they were NIB surplus from a commercial job that an electrician did. they are nice units in that they have Sylvania ballasts as opposed to the bullshit you'll sometimes find in the fixtures available at the Home Depots of the world. he was going to sell them on craigslist but i just happened to be in the market PLUS needed help figuring something else out.

so i paid $150 for a package deal for his help reviewing an electrical issue we've been happening throughout the house (voltage between neutral and ground) in addition to the light fixtures and tons of extra Philips cool white bulbs.

 

Man can't beat that.

 

Exactly. that's what I do.


Which reminds I need to talk to the maintenance guy at work and see if we get bright bulbs for the wall lights.


@redboost: I have a little experience with a C6... What you read/heard is true. Corvette clear coat is very hard.

 

I personally like harder clear coat. You can put in some work on it.

 

It's a love/hate thing.

love it whenever I don't have to polish it.

Did a lot of wetsanding and buffing on a Chevy cruz, I was surprised with how hard it was.

 

Harder clear coat usually allows you to be a little more aggressive towards it, but has a smaller line of too much=Burned paint

 

Less risk of washing/drying scratches too.

When I repaint my civic, I'm going hard clear.


Anyone ever buff a tundra?

 

Greetings everyone, I am here because i was referred to come here by another HT user on a thread I made.

Well this is what happened, I was painting the windshield wiper arms on my car ( they came out pretty nice btw) long story short I got overspray on the car and my dumbass tried to get it off but failed :,(



Best pic I have sorry for the crap phone quality guys my bad. Thank you all for the time.

 

Some more pictures

 

Thanks for the better pictures MANualBoy, first thing I would try is a good clay bar and some elbow grease. Depending on how long the overspray has been on there claybars usually work. Have you ever used a clay bar?

 

Not long, not long at all. This will be the first time using one, any tips?

 

Go to your local autozone, pepboys, checkers etc and pick up a good clay bar, usually Meguiars is sold there, also pick up a detailer spray, can be any brand really.

When you get the clay bar you are going to want to knead it (fold it over itself) for a couple of minutes. When you have done that, flatten it out to be about the size of the palm of your hand. Spray the detailer spray on your car (where the overspray is) and start to run the clay car over it. If you notice the clay car feeling like it has friction, spray more detailer spray on the car. You want the clay car to glide over the paint, not stick.

Continue to do so while looking at your clay car surface every few minutes, if your notice it has a lot of impurities (overspray, tar, road grime) knead the clay bar again for a few minutes so you have a clean surface area again, then continue to clay bar the car.

It is going to take a little time/effort to remove the over spray but the clay bar should get it all off with a little patients.

 

Agree with above. Get the "aggressive" clay bar if you can find it. Do that and once you are sure you have gotten it all off, put a coat of wax on it.

 

thank you guys for the advice

 

...folks it seems we have come across a rare breed of HT user, instead of flaming and **** talking, they actually help...

 

That's why 98civdx and myself made this thread. There does need to be some positive influence somewhere on HT.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

My car is getting fresh paint right now. Any suggestions on what to get it when it comes back? How long should I wait before washing/waxing it? Clear bra or leather one? How long to wait before using either one of those bras, mainly a clear vinyl sticker type? I dont have a garage. Any tips for a car cover? Thanks for any answers!

 

are they wet sanding/buffing it?

The last time I had paint work done I was told 90 days, but there's a lot of things that can affect that. For what it's worth the general time I see is 90 days.

Take a look at optimum opti-coat.

 

Waiting all depends if the company that's painting the car "bakes" it or not. IF they bake it, you can wait 3-4 days (with good weather), if they didn't bake it I wouldn't touch it for 30-45 days

 

Speaking of opti-coat, builthatch, did you do it yourself?

I'm looking more and more into it.

 

True. Mine was baked, but he said just to be on the safe side leave it alone.

Aside from regular washing, I left it alone.

 

even if they bake it on, i dont touch it for at least 3 months...not even a coat of wax. just quick detail spray and microfiber towels

 

Not sure what you mean by bake, but they did have a huge industrial heater right in the garage when it sat after paint that he left on next to it.

It is getting wet sanded and polished.

So not even a vinyl bra?

 

yo guys i recommend sending an email to Dr. Ghodoussi at Optimum an asking him about his wax and fresh paint. he was a chemist and consultant for paint companies for many years prior to starting Optimum. he has some interesting insight on the whole thing that differs greatly from what we've always heard.

Opti-Coat is different and it definitely requires ample time for fresh paint to fully cure.

i have done it many times, both 2.0 and Opti-Guard/Opti-Coat Pro. this time i did not, however, as the car was used for a coating demo. the only initial stuff i did to this car was the Opti-Glass Pro coating on the windshield. if you have any tech questions on it please feel free to ask.

 

So what would you guys charge... hand waxed and all...

I asked 150 but got 175...

Can anyone suggest a good rotary starting point for me and pads?

I have used a robi to lay wax.. but that really doest do much more than what I can do with my hands...