interior mold
 

my seven's been sitting for almost a year (i just bought it in April), and when i checked on it today i found that after all this stinkin rain we've had somehow moisture got inside and mold is starting to grow on the carpets. how do i get rid of this and any idea where the moisture may be getting in?

i dunno where the moisture is comming from but depending on how bad the mold is, you might have to remove all carpet and padding, if it hasnt gotten into the padding you can steam clean it, rent a steam cleaner for a day and do it youself. it might cost you 40 bucks but it will end up saving you 100.

as far as the dog hair goes, use duct tape, put it down and run your hand across the tape 3-4 times to ensure a good grip on the hair, you might have to do it a few times, BTW a 5'' piece you can use 5 times. untill the glue is no longer tacky.

Damn i didnt know about that moisture stuff. I mean whats the difference in using the car than not?

Unless your roof or doors are not sealing well that when it does rain, little by little gets in there wetting the interior?

Not sure if someone mentioned this... any advice on how to remove the discoloration on a stainless steel exhaust tip? I bought a used Racing Beat single tip, & the stainless tip is discolored (from heat I think). It's not dirty nor is it something on the metal, it feels like the metal itself is discolored. I was told an acid bath from a metal shop... but I was looking to try to clean it myself before handing it over to the pros. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Well, I don't see why a metal polish wouldn't work... ie, the kind that comes in a tin of cloth. You just have to rub the hell out of it and anything metal (besides aluminum I think) will look good as new.

ie, NevrDull.

My dad uses it on his Harley... I used to use it to polish this one .50 caliber (live) round I have...hehe. Went from tarnished to looking brand new in only about...15 minutes of solid scrubbing.

The heat discoloration is not like a layer on top of the metal, it is infused with the metal. The metal itself is discolored, I'm not trying to remove a discolored buildup from the tip. But I did already try metal polish.

My exhaust always turned a bronze color so i went to a harley shop because they have stainless exh on their bikes and its always perfect so i went to see how they did it.
He walked out and looked at it and told me to take it for a drive and get it hot, when i got back he wiped flitz on it and it was like chrome again. un believeable. I adventually learned another method, flitz with steel wool, you dont have to get it hot. just go get the finest grade of steel wool you can find and some flitz metal polish. Try it and let me know what you think.

Hmm... interesting ideas... but that was a good idea... asking Harley guys how they do it... How long did it take for your exhaust to start getting bronze again after each method of treatment?

& he put flitz... on a hot exhaust? Isn't that a BIT dangerous?

about a month, but i only drive it on weekends and to the gas station during the week, so about a week or so if you drive daily. and i wouldnt say dangerous but i had the bright idea to try it while the car was running so it would stay hot but do not!!! the fumes will choke your ass.

just get some very fine steel wool and flitz. also after polishing i buff it off with some paper towels, it takes a bit but it will have an amazing shine.

Have you guys thought of using something called luster lace?

http://www.lusterlace.com/

This is one of the most popular cleaners for exhaust pipes and spoked wheels for Harley and custom bike riders. It is fairly easy to find this stuff in your local motorcycle shop anymore. It is a really simple concept and it works really well. Just think of wrapping a shoe lace in a circle over a tube, in this case your exhaust, now pull on each end of the shoe lace back and forth so that the friction and the built in cleaner in the "shoe lace" cleans off any dirt and polishes the tube. I'm not sure that it will get rid of the discoloration, but I'm pretty confident it will clean your exhaust about as good as your going to get it.

The guys who tend to sell this stuff at motorcycle rallies love to take a soda can and wrap the luster lace around it to clean off the label from the soda can. Not only will it remove all of the colored label on the soda can, but it will end up polishing the aluminum underneath the label to a mirror quality shine. It's a pretty cool product and it is fairly inexpensive.

- Cody

man you got me on the exhaust thing, i've either pollished them or left them alone, i dont know what to do there. sorry man.

bloody dirty?
hmm, thats a little suspicious

(post script: i do actually know what you meant)

the best thing to do for your carpet if its real bad is go rent a steam cleaner. soak it down with carpet cleaner 10 min before you use the steam cleaner.

Shoot the liquid outta the steam cleaner when you go over it the first time. then you just go over it and get all the moisture you can out. spray on the heavy soiled areas more then once.

be careful of using simple green it is proven by usaf that it eats thru aluminum.

i never use simple green on anything on my car.

And actual just regular car soap in a bucket is good to clean out your int. and your motor. apply to a rag and the soap cleans all.

TurboSmoke

On waxes... I read about these for hours and hours but all the sources I found contradicted eachother. I did find out that Zaino lasts the longest, while Mother's and Armor-All have products that did best in the medium and low price categories. In terms of appearance Meguiars will look as good as Zaino, but it won't last as long. I'd go with Zaino simply because it boasts "UV40" UV protection. UV40 is an actual industry standard for UV protection; it's not limited to car wax (a quick google of "UV40" found a great deal of industrial, not automotive links). It is the highest standard for UV protection there is. With all the other claims made it's too hard to say what's true and what's BS. Zaino is a bit expensive but - including applicators, etc., etc. - it still averages out to only $2 per application.

I also found a really good study on what causes paint damage. Chemical action does not cause paint damage; paint is very chemical resistance. "Tree sap" (actually bug droppings), bird dropping, and bugs damage the paint through mechanical action. They stick to the paint, harden and then deform the paint, especially in the presence of UV light (i.e., sunlight). Bird droppings were the most mild and could be left on the longest without harm. Bugs were the worst and should be removed ASAP. "Tree sap" gets especially bad when exposed to UV light.

Of course car wax won't protect any of these nuisances from UV exposure. But I learned from my materials class that UV does damage polymers directly (paint is a polymer). UV causes the long, spaghetti-like polymer chains to become cross-linked to eachother. This hardens and embrittles the polymer, causing cracks, discoloration, etc.

Your rubber & soft plastic pieces harden over time because the plasticizers evaporate from them. Plasticizers are essentially low viscosity oil (like WD-40), used to soften plastic. They are the source of "new car smell".

Don't know if this has been mentioned before but one thing I like to do is put some of that oily tire shine stuff on my R1 lip, makes it look nice and wet :)

Let me ask this: What would you reccomend to get off compund? I had my car in the shop, and it looks like they used compund or something like that ( didn't wash it off completely) and now the back end of my car is all dull with this white haze.

everybody in this thread go to www.autopia.org and click LEARN.... read the damn articles.

^^^ Yes autopia is a great place to learn about detailing.

Anyways I don't know if this has been mentioned but don't ever spray windex on tinted windows or it will screw it up. The person who did the write up said to do use windex and a claybar. Of course you don't use a clay bar on the windows but make sure it doesn't get sprayed on accidentally. Water and soap will work better with a claybar and it's safer.

Im not sure about using a clay bar on tinted windows but you can use a clay bar on non tinted windows. I did clay my front windshield

There are different opinions in the window film industry right now pertaining to ammoniated products on window tint. Some say it's okay, some still say not to use it.

I always tell my customers not to use it, but regardless if they do or not, it isn't going to void the warranty.

keeping the vert top looking new
 

for my top i use vinylex by the makers of lexol leather conditioner.i apply it on a micro terry towel and evenly apply it on the top.it gives it a nice sheen and not a greasy look .it supposedly also has protective properties.for the leather seats i use the lexol .and finally for my air freshner i use 2 kynol blossom scent tabs under the seat.this stuff smells great and last .you wont smell it after a day or so but everyone else will.oh yeah for the exterior3m all the way.

I have a gajillion (yes... I said it) little scratches on my windshield. Sometimes at night they make it hard to see because of how the light hits them. Is there any way to fix/repair/make them better short of replacing the windshield?

Hope that was understandable. :)

^^ try using a clay bar