The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Autobright products I usually buy from eBay in job lots and three bottles come with a new cloth for about £12 (last time)
General What did you do with your Panda today?
- Thread starter aussiepanda
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General What did you do with your Panda today?
That's great. Thanks very much for taking the time to list and "review" those products.
Anyone else care to contribute? - I must say I've been somewhat surprised at the lack of response to this, I expected to be snowed under with peoples individual preferences to such an extant I'd be confused as to what to try!
Anyone else care to contribute? - I must say I've been somewhat surprised at the lack of response to this, I expected to be snowed under with peoples individual preferences to such an extant I'd be confused as to what to try!
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Now. As head Panda Nut you just do as instructed! If you are not delighted I will but the products from you!
Yes sir. Sorry sir, right away sir, - he said, saluting smartly with stomach in chest out and chin in! Ha Ha. But seriously, Thanks for the recommendation, I'll be looking very seriously at those products, Armor All's been around a long time and is a name I've seen on the shelves in Halfords and other retailers, I'm sure they know what they're doing.
PS to the above. I've heard horror stories about how applying stuff like the autobrite can go badly wrong. how difficult is it to do?
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
So I should think. Thats better!! Shield is odd stuff, not quite polish but extraordinarily effective. Now I have found the Autobright stuff it doesnt get much of a look in. The biggest problem is you can NEVER drive off in the wet with an open window. If you do I guarantee you will get at least half a pint of water roll in through the window as soon as you move. That does drive me mad, My Bravo had a gutterless roof and big windows. Im sure it used to enjoy the game.
I have also heard MER is good polish but never actually tried that. I now think straight polish is not worth the effort, Too much work and results just not as good.
I think there may be some stuff on here already regarding polish etc if memory serves me right.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Cobbles. Its the easiest thing in the world and no issues at all. I just followed the simple instructions. First coat seems to be a polish very fine and quite effetcive. It dries just like an ordinary polish to a mild haze and rubs off extremely easily. Second coat is just clear stuff. They say polish / buff but it barely needed this. I did all three cars in 2019. The tiny bottles are only 4 inches tall or so but are easily enough to do the entire car. I did the black trim glass and mirrors and the roof rails. Every part seems to have responded well and all I need to do to bring back a super shine is a bit of clay bar spray and polish off which again is an easy job. There is nothing I have used that beats the finished effect and only the shield is worth keeping on the shelf. Another advantage of the clay bar lube as shiner is the buffing cloths dont get covered in polish and can be reused after they dry. Polish cloths need washing or changing. The diamond bright seems to seal the mirror cover plastic and it seems to have stayed sealed better than anything else did. As there is no residue its just easy. I would not pay the dealer price to treat the car again, but a poke about on eBay gives up the product for not much more than standard polish. I have only done our cars once although Noop was done with supagard at sale. That seemed to have worn off after not much more than 12 months and the internal treatment was worthless. There may be better polmer sealants around but I havn't looked. Rachels car was 8 years post treatment when we bought it and it was clear its a good base product from its condition as its the best paintwork of any similar aged car I have bought. The yellow fiats tend to fade badly too and there is little evidence of fade or paint bloom at 11 years old. A colour coded paint bought last year was an exact match. I cant see where I painted it.I havnt cleaned the cars for a year or so because of health issue but I think a quick wash and spray / buff would bring them back to show room condition. The only good think about being kept down by my kidney is its broken my OCD (car). Though I do still hanker to get cleaning a bit......
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The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
pps Head Panda Nut, self appointed, not recommended, normally to be consumed with a large stiff drink and an even larger pinch of salt.
Talking about Panda Nuts, I was walking down to the library just before lunch today when a tidy wee 169 Panda 100HP pulled up at the kerb beside me. Passenger jumped out and rushed into shop. Driver's window was down so I thought I'd try talking to him. Turned out to be a nice chap who was very pleased with his 100HP Panda and we prattled away for a few minutes about Pandas in general. Passenger returned so he had to go and I regret to say I never asked if he was a forum member or "lurker". Anyway, I've posted in the "spotted/was it you" thread in the hope he may come back on it.
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Dremelled of the surface rust off the rear arches ( liner was a pig to remove taking some wheel arche paint off with them) but well worth it, amazing how much crap gets behind them. Skim filled the arches and resprayed with a rattle can, Also waxoyled under arches and rear beam. Done a small repair at bottom of door where it was bubbling under the paint and sprayed in . not a perfect match but at least the grot has gone.
Mot passed, just wondering if I should do an oil change, last done 6 months ago (700 miles)
Mot passed, just wondering if I should do an oil change, last done 6 months ago (700 miles)
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Also £402 for a cambelt/tension/waterpump fitted inc VAT, good deal?
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Cor, Im waiting for a quote. Thats scary. My last 5 years back on the Bravo 1.6D was £238 just looked it up, but prices have gone nuts.
Probably about, or slightly below, average at this time. Was it a main dealer or a smaller workshop? Last time I got a quote (I'd always intended to do the job myself, just interested what the going rate was) was about 2019 when it varied from about £350 to "silly money" at the Fiat dealer if I insisted on having the pump done too. (I would always include the water pump on any engine where it's part of the valve drive train).
Workshop prices are going crazy just now aren't they. It's "think of a figure and double it" country? My youngest boy spent over £800 on a "big" service, disks and pads and a centre exhaust section on his Astra at his wee local garage just before they went on holiday a couple of months ago. Wasn't so long ago I'd have done that for him myself but this old body just isn't up to doing that much work in a hurry any more - quite depresses me!
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Do update us when you get it won't you?
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Valued independent for my cambelt, its not really due to the spring but keeping one eye on energy prices ive gambled on going early so its hopefully cheaper, debating if i could run it 6 years then as im only low mileage user.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
This was my local independent man. He seems to be sound and does all the cambelts himself so Im pretty sure hes very well versed. I know the problem age is a pain in the ... Just about everywhere really. Anyhow I have now decided if I cant get an answer from NHS on y health I amgoing to have to pay and go abroad. Apparently its all more or less normal in the states so if you can pay the bill you can get treatemetn in weeks if not days. I am sure this should help/
I took all day yesterday to reorganise 30 bags of wood pellets in my garage and it nearly killed me. Today is enforced feet up. I want to get the cars cleaned and polished before the weather turns. At this rate theres not a lot fo hope for that. Also need to do some serious structural jobs in the garage as the walls are not adeqautely reinforced with butresses and the ones they did put in are incorrectly built. I need to sort soemthing before we put quarter of a tonne of solar on top, and also have to do a pad for the installation so I am going to be overdoing it!
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Sell all but your best Panda off, buy a shed and a car port, have the garage knock down, put the 1 Panda under the car port and all your gear in the new shed. Job done. Feet up and have a speckled hen.
Finished work at midday, came home & gave the Panda it's regular wash, then went for a drive to the chinese takeaway to get dinner as the car doesn't get used much nowadays, only done 2,600 miles since the MOT in March. Got a couple of pics outside the chinese resturant, have to say that the Panda looked a lot smarter than the Aston Martin parked behind & the newish BMW in front
Nothing quite so smart as a nice shiny black car.
Just walked to the dentist and back for annual checkup, only 10 minutes down the road so not worth taking one of the cars only to find there's nowhere to park. It's a nasty wet morning so I was hurrying to get back indoors but something about Becky's front bumper caught my eye as i was unlocking the front door. Is that a big dollop of seagull poo I thought - not an unusual feature of living near the sea. But no! it's a dirty great scrape of blue paint - Becky's white - and some dirt about 6 or 7 inches long and about 3 inches wide on the front bumper just under her N/S headlamp. Luckily there's no sign of cracking of the plastic or sprung clips so it's been a glancing blow. Might be too deep to just polish out though.
Mrs J was at the hospital for her breast scan yesterday and the parking places there are very tight. She remembers seeing a big blue "Chelsea tractor" cruising around looking for a parking space as she went into the hospital, wonder if that was the guilty party? We'll never know. I've got some T Cut with extra abrasive in it (basically brasso) which I'll have a go with when the rain goes off. So annoying that the guilty party didn't even leave a "sorry" note.
Mrs J was at the hospital for her breast scan yesterday and the parking places there are very tight. She remembers seeing a big blue "Chelsea tractor" cruising around looking for a parking space as she went into the hospital, wonder if that was the guilty party? We'll never know. I've got some T Cut with extra abrasive in it (basically brasso) which I'll have a go with when the rain goes off. So annoying that the guilty party didn't even leave a "sorry" note.
