(Almost) As Good As New! Professional Detail at Blackcats Detailing!

So even though last year I picked up a used 2016 Nissan Elgrand VIP and my new Skyline Nismo, I am still keeping (for now) my IS-F. Something about this V-8 engine and the Lexus quality...

But admittedly, most of my energy recently has been spent on the other cars. So giving this one some TLC was long overdue.

I was lucky enough to find BlackCats Auto Detailing Service when I was trying to find a shop local to me who could do some paint protection film for the new Skyline. (check out my Skyline Nismo blog soon for what is going on!). But essentially, I was so happy with the work Takahashi-san did on the Skyline (I think he is as OCD as me...!) that I decided the Lexus also needed to be polished and protected!

Since he knows me pretty well now, Takahashi-san recommended and used the top of the line, pro-shop only EX KeePer ceramic coating from the well known Keeper Technical Laboratory Co. Ltd. -  in Japan one sees KeePer shops everywhere and they are synonymous with super clean cars.  I suppose there are other shops out there that use even more advanced chemicals but they tend to be very expensive and even then from the damage he repaired Takahashi-san obviously knows what he is doing.

So here are some photos that Takahashi-san sent me (and are also posted on the BlackCats Detailing Instagram account!). 

Cleaned up headlight

Yellowed from age - before it was polished clean!

And then after:

here is the EX KeePer product

Car looks fantastic from any angle!

Tailights were polished as Takahashi-san found minute scratches from automated car washes... yes, I am GUILTY of putthing this car through a few!

When I went to pick up the car, I took some photos too. Blame the operator or the camera, while the car looked fantastic, photos do not do the work Takahashi-san did justice!

Just in case, Takahashi-san gave the car a charge - he noted the battery was a bit weak from not driving it much lately?

Just by talking to Takahashi-san, I felt almost guilty for neglecting this car, so next time I agreed on some detailing work for the interior and to get rid of some of the wheel curb rash.

I need to find another carbon lip spoiler, this one is done...

Love this personalized fold up director's chair with the BlackCats logo!

Still the best angle for this car, I think?

And then at home, there is just SOMETHING that looks better. It could be the newly freshened up headlights, which now have Xpel protective film protecting them? 

But at least I now have in mind at least a couple of projects for this car. Hopefully this will be the year I bring it back to perfect!

Updating My Car Cleaning and Detailing Knowledge!

So it has been a while, but yes I still have the Lexus as my daily/weekend driver – going strong with no problems.  And so much so, I haven’t bothered to make any mods to it, both in the name of keeping the Toyota reliability as well as not finding any real inspiration to mess with a very good car.  This, combined with my crazy workload this year, means I haven’t had time to really touch either of my cars.  

Here is the item for my testing today, the SUMAHO Mamoru Kun product (rated a 9H in hardness on the JIS scale)

Recently however, I was checking out the parts review section on Minkara, when I came across a series of owners of different cars talking about a product, originally designed to protect cell phone displays, that was proving to be effective against protecting the piano black finish that seems to be increasingly popular these days in car interiors, against scratches, dust, and for some people, reducing the appearance of fine scratches. This spray, called SuMaHo Mamoru-kun, also is supposedly good at protecting the glass Navi displays from dust and scratches. (I suspect this is some kind of ceramic glass coating spray…)

I even found one review where the reviewer also recommended using a certain brand of microfiber cloth, along with purified water, to do the initial wipe-down, before applying the Mamoru Kun spray.

As I am never one to shy away from a good idea, I went out and got the coating, the microfiber cloth, and the purified water.

Translated as Super Strong Cleaning Cloth.  To remove stubborn oil stains, fingerprints, accumulated dust.

Sealed to keep dust free.

And most importantly, Made In Japan quality!

Japanese purified water. Actually tasted pretty good...

 

While the IS-F really doesn’t have any piano black touches – at least mine does not – it DOES have this silver carbon finish, as well as the now dated touchscreen. So I figured, why not try this out next time I am waiting in the car to pick up the wife or kids? Might as well keep up with the newest advances in car cleaning and protection, right?

Such an opportunity came up just today! Luckily I had already collected the items I needed, so...

Opened Mamoru-kun to reveal this tiny spray bottle and some cloth

Water on the Super Strong Cleaning Cloth

Maybe a bit hard to see, but the touch screen was a bit dirty, so I got to work...

Meanwhile the instructions are SO Japanese. Manga-easy to read...

After cleaning, spray on the product:

Then use the smaller of the included cloths to spread around. Let dry. 

The package contained 4 of these tiny cloths

Result is hard to show by photo. However on the silver carbon part, I could see that it was immediately much shinier. I am guessing that the spray stuff is a ceramic sealant. 

Hard to tell, but just wiping the dried sealant off, I could immediately tell the difference as the cloth moved around much easier.  Super slick!

For comparison, I did not apply this liquid on the silver carbon on the front doors. 

yep, felt strangely rough compared to the sprayed surface

And I am glad I did not spray these, it is tactile evidence that the spray stuff works! The center console feels super slick, and I think some of the small scratches are much harder to see. 

Lighting isn't outdoors like yesterday so...
(yeah I don't know why the ignition switch seems to be green either)

And the final result is - as you can see, super clean Navi screen - to be expected - but what was very interesting was, because this product is designed for cell phone screens, as a side benefit to leaving the surface super slippery as described above, it also means that fingerprints are not easily transferred to the glass.  Whatever oils do end up, can be easily wiped off with a microfiber towel. 

And, if you look very closely at the screen, while the surface seems very smooth, clean, and smudge free, I can see which parts of the screen seem to have been used more... maybe. Or just bad lighting.

In any case, I am curious to see how long this lasts. Will report back - this car has been neglected, cleaning and detail-wise, for too long so I am eager to get back into checking out new techniques, tools and products. Stay tuned!

A Short Trip Up To Nagano... and the Prince & Skyline Museum

...and the Prince & Skyline Museum!

I'll post more on the museum itself on my R33 GT-R page later, but wanted to include some photos that just came out right!

Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures are VERY green this time of year, and with a bit of rainfall the scenery was even more interesting (check out the clouds) and pretty.  Bonus was all the fresh air...

Found a neat bridge with red railings. Had to stop and take some photos! 

Found a look out point a few kms later...

Here was the view... the kind of green I don't see in Yokohama!

Another nice bridge

Still think the carbon lip really balances the car...

Towards the end of the day, found this road...

Had some fun on a gravel road....

Got out to check it out and what a great picture here

Of course this will need a wash....

 Anyway it's been a while since I drove this car so much (over 450km in one day) and this blog also needed an update.

Until next time...

Sunny Day Means a Wash and Detail!

Right before Japan's raining season (late June and July), I happened to be home on a weekend where I had some free time. And it was nice and sunny.

I had recently noticed some minute scratching in the paint surface, so in addition to giving the car a wash, I decided some work with an orbital buffer would also be good.

Using, of course, my favorite car care products from Zaino.

I know, it's not good to dry in the sun. I had to move fast...

Loe how the water still beads even though I don't wax the car regularly. This is the Zaino AIO in action (plus the occasional Z-9 or Z-7 instant detailer spray)

Blinded by the light!!

Another shot - I wonder if I should get an OEM carbon fiber trunk lip spoiler? 

Here in Japan, with our narrow streets, I had to park and not block the main street!

All done! Hard to tell the gloss though...

Here we go. 

So what do you think? Shiny enough? I think the Lexus has very high quality paint, which makes cleaning up and looking good so much easier...