I somehow scratched my right eye last Tuesday morning, and couldn't go to work. My good eye specialist, Dr. Dunstan Fernandez wasn't in that day, so I could only make an appointment on Wednesday morning. Thank God I had some spare antibiotic ointment and 1 final eye patch. By Tuesday evening, the eye patch was out, but I'm not taking any chances, so visited the Doc the next morning. So last week I was on MC on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This Monday morning, I woke up to a call from work, and went back to snooze a little. But the pain came back. I thought sleeping it out would work, but by noon, it was still lingering, and I had to patch myself into a pirate again. Or as my mom calls it, a one-eyed-monster. My wife says its coz I was too tired from washing the car. Haha...
Its Monday night, I'm feeling much better, but everyone said to see the doctor tomorrow. Well, we'll see.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Car Wash 3 - Wax & Polish
Saturday evening: Car wash. No time for polish & wax.
Sunday afternoon: Rinse + dry. Polish. Clay. Wax.
Total time spent: About 8 hours.
1. Car Wash - My car wash speed is improving. Managed to wash & dry within an hour.
2. Polish - Polished the entire car using a tiny sponge provided with the Soft99 metaclean. Wipe dry after 10 minutes.
3. Clay - Where normal washing/polishing fails, a clay bar removes particles that are stuck to the paint. You may not even see the particles, but you can feel little dots if you glide your hand on the paint. Here's an intro to the clay bar by Meguiar's Mike Phillips:
(a) Obviously Meguiar's clay detailing kit would cost a bomb, so I'm using Soft99 clay bar with Eneos car shampoo. According to Mr. Albert, the only clay bar factories are in Japan, so they're all the same.
(b) The clay bar is actually white in color, wrapped in a blue plastic.
(c) Tear and use only half. It feels like plasticine. Keep the other half in the fridge or an air tight container. Use again in 6 months.
(d) Flatten it out, around 4 inches in diameter, like in the picture.
(e) Wet surface and clay bar with shampoo and clay-away!
(f) The dirt always looks brown in color. Don't ask me why.
(g) I only clayed the grey area, to make a comparison for my own records.
4. Wax - I'm using "Super Hard Shell" Turtle Wax, which comes as a green color paste. Its very easy to apply, but I made a huge mistake. After applying, I came inside to blog and spent about 50 minutes before I wiped the wax off. The paste had already hardened and it was VERY TIRING to wipe the excess wax off. Lesson learned.
Because I was too tired, I only waxed the front half of the car :(
The result? I love to view water beading on the car after a good polish & wax. In the picture below, the right door panel has been polished and waxed, while the left door only has been polished. Is there a difference? :)
Two videos of claying to come, in the next post.
Sunday afternoon: Rinse + dry. Polish. Clay. Wax.
Total time spent: About 8 hours.
1. Car Wash - My car wash speed is improving. Managed to wash & dry within an hour.
2. Polish - Polished the entire car using a tiny sponge provided with the Soft99 metaclean. Wipe dry after 10 minutes.
3. Clay - Where normal washing/polishing fails, a clay bar removes particles that are stuck to the paint. You may not even see the particles, but you can feel little dots if you glide your hand on the paint. Here's an intro to the clay bar by Meguiar's Mike Phillips:
(a) Obviously Meguiar's clay detailing kit would cost a bomb, so I'm using Soft99 clay bar with Eneos car shampoo. According to Mr. Albert, the only clay bar factories are in Japan, so they're all the same.
(b) The clay bar is actually white in color, wrapped in a blue plastic.
(c) Tear and use only half. It feels like plasticine. Keep the other half in the fridge or an air tight container. Use again in 6 months.
(d) Flatten it out, around 4 inches in diameter, like in the picture.
(e) Wet surface and clay bar with shampoo and clay-away!
(f) The dirt always looks brown in color. Don't ask me why.
(g) I only clayed the grey area, to make a comparison for my own records.
4. Wax - I'm using "Super Hard Shell" Turtle Wax, which comes as a green color paste. Its very easy to apply, but I made a huge mistake. After applying, I came inside to blog and spent about 50 minutes before I wiped the wax off. The paste had already hardened and it was VERY TIRING to wipe the excess wax off. Lesson learned.
Because I was too tired, I only waxed the front half of the car :(
The result? I love to view water beading on the car after a good polish & wax. In the picture below, the right door panel has been polished and waxed, while the left door only has been polished. Is there a difference? :)
Two videos of claying to come, in the next post.
Comment
An international comment deserves its own posting:
-----------------------------------
STP said:
Hi I am kind of amazed at your enthusiasm over your Elantra (as well as your friends) I am in the US and also started a blog when I bought my Elantra...though I am not into pimping my ride or the car scene. The only thing I've bought for it was an iPod. I would love to get a spoiler, but rear visibility isn't that good already in my opinion. In San Francisco Bay Area there are very few Elantras that I see, maybe 2 or 3 a month, but in many parts of SF I can drive 4 blocks and see 8 Corollas(Altis). My Elantra is black too, and I haven't washed it in 4 months. I shall see how long I can resist.
-----------------------------------
First of, thanks for visiting and posting! I love your blog, its easy reading and informative.
1. I'm not into "pimping my ride" too and I don't consider myself to be "in" the car scene. But am into little upgrades and minor improvements to the Elantra...
2. If visibility is an issue, go for the boot lip type. I'm still not convinced to get a spoiler yet.
3. Well, I just spotted 2 Elantra X20s yesterday, so I guess its more common here than San Francisco Bay Area. However, there are way more in Singapore. Its called Avante (1.6) in Singapore. Toyota Vios, Altis, Honda City, Civics are very common here too. Not to mention our own local cars (Proton and Perodua).
4. From the detailing workshop that I just went to, the detailing Guru, Mr. Albert said a car wash is compulsory, at once a week. I can imagine the condition of your car now (without a wash for 4 months!) Anyway, I'm washing my car right now... taking a break after a layer of wax. I'll post some pics soon!
Visit STP's blog here.
-----------------------------------
STP said:
Hi I am kind of amazed at your enthusiasm over your Elantra (as well as your friends) I am in the US and also started a blog when I bought my Elantra...though I am not into pimping my ride or the car scene. The only thing I've bought for it was an iPod. I would love to get a spoiler, but rear visibility isn't that good already in my opinion. In San Francisco Bay Area there are very few Elantras that I see, maybe 2 or 3 a month, but in many parts of SF I can drive 4 blocks and see 8 Corollas(Altis). My Elantra is black too, and I haven't washed it in 4 months. I shall see how long I can resist.
-----------------------------------
First of, thanks for visiting and posting! I love your blog, its easy reading and informative.
1. I'm not into "pimping my ride" too and I don't consider myself to be "in" the car scene. But am into little upgrades and minor improvements to the Elantra...
2. If visibility is an issue, go for the boot lip type. I'm still not convinced to get a spoiler yet.
3. Well, I just spotted 2 Elantra X20s yesterday, so I guess its more common here than San Francisco Bay Area. However, there are way more in Singapore. Its called Avante (1.6) in Singapore. Toyota Vios, Altis, Honda City, Civics are very common here too. Not to mention our own local cars (Proton and Perodua).
4. From the detailing workshop that I just went to, the detailing Guru, Mr. Albert said a car wash is compulsory, at once a week. I can imagine the condition of your car now (without a wash for 4 months!) Anyway, I'm washing my car right now... taking a break after a layer of wax. I'll post some pics soon!
Visit STP's blog here.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Cleaner Wax
I've been looking for a polish to get rid of stubborn dirt on car. Mr. Albert from Pro Detailers recommended the Soft 99 polish that comes in a chrome can. I'm familiar with the blue can, but I've never seen the chrome one:
Found it at Tesco, Mutiara D'sara today for RM 24.90. The blue one is RM 13.90.
Apparently, the chrome can is for metallic paint, and the blue can is for solid paint. (Source: BMW forums) Some also mentioned that the soft99 polish is very abrasive and can eat into our clear coat, so use sparingly and only when necessary (don't use for the whole car).
Also, their Japanese website only shows the blue can (here), while the English version only shows the chrome can (here). I think the chrome one is newer.
I'll have to wait till next weekend to test it out. Hopefully it DOESN'T RAIN AGAIN!
Found it at Tesco, Mutiara D'sara today for RM 24.90. The blue one is RM 13.90.
Apparently, the chrome can is for metallic paint, and the blue can is for solid paint. (Source: BMW forums) Some also mentioned that the soft99 polish is very abrasive and can eat into our clear coat, so use sparingly and only when necessary (don't use for the whole car).
Also, their Japanese website only shows the blue can (here), while the English version only shows the chrome can (here). I think the chrome one is newer.
I'll have to wait till next weekend to test it out. Hopefully it DOESN'T RAIN AGAIN!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Rims, Rims, Rims...
Did you know that black ppl have an obsession for sport rims? A black man will put bling bling rims on anything... including a toaster, if they can. They won't think twice in spending 2 months salary to buy a set of chrome-spinning-rims.
Now, for your average M'sian dude, its down to a few choices:
- Local rims (JRD?)
- Thailand rims (Lenso)
- Taiwan rims (the Japanese alternative)
- Japan rims (Ooooo...)
- Italian rims (Yeah, baby!)
Most guys will go for local rims (heavy stuff) coz its cheap. The next budget imported rims are the taiwanese ones, which are not too bad stuff. The japanese rims are for the hardcore Jap fans, or another alternative is to buy 2nd hand Jap rims which are not too pricey. For me, Lenso impressed me with their designs, and I thought of getting a set. But they lack variety for the 5 or 10 hole designs.
Here are some Lenso rims:
1. Gold rims will sit nicely on a BLACK X20! Yummy...
2. Sporty 5 spoke, silver rim. Simple, sporty and tough look.
3. These are the first Lenso rims that I saw. It looked very interesting on a Putra. But I dunno whether it'll look good on the X20...
4. Did you know that I love 5-spoke rims? This one looks really macho.
5. White sporty rims, light weight too.
Some other rims on the X20:
And last, but not least, OZ Racing Record =D
Now, for your average M'sian dude, its down to a few choices:
- Local rims (JRD?)
- Thailand rims (Lenso)
- Taiwan rims (the Japanese alternative)
- Japan rims (Ooooo...)
- Italian rims (Yeah, baby!)
Most guys will go for local rims (heavy stuff) coz its cheap. The next budget imported rims are the taiwanese ones, which are not too bad stuff. The japanese rims are for the hardcore Jap fans, or another alternative is to buy 2nd hand Jap rims which are not too pricey. For me, Lenso impressed me with their designs, and I thought of getting a set. But they lack variety for the 5 or 10 hole designs.
Here are some Lenso rims:
1. Gold rims will sit nicely on a BLACK X20! Yummy...
2. Sporty 5 spoke, silver rim. Simple, sporty and tough look.
3. These are the first Lenso rims that I saw. It looked very interesting on a Putra. But I dunno whether it'll look good on the X20...
4. Did you know that I love 5-spoke rims? This one looks really macho.
5. White sporty rims, light weight too.
Some other rims on the X20:
And last, but not least, OZ Racing Record =D
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Car Wash 2
I was determined to wash my car every week. But last weekend, my wife took the X20 to Genting, so had to wait till next weekend.
I'm on leave today, so I started washing around 4.00pm. This time, it took less time to soap and dry. I took my time to clean up the rims of tar and grime. But as the week before, the sky became very cloudy. As I'm typing this, there's a thunderstorm outside. I guess polish and wax will have to wait till tomorrow.
I'm on leave today, so I started washing around 4.00pm. This time, it took less time to soap and dry. I took my time to clean up the rims of tar and grime. But as the week before, the sky became very cloudy. As I'm typing this, there's a thunderstorm outside. I guess polish and wax will have to wait till tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Interesting... Sightings
1. I spotted my own car (driven by my wife) on D'sara highway yesterday. This isn't really an X20 sighting.
2. I saw this accent this morning while on the way to work. In cantonese, this is a very crude phrase. Sorry I dunno how to explain it.
3. My friend spotted this someone in PJ
2. I saw this accent this morning while on the way to work. In cantonese, this is a very crude phrase. Sorry I dunno how to explain it.
3. My friend spotted this someone in PJ
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