DFB's Garage

[Big Dave]

When this popped into my feed, I thought of you. Sounds good, nice lines, I even like the colour.

2024 Ford Mustang REVEALED! | MotorTrend - YouTube



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[DFB]

Well, it's over!

Five days of being responsible for running one of the biggest nurseries in Victoria. I also managed to get the business fully open again after some minor flooding in the gardens was attended to by another staff member. I did things I rarely, if ever do, chasing stock for customers, fixing computer glitches, answering email enquiries, end of day procedures, managing other staff, constantly on the phone. It was enjoyable because it was something different, but you're never "off", which is mentally exhausting. In terms of sales, the weekend trade in particular, was much better than I thought considering the circumstances the town is dealing with.

I'm so proud of my little team over the last few days, working to support one another to achieve a common goal. The floods affected everyone in town in different ways, in affect a form of trauma. My two co-workers were only cm's away from having their homes inundated, so it I'm especially appreciative that they managed to put that behind them and get on with the job. Being thrown in the deep end can be a hard thing to come to terms with, but the ladies had my back the whole way.

Counting the tills at the end of today, turning the lights off and locking the gates while knowing nothing went wrong all week was massive relief.

So today was about therapy, although I didn't really have that much to do. And that's probably a good thing because I'm still pretty tired.

After having to do some jobs in the rain yesterday in an attempt to try and catch up a little, the tray and drivers footwell were pretty dirty on the Ranger. And I had a new soap to try! :dance



Gtechniq G-Wash is a pH neutral soap that was designed for coatings but can be used on waxes and sealants as well. It has a cherry scent that is not dissimilar to Koch Chemie GSF, which had me wondering if G-Wash could live up to the GSF user experience.



G-Wash doesn't produce the thick foam GSF is renowned for, nor does it's scent spice the air as well. G-Wash is also nowhere near as slick either. It's a nice soap at a decent price, but it's not a front runner.

Speaking of front runners, I'm really loving NV's new version of Boost.



Boost v2 is such an easy product to use, requiring minimal working to deliver fantastic gloss and no streaking.

I also spent 20 minutes giving the Wildtrack a superficial clean, which was covered in mud after a trip to inspect the flood damage at the old man's place in Nagambie. Sadly, there is significant damage to the property, damage that will thankfully be covered by insurance.

In terms of the method for a "superficial" clean, I simply foamed the car from dry with NV Snow, using an entire foam cannon bottle to cover the vehicle in thick foam. I left this to soak for 10 minutes, the higher pH of Snow working to break down the mud and road film. I then spent time giving the car a thorough rinse, followed by a blow down with my EGO blower. Job done! Was the car perfectly clean, no. Was it at least presentable, yes.

As I type, there is a pretty big storm passing over, dumping a lot of rain onto areas that are already saturated2. Hopefully we don't see the same sort of flooding that has created chaos over the last few weeks.

[dgage]

Great job to DFB and team. Way to step up…and relax.

[DanaDetailingPros]

This will come across as selfish, but this was what I needed to take my mind away from the flooding, about three hours' worth of detailing on the Ranger. I pottered away while listening to the Smoking Tire Podcast, the sun was shining, the mild spring breeze providing a pleasant freshness against my skin. Most of this I have shown before, but I needed to do this, so sorry for the repetition.

I started by cleaning the tray, using Koch Chemie Green Star and a long handle Vikan brush.



After the scrub, I followed up with Carpro Hydr02 on the tray floor and sides, inside and out.



Wheels, tires and wheel arches cleaned with Brake Buster. I am now using 100% Brake Buster in the foam cannon bottle, when sprayed it dilutes down enough without losing to much cleaning ability.





I have been using NV Snow as a pre-wash soak for dirtier cars lately.



I then did the contact wash with Optimum Car Wash. If you look closely at these two foam shots, the NV Snow above is a much thicker consistency than the Optimum Car Wash shown below.



A little bead porn after the wash -



For the drying aid today, I decided to grab out my bottle of AMMO Hydrate. This stuff is still a challenge for me as it doesn't atomize coming out of the sprayer head. AMMO describe this product as "paint moisturizer", well the consistency certainly mimics a moisturizer.



I then switched over to the interior. I actually vacuumed the cabin prior to the washing, scrubbing the driver's side floor mat with McKee's and dressing it with Koch Chemie GUF as well.

With plenty of time on my hands, I wanted to clean up the interior a bit more thoroughly today, using P&S Express, a Detail Factory brush and an interior towel. At this point, I want to point out that my knob is very clean now ..........sorry, sometimes you have to crack a joke during trying times.



The Ranger is the only car I bother using an interior dressing/protectant on these days. Because it sits in the sun all day, I like to do this every few months. Koch Chemie Top Star is lovely for this role, offering some protection and a very slight sheen.



Turning to the glass, I'm using my favorite glass cleaner, a glass towel and the Carpro glass mitt.



I then went over the engine bay with ONR and a multipurpose towel, removing a layer of dust to keep it looking fresh. So glad I added the plastic engine cover a few months ago, just so much cleaner looking.



Tyres were dressed with AMMO Mud today, the spare wheel and front wheel arches dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing.





Last step was to apply some Metal Coat to the exhaust pipe.



Finished, and yes I was listening to that, she always improves my mood................

How do you like the Soto Sprayer? I'm guess you had to order it from obsessed?

[DFB]

How do you like the Solo Sprayer? I'm guess you had to order it from obsessed?

Although I did learn about them from Obsessed Garage, I ordered the Solo sprayer from an agricultural supplier in Australia. I only order from OG when I can't manage to find products in this country.

I really like them by the way, not something you would have for each and every chemical in your cabinet, but excellent for high use chemicals like glass cleaner and rinse-less washing.

[Tasmania]

Well, it's over!

Five days of being responsible for running one of the biggest nurseries in Victoria. I also managed to get the business fully open again after some minor flooding in the gardens was attended to by another staff member. I did things I rarely, if ever do, chasing stock for customers, fixing computer glitches, answering email enquiries, end of day procedures, managing other staff, constantly on the phone. It was enjoyable because it was something different, but you're never "off", which is mentally exhausting. In terms of sales, the weekend trade in particular, was much better than I thought considering the circumstances the town is dealing with.

I'm so proud of my little team over the last few days, working to support one another to achieve a common goal. The floods affected everyone in town in different ways, in affect a form of trauma. My two co-workers were only cm's away from having their homes inundated, so it I'm especially appreciative that they managed to put that behind them and get on with the job. Being thrown in the deep end can be a hard thing to come to terms with, but the ladies had my back the whole way.

Counting the tills at the end of today, turning the lights off and locking the gates while knowing nothing went wrong all week was massive relief.

So today was about therapy, although I didn't really have that much to do. And that's probably a good thing because I'm still pretty tired.

After having to do some jobs in the rain yesterday in an attempt to try and catch up a little, the tray and drivers footwell were pretty dirty on the Ranger. And I had a new soap to try! :dance



Gtechniq G-Wash is a pH neutral soap that was designed for coatings but can be used on waxes and sealants as well. It has a cherry scent that is not dissimilar to Koch Chemie GSF, which had me wondering if G-Wash could live up to the GSF user experience.



G-Wash doesn't produce the thick foam GSF is renowned for, nor does it's scent spice the air as well. G-Wash is also nowhere near as slick either. It's a nice soap at a decent price, but it's not a front runner.

Speaking of front runners, I'm really loving NV's new version of Boost.



Boost v2 is such an easy product to use, requiring minimal working to deliver fantastic gloss and no streaking.

I also spent 20 minutes giving the Wildtrack a superficial clean, which was covered in mud after a trip to inspect the flood damage at the old man's place in Nagambie. Sadly, there is significant damage to the property, damage that will thankfully be covered by insurance.

In terms of the method for a "superficial" clean, I simply foamed the car from dry with NV Snow, using an entire foam cannon bottle to cover the vehicle in thick foam. I left this to soak for 10 minutes, the higher pH of Snow working to break down the mud and road film. I then spent time giving the car a thorough rinse, followed by a blow down with my EGO blower. Job done! Was the car perfectly clean, no. Was it at least presentable, yes.

As I type, there is a pretty big storm passing over, dumping a lot of rain onto areas that are already saturated2. Hopefully we don't see the same sort of flooding that has created chaos over the last few weeks.

The push out of your comfort zone with work will make you a stronger person mentally
I think it was a good choice.

[DFB]

Bloody weather! It's the middle of Spring and yet we are back to wearing coats and warm hats. Today was a lovely twelve degrees with rolling showers, a thunderstorm and some hail for good measure. And now the sun is shining through the window as I type. I have not driven any of the "special" cars in weeks, the rain just won't stop falling.

It didn't stop me from indulging in some detailing and garage tinkering.

The order from Obsessed Garage that I had been waiting on for nearly three months meant I could finally make use of a Pressol bottle filled with Brake Buster. I wanted to wait until the OG label arrived so I could attach it while still new/clean.



Double action sprayers are brilliant for high use chemicals like tire cleaners as you achieve the same result with half the trigger actions. I also ordered this bottle with an industrial sprayer head owing to Brake Busters harshness.

Soap of choice today was Shine Supply Shift.......







Shift is a pH neutral soap that contains no gloss enhancers or conditioners. That suits me just fine, I want a soap to be a soap and nothing more. I really, really like this product. The foam is of the runnier type, but still clings to the car very well. I LOVE the scent too, its not too dissimilar to P&S Absolute, spicing the air with a heady aroma of lime and coconut. This will be a product I will re-order for sure!





Drying aid of choice today was Carpro EliXir on a Gauntlet towel.



Onto the glass, I'm trying out a different method today. This involves priming a microfiber applicator with glass cleaner, in this case The Rag Company Pearl Applicator Sponge and Carpro Clarify.



You then use the applicator to wipe the glass with cleaner and then follow up with a dry waffle weave towel.





This method is brilliant for interior glass cleaning too, offering a more ergonomic action and saves getting glass cleaner everywhere.

Finishing the interior off was a few generous sprays of Auto Finesse Aroma.



It's now raining again with thunder booming across the skies. Please, stop raining soon...................

[DFB]

Another little project today included tinkering with my tool set-up.

I wanted to have a go at foam tool inlays. Kincrome sell these foam inserts to fit their range of tool boxes, allowing customers to tailor their setup.



For the wider drawers, these inserts fit exactly. For the narrower drawers, I had to trim them down to suit. You then lay out your tools, trace around them and then follow the outline with the use a shark knife. The foam is then peeled back to leave a hollowed out section for the tool to rest.







It's fiddly job, and I had a little trouble with the hacksaw, mainly because it was such a large area to peel out. I still have a couple of drawers that I have left for now, allowing me some grace if I decide to add some more items down the track.

It's also been so handy to have tools all in the same place, ready to go when I need. The other day I commented that for the first time, I had everything at my fingertips to do what I was doing without rummaging through toolboxes and containers.

[Big Dave]

I decided to pimp my toolbox a little as well. The old TRD badge I took off the FJ needed somewhere to go. I also added a 5 meter multicoloured LED strip light to the garage, for when I'm hanging out with the dogs at night, the main lights are too bright.

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[Azure]

Another little project today included tinkering with my tool set-up.

I wanted to have a go at foam tool inlays. Kincrome sell these foam inserts to fit their range of tool boxes, allowing customers to tailor their setup.



For the wider drawers, these inserts fit exactly. For the narrower drawers, I had to trim them down to suit. You then lay out your tools, trace around them and then follow the outline with the use a shark knife. The foam is then peeled back to leave a hollowed out section for the tool to rest.







It's fiddly job, and I had a little trouble with the hacksaw, mainly because it was such a large area to peel out. I still have a couple of drawers that I have left for now, allowing me some grace if I decide to add some more items down the track.

It's also been so handy to have tools all in the same place, ready to go when I need. The other day I commented that for the first time, I had everything at my fingertips to do what I was doing without rummaging through toolboxes and containers.

I do this at work on my tool box. It's been almost 15 years ago, so I'm ready to do it again lol. Especially since some tools are new/different since originally setting them up.