Rancidpunx

I would steer clear of it.

Utes generally hold there value better than sedans for some reason.

Thanks for the heads up, might see if I can grab a sample. Let us know if you have any luck with the scuff.

Absolutely a lot of cars look better with just a clean but most people will want some kind of conditioning dressing applied. How many people still smoother the dash in Armourall? They think it looks greasy and crap but still apply it because "your supposed to, right?" As for your scuff, most things will be abit hit and miss depending on the severity of the scuff. Its highly likely that the damage is permanent due to it now being physically different to the surrounding area. Much like a scratch that cant be polished out of textured plastics.

Pretty much Michael, its also worth knowing that your "Leather" may not be from a cow. Most cars only have leather on the bits you actually sit on, the rest is just vinyl. Toyota just got caught out claiming their Leather was more than it actually is. The problem with cleaning and conditioners is that the terminology is a little out dated. Just like the word "Polish". Going back a few years to original paint finishes, polish was put on to he paint to make it shiny and glossy. People still talk about putting polish on a car today. But that's not the case any more. What they mean is wax. Polish is now abasive and does its job in removing surface defects and then its is completely removed before wax is applied. There are filling polishes and glazes that blur the lines even more. The same goes with leather products. Generally speaking the products on the market are designed for modern interiors but its not glamourous to advertise a product for your leather than is not leather. Using a real leather condition in a modern car does have a negative effect, but then its not designed for those application. There is one company make a big deal about their products and bash everyone else in the process. As it happens their products are actually pretty good, they just shout about it unlike everyone else. Mostly you will find "conditioners" from modern brands are not actually conditioning the leather but rather adding a small amount of protection due to the leather in the cars these days. Whether it works is down to the end user and their perception of money well spent? Does a $300 tub of wax really do a better job of $50? The guy who spent the big dosh will tell you absolutely, but the other other guy will tell you different. You could ask 10 different people on the subject and get 10 different opinions. Personally I like what Zaino does as well as a few others brands and have been using them long term on cars to notice if there were any adverse effects, including my own. Ultimately cleaning the seats makes a bigger difference than conditioning them.

Its hard to get used to not using much as its instinctive to. Give it a really good clean in a couple of months and give it another try. I would recommend getting a paint cleaner type product to cleanse the finish before trying again next time. You could even put down a paint sealant first to extend durability. I would also put money on the polishing you had done earlier playing with the applications. If they left behind polish as you mentioned the oils will still be sitting in the pores of the paint making things smeary. Make sure everything your doing is on a cool surface away from direct sunlight.

Look I gave the guy 2 different options as a professional opinion. I use both products on an almost daily basis so would like to think that my opinion is a valid one. Now to put this to bed I had an FG XR today so grabbed some phone pictures of the dash. Before, 30k on the clock and nothing ever used on the dash. and then after 303. You will get a similar result from both product. Whichever way you go gege6, you will be happy.

303 Defintely does not contain silicone. Unfortunately most guys dont know how to use products and complain about the product rather than their ability to use it. Cockpit Premium is also a very good product to have on hand.

MadF6, your using to much. Its a matte finish, if you are finding its glossy your applying it to liberably. Ahalf spritz into a MF is enough for half the dash. Bellato, Remove naviwax immediately, dont wait for it to haze. Its wipe on wipe off. Do quarter of the bonnet, remove and move onto the next section. Sometimes if your applying to much it can haze up over night with the temperature change. I have personally never had a problem with it, but saw it first hand from a customer who bought some from me. I did a coat for him and left the tin and came back in the morning after he had done 2 more coats. When I opened the tin there were deep gouges into the wax. Literally less than a 1/4 turn in the wax is plenty to get you started, you seriously need the smallest amount.

Just had it retrimmed. Took it all apart myself and just left the headlining to the trimmer. Cost $150 or something. The black looks heaps better than the povo cream colour.

The headlining is easy to do. The only place I have dramas with is the clips on the visors. The visors themselves also get patchy if you use a sunshade during the day. The shade heats up and sticks to the visors. I used 3M bumper black for the plastics.

Good work Gaz,

I use Zaino cleaner and condition for Leather although I am not hands on familier with Gtechniq so not sure how they recommend aftercare. For the rest of the car you cant go pass 303 aerospace protectant. Lasts about 3 months and is antistactic so you will notice less dust. Einzeit also make a good cleaner/protecter product as an alternative.

Im not a fan of the chrome front end, to American for me. I still dont understand why they name the "Luxury" model after a sh*tty little town in France where us Brits go to get cheap bottles of wine. Great features which Ford will have to match in 2014, I hope they can hang on until then as I can see plenty of on the fence sales going to the VF. There will a step up in the Falcon doom and gloom until then.

No worries mate, Zaino is great.

You need a really good protection product if you plan on parking the car under a tree. Supercheap will not be able to help you out is most of the megs, AG stuff is crap when it comes to that sort of thing. If you really want the car to look as good as the day you bought it you should probably be looking a permanent coating like Ceramic Pro. Forget the dealers paint protection rubbish, appliations of products like Ceramic pro permanently bond with the paint giving you a thick hard layer to stop dirt and grime even touching the paint. The applications are reasonably expensive as they are pro only but seeing a car is likely to be the second most expensive item somebody will ever buy it does make sence to look after them. You will always get the money back when you sell the car as it will present better than the next one. Definitely worth a look into, http://www.nanoshine.com.au Other options are more labour intensive and will require some work a couple of times a year depending on what you decide to do. A good quality paint sealant and topped with a nice looking wax will keep the car looking good. Learn about the 2 bucket wash method and how to wash and dry the car correctly as 90% of scratching on a vehicle is done by the owner not washing correctly. Speak to somebody like Waxit, or Car Care Products and explain your situation.

To correct a paint finish to 80-90% for a car the size of a falcon is 10-12hrs. To start chasing the extra 10% or so will take around the same time again. At this point not only does time fly by but work actually slows down as attention and concentration goes up. Its all very well being able to polish the paint to a flawless finish but its then the ability to keep it flawless whilst finishing the detail with your favourite wax, sealant etc. Theres plenty of threads of forums about guys who cant get rid of swirls and I would suspect that they are just re-introducing them whilst working.

Go and see Hamish at Elite Finish, he does some excellent work. Tell him James from Brisbane sent you.

Different wiring harnesses so the screens cant be swapped without major rewiring of the vehicles electrical system.

Cocktail sticks and Cotton Buds with a small amount of cleaner.

SSL all round on stock shockies but will do them shortly. Rides fine but going to different houses daily I find its too low.

lol that's a good video Trent. To many idiots out there that dont have the brain power to realise that you can drive without your foot pinned to the floor constantly, if its not on the accelerator it must be on the brake right? Its very frustrating watch a car in front braking with nothing in front of them on a straight flat road.

Pretty hard question to anwser. I dont think trucks are the only cause but they certainly impeed traffic flow as well as all the other stuff mentioned here. Obviously 100% of congestions is everybody needing to be somewhere at the same time. So how about something like retail does not start until 10am -11am and finish 7-8pm? That would be a massive amount of people off of the roads at the same time. World class metro/rail systems would further reduce traffic. Anyway we look at it though, its getting worse.

Yeah sorry bud if it seemed like I was having a go at you personally but its still a good example of the results other guys can expect from 3hrs. There is that many idiots out their swinging a machine polisher around calling a service a cut and polish and they ruin cars and give the process a bad name. I get calls every day from guys expecting a job to take a few hours because everyone else they have spoken to says it will. Others get scared and dont commit when a machine polisher is mentioned. By doing all the wash stuff yourself was a good idea as I know of places that wont even wash a car before polishing it because it saves time. Not wiping down inbetween stages is another time saving trick. If the polishes are using the same carrier agent and are similar in strength and worked completely by the user then it is Ok, but compounds are gritty and heavy and certainly would be different to a swirl remover. The powdery, gritty compound would have contaminated the swirl remover and would have actually been introduing fine scratching. The last step by hand is bizaar as it would have acheived nothing at all. I would also say that's the problem you have with Naviwax. By not having the polish fully removed from the paint with Alcohol (20% Isopropyl in water) it messes with everything you try and do afterwards. Most people think polish is applied to a car and left their to make it shine. that's not the case. Making it shiny is the result of polishing and deepening the gloss but it should be the paint that is glossy, Not the product on top. Old cars with older single stage paint finished used to have polishes applied and left however the term is still used today and the way products are labelled confuses things further. Polish is a pain to remove and takes time with the alcohol but will mean the finish is clean for the wax to be applied to. If its not the wax will streak and smear and generally be pain to use, as well as not last long becauses its not adhered properly to the dirty surface. Bare in mind that you may not be able to actually see the left over residue. If the polish is oil based which most are, once the white media is wiped away often the clear oils can be left behind soaked into the pours of the paint. Theres a lot to take in most of which so called pros out there wont acknowledge as it takes time, but you got it to a place that your happy with that's the main thing. How far are you from Wagga? Theres a detailer there that would be able to do rest for you and he is one of the best in the country.

Sorry I have to disagree, that is not a good job. A big improvement for $200 and its good that your happy, but the car is still covered in swirls and now also covered in buffer trails. The finish is also really flat with no depth of gloss. THe last picture looks good as that's a shady side, the car could be dirty but would still look good with the over exposure. $3 worth of tape also stops the polish, no excuse for a panel beater not to tape up the car considering trim can get damaged. There was no need for a wool pad either. A medium polish and soft cutting foam pads would have dealt with the swirls you had. Compound with a wool pad is very abrasive and will have removed 3 times as much paint that was needed to remove those swirls, would also end up with far less trails. Naviwax will have concealed some defects aswell. Naviwax taking some time is also not right. Its so easy to use that it should not take you more than 1/2hr -45mins to get around the car. Im sorry sh*t on your pictures but it should be a lesson for everyone that you cannot get the car polished in a few hours for a few hundred bucks. Realistically the wash process and decontamination process alone before even picking up the machine should be taking 2hrs or so. Rush jobs by hacks (most panel beaters are also crap at polishing correctly) can end up making the finish worse as well as thin the paint significantly as well as damage trim and mirrors. Then they turn around and say that the last few swirls cant be gotten rid of. See a pro guys, $500 or so on a $50k car, 1% is a small price to know that your car will be looked after and be delivered back better than when your bought it.