clearbra do you have on your front end? Full or partial hood/fender wrap?
lol, thanks a lot! It was a lot of fun planning the whole theme out and seeing it come to life bit by bit. Though I did have times where I experienced the old "paralysis by analysis" syndrome. Just too many possible combos/choices to go with Sometimes you just have to make a choice and run with it.
The car has Xpel Ultimate on it. Full hood/fenders, front bumper, headlights, rockers all the way to the rear bumper, mirrors, a-pillars, and first 8 inches of the roof. Love, love, love the Xpel.
Prior to the show I clayed the car including the Xpel, and did a two day 3 step paint correction with a new Rupes LHR 15 Mark II DA polisher. I did the final finishing polish with Polish Angel Invincible Primer and coated the car with their Glasscoat Cosmic coating. The coating is supposedly good for 2 years. The paint and PPF film came out looking and feeling AMAZING. Literally smooth as glass. Never polished the Xpel before with the DA, so it's nice to know it responds no different than the paint as far as results.
lol, thanks a lot! It was a lot of fun planning the whole theme out and seeing it come to life bit by bit. Though I did have times where I experienced the old "paralysis by analysis" syndrome. Just too many possible combos/choices to go with Sometimes you just have to make a choice and run with it.
The car has Xpel Ultimate on it. Full hood/fenders, front bumper, headlights, rockers all the way to the rear bumper, mirrors, a-pillars, and first 8 inches of the roof. Love, love, love the Xpel.
Prior to the show I clayed the car including the Xpel, and did a two day 3 step paint correction with a new Rupes LHR 15 Mark II DA polisher. I did the final finishing polish with Polish Angel Invincible Primer and coated the car with their Glasscoat Cosmic coating. The coating is supposedly good for 2 years. The paint and PPF film came out looking and feeling AMAZING. Literally smooth as glass. Never polished the Xpel before with the DA, so it's nice to know it responds no different than the paint as far as results.
Very cool! You know, that stock manifold cover that you painted will have to come off when you get a blower hehe.
As for the Xpel, yes I have polished it just like a regular painted surface. As for wax though, even though they say you can put any wax on it, I only stick with Sealants. I don't put wax on it for fear of yellowing. They say it won't but eh... you never know.
And nice job on the buffing. I want to get a Rupes to add to my collection. For now, my Flex, Griots, and PC will have to do You like the Rupes?
Very cool! You know, that stock manifold cover that you painted will have to come off when you get a blower hehe.
As for the Xpel, yes I have polished it just like a regular painted surface. As for wax though, even though they say you can put any wax on it, I only stick with Sealants. I don't put wax on it for fear of yellowing. They say it won't but eh... you never know.
And nice job on the buffing. I want to get a Rupes to add to my collection. For now, my Flex, Griots, and PC will have to do You like the Rupes?
Very true sad to say. Next up will be full suspension to give it a proper stance and do away with the stock floaty ride. Then i'll have to catch my breath a bit as these mods add up like no other. I'm no stranger to boost though, it is definitely addicting!
Believe it or not it's the adhesive underneath that caused yellowing in the past with older films like 3M. This is not the case with newer films like Xpel, and i'm sure is one of the reasons they can offer a 10 year warranty on it. You can wax it no problem, you just have to watch the solvent content/type with certain waxes. It's not good for the clearcoat layer. If the wax stinks like solvent i'd probably shy away. I've always maintained it with liquid spray waxes/sealants myself in the past though.
I like the new Rupes Mark II a lot. It was supposed to be the new hotness when I got it around last Xmas. 30% more power than prior models and it runs smooth as silk as far as vibrations. I was coming from an original PC 7424 so it was a huge step up as far as power, smoothness, and efficiency of correction. That said it will probably not correct as fast as your Flex since it's not forced rotation. I've heard from pro detailers time and time again that the Flex has more muscle for correction, but taxes your body more while using it. The Rupes walks around less and is a bit more refined/controllable overall.
Very true sad to say. Next up will be full suspension to give it a proper stance and do away with the stock floaty ride. Then i'll have to catch my breath a bit as these mods add up like no other. I'm no stranger to boost though, it is definitely addicting!
Believe it or not it's the adhesive underneath that caused yellowing in the past with older films like 3M. This is not the case with newer films like Xpel, and i'm sure is one of the reasons they can offer a 10 year warranty on it. You can wax it no problem, you just have to watch the solvent content/type with certain waxes. It's not good for the clearcoat layer. If the wax stinks like solvent i'd probably shy away. I've always maintained it with liquid spray waxes/sealants myself in the past though.
I like the new Rupes Mark II a lot. It was supposed to be the new hotness when I got it around last Xmas. 30% more power than prior models and it runs smooth as silk as far as vibrations. I was coming from an original PC 7424 so it was a huge step up as far as power, smoothness, and efficiency of correction. That said it will probably not correct as fast as your Flex since it's not forced rotation. I've heard from pro detailers time and time again that the Flex has more muscle for correction, but taxes your body more while using it. The Rupes walks around less and is a bit more refined/controllable overall.
Also thanks DarrenGT, tbone004, and TommyV!
Yes, that's what I heard about the Flex vs Rupes. You know what I've been wondering - the Chemical Guys Torq. Hear anything about that? I might have to get!!!
Yes, that's what I heard about the Flex vs Rupes. You know what I've been wondering - the Chemical Guys Torq. Hear anything about that? I might have to get!!!
The Torq is supposed to be pretty decent but the one thing I read that could be a slight annoyance is the digital speed setting. You switch the machine on and have to bump the - or + buttons to get to your desired speed. You polish your section and then switch the machine off. When you want to polish a new section, you switch the machine on, and have to peck at the + button multiple times again to get to your last speed setting. Not sure I would like that.
I do like my Rupes with the soft start feature. I could have the dial set to the highest speed 6 and place it on a panel. Then I just pull the trigger on the handle (no switch to turn on/off) and the machine slowly/gently ramps up to full speed over the course of about a second. This gives you more control and avoids over-slinging product.
Long post here so apologies if your connection is slow! I just returned from an epic 2,500 mile adventure that took me from Kansas City to eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, to drive the infamous Tail of the Dragon, as well as a whole bunch of other amazing roads in that area. It was absolutely one of the most fun short trips in my life, even though I had to go 780 miles through 5 states yesterday to be back at work this morning!
On the way out, I stopped in Metropolis, IL (just before the Kentucky border in southern Illinois) because, well, see below:
Spent the first night in Nashville before driving the remaining 3 hours the next morning, and happened upon this statue in the back of a liquor store I'd stopped at.
So once we got out to home base (Fontana Village Resort in western NC), we had two days of driving. Below are the routes we took both days.
I was with 3 friends and their cars - 2015 Lexus RC-F, 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP and a 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder. Fun mix of cars for sure.
Because of how popular Tail of the Dragon is, there are 4-5 different photographers that just sit on the side of the road and snap photos of people driving all day, then sell them online. The next 5 are from 3 of those different photographers.
In Cherokee, NC, we passed by this unbelievably creepy abandoned motel called The Teddy Bear Motel, so we had to stop for pictures.
This is the kind of scenery we got to see for the whole trip - taken at the 1st lookout on the way south on the Dragon
Taken at Clingman's Dome, a 6,600 foot high mountain in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Taking a break while driving the very tight, technical Rattler.
At the base of the massive, WWII-era Fontana Dam. Donut marks in the foreground were created by the Pontiac
Perhaps the funniest photo of the trip (not me - one of the other guys)
Epic drives completed - new stickers for Lucy.
There was a big group of guys from Ontario at the resort we stayed at too and thought I'd share this, as I'd definitely never seen one of these JDM cars on the road before. Those Canadian import rules are definitely easier than the US ones!
Give up? It's an Eunos Cosmo. Eunos was basically Mazda's version of Acura/Lexus/Infiniti in the 90's. This thing is rotary-powered and a sibling to the RX-7. Crazy, right?
7/24/16 | 10:50 PM
Sometimes you just have to make a choice and run with it.
hehe.
You like the Rupes?
