Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

jmonroe1

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:
See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:

See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

The roof was done at 2 p.m. today....the car is the same.
House with phony dormers.

Home with new roof and dormers removed. The price of wood has gone through roof - so to speak.....he needed 4 4X8 plywoods where the dormers were....cost about $100 each.....FOR PLYWOOD!

(special note JMonroe....the roof to the far right has not been finished in this picture)

driver100

Thanks for the tips about the piano black. It is a nice kind of finish but it is hard to keep it smudge free.
Fin, I like the idea of a wood finish, that would solve the problem.

stickguy

Driver, for the extra cost, why bother to take the dormers out? Look fine to me. Just did not like the look?

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
The roof was done at 2 p.m. today....the car is the same.
House with phony dormers.

Home with new roof and dormers removed. The price of wood has gone through roof - so to speak.....he needed 4 4X8 plywoods where the dormers were....cost about $100 each.....FOR PLYWOOD!

(special note JMonroe....the roof to the far right has not been finished in this picture)

It’s about time. BTW, that looks like a hand hammered shingles job.

jmonroe

driver100

stickguy said:

Driver, for the extra cost, why bother to take the dormers out? Look fine to me. Just did not like the look?

They look phony, obviously it isn't a 2 story house. He needed the plywood because he thought there would be shingles under the dormers. Most people like it better without dormers.....it makes the roofline lower too.....more sportier look!

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

The roof was done at 2 p.m. today....the car is the same.

House with phony dormers.

Home with new roof and dormers removed. The price of wood has gone through roof - so to speak.....he needed 4 4X8 plywoods where the dormers were....cost about $100 each.....FOR PLYWOOD!

(special note JMonroe....the roof to the far right has not been finished in this picture)

It’s about time. BTW, that looks like a hand hammered shingles job.

jmonroe

Oh, you noticed the fine workmanship of a hand nailed roof!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I just dusted my car yesterday. I just dampen a microfiber cloth with cold water and use that. does a good job getting the smudges and dust off, without any worries about chemicals or residue.

Stupidly, I left the windows open on the Sebring during the pollen storm and now have a yellow veneer of dust all over.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:

See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

The roof was done at 2 p.m. today....the car is the same.
House with phony dormers.

Home with new roof and dormers removed. The price of wood has gone through roof - so to speak.....he needed 4 4X8 plywoods where the dormers were....cost about $100 each.....FOR PLYWOOD!

(special note JMonroe....the roof to the far right has not been finished in this picture)



Did those dormers server any function, like ventilating the attic? Otherwise, why stick them up there.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

Did those dormers server any function, like ventilating the attic? Otherwise, why stick them up there.

I think that's kind of like a landau roof on a car -- non functional, purely for appearance.

stickguy

Farmer, it is just a styling design element. To make it look like a 2 story house. I have seen them on traditional 2 story colonials but can't say for sure if they really let light into the (unfinished) attic.

abacomike

@jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:
See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

Las Vegas odds show even money on new car before new roof - roof was just replaced. 🤪😜🤓

abacomike

@driver100 said:
Thanks for the tips about the piano black. It is a nice kind of finish but it is hard to keep it smudge free.
Fin, I like the idea of a wood finish, that would solve the problem.

My G90 has wood and leather/leatherette with almost no black lacquer anywhere except on the circular selector wheel for manually moving from screen to screen.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:

See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

The roof was done at 2 p.m. today....the car is the same.
House with phony dormers.

Home with new roof and dormers removed. The price of wood has gone through roof - so to speak.....he needed 4 4X8 plywoods where the dormers were....cost about $100 each.....FOR PLYWOOD!

(special note JMonroe....the roof to the far right has not been finished in this picture)



Looks better with the dormers gone. The original roof was too tight for 2 dormers. The architect was trying to get alliteration of the two peaks of the ends of the house with two peaks in the dormers, IMHO.
FAIL.

driver100

@imidazol97 I would agree with this explanation. If you looked into the windows of the dormers they were black, so you kind of knew there wasn't a room there, and because the roofline is low your mind tells you it is a one story house, so why try to make it look like a two story. Besides, one story houses are more in demand these days, that's a feature. As Imid said, the builder thought more peaks the better.....a lot of the houses around here have numerous unnecessary peaks.
The builder built the house 14 years ago, had his adult son and family live in it for 2 years, then they sell as a principle residence.....avoid taxes.
If we could have designed our own home it would probably look more like......


@oldfarmer50 I think it got answered but the dormers don't provide any function.

driver100

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Did those dormers server any function, like ventilating the attic? Otherwise, why stick them up there.

I think that's kind of like a landau roof on a car -- non functional, purely for appearance.

Exactly.....great comparison. Once I took a course in design and at the time they said things should look like what they are. At the time for example, a stereo should look like a stereo, don't try to hide it as a fireplace.
I sometimes wonder if "Hidden Headlights" were not good design for that reason.....at the time they seemed like a great styling feature, and then they disappeared and they went back to real headlights.

driver100

Mike.....isthe interior more like this?

That is a great looking interior. It seems that piano black was a good idea at the time but it seems to smudge even in places where you don't touch it - and the smudges are hard to remove. I like the use of leather or wood, they are pretty well smudge free.

bwia

The Yugo, the Worst Car in History , according to Car & Driver.
Check out the specs--

• Base price: $4,379 (as tested $5,458)
  
• SOHC 8-valve inline-4
  
• Zero to 60 mph: 14.0 sec
  
• 55 hp @ 6000 rpm
  
• 4 - speed manual
  

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a21082360/a-quick-history-of-the-yugo-the-worst-car-in-history/

ab348

The house looks good, @driver100 . Definitely an improvement to remove those dormers.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Did those dormers server any function, like ventilating the attic? Otherwise, why stick them up there.

When the truth comes out we’ll find out that when he bought that house he really wanted a two story but settled for a wannabe two story. Now he’s decided to cover his tracks.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@abacomike said:

@jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:
See the ebony area near the center console.

That area had lots of smudge marks. I tried Windex and that cleared off the smudges but left water marks where the Windex left permanent water marks. Next I tried Turtle Wax....F1 Formula of something.....that did a much better job but sure not perfect. Any ideas?

Time for a new car? 🤪😜🤓

What are the odds that he’ll have a new car before he has a new roof.

jmonroe

Las Vegas odds show even money on new car before new roof - roof was just replaced. 🤪😜🤓

Yeah, but his hand nailing guy didn’t tell him that since it took so long the shingles that were installed first are now out of warranty.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:
Thanks for the tips about the piano black. It is a nice kind of finish but it is hard to keep it smudge free.
Fin, I like the idea of a wood finish, that would solve the problem.

My G90 has wood and leather/leatherette with almost no black lacquer anywhere except on the circular selector wheel for manually moving from screen to screen.

Now who has a wannabe?

jmonroe

imidazol97

Local TV station was in the ad break. They ran a roofing company ad showing hand nailing.

Two ads later, a roofing company that runs lots of ads ran their ad that showed nail gun nailing.
Of course, the nail gun in the ad showed perfect depth on the nail. It was pushed down into
the surface shingle some meaning it was compressing the shingle onto the shingle layer below
it and that the head of the nail was holding things down rather than the shank of the nail
providing the resistance to movement of the top shingle (assuming the seal layer didn't work
right or aged).

I'll take the hand nailing. The nail gun doesn't sense the resistance of the deck under the
shingles like the guy with a hammer.

bwia

ab348 said:

The house looks good, @driver100 . Definitely an improvement to remove those dormers.

+2. I agree, looks awesome.

mjfloyd1

They used screws on the concrete tile roof. I insisted that they hand screw them in

driver100

imidazol97 said:

Local TV station was in the ad break. They ran a roofing company ad showing hand nailing.
I'll take the hand nailing. The nail gun doesn't sense the resistance of the deck under the
shingles like the guy with a hammer.

I think you "nailed it" imid...so to speak. A roofer can do a good job with an air gun, but hand nailing is a little more exact...an experienced hand nailer can get a sense of how much to nail, so the nail doesn't go in too far - leading to shingles being blown away, or the nail goes in too far leading to shingles getting torn.

***Thanks for the kind comments about the house and removal of the dormers.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

@abacomike said:

@driver100 said:

Thanks for the tips about the piano black. It is a nice kind of finish but it is hard to keep it smudge free.

Fin, I like the idea of a wood finish, that would solve the problem.

My G90 has wood and leather/leatherette with almost no black lacquer anywhere except on the circular selector wheel for manually moving from screen to screen.

Now who has a wannabe?

jmonroe

Mike bought his now that they are a bonified established car maker......not when they were upstart wannabes.

henryn

driver100 said:

Mike.....isthe interior more like this?

That is a great looking interior. It seems that piano black was a good idea at the time but it seems to smudge even in places where you don't touch it - and the smudges are hard to remove. I like the use of leather or wood, they are pretty well smudge free.

I agree, that is a great looking interior. I almost bought a Genesis about 5 or 6 years ago. It was a 2 year old model, with about 20k miles, and I was negotiating hard with the Hyundai dealership who had it. I made a final offer of $25k, all in, to include the extended warranty. Which was a pretty hard boiled offer, as the dealer was at around $30k all in. They turned me down, I went home, and a few hours later they called and said, "Buy it today, we'll take your offer." But by that time I was at a party, had already had a couple of drinks, and wasn't going to drive anywhere.

But I do remember really liking the looks of the interior, the luxury, and the performance. It was a very nice car, comparable in my mind to a Mercedes or BMW.

fintail

You could also have it wrapped, probably would cost like $50 to do. I think the wood piece would be at least a few hundred (but maybe worth it). I'm not a fan of shiny black surfaces of any type - dust and fingerprint hell. I think it was trendy a few years ago (MB W213 is 5 years old now).

I assume by the background the car in the example pic is a stock photo (it has the "flowing lines" wood which is uncommon).

driver100 said:

Thanks for the tips about the piano black. It is a nice kind of finish but it is hard to keep it smudge free.
Fin, I like the idea of a wood finish, that would solve the problem.

driver100

@fintail Yes, that is a stock photo....those lines cost a lot and I don't like it as much as wood....I used it because it showed the console area the best.
I tried a microfibre cloth, distilled water etc but I think the water marks are actually inside the black...not on the surface.....it is like the water marks got absorbed.
I guess it is time to trade it in!

fintail

I think a ~$1500 option, maybe only possible with Designo seating surfaces (stock photo car appears to have nappa leather, too).

You could get a facelift 2021 model with MBUX and the derivative looking rear lights, or maybe join the club and get a Genny.

driver100 said:

@fintail Yes, that is a stock photo....those lines cost a lot and I don't like it as much as wood....I used it because it showed the console area the best.
I tried a microfibre cloth, distilled water etc but I think the water marks are actually inside the black...not on the surface.....it is like the water marks got absorbed.
I guess it is time to trade it in!

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

Local TV station was in the ad break. They ran a roofing company ad showing hand nailing.

Two ads later, a roofing company that runs lots of ads ran their ad that showed nail gun nailing.
Of course, the nail gun in the ad showed perfect depth on the nail. It was pushed down into
the surface shingle some meaning it was compressing the shingle onto the shingle layer below
it and that the head of the nail was holding things down rather than the shank of the nail
providing the resistance to movement of the top shingle (assuming the seal layer didn't work
right or aged).

I'll take the hand nailing. The nail gun doesn't sense the resistance of the deck under the
shingles like the guy with a hammer.

Yeah, but only Canadians do hand nailing. Let me know when you get that crew down to Ohio.

imidazol97

Is there some kind of polish that can be used on the piano black that might fill in the places where the water residue is making it lighter? I never used anything wet on my black surround in the Malibu. I believe the manual said just a damp cloth. I used microfiber cleaning cloth with just a hint of moisture.

I would ask at the dealership if they are friendly and will check with their bodyshop/detailing folks.

Or I would think someone else has run into this same effect and posted on a Mercedes forum somewhere. I wonder if a detailing spray like folks use at a car show to rewipe their car's finishes before judging might do the trick.

fintail

I'd try an automotive wax or cleaner/wax. I recall a prior leased E-class had shiny wood surfaces which could show hairline scratches - wax would mask these like it can on exterior paint. Matte/natural finish wood is much easier to maintain.

imidazol97 said:

Is there some kind of polish that can be used on the piano black that might fill in the places where the water residue is making it lighter? I never used anything wet on my black surround in the Malibu. I believe the manual said just a damp cloth. I used microfiber cleaning cloth with just a hint of moisture.

I would ask at the dealership if they are friendly and will check with their bodyshop/detailing folks.

Or I would think someone else has run into this same effect and posted on a Mercedes forum somewhere. I wonder if a detailing spray like folks use at a car show to rewipe their car's finishes before judging might do the trick.

driver100

@ imidazol97 I looked it up and it seems to be a big problem and complaint. This poster is typical;
I used a ceramic coating on my pian black and I am very gentle with it. Still gets light scratches. No way around it but to be very gentle. Blow off dust as much as you can and use detail spray and a very soft towel to prevent as much as you can.
My piano black will be replaced with carbon fiber peices. Piano black trim is a nightmare to maintain.
There are even 5 and 10 minute videos showing what to do. Most recommend microfiber and water or wax, but that doesn't seem to really work, I tried.....better but not great. I'll keep searching....and the problem seems universal, the post above is a 2014 Cadillac owner.

ab348

Most piano black interior automotive trim I've seen is actually just plastic, not shiny-finished wood like on an actual piano. Perhaps a plastic polish of some sort would work.

explorerx4

I'd try a Quick or Interior Detailer or a waterless car wash product.
How about a picture?

roadburner

The M2 Comp that the wearer traded on an Escalade had that awful piano black trim(appropriately enough, I’d guess)- I was looking at spending close to $1,000-my cost-to replace it with the proper CF trim. It wouldn’t have taken more than an hour or so for me to refit the CF, but I had better things to do with $1,000.

driver100

@explorerx4 @ab348 I used Turtle Wax F1 Formula I think, and microfiber cloth etc. I'll try to take a picture but I don't think I can get it to show up using a camera. Most came off but one of the larger smudge marks looks like it is embedded into the plastic...looks like a water mark. Maybe no one else would notice, and I am not an overly fussy person, but it is aggravating they would use a material that won't clean easily, I would prefer brushed aluminum or even better using the leather material like they did in Mikes car.

Some owners were complaining about the marks left in the piano black material used around the door frames and center post area too.

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
@ imidazol97 I looked it up and it seems to be a big problem and complaint. This poster is typical;
I used a ceramic coating on my pian black and I am very gentle with it. Still gets light scratches. No way around it but to be very gentle. Blow off dust as much as you can and use detail spray and a very soft towel to prevent as much as you can.
My piano black will be replaced with carbon fiber peices. Piano black trim is a nightmare to maintain.
There are even 5 and 10 minute videos showing what to do. Most recommend microfiber and water or wax, but that doesn't seem to really work, I tried.....better but not great. I'll keep searching....and the problem seems universal, the post above is a 2014 Cadillac owner.

When all else fails, try some spit. It worked when mothers did it back in the day.

jmonroe

stickguy

put together my new pressure washer and foam cannon today and used it on the RDX. Once I figured out the adjustments, it really worked good. Made lots of foam when I opened up the nozzle. and seemed to really do a good job loosening up the grime. I forgot to watch how-to videos again for the best procedure, but I foamed it up good, let it sit a few minutes, went over it all with my wash mitt, sprayed more foam since I made too much in the bottle, then just hosed that all off. came out nice.

one good thing, it seemed to do a nice job cleaning off the wheels and tires, without needing to use another product, or hassle with a sponge in all the spokes.

so overall, I am a fan!

jmonroe1

@stickguy said:
put together my new pressure washer and foam cannon today and used it on the RDX. Once I figured out the adjustments, it really worked good. Made lots of foam when I opened up the nozzle. and seemed to really do a good job loosening up the grime. I forgot to watch how-to videos again for the best procedure, but I foamed it up good, let it sit a few minutes, went over it all with my wash mitt, sprayed more foam since I made too much in the bottle, then just hosed that all off. came out nice.

one good thing, it seemed to do a nice job cleaning off the wheels and tires, without needing to use another product, or hassle with a sponge in all the spokes.

so overall, I am a fan!

Sounds like you should try it on @driver100’s smudge.

jmonroe

tjc78

Love my foam cannon!

Michaell

stickguy said:

put together my new pressure washer and foam cannon today and used it on the RDX. Once I figured out the adjustments, it really worked good. Made lots of foam when I opened up the nozzle. and seemed to really do a good job loosening up the grime. I forgot to watch how-to videos again for the best procedure, but I foamed it up good, let it sit a few minutes, went over it all with my wash mitt, sprayed more foam since I made too much in the bottle, then just hosed that all off. came out nice.

one good thing, it seemed to do a nice job cleaning off the wheels and tires, without needing to use another product, or hassle with a sponge in all the spokes.

so overall, I am a fan!

do you do house calls?

explorerx4

@driver100,
For the outside piano black, you can just wax it to fill the scratches.

imidazol97

A black polish that leaves a black residue in scratches and chips might help. I've used this on the exterior of my black cars.

https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-T-374KTR-Color-Polish/dp/B00062ZJ4O/ref=asc_df_B00062ZJ4O/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312168126179&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9798689196972900339&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015762&hvtargid=pla-527182226335&psc=1

imidazol97

My black polished plastic is around the screens on the radio control screen on both cars.
Those screens worried me because touching them transfers any oils or hand creams I or my wife have on out hands. The screen would gunk up quickly on the touch points in the Malibu. I cleaned with just microfibre and moisture on the cloth.

I wonder if some kind of hand cream has reacted with the plastic surface finish to give the smudge you're seeing. Repeated cleanings might pull some of the offending chemical out of the surface.

imidazol97

I had to laugh at the coincidence this afternoon. I had to deliver something cross town to son's house while they out of town. I was behind an S550. I always notice those because the E and S series are rare. Everyone's driving a C300 with their nose in air. LOL

This year S550 has the taillight lens I like with red top, red bottom, and clear in the middle. BUT the 3 lens areas were separated with a 1-inch wide strip of PIANO BLACK PLASTIC.

bwia

Whale swallows man on Cape Code and he lived to tell about it. Sounds like a fake story but it appears to be true.
A lobster diver says he was nearly swallowed by a whale in a terrifying encounter off Cape Cod Friday morning. Michael Packard has been a lobster diver out of Provincetown for 40 years but has never experienced anything like this.
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/06/11/lobster-diver-swallowed-by-whale-cape-cod-michael-packard/

mjfloyd1

@stickguy said:
put together my new pressure washer and foam cannon today and used it on the RDX. Once I figured out the adjustments, it really worked good. Made lots of foam when I opened up the nozzle. and seemed to really do a good job loosening up the grime. I forgot to watch how-to videos again for the best procedure, but I foamed it up good, let it sit a few minutes, went over it all with my wash mitt, sprayed more foam since I made too much in the bottle, then just hosed that all off. came out nice.

one good thing, it seemed to do a nice job cleaning off the wheels and tires, without needing to use another product, or hassle with a sponge in all the spokes.

so overall, I am a fan!

Which foam cannon did you buy?