What have you done to your RAV4 today?

No polish with the Flex? That's just wash and clay?

SeriousBlack said:

Just a wash and clay. Haven't hit the BlackMobile with the Flex since last fall. The clay did pick up a lot of stuff.

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I must say I am impressed. That reflection looks like what one would expect after a machine polish not just wash & clay.

Which Zaino product is the sealant? I must admit that their array of products confuses me a bit. Your results, even after all this time and a harsh winter, speak volumes.

Do you mix the Z5 Pro and ZFX in a small container? What size in order to know you have enough yet won't waste any? I realize that Z5 Pro is maxed out with fillers to hide marring but I'm okay with that. I'm not quite the purist I was years ago when anything with fillers was pure sacrilege.

EDIT: After going to the Zaino site I see that Z2 PRO would be correct for light colored paint as opposed to Z5. I also read to use a 2oz bottle to mix. Do you buy their bottles or have you found another outlet?

Ah so desu ka........I've got the picture now. Thank you.

That looks just as nice as the black one that I spent 5-6 hours machine polishing and it was brand new! I posted the pictures here earlier this year but I think they're gone with the forum changeover.

Broke out the power washer and knocked 25 lbs of mud from the wheel wells, mud flaps, & under the car. Did a little off roading yesterday driving out to the ship channel. Mostly hard packed sand but we did have a little rain shower last week and some areas were mud city....thick gooey mud. Traction control was beeping away, Auto LSD was on, and I wasn't about to slow down......mud rooster tails coming from beneath the RAV for 1/2 mile as I stayed hard on the go pedal in that long stretch of gumbo bouncing all over the place. Rough ride that was. The car chucked mud on the highway for an hour on the way back and it still took me another hour to blast off what I could reach......had to hose down the driveway three times. Glad we didn't get stuck.......would have never heard the end of it.

No I didn't. It was really muggy hot and I just wanted to be done with it. I thought it was fun but my lady wasn't overly amused with the ride. It did make me want for four wheel drive a little bit.

Did a rinseless wash on both cars along with a spray wax wipe down. They both got a shot with the shop vac on the interiors too. This was after mowing, edging, weed eating, blowing the yard. I'm one whipped old fart.
Here's what I used on the car:

Opti-Clean

http://optimumcarcare.com/owax.php?li=4

rav4two said:

I've been happy with Rejex and don't think I want to switch, but I'm really interested in the Opti-coat to use on our alloy wheels. I would use it on the paint was well but am worried about not applying it correctly, but on the wheels, it wouldn't be any issue.

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Opti Coat is really expensive to use strictly on wheels. I don't think that application is a problem but getting the surface as close to perfect beforehand takes some real effort. I use Opti Seal on painted/clearcoated wheels and it does a good job but Ultima Paint Guard Plus is so much better it's not even funny.

rav4two said:

That's the thing about wheels, though, that I don't care if the prep is perfect. Just having some substantially thick coating is what I'm after.

I'll have to look up the Ultima Paint Guard Plus. I'm not familiar with that one.

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It's the same idea as Opti Seal but it looks better, lasts longer, and is foolproof to apply. Neither will have the staying power of Opti Coat though. I did a little recon work and Dr. G, the honcho of Optimum products, says that the shelf life of Opti Coat is infinite even after being opened. That is when kept in a 65-78º range in an area where there is no possible chance of moisture getting in it. It was developed strictly for clearcoated paint so make sure your wheels are prior to purchasing. I've not seen any of the newer Toyota alloy wheels that were not painted and cleared but it was worth mentioning.

Just spent 'pert near four hours cleaning up my RAV, it was a mess. It shines like a new penny, is clean inside, and smells like green apple in the interior. All done, aired up the tires, and watched it start to sprinkle outside. Sure glad to have a garage.

It doesn't even have 8,000 miles on it yet and the Jeep was a real POS adding insult to injury.

Violet West said:

oh, no, RTexasF, that bites!

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True that.

Do check the cabin air filter if you haven't. Ours were both foul at less than half the miles you have and I replaced them. A lot of it has to do with hot & dusty South TX but it's sure worth a look if you haven't done so.

Took out a loan and filled up with gas.

JuneBug said:

Today I replaced the cabin air filter. But after removing the dirty filter, I cranked up the fan and sprayed a little disinfectant into the slot. Then I changed the system to fresh air, sprayed some into the intake on the wiper cowl, and installed the new filter. The A/C has been smelling pretty musty on recirculate so maybe this will help.

Yesterday I washed The Silver Bullet and it really sparkles.

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One more step. With it on inside air/recirc (max fan) spray the front floorboards where your toes would be. Let that run for 3-5 minutes and that should clear it up. With a light spray as a test, you should see the spritz being sucked up into the bottom of dash to be distributed throughout the car through the vents. You can do the same with any fu fu of your choice to make the interior smell great.

*wonders if a charity run for RTexasF would help*

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Yes, would you care to contribute Kaaskop ? I do hope that's not a negative term as I didn't mean it that way at all.