Ronnie Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I have already got Spring Fever so I thought I would get out in the garage and do some of the things to my Reatta that I've been putting off while it isn't too cold in the garage. I got it out the other day when the weather was warm and gave it a good washing so that is out of the way. This morning I gave the leather a good cleaning and conditioning. Ive tried a few of the more expensive leather care products but I like the Black Magic 2-In-1 Leather Care as well as any of them. It goes on easy and works pretty good as you can see in the photo below. The shine goes away pretty quick but I apply it often in the Summer to keep the leather soft so that's not a big deal. DONE - see post #6 below :arrow: Clay bar the paint using the AUTOSCRUB Brilliant Shine Kit I got for Christmas. I clay barred my Reatta 6 years ago so it needs it again. I can feel things in the paint when I run my had over it that will come out with the clay bar treatment. DONE - see post #10 below :arrow: Buff out the car to try to remove etchings in the clear coat. This will take some time and all of it might not come out. The etching is deep in the clear coat. It's been there as long as I've owned the car. DONE - see post #21 below :arrow: Wax the car using the Butter Wet Wax I ordered recently. I hope it works as well as advertised. DONE - see post #21 below :arrow: Check parking brake. It seems to be slow releasing. Pedal mechanism or cable probably needs lubing. DONE :arrow: Replace the photo cell. It still works but it doesn't dim the light as quickly as it should. I have an idea on how to do it without removing the dash parts by adding it to the side of the dash in a different location. :arrow: Maybe replace the intake gaskets. I was seeing small amount of coolant seepage on the intake manifold. Re-tightening the bolts might have fixed it... for now anyway. :arrow: Replace the PCV valve and grommet. :arrow: Replace the fuel filter. It's been 8 years. DONE :arrow: I might remove the catalytic converter. I think I hear something rattling around inside. Could just be the sheet metal around it. This is more than enough but I'll probably add to this list as I go along ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 The first thing on your list is the same on mine - My doors are doing the same thing. I will probably go a little further and repair the door panels on the inside because they are starting to crack around the bezels. I already did this with my other Reatta and it took me a better part of the summer last year (I was going really slow though) wanted to make sure it was done right. I have found that since the panels are made out of a wood fiber the carpenters wood glue works great for broken, cracked and flimsy areas. I got Spring fever about two months ago - I can't wait for it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 30, 2016 Topic Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 The first thing on your list is the same on mine - My doors are doing the same thing. ... I got Spring fever about two months ago - I can't wait for it either. I intend to work on the locks next - maybe over the weekend. I will take photos of what I have to do to make the locks work smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Quite a list Ronnie! I know that it will turn out great. One thing to add as it pertains to the removal of the plastic vent panel. Once you get it off drill three holes in the vent panel to match the pad's mounting screws right at the windshield. Then grind of the locking tabs at the back of the vent closest to the windshield. I have done that on the two '89s and will do it on the 'vert the first time I go into the dash. It makes removing the plastic vent about a 3 minute job and no worries about breaking anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 30, 2016 Topic Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 Thanks Dave. I know this sounds crazy but I have an idea, that probably won't work, to install a photocell in a different location that won't required removing the vent. I'm still looking around for the parts I will need. Otherwise I will do what you suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 31, 2016 Topic Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 This morning I was able to cross the door lock sticking off the list. It turned out to be an easier job than I thought it would be without removing the door panel. First I lubed the key lock outside but that didn't make the lock easier to turn although it was probably needed. The garage door lube I used should last for several years to lubricate the locks and keep linkage moving freely. It is thicker than WD-40 but not so thick that it is going to get hard and gum up the linkage. If you have a mechanical problem this probably won't work but if you just have a sticking linkage this should work. I might add this to ROJ as a tutorial later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 I will definitely try this thanks Ronnie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 1, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 I will definitely try this thanks Ronnie. Let me know how it works for you. If it works good for you I will post it as a tutorial on ROJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Okay hopefully I can get to it this week, if not I will let you know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 1, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 The Nanoskin AUTOSCRUB Brilliant Shine Kit (clay bar replacement) and the TORQ Random Orbital Polisher Kit were delivered yesterday so I decided to clay bar the car today. It took me about 4 hours to do the all the car including the windows. I didn't do the part below the black rub strips yet. I want to give that area a good cleaning to remove tar etc. before I use the AutoScrub in it. Most things you read say it's not necessary to clay bar the vertical surfaces but I'm going all that way. I can't say anything but good stuff about the AutoScrub compared to real clay bar. It goes on easy and does a great job of pulling the trash out of the paint surface. Once you have used it the spray can be easily removed where with a clay bar it can be hard to remove the residue it leaves behind. Best of all, if you drop a clay bar on the floor (which I do a lot) it picks up anything it touches and it is very hard to get it cleaned off. I dropped the AutoScruv pad a few times today. it can be washed right off with water and reused immediately. I don't know how long this will last but I know for sure I won't be going back to a clay bar. The AutoScrub works great on glass to remove all traces of bugs and other things that normally don't come off with regular washing and glass cleaners and it doesn't scratch the glass. Now my car's finish is slick as a baby's butt - even without wax on it. On the downside, the AutoScrub didn't really remove any of the etching in the paint like I had hoped it would. I was told by my detailing buddy that what I was seeing is called Type 2 water spotting. That meas the spots are etched into the top layer of the paint. Type 1 water spots sit on top of the paint and are much easier to remove. The only way to get Type 2 out is by using a buffing machine and a good compound product. My Torq buffing machine came with 4 grades of compound. Maybe one of them will work. That might be the next thing I do depending on when the microfiber towels I ordered arrive. Below are a couple of photos I took of the paint today before I started with the AutoScrub clay bar process. The large white things are the reflection of the lights overhead. The small white spots around them are the water spots I'm wanting to remove. Otherwise the paint looks good. From 10 feet away you can't even see the spots, but as you can see in the photos, the spots are there and noticeable up close. They have been there so long even the polishing machine might not take them out. :S If they don't come out at least I'll have fun trying. I don't have anything better to do in bad weather. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 2, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 I'm still waiting for a pack of microfiber towels to arrive from Amazon. My car detailing buddy recommended getting them before I do any serious polishing and buffing. I was going to get some at Walmart microfiber towels but he says these from Amazon are a better deal for the money. He said they are a little bigger and thicker than the ones at Walmart. Anyway, I couldn't wait for the towels to arrive. I decided to to a little test on the hood to see how the polisher was going to work. The polisher came with 4 small bottles of compound - three for cutting and one for polishing - so I tried the least aggressive one first and it didn't do a lot. Then I dropped down to the medium grade compound and made two passes with it. I still haven't used the polishing compound or any wax so far but I can see a noticeable difference between the before and after amount of blemishes in the paint. (see photos). I think this is going to take a lot of time but when I'm done I think my paint will look much better. Jerry will be coming over to show me the right way to use the polisher. He might recommend I use the most aggressive compound but I was afraid to try it without some guidance from someone who knows what they are doing. I don't want to damage 28 year old paint. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Let me know how it works for you. If it works good for you I will post it as a tutorial on ROJ. Ronnie, I finally was able to try this and it did free up the mechanisms a bit so that they move better but still not to the point that I don't have to use the lever to open and close the locks. BUT I think this is due to the fact of the weather since it has been about 13 degrees the last few days and my garage isn't heated. I would say that if it was warmer the locks would work just great like you say yours is. Thanks again for the great info! -Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 10, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 After several hours of compounding, polishing (2 steps) and then applying the Butter Wet Wax I have the top, hood and trunk lid finished so I thought I should update this ongoing thread. I still have the vertical surfaces to do. This is a labor intensive process that made a huge difference in the appearance of my paint but it didn't take out all the defects in the 28 year old paint out. I found that my paint was worse than what I thought once I got into trying to improve it. I would say the paint is about now 75-85 percent of being the way it left the factory. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. There are a few of the normal paint chips on the front that are noticeable if you are looking for them. I hope to be able to repair them to make them look better using the Dr. Colorchip process. Below are before and after photos that show the reflection of the florescent light overhead on the hood. You can see the defects in the paint around the light. Click these links if you want to see the photos in full size. Before photo - After photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 From what I can see it looks a ton better. There appears to be a more deeper look to the color more vivid Red than just a plain Red. Great work, can't wait to try this process on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 11, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 From what I can see it looks a ton better. There appears to be a more deeper look to the color more vivid Red than just a plain Red. Great work, can't wait to try this process on mine. You're right. The tiny paint defects like etched in water spots are still there but they aren't too noticeable unless the light hits them just right. The biggest difference is the deeper red look and most of the tiny scratches are gone. It I can do it anybody can. I'm happy with the result for a small investment compared to the cost of a new paint job. It does take a lot of time but it's like mowing the yard. You get a sense of accomplishing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 12, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 Yesterday I started polishing on the sides of the car, which I was expecting to be the easy part. Was I ever wrong. Although you normally don't notice them as much, the sides of the car especially the doors, have a lot more scratches when you get to looking for them. I've been getting most of them out using compound on the orbital polisher but some of them will have to stay. I'm afraid I might cut through the clear coat trying to get them out. Like most everything in life, polishing 28 year old paint is a compromise between making it look better and doing damage. While polishing the side of the car this morning I caused myself a lot of extra work by not paying closer attention to what I was doing. The pinstripe on the side of my car has always been very thin and worn looking. When I hit a thin section with the buffer it removed part of the pinstripe. I have always though I would like the look of the car better without the pinstripe so I decided to take it all off. It is pretty easy to remove in most areas because the paint was applied so thin at the factory. The paint at the ends where the dual pinstripes merger is thicker and harder to remove. I have it off most of one side of the car and I like the way it looks. Removing the pinstripe is going to take some time that I hadn't counted on but I have nothing better to do anyway. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 ooops! Yeah my pinstripe is faded in spots too. Yours has a double line pinstripe? Mine is a single all the way around with the break on the doors. Is that something they did for certain years or Maybe and Upgrade??? That would be interesting to find out, maybe the guy that did yours decided to do a double on that day; must have been in an extra happy mood. ;) lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 All Reattas that had pin stripping at the factory had double lines. The pinstrip was not continueous it had a short gap at the doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted January 12, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 All Reatta pinstripes should have been double stripes that merge where the pinstripes end. Pinstripe Dimensions There was also a "pinstripe delete" option you could select when ordering a Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Well that is interesting, the owner before me must have had it removed and redone or something. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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