Dog odor...

[imported_ajnavo61490]

Today, I officially joined the ranks of the insane--I began detailing my XJR. It`s my first real venture into detailing.



I began with the engine. I figured I`d be in there for a couple of hours at most. Well...four hours later and I`m only mildly happy with the fruits of my labor. A couple of newbie questions about the engine (especially to you Michael B, since you`ve got the same car).

1) Do you guys remove the heat pad on the inside of the hood every time you detail?

2) Is there anything else that`s relatively easy to remove that will help me gain better access to the nether regions of the engine (other than the plastic covers--even I figured that out)?

3) MB, what do you do to bring out the beauty of the Eaton Blowers? Mine are painted a kind of muted gray (maybe I should claim it`s a subtle and refined look and not worry).

4) Any other engine hints, ideas?



After conquering the engine (actually I just declared victory and withdrew), I started with the wheels. Hit them with hot water (I`ve got a hot water spigot in my garage!) and then the Sonus. Well it did a great job on the "spokes" but didn`t touch the build up on the interior of the wheels. I began cleaning the interiors when a mf towel (don`t worry it was a cheapie) and elbow grease. What a royal PITA. Am I crazy, or is the only way to really get at my wheels to remove them so I can go at them from the back? If I do that and put on a good coat or two of protectant, will maintenance be easier?



My wife called me inside to eat and play with the kids. I complained (but was secretly relieved). Tomorrow, I`ll Dawn wash, Mother`s Clay (if necessary) and perhaps BF polish with the PC 7336. On New Year`s Day and it`s the BF protectant and Bowl games.



Any final hints or words of encouragement would be appreciated. Finally, does anyone know a good chiropractor in the San Antonio area? My back is killing me.

[JasonC8301]

With the PC just let the machine do the polishing, guide it around since the car you have should be in great condtion, you`ll just have to make it spectacular. Which I think you will.



I have no advice to offer on the engine but I think MB did his engine with the section by section approach that Brad B uses, clean one section iof the engine till perfection, then move to the next section.



Yes, apply a synthetic sealant to the wheels,it makes cleaning them easier, most on here use a wheel cleaner followed up with a sealant and weekly washings with a seperate bucket, washmitt, towels, and car wash solution to clean the weeks brake dust off. Remember use seperate tools for the wheels and paint, brake dust scratches. Take off the wheels, this makes cleaning and protectant them easier, along with the wheels wells and any other exposed parts that neec cleaning and protecting.



Try to put on three coats of the BF protectant. One of two may suffice but if you have time and energy try three.



If make it to Texas A&M Univ. I`ll be available for assistance if needed for people within the local area.



Happy Detailing :)

Jason

[rstype]

No, I don`t have an XJR, but I used to have the same problem cleaning the back of the wheels without removing them. A few useful tools that are quite cheap, but useful are:



-New socks

-Soft bristle paint-brushes

-Toothbrushes (be careful!)

-Foam paint brushes



I like to first clean the wheel as best as I can with a wheel brush. Then I fill my wheel wash bucket with some Dawn and a stream of water. Put the clean sock on your hand, dip it in the detergent solution, and try scrubbing the back of the wheel as best as possible. Make sure to rinse the wheels (and your hands, ugh!) as much as possible. Foam paint brushes are useful for BBS-type wheels, bristle paint-brushes are good for any lug nut holes, and the toothbrush is also useful.



You might want to drive your car up on ramps and climb under it and see if you can access the backs. Or park your car up a curb of a straight road as FLONI suggested and see if you can climb under safely.



Once underneath your car, I`m sure you will find something more to do than just clean the wheels. ;)



Any tough spots may be cleaned with Brad`s favorite cleaner, brake parts cleaner, and claying and PPCL works great on a lot of underneath-the-car parts too.



Good luck! The results will be worth the work.

[imported_ajnavo61490]

Thanks for your insight, Jason and BW.



I decided to go ahead and pull the wheels today. Using the spare jack and wrench was a pain, but it was worth it--I was really able to get at the wheels. As many have noted in the Forum, I found some seriously baked on brake dust on the interiors of the wheels, especially the fronts. I did a pretty good job cleaning them up: Hot water, Simple Green on the back of the wheels, Sonus on the fronts (just in case the Green was too harsh), wheel brush, cotton rags, etc. Both the Green and the Sonus seemed to work equally well. After drying, I put two coats of Nu-Finish on both sides (since I had it lying around and didn`t want to waste my BF). It seems to do a nice job. Hopefully it will help me keep the wheels clean.



While the wheels were off I cleaned up the wheel wells. Boy were they dirty. I worked a little on the brake calipers--it would be much easier if they were painted. Hmm, maybe another project? Five hours later and I just put the car away. Still have to wash, clay, polish and protect. I`m definitely certifiable.

[imported_memnuts]

..to the club of the pursuit of automotive perfection. It is a never-ending saga but the gratification is fanatistic. :bounce

Post pic if available. XJR .. sweet!!! :D

[imported_ajnavo61490]

The day began cold and rainy, but suddenly cleared up. So, I was finally able to finish my first detail of the XJR.



I began with a Dawn wash and Sonus on the wheels. I first used my Viking lamb`s wool mitt. It it very, very soft, BUT it`s black and some of the color (I think from the inside) ran. It also seemed to shed some hairs. Too bad. I`ll try to think of something to salvage it because it really is a nice mitt. I moved on to the Viking chenille mitt (for upper), the big HHShopping MF mitt (for the lower regions) and a smaller round HHShopping MF mitt for the wheels. The two HHS mitts worked very nicely!:up I dried with the HHS bath towel. Again, I was pleased.



My paint felt pretty good so I kept the claying to a minimum. I used the Mother`s kit. I found that when I sprayed on the QD it made the surface way too slick. Probably something wrong with my technique.



Then I broke out the BF polish and the PC. I used the white pad to apply. It went on easily. I wasn`t sure if I was accomplishing much, but when I got to one little scratch that has been driving me crazy, damn if I wasn`t able to remove it (or hide it!). I buffed out the polish by hand with an HHShopping plush ("sports") towell. When I got to the BF PP I chickened out on the PC and applied with the HHShopping MF applicator. Worked well. With a silver car it was sometimes hard to see the haze unless I went a little heavy on the PP. Again, I`ve got to work on my technique. I buffed off the PP with the Viper MF bonnet over wool. I then put on a second PP coat (only on the hood, roof and trunk-- my wife was getting testy). This time I buffed with a MF towel. I can`t really say which I prefer, the towel or bonnet.



The results are GREAT!:up The finish is deep, wet and slick. The best proof: My wife who couldn`t care less about detailing (although she is a trooper putting up with me) raved about how the car looked! She actually said, "it looks so wet!" and "it really makes a difference!"



Hooray!:bounce Tomorrow I may do one more BF coat (maybe I`ll try the black foam and the PC to apply) then take some pictures to post. Interior will be next weekend.



One quick question. What is the best way to remove carbon build-up from the inside of exhaust tips?



BTW: Thanks to LC, Jason, z28, BF and the everyone else for the advice and encouragement.

[JasonC8301]

I can`t wait to see the pics.



As for the carbon build up on the exhaust, Ron K. told me that an all purpose cleaner may clean it up real well with a brush. I think the procedure went some thing like soak the exhaust in water to get it wet (and cool it down), then spray on an all purpose cleaner (EF Hi-Intensity or Omni All purpose), let it sit while you wash the car, come back with a brush agitate (exhaust), rinse car and exhaust, then dry. See if it was removed, repeat on exhaust if not removed. It is important to let the cleaner sit for a few minutes.



I polished up a stainless steel tailpipe that was not touched, besides the two car washings a year, for 9 years. It was all black, 99% sure it was cabron build up. I took a drill and attached a foam pad to it, I then used a rubbing compound and let it ride on the exhaust. I did two passes and the exhaust really shined up nicely. The owner was like wow, the exhaust is stainless stell? I thought it was black...hahaha... I followed up with soem Klasse AIO.



Happy Detialing :)

Jason

[Langley Interior Car Kare]

cool technique with the drill thingy....i used EFHI and a brush and it worked great.......your right on the money about the dwell time...i let it sit for about 20 mins and the stuff was oozing off....i remeber thinking man...this will be the only time ill let EFHI sit for that frigin long on anything...else itll melt it:p :up

[JasonC8301]

It really ripped apart the pad though, had to chuck it after this use. I then finished up the minor areas with a Dremel type polisher, really got into the nooks and crannies.



Welcome Back Floni,

Jason



Ps Can`t wait for the pictures....

[mrtonyn]

Can it be removed quickly and permanently?
What is the best product and method for removing the odor.

Thanks

[RustyBumper]

Vacuum all the dog hair out of the vehicle, clean carpets as best as possible and spray some odor eliminating spray if possible. I recently tried Malco`s Odor Sniper and it worked well.

[imported_Flash Gordon]

I have 2 methods of which you can choose from :-?

1) Thoroughly clean your interior head to toe then get an ozone machine and let it run overnight

2) You know those air freshners u see hanging from ppl`s rearviews? Yea, those. Get a dozen of them and jamm them under your seats

If you are like me, and this is not a customers car, I recommend #2 :o

[imported_richy]

Place a bunch of Bounce sheets (not the liquid, LOL) around your car and change them out in about a week. They will absorb odour.