Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[DoubleF]

I used glass cleaner and a magic eraser (melamine foam) prior to using the RainX stuff.

I'll consider beefing up and going Isopropyl or Methyl hydrate and buy some clay bar. It seems like a better idea to try before going razor blades and buffing.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Sliver]

Magic Eraser on windows, eh? Good tip...I'll try that if I ever need to.

[photon]

Magic eraser works really well to clean shower doors that have lots of soap scum or water deposits too.

Just don't use them to clean walls, they take off the paint...

[zamler]

White vinegar/dish soap in a 50/50 mix along with a melamine sponge will remove almost anything on hard surfaces.

[Northendzone]

I took advantage of this weekends chinook to wax both vehicles, and hose out the garage, washed the rig on the driveway.

Garage looks so much nicer now

[woob]

I know I missed the screen talk by a couple pages, but I think the whole issue can be solved by going back to smaller screens. I'm driving a car, I don't need a big 10, 11, 12 inch screen. Until highly reliable and safe driving assistance systems are in all cars, we need to lay off the large screens and touch everything. But this does feel a bit old man yelling on my part.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by woob

I know I missed the screen talk by a couple pages, but I think the whole issue can be solved by going back to smaller screens. I'm driving a car, I don't need a big 10, 11, 12 inch screen. Until highly reliable and safe driving assistance systems are in all cars, we need to lay off the large screens and touch everything. But this does feel a bit old man yelling on my part.

It's a little old man yelling at clouds but you aren't alone with this sentiment. I am not a fan of the Tesla and recent VW Golf setups where they have moved everything to screen but I have no issues with large screens in general providing they are responsive and the UI is well done.

[speede5]

I'm really keen on the Mach-e, but that massive screen just hanging out not even integrated in the dash is just a deal breaker. I looked at a dodge truck on the weekend with a huge screen and at least they had the decency to integrate it into the dash fairly tastefully.

I'm with you though, smaller is better.

[RichieRich]

Have a large SUV with big towing capacity that has a few smallish dime-size rust spots just above the windshield. Have a few smaller ones here and there and a bunch of 1-2mm size ones on the hood and side panels. Any advice for how to DIY the fix? Not looking to take to auto body due to potential cost. Am contemplating selling in the spring as would be a great family and camper towing mobile.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Have a large SUV with big towing capacity that has a few smallish dime-size rust spots just above the windshield. Have a few smaller ones here and there and a bunch of 1-2mm size ones on the hood and side panels. Any advice for how to DIY the fix? Not looking to take to auto body due to potential cost. Am contemplating selling in the spring as would be a great family and camper towing mobile.

If you can poke a sharp instrument through them they need to be cut out and patched or the panel needs to be replaced. If its true surface rust you can clean it up pretty well with a die grinder and roloc pads. You would need to treat the bare metal with an etching primer and repaint the entire panels.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

If you can poke a sharp instrument through them they need to be cut out and patched or the panel needs to be replaced. If its true surface rust you can clean it up pretty well with a die grinder and roloc pads. You would need to treat the bare metal with an etching primer and repaint the entire panels.

Thankfully just surface rust in every case. For an experienced auto body person that might be easy enough to do but now I’m concerned that could be easy to mess up too. Any recommendations somebody who could do that in my driveway or elsewhere in the NW?

[calgarygeologist]

Toyota has another new small SUV? Do they really need something between the CHR and RAV4?

[powderjunkie]

And let the Corolla name die instead of slapping it on a completely different kind of vehicle?

When I heard Corolla Cross name I hoped it would be closer to a Crosstrek alternative...but it looks like it's the same as the Eclipse Cross - another generic crossover with no relation to its nameplate.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

And let the Corolla name die instead of slapping it on a completely different kind of vehicle?

When I heard Corolla Cross name I hoped it would be closer to a Crosstrek alternative...but it looks like it's the same as the Eclipse Cross - another generic crossover with no relation to its nameplate.

Crosstrek or Golf Alltrack alternative would be good. Obviously the Golf wagon is dead and the NA market won't accept a wagon alternative to the godly CUV but us wagon guys can still dream of a resurgence.

[GreatWhiteEbola]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Have a large SUV with big towing capacity that has a few smallish dime-size rust spots just above the windshield. Have a few smaller ones here and there and a bunch of 1-2mm size ones on the hood and side panels. Any advice for how to DIY the fix? Not looking to take to auto body due to potential cost. Am contemplating selling in the spring as would be a great family and camper towing mobile.

I've had reasonable success using a glass fiber pencil to clean out the rusted area, using a cotton swab/ small brush to apply rust inhibitor, and using a color-matched paint pen. Take your time with each step and the results are usually good.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by GreatWhiteEbola

I've had reasonable success using a glass fiber pencil to clean out the rusted area, using a cotton swab/ small brush to apply rust inhibitor, and using a color-matched paint pen. Take your time with each step and the results are usually good.

Any recommendations for daub on rust inhibitor? A look a Crappy Tire's shelves shows a plethora of options.

[burn_this_city]

Ospho is what I've been using on my truck project, its the hot rodder go to product and some claim the US Navy uses it. POR15 metal prep seems to be of a similar quality. The good ones are phosphoric acid that convert the rust to iron phosphate. Careful with any of them, you need good PPE when using any of these products.

[GreatWhiteEbola]

I think I meant rust nuetralizer/ converter. Not inhibitor. My bad. I use POR15. Like mentioned above, follow the directions on the product.

[bootsnixon]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

Thankfully just surface rust in every case. For an experienced auto body person that might be easy enough to do but now I’m concerned that could be easy to mess up too. Any recommendations somebody who could do that in my driveway or elsewhere in the NW?

If it's truly just surface rust, you could just try cleaning it with a toilet bowl cleaner that has rust remover in it. It's just a mild acid that won't hurt the paint. I've had some success with it. The rust does tend to come back after awhile but super quick to just repeat every so often. Especially if you plan on selling it.

[81MC]

Permatex makes a thick pink converter gel, pretty sure it’s just naval jelly. Works well.