Five & a Half Weeks....

[imported_camaroz28]

I am looking into buying an 02 Ford Lightning and they will have it in True Blue Metallic for 2002. I am wondering if anybody else has this color and if they are happy with it, does it show a lot of swirls and stuff like that. I have black now and I take good care of it, but it still shows the micro marring and a few swirls.



For those of you who don`t know what the color looks like, it is dark blue metallic with a hint of gray in it.



Ron K- do you have any inside info on this from Ford?

[01STANGGT]

My Mustang is True Blue and I`m real happy with the color. I`ve had it since early June and several people (strangers)remarked on how nice it looked. The dealer I bought from had his crew wax it before delivery (I wish he hadn`t)and some slight swirl marks are evident but thats probably normal with a dark color and a buffer in the wrong hands. My previous vehicle was a `99 Silverado in Dark Blue Metallic and that finish was a lot fussier than the Mustangs.

[imported_camaroz28]

Thanks for the reply. I assume your Silverado was Indigo Blue Metallic? My buddy has that color on his S10 and it does show swirls, but not as bad as my black. In your opinion, did the Indigo Blue show more swirls than True Blue?



I have about 4 more months before I order the Lightning and for that much money I want to make the right choice.

[01STANGGT]

Indigo Blue Metallic was the color and it did seem to show swirls quite a bit more than the True Blue.

Could be that Ford has a harder clear coat (?).

Hope this helps. That Lightning will look awesome in True Blue.



Good Luck

[YoSteve]

<blockquote class=`ipsBlockquote` >

<em class=`bbc`>Originally posted by 01STANGGT [/i]
<strong class=`bbc`>Could be that Ford has a harder clear coat (?). [/b]</blockquote>
sounds like you should call in the old grumpy ;D

[imported_camaroz28]

Thanks 01STANGGT- The dealerships have the Lightnings marked down a lot and I almost bought a red one on Monday. I thought it would look really good in blue so I wanted to see if they would make it for 02 and sure enough. I am still thinking of Silver though. Oh well, I have an entire winter to think about it.

[imported_Luster]

That`s how long it`s been since I did an ONR wash on my daily drivers!!!!!:redface::redface::redface:

I did a thread on ONR washing on December 11 and my intent was to wash the two Grand Prix`s every week, like I do every winter.

Well.

The temps started diving, and the snow and ice kept coming and FINALLY we got a decent day today. Still humid and very cloudy and cold (40), but I got them done today.

Inside and out. Feels good to get them clean again.:Dancing Dot:

(In 40 years of driving, I have NEVER gone this long without washing my cars! It`s been so cold, even the coin-op car washes have been closed because they were freezing up!):toetap05:


Presoak with ONR in spray bottle
ONR wash entire car without drying
Dried entire car with Absorber
Quick wipedown with Z6
Dressed tires with Meg`s Endurance
Cleaned wheelwells with ONR, then AA Tire Foam
Washed and rinsed Rubber floormats with ONR/air dried
Vacuumed interiors


The streets are still a little wet in spots, but that means I get to wash`em again tomorrow!!!:Dancing Dot:

(You`ve all seen my DD`s, so nothing fancy)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/bluster/2006%20GTP/IMG_4294.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/bluster/2006%20GTP/IMG_4297.jpg

[bigpoppa]

I had to go 3 and a half weeks between washes from the end of December until just last Thursday. It had been in the teens and 20`s the entire time, and we got snow almost every day. Running it through the touchless or coin-op was pointless, as the sloppy roads would get it dirty again by the time I got home. :scared:

This recent warm up has been great, I got mine washed in one of my customer`s garages last week, who has a drain and heated water warm enough to take a bath in. :D

Both of the Pontiacs are lookin` fresh, I bet you are happy you have rubber floor mats! They make interior clean ups a million times easier.

[imported_Luster]

Both of the Pontiacs are lookin` fresh, I bet you are happy you have rubber floor mats! They make interior clean ups a million times easier.

Yeah, the Ponchos weren`t feelin` the love the last month or so!!!:redface: I have the rubber mats with the deep grooves to catch snow, ice, sand, water, etc. The carpets were clean and dry underneath!:drool5::D

[Tuck91]

Nice job Bill. :) Sure is nice to have a clean car and freshly dressed tires.

[imported_pmdureska]

did my new car this past weekend after driving for 5500 miles and 3 major holidays. had a hand wash after thanksgiving trip only. i ran it through the touchless wash to get the major road grime/salt off. detailed the inside on friday. used ONR for first time on saturday (great product)and then menzerna hi gloss shield after that (originally had sealed it with acrylic jacket and topped with p21s). the finish looked great. dressed rims with wheel wax and black magic on the tires. no more major trips with that car until weather better, will work on my wife and i`s DD`s this weekend.

[bmw5541]

Nice work Bill. I was in the same boat. It has been just too cold to do the ONR outside. I finally got a chance to do it last week, and boy, did it feel good to get it clean again.

Feels good, doesn`t it?

[imported_TLMitchell]

The temps started diving, and the snow and ice kept coming ....

<snip happens>

Feels good to get them clean again.:Dancing Dot:

I know how you feel, it sucks driving a cruddy vehicle. During the worst of the weather I was down to washing mine only 3 or 4 times a week. Winter is a pain in the neck. It seemed like the heat in the garage started blowing before I could get things dried off and I had to rewet. Then I had to clean the crud out of the traps in the floor drains. Then the water was getting too hot and burning my delicate paws. Life is full of inconveniences. :wink:

When I built my shack I cared less about the house than I did about the garage. I just can`t stand to see my vehicles layered with crud even if I know they`re going to get covered again within a few miles of leaving the driveway. Quite a few days with heavy snow and temps low enough that they didn`t bother salting resulted in driving on snow-packed roads with a pristine vehicle. Just gotta love the looks of befuddlement I get. :D A few cold mornings where there was no splashing I actually got the 21 miles to work with it still clean. :Dancing Dot: Coworkers stood in the parking lot looking and just shaking their heads about my obsession. Of course, they`re also the ones lining up when they hear I`m thinking about trading...

With this washing frenzy came a non-scientific test of my drying towels. I`ve got some generic waffle-weaves I got cheap in bulk from a place called Erie Cotton as well as a few Megs WWs, and a couple of Cobra Guzzlers in addition to a few Absorbers. But the hands-down plushest, most absorbent, slickest-feeling are a couple of Vroom MF drying towels I picked up on sale at Target. Just a nice, slick, smooth feeling running across the paint! Did the GF`s black Hyundai last night with a spritz of DGAW while drying and it was just pure pleasure wiping it down :clap:

As for absorbancy, I should add that I use the blower from my Shop Vac to get the bulk of the rinse off and blow out the nooks and crannies. So it isn`t like I`m removing a ton of water. On occasion I do have a lot of water to deal with I usually have an Absorber in one hand and a WW in the other. I never found the Absorbers to dry as well as I`d like. Never tried `em with ONR... gonna have to give that a shot one o` these days.

Day off today and as soon as the GF pulls out of the garage to head to the salt mines I`m gonna pull the truck in the middle of the garage over the drains and give it another dose. It just never ends. :)

TL

[imported_Luster]

As for absorbancy, I should add that I use the blower from my Shop Vac to get the bulk of the rinse off and blow out the nooks and crannies. TL

TL, are you using the blower after your ONR wash? I haven`t tried that, but it sounds like a winner.:cornut:

Even if that`s not what you meant, I may give that a try... (the GTP is dirty again... these streets haven`t been dry in over a month!!!!!):mad:

[imported_TLMitchell]

TL, are you using the blower after your ONR wash? I haven`t tried that, but it sounds like a winner.:cornut:

Even if that`s not what you meant, I may give that a try... (the GTP is dirty again... these streets haven`t been dry in over a month!!!!!):mad:

I use the blower for a full wet-wash, never occured to me to try it with ONR as I go panel-by-panel and don`t really have a lot of liquid to wipe off anyway. I primary choose ONR when things aren`t REAL cruddy when I don`t feel like moving one car out in the cold and dragging the hose out.

After I wash I rinse by sheeting. Then I use the blower primarily for the nooks and crannies but I still end up chasing beads off. By the time I`m done with the blower there isn`t a whole heck of a lot left to wipe off, assuming I`ve still got good LSP protection. When I notice beads aren`t zipping across the finish that tells me that it`s time for a spruce up, at the very least a dose of DGAW or UQW.

I first started using the blower before a detail to get those nooks and crannies to prevent picking up those stray bits of water that booger up applying polish or wax. The 2 vehicles I wash most often are a full-size, extended cab pickup and an SUV. Both have high roofs that are a pain and mostly horizontal surfaces so even when sheeting the water doesn`t run off like it would on something with a bit of slant to it. Taking the time to use the blower saves time wiping and I never find myself with a saturated drying towel. Just moist enough afterwards for good door jamb and underhood wiping.

My thought is the way I use ONR is that if I did the whole vehicle and then used the blower I`d probably be wiping off streaks. IMO, the blower works best with considerable moisture.

YMMV... TL