Final Gear Top Tip

Aston Martin

Proudly supports terrible french cars
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
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15,642
Location
Hull, England
Car(s)
Cactus and Panda Classic
Might as well...


My neighbour was cleaning his Hyundai Getz and he told me the best thing to clean black plastic on car bumpers to make them "shiny again".
What was the mystery substance? Hand gel, he said it's the best thing he's ever used and every house owns some.

Surely there's more Final Gear Top Tips.



p.s. I am not responsible if your car disintegrates or foams in the rain.
 
When your 318's alternator belt tensioner gear teeth are stripped, and you have to change the belt, fishing line tied to a wrench makes for a great tensioning tool for you to lock the belt back into place. You'll need an extra pair of hands though...
 
If you have tar and other hard to wash of substances (sometimes they won't move at all, stupid fuckers...) try cleaning clay... AFAIK its the same recipe everywhere, be it Meguiars or whatever... I use Petzolds (native to Germany and probably Meguiars as well since they are the main distributor...) in combination with a proper car shampoo...
I wash my car every week or two with a wax every month and a 60? Meguiars set + the clay for 12 Euros still are half full...
 
Zip ties will totally hold that dangling sway bar on for a 30 mile freeway trip home. The car, however, will handle like a van.
 
After waxing your car, spray deionized (distilled) water onto it, and wipe down with an air dried, not dryer dried towel. Eliminates a lot of static, and thus dust. Much cheaper than the store bought detail sprays.

(note it will not work as well as store bought sprays, but distilled water is what, 99 cents a gallon?)

Wash your car with a microfiber towel normally used for waxing, not that cheap and scratchy sponge, or those equally paint abusive wash mitts.

*EDIT* Also, and many people do not know this, polish and wax your car early in the morning, and in complete shade, not "under an oak tree" shade. Wash your car the evening before; the vehicle, especially where the engine is, should be ambient temperature. If you have no choice but to wash the same day, wait 4-5 hours until you polish and wax.

If you have a drop light, hold it against a panel after removing wax and observe it from four angles: from underneath, above and side to side. This is especially critical to dark colored paints.

FYI, I used to own a detailing company.
 
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If you have a terminally squeaking fan belt on a POS car, keep a bar of soap in the glove box and hold it against the belt while the car is running*. This will prevent the screeching.

* - Not responsible for injury or death.
 
Also a bar of ivory rubbed on a pinhole gas tank leak will get you home.
 
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^ So will fresh gum.
 
If you have a terminally squeaking fan belt on a POS car, keep a bar of soap in the glove box and hold it against the belt while the car is running*. This will prevent the screeching.

* - Not responsible for injury or death.

Better: Rig the soap in as a part of the belt path.
 
^ Nah, you don't need to do that. About 15 seconds of holding the soap on the belt will last you a week to a week-and-a-half.
 
I was never manly enough to do it while running. But that's how I ran the MGB for a while. Speaking of which:

Duck tape is a great solution for cracking air and emission hoses.
 
I'm sure most people know this one already but some haven't. As a last gasp to getting a stuck oil filter off, hammer a screwdriver through it.*

*Not responsible for and damage you might do, personal or to the vehicle.
 
A home air compressor is good for more than filling tires and running air tools, it's also handy for blowing dust out of hard-to-reach parts of the car and water out of door seals.
 
Steel wool and water work great for removing surface rust from chrome.

Motorbiking top tip: do not ArmorAll your tires.
 
My neighbour was cleaning his Hyundai Getz and he told me the best thing to clean black plastic on car bumpers to make them "shiny again".
What was the mystery substance? Hand gel, he said it's the best thing he's ever used and every house owns some.

Bullshit! This is The Stuff!

ForeverBlack.jpg


(I am an expert on this...after all the Volvo plastic bumpers are enormous)
 
Also, and many people do not know this, polish and wax your car early in the morning, and in complete shade, not "under an oak tree" shade. Wash your car the evening before; the vehicle, especially where the engine is, should be ambient temperature. If you have no choice but to wash the same day, wait 4-5 hours until you polish and wax.

Fantastic and essential tip, this one :)
 
Also, shouldn't this be Final Gear Final Tips?

As in "These are the last things you'll ever do?"
 
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Steel wool and water work great for removing surface rust from chrome.

Motorbiking top tip: do not ArmorAll your tires.

Or your seat.
 
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