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Comments
I just tried Zaino on my OB 2 weeks ago, and it looks great. The inital process takes some time, but it is worth it. The car comes out nice and smooth and shiny. Washing it after the 1st time is a breeze.
Our 6 month old OB w/6500 miles... fragrance still as new and clean-smelling as the day we took delivery. No eye-burning here I can tell you.
There. An un-biased opinion, out in the open.
Happy breathing!
Chris
Most people find the smell nasty, like chemical coating slowly burning off. I couldn't wait until my Forester was broken in.
Someone guessed it was the undercoating spray applied at the factory burning off the exhaust.
-juice
4bangN
We couldn't agree on whether it was a chemical coating burning off all the interior plastics, or the undercoating overspray on the exhaust system.
Either way, it's nauseating (to me) and went away in a couple of months.
I didn't have a moonroof but I had one installed! That wasn't the only reason, though.
-juice
I've been using 3M Liquid Wax. Seems to really last. It's a bit tough to go on, but comes off easily with little dust. Also stain is minimal on black mouldings (I have a Forester L with fender flares).
Side Note: I drove thru some really heavy rain today (the first big rainstorm since I've had my subie) with no detectable hydro-planing. Also appreciated the ground-clearance as a few roads were flooded with 3-4 inches of water. Can't wait for some snow. This is the first time in many years that I'm looking forward to it.
-Tony
The *interior* fumes are what I refer to above. The new Sebring I mentioned seemed really bad and the Aerostar (after 4k miles) still stinks to high heaven. Not to mention the black haze its windows pickup. Our OB has just never offended like that. It makes me wonder if there aren't a number of glues, foams and plastics out there that might be more toxic than others. Can you remember any manufacturer who has tried a "no fumes interior" marketing approach?
Not fuming, just musing.
chris
Deodorant - LOL! It NEEDS it!
-juice
However, I heavily treated it with Scotchguard once I've received it from the dealer, and then let it air out for a couple of days... maybe that has neutralized the original smell.
I understand now that w/o claying, waxing would be more like grinding and old dirt into the finish. Recommend claying at least once per year.
BTW, do you know that I discovered after I washed and clayed the car? My old clunker (8+ yrs, never ever garaged) still has a pretty good acrylic clear coat underneath! No deterioration, no oxidation, it's shiny and clear as new! Don't know if it means high quality paint job by Subaru or that stuff (AutoFom) I was putting on for years really protected the paint.
Finally, big thanks to KenS for recommending a water blade. It makes drying a breeze.
I've heard wonders about that clay. Anyone have a URL handy? Is it actually a soft, moldable bar, like play-doh, that you roll over the surface?
I use the water blade for the windows. They get cleaned with the rest of the car, and the blade doesn't leave any streaks.
Just washed Sandy myself, this weekend. Looks good as new. I use a chamois for the roof, since there are rails on mine (S+ doesn't have these), and the blade doesn't fit. The blade dries most of the surfaces, with the chamois to follow up it works perfectly.
I'll 2nd that thanks to Ken for the suggestion.
-juice
I tried KMart sans ammonia a few weeks ago; no condensation after a rain. Since then, I've had a little condensation but it's much better than before. I think a lot of the condensation problem I have is due to the elevated pollution in DC (now 2nd worst traffic, behind Los Angeles, in US).
..Mike
PS - Thanks for the clay feedback.
..Mike
You don't really roll it. You spray the surface ca. 2x2" with the detailer spray (usually supplied with the bar), then apply light pressure and glide the bar back and forth. If the surface is contaminated, you'll hear light whispering sound, meaning dirt is being picked up. When you don't hear sound, and the bar glides really smoothly, you can wipe off the detailer spray, and move to another section. Between the sections, you stretch the bar and re-fold it, so the the clean bar surface is exposed.
Be really careful not to drop the bar. Once dropped to the ground, it becomes so dirty you will damage your finish right away. Bar is not cheap ($16-19), so hold tight on to it.
I still say a good squeegee or the car blade wins here. No streaks at all if you're good. Guess you could clean with the CR brew, then remove with the blade.
The clay bar sounds very interesting. My Soob's finish is quite clean, but our older cars may need that kind of TLC.
-(lemon?) juice
Especially what Kate said about the noise.
-juice
Bit
Steven
Bit
Ken
..Mike
..Mike
My lease on '98 outback is ending and I'm turning car into dealership. Does anyone have any comments or experiences relating to prepping car for lease termination?
-thanks
Try a touch of diesel fuel (it's safer than paint thinner or gasoline because it's less flammable) on a *very* small portion to see what effect it has, and make sure to wash the area thoroughly afterwards.
Glick: the catch with any lease is the return fee, which averages over $400. This is to pay for removing door dings, scratches, and any other damage beyond normal wear and tear.
So it depends on the condition of your car. If it's virtually perfect, just wash it.
If it's laden with tiny door dings, you may want to consider a paintless dent removal shop, which will likely charge you less than the dealer would.
-juice
Chuck
Thanx for your advice.
Doc.
Too bad, I though it really worked.
-juice
I got my forester S+ at the last week of September and got a can of scotchgard from my local autoparts store. I had to ask where it was on the shelf but they had it. I believe that a can cost around $5.00 (not real sure), I picked a nice day so I could leave the windows/skyroof open and followed the directions on the can.
I have not had a chance to see if it works, I.E. no spills yet. But with two kids I am sure it will be worth it.
Russ
Well I heard from dealer today. My 5spd Wintergreen OB Lmtd will be in my grubby hands this Tuesday.
Can anyone provide some feedback about keeping the interior clean? I have a 4 1/2 yr old wonderful boy and his 90 lbs golden retriever.
We leased a '98 outback and loved it so much that we're purchasing ths '01 Lmtd. We almost didn't get the Lmtd because of the leather seats (the kid & dog), but we just had to get the dual moon roofs. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
-Glick
-Frank P.
Though I've found the cloth Subaru uses pretty stain resistant, dog hair is a pain to remove. I use tape. Yes, tape, the sticky side grabs hair very well.
-juice
Has anyone used Bullet Wax on a black or dark vehicle? We live in a very rainy city and are seldom subject to snow and salt. I know all those Zaino lovers will be suggesting that product, but I doubt that its available here. Any first-hand info would be appreciated.
Cheers, Al
-Tony
Cheers, Al
-Tony
The top rated wax was Zymol at $16 for 16 0z. But its durability was only "good". It was rated for its shine, lack of scratching and ease of use.
Your 3M wax is the best for cleaning ability but durability is only fair. As it turns out I can't find Prestone, so until I make a stateside trip I'll try Nu Finish Paste, #3 rated. I'll avoid the other durable waxes (Armor All and Turtle Wax) because they are prone to scratch and haze--not good for our black Forester.
Some high-priced waxes such as Mother's and Megular's were not well rated at all. Perhaps you don't always get what you pay for, unless its Zymol which I've never heard of before.
Cheers, Al
Ross
I've also used the more expensive products like Meguiars. I think Meguiars works great when your vehicle's finish is in pretty poor condition. I don't think an all-in-one product would be able to do quite the same. Since it takes time to do the whole process, I usually only do it 1-2x a year and use the all-in-ones the rest of the time.
Ken
Any suggestions?
Dennis
Just catching up on our topics, been away for a month or so:) I have been washing my 01 Forester by hand since I picked it up in early sept. I did the Zainos treatment within a week of ownership and I couldn't be more pleased! My routine now is to hit it with Blue Coral self-washing liquid, it is the one which attaches to the hose: Rinse: Foam: Wait 2 mins: rinse. Because of the teflon-like Zaino, this wash method works quite well, though not as good as when I actually put my hands on the car to wash it. When I do, I literally hand wash the car. I find that I can feel any grit under my fingers and I am very gentle as I wash. I finish with the Cali water blade and an artificial chamois. I am tempted to use (as suggested here months ago) a leaf blower, but I am worried that it may fire small bits of debris as it dries. My $0.02:)
So how do you apartment dwellers handle washing your car? I tried three different car wash places, none of them did a good job. There's a couple of "self-washing" places, but they use harsh soaps under high pressure, guaranteed to strip off all wax and force grit into your clearcoat. I've tried finding co-workers who have driveways I can borrow (grin), but hey, my co-workers are programmers, most of them live in apartments too (let's face it, us computer geeks aren't much into that whole "house in the suburbs and do lawn work and home repair on the weekends" trip). Any other solutions that anybody can think of to my dillema?
Note that I didn't care that the car wash places did a lousy job on my Ford Aspire -- it was an Aspire, after all, $9,000 worth of "it aspires to be a real car". But a $25,000 Subaru Forester is a different ball of wax altogether.
-E
Eric: at least you don't get a lot of rain/snow in Phoenix. Maybe one of those dusters used every couple of days would help?
The biggest pain with wax is that some of them stain plastic and rubber parts, including Meguiar's. Do Zymol or Zaino do that too?
-juice
1) Fill up a bucket with warm water and auto cleaner.
2) Place the bucket in a larger container (to catch any spills) in the back of your Forester.
3)Drive slowly to the nearest "self washing" place and just use the rinse cycle.
A pain? Yes. But it should work for you.
I have a large 5 gallon collapsible water tank as part of my camping gear (this is Arizona, if you aren't carrying water with you, you ain't campin' :-). I can fill it with warm water, and fill the bucket/mix my auto cleaner at the self-washing place. I just gotta see whether it can be advanced to rinse cycle without going through the wash cycle first :-(.
-E
I have used Zaino only once so far and it came out nice! I used it on the entire car, and nothing was stained. It does make the car nice and smooth. I just hope it warms up enough in the NYC area so that I can give it one more coat before the winter really sets in.
-juice
You guys ever had the locks freeze after a wash?
-juice
Cheers Pat.