Accumulator
Well-known member
Coleroad- Hey, lucky you that it`s not bad! Many S-types of that era are really beat, though not as badly as most X-types.
Undercarriage detailing
- Thread starter Coleroad
- Start date
usernameunknown
New member
Amsoil HD metal protect, when it cures it becomes a dry waxy film........you`ll thank me later
Accumulator
Well-known member
I agree, at least for things that don`t need to be [detailed a certain way]. I`ve used that on the mounting hardware for under-vehicle spares since forever and it`s always kept them corrosion-free, if not exactly concours-nice.
Also great stuff for the exposed ends of u-joints (steering shafts, drivelines, etc.).
For applications where (Black) HD Anti-rust or ValuGard Rust Inhibitor aren`t appropriate, HDMP is really hard to beat. As "waxy" stuff goes, it`s really quite clean. Glad you mentioned it!
The Bilt Hamber Auto-Balm is like a paste wax and in a sealant form like fk1000p but with corrosion inhibitors in it. They are like collonite 845 that came from protecting electronics boards and other electronic circuits I think. So for an example if you have bare metall that you want to stop the rust from spreading you can apply it to that. The parts in the wheel wells is a great place to protect with it. And it goes on transparent when applyied. Works good on paint on the car also. A friend of mine has an Chevrolet Caprice -70 and is the original paint on it. Unfortuneally it got transportation damage when loaded in to the container from the US or when it got unloaded. And it has a not so good with scratches and other dings to the metall. If applying Auto-Balm you stop the rust from spreading with a good wax finish look at the same time. The longevity is really good and on pair with fk1000p and collonite 476s.
So in short it`s a sealant in paste form that you can apply to the whole car body with protection to further corrosion.
So in short it`s a sealant in paste form that you can apply to the whole car body with protection to further corrosion.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Huh, I didn`t know about the corrosion inhibitors, thanks for schooling me.
WaxAddict
New member
Power line insulators and bushings actually, which is even more impressive, as it (845) is said to increase dielectric strength, which means it makes things "less conductive". So if we wax our cars with 845, we are, technically, less susceptible to electricity as we drive our cars!
OK back on topic, does anyone use Undercarriage sprays like Bare Bones? I recently got an Outback, which shows way more fender well than I`m used to, and I want to keep it nice and black in there.
Coleroad
New member
I`ve not used bare bones, I use 303 aerospace. It`s still a water based treatment. The more times I`ve used it the better it seems to repel dirt and water. I would say for me anymore, a quick rinse of the wheel wells removes 80% of the dirt. I have seen others use cquartz uk on them, and that was really impressive. So much so I`m considering doing it. The 303, I use it on all the plastic and rubber bits under the car.
WaxAddict
New member
I haven`t brought out the 303 in years, after discovering Finish Kare`s Top Kote, but that`s more for the dash and interior bits. I`ll try the 303.
Crap know I will ad the 303 aerospace protectant to buy in the near future lol. I have the 303 rubber seal protectant and is very impressed with that.
Have anyone used 303 aerospace protectant to the whole tires and noticed any difference in the wear and tear on them after? Seen an youtuber do that and to all other rubber parts of the car.
Have anyone used 303 aerospace protectant to the whole tires and noticed any difference in the wear and tear on them after? Seen an youtuber do that and to all other rubber parts of the car.
Coleroad
New member
i saw the video you`re talking about. I know he said that it doesn`t affect traction, but I don`t see how that can be. Even brand new tires have a loss of traction from the mold release, and it takes some miles to wear that off. I mean 303 will make your rubber floor mats a bit slicker. So to me it only makes sense that it will make the tire slicker. Plus I see it as the reduction in friction with the road is what would reduce the tire wear. The only tire I have covered in 303 completely is the spare tires. Just to prevent dry rotting, and I would only use it for a very short distance anyway.
Just my thoughts on it.
I have the same thoughts as you about that. Sure on a ordinary road I can understand it if not anything happens. Would like to see the impact on the cars break length though and the handling on wet roads and when you drive more aggressive. Maybe if that slick layer wears of fast and the thing 303 does to softerner the rubber is the meaning of it I can see it benefit. But that needs some serious testing before I would take the chance of useing it that way. It sure does to be great on rubber to other parts. The 303 rubber seal protectant is incredible on the door seals.
Accumulator
Well-known member
..[individual]...staggers from wrecked car, facing a lifetime of lawsuits, thinking "but that guy on the internet said it`d be OK".
There have been rare, but documented, cases where a carwash`s tire-slime has caused customers to wreck, or at least contributed. Yeah, we`re all better than that, but still....heh heh, tell that to the non-autopians in court.
Not entirely dissimilar to what happened when I let IUDJ get on brake rotors, thinking "eh, it`s just QD and will wear off the second the pads make contact". NO IT DID NOT, the braking distance was *significantly* impacted for one stop, enough that it could`ve been a life-changer.
I`d keep slippery stuff off of things that require friction.
I hope it`s not against protocol to revive an old thread. If so, my apologies.
Those of you who use a spray wax under the car, do you spray it everywhere or are there parts you avoid (exhaust comes to mind)? I`m not a spray wax user -- is there one that holds up particularly well for this application?
Those of you who use a spray wax under the car, do you spray it everywhere or are there parts you avoid (exhaust comes to mind)? I`m not a spray wax user -- is there one that holds up particularly well for this application?
Accumulator
Well-known member
Quite the opposite! I love it when that happens
I usually just spritz the SprayWax onto whatever towel I`m drying/wiping it with. I`m not really trying to "give it a proper wax job" under there; any "waxing" (scare-quotes kinda intentional) is pretty minimal. But not, IME, so minimal as to be worthless. Even on vehicles that I`ve never LSPed properly (underneath), the repeated use of a SprayWax results in a buildup of product that keeps it cleaner and *really* helps make future cleanups a lot quicker/easier. Note that I only clean my undercarriages/etc. with (a pretty strong dilution of) regular shampoo, so it`s not like I`m stripping the SprayWax completely every time I wash the way my APCs used to do.
IMO the trick is to get things really clean first. Maybe even go over the easily accessible areas with some kind of AIO/Paint Cleaner/etc. and maybe even a proper LSP. (NO worries if that AIO/LSPing is too extreme, it`s not *really* necessary for decent results.) Then just do a quick cleaning with shampoo mix and a quick rinse during the regular wash, and dry things off by wiping with a SprayWax-misted towel. Keep at it and the results will get more impressive over time, and I bet you`ll appreciate how easy it is to keep things nicer than you ever thought possible..well, possible with so little work.
The SprayWaxes I use are Meguiars D156/Ultimate Quik Wax and Optimum Car Wax. Both work about the same for this application, neither has ever given me any issues.
After a while, during washes when the underneath isn`t really dirty you can just clean it with a good RW. That`s when you might *really* appreciate what the SprayWaxing does.
I find good BHBs *very* helpful for the underneath, including for the RW approach. The bristles get into areas that`d be hard to access with a mitt/towel.
Accumulator
Well-known member
dmath- Just be sure to use the *right* brushes for the various kinds of work. Boar`s Hair, plastic, and other materials can all have their proper, and IMproper uses.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Eh, not that I`m aware of.
A few sorta-random tips follow:
-Use natural-bristle brushes on surfaces where marring could be a concern, and soak them in [liquid] before use to soften them up
-Boar`s Hair rinses cleaner easier than anything else I`ve ever tried; OTOH some [stuff] won`t clean off synthetic bristles
-GOOD quality BHBs can be too gentle for aggressive cleaning, at least if used properly
-BHBs can be made more aggressive by cutting the bristles back to 1) eliminate the usual flagged tips and 2) provide the "shorter is stiffer" effect
-Dirt won`t "migrate up the bristles, safely away from the paint"; like anything else, once a brush gets dirty it`s a scratch machine
-Flow-through brushes aren`t great IMO because flowing water (as opposed to a better cleaning solution) just rinses away any cleaner and I want all the mechanical agitation finished before I rinse
IMO it`s best to let the cleaning solution do the work rather than relying on scrubbing hard with a brush. I want the mechanical agitation to help the cleaning process, not become the primary aspect of it. So..cleaner softens the contamination up and starts to disconnect it from the surface, then the brush helps whisk it away, then you rinse off the now-clean surface. Or at least that`s the best-case-theory, as opposed to "the mechanical agitation from the brush scrubs all the dirt off" being the idea. But, IRL what works best is kinda in-between, at least IME when it comes to daily drivers.