Meguiar's Compound Ultimate Test

You may have previously read my post about my nasty rear bumper damage, which I have no idea where it came from.  The top two pictures here are the before shots from the back and side.  As you can see there is a lot of abrasion and deep scratches.  I didn't expect to get nearly all of them out because most of them are very deep but I figured I would give it a go with the new DA Polisher and Meguiar's Ultimate Compound.

I used two applications of about a tablespoon of compound, each time going over the area with 4 to five passes and then wiping with a microfibre towel.  After two thorough applications I applied Once a Year car polish and Poor Boys EXP Sealant.  As I figured all the scratches did not come out but I was extremely impressed with the results which you can see for yourself below.

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound in Action

The first four pictures show the area under my driver side doors which are significantly scratched and scuffed.  The plan was to use the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound with my new DA Dual Action Polisher to at least reduce if not get rid of the scuffs altogether.  The scuffs are more noticeable on the first and third pictures but you can see them on all four.



I applied about a teaspoon amount of compound to the polisher and went back over half the area three or four times.  I then reapplied another teaspoon size amount and polished the other half.  I wiped the excess away with a microfiber towel and you can see the results in the bottom four pictures.

When I was done only the deeper scratches were visible but even those were not as visible as before.  All the scuff marks were gone and after an application of polish and sealant the area looked as good as new with the exception of two or three deeper scratches.  I am very pleased with the results from using the compound with the DA Polisher.  If you have an older car or neglected paint you could bring it back to a like new finish with a couple hours work and three or four rechargeable batteries (or just use a corded drill!)

Meguiar's DA Polisher System

I couldn't hold out any longer, I have had my eye on this Dual Action (DA) Polisher for some time now and finally took the plunge.  Canadian Tire have them for $65, I looked around online and this seemed like a reasonable price.  It is a dual action polisher that attaches to your drill, they recommend a corded drill so the rpm's stay constant, I only had a cordless drill and it worked fine as long as you have a back-up battery on hand.  For a decent dual action polisher, you are looking at about $200 or slightly over so for the 5 or 6 times I will use this to polish our cars I figured this would do the trick.  Also, if I decide never to polish our cars again, I am only out $65, as opposed to $250.  I had read some reviews and most of them were positive noting that if you only polish a few times a year it would be the best way to go.

So off to Canadian Tire I went, got the polisher home, ripped it open and went to work.  My guinea pig would be my better half's Mazda 3 since I had polished mine by hand only a couple of weeks ago..... and it was agonizing to do by hand.  I also bought some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound while I was there to see if I could fix some of the clear coat scratches on my car, I'll give a few more details on that in a later post.

I washed the Mazda 3, broke out the polisher and Once a Year Car Polish (which I am now using for the second time this year).  The polisher fit nicely into the cordless drill, I gave it a couple of test spins and it held together just fine.  I applied about a tablespoon of polish to the polisher and started on the car hood.  It was easy to apply, but difficult to know how hard to push on the polisher and at times it was also a bit difficult to keep the pad flat on the car surface, like when reaching up by the wind-shield.

I made my way all around the car in about 45 minutes, the first battery died on me about 1/2 way through so I used less pressure after that to make sure I could finish the car.  The pad held up well, I have since used it on my fathers car and washed it, it is still in good shape.  Replacement pads with a small bottle of polish are $15 so it will be good if I can get a lot of use out of it, they are just attached to the polisher with Velcro so removal is a snap.

Overall the polisher did a good job, it never really removed any scratches but it did make the lighter ones less visible.  I think I will try it with the compound on some of the more trouble scratch spots on my car and see how it goes.  The polisher definitely saves a lot of time when it comes to polishing the car.  The wax and sealant I use just wipes on and off so I don't think I would use it for those.  I would recommend this product for someone looking for a safe, less expensive alternative to a full blown dual action polisher.  Also, if you are thinking about buying one of those useless rotary buffers just buy this instead.

Thanks.

Cabin Air Filter Replacement

I'm not exactly sure how I got to thinking about replacing my cabin air filter but Sunday it dawned on me that I should check it out.  Off to Google I went to see how to replace it and sure enough there were some detailed instructions which can be found here:
http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/67-diy-maintenance/6704-replacing-your-cabin-air-filter.html

I followed the instructions and two minutes later I had the old filter out for inspection.  It was extremely dirty and had a few flies and dandelion seeds stuck to it as well.  Those dandelions will try to grow anywhere......

Since it looked like it could use some replacing my next step was to find a replacement filter.  I emailed Kia to ask them how much a replacement filter was, they told me $53, I emailed back saying this seemed expensive and I would check around and let them know.  My second call was to NAPA Auto Parts, where the replacement filter was $32, much cheaper but it still seemed expensive for a flimsy 9" X 10" filter.  My third call was to Canadian Tire and they told me they had one for $15 but might have a hard time finding it since it was the last one in stock.

So of course I headed off to Canadian Tire and figured I would browse while they tried to find my air filter.  Much to my surprise however they found it in about 2 minutes, a nice Fram Freshbreeze like the picture above and I had just saved myself $40 on the filter.  I'm not sure how much Kia would have charged me to replace the filter but I did it myself in a minute.

The moral of the story..... never buy dealer parts or ask them to replace anything you can easily do yourself.  Google it and you may be surprised!