What have you done to your CX-5 today?

Surf City Garage Barrier Reef Wax, but that`s a wax without a polish, only for topping. When you have swirls, you`ll have to buy Meguiar`s M105 or Chemical Guys V37 and even better is to do that with a machine and not by hand...........but if you have no experience with that then you`ll have to do it handmade with polishing pads and take the easiest way..... and take an easy-wax which you can do by hand...........good luck !!
 
Put in my newly received HeatShield windshield sunshade. Perfect fit. I also put on a Zoom-Zoom sticker in my usual location.

I was at my local dealer earlier to get some oil and a filter. They did not have the Mazda branded oil, they only had some Valvoline synthetic. I was told that was what they use for servicing as well. Seems a bit odd since the owner's manual only lists Mazda and Castrol oils. I didn't get the Valvoline, ordered a kit from the online place instead.
 
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Well I got some meguiers polishing compound and a drill attachment (**** price, no wonder none of them had a price on it). I got some carnuba wax wash I think armor all. I will just top it with turtle wax.
 
I borrowed one of those Meguiar's drill attached polishers from a buddy, after 5 minutes I wanted to blow my brains out it's so small. Since I have so many cars I decided to finally bite the bullet and buy a Porter Cable polisher. Haven't used it yet but it looks the business.
 
I have owned my Porter Cable 7424 for years now and I love it. It has always done what I asked of it and has performed flawlessly. The PC is the standard of the auto detail community like autopia.com.
 
I have the Meguiar's version of the PC (Amazon Lightning Deal a few years ago) and its great! Well worth the investment.
 
Looks good Chris ! It's an excenter and this things makes your CX-5 swirlfree !!


Verzonden met Iphone 5S
 
You won't spend $100 (or less on eBay) on a quality name brand, but you'll spend $80+(with s/h) on Chinese made Harbor Freight crap? Hmmm...
I'm confused. Are you referring to the quality name brand products also made in china/insert "cheap" Asian country? I didn't see many polishers new (or used really)on ebay that were below $60, not counting those cylinder shaped polishers, that was a name brand. And, btw harbor freight is local. I'm sure not gonna pay $130 ((seems to be a price for aname brand and goes up quickly) or more for a polisher that I may use once every 3 months, when I can pay 1/2 for something that has the similar basic function. And if it breaks I have the convenience of taking it back to HF, as opposed to an ebay seller or used item. It also has a cheap pad if I need to replace it (most of those "brand name" buffers also charge $15, $20 or more for replacement/different types of pads). Nothing that I have ever purchased from harbor freight (or aliexpress for that matter) has failed on me. Ever. Besides having worked retail for a number of years, I know better than to bank everything on brand alone.
 
I'm confused. Are you referring to the quality name brand products also made in china/insert "cheap" Asian country? I didn't see many polishers new (or used really)on ebay that were below $60, not counting those cylinder shaped polishers, that was a name brand. And, btw harbor freight is local. I'm sure not gonna pay $130 ((seems to be a price for aname brand and goes up quickly) or more for a polisher that I may use once every 3 months, when I can pay 1/2 for something that has the similar basic function. And if it breaks I have the convenience of taking it back to HF, as opposed to an ebay seller or used item. It also has a cheap pad if I need to replace it (most of those "brand name" buffers also charge $15, $20 or more for replacement/different types of pads). Nothing that I have ever purchased from harbor freight (or aliexpress for that matter) has failed on me. Ever. Besides having worked retail for a number of years, I know better than to bank everything on brand alone.

Now I'm confused. Are you saying everything coming out of China is equal in quality? My iPhone is assembled in China but I know it's quality surpasses most every other phone coming from there. Do I pay higher price for it? Sure, and I got what I paid for. If you look at most reviews about HF's electronic products you should see more negatives than positives (at least I did when looking up a orbital polisher I was going to buy). I'm glad you have had good luck with their electronics, but for $20-$25 more I'll buy a product with a reputable name behind it. They usually demand better quality internals when they contract a factory to make them because their name is behind it. It may fail too, but most of the name brand products I buy lasts for years. I mean, I could understand getting a no brand product if the difference was $50 or more, but to me, $20-25 is negligible. Don't get me wrong, I have some no name stuff, but when it comes to electronics, motors and complex machinery, I stick (with research) to name brands (Apple, Samsung, LG, Honda, etc.)
 
No, I wasn't saying everything coming out of china/region is equal quality, but on the same note, I don't think it's fair to imply a brand name = automatically superior. And when you made the comparison of (Chinese made) brand name to Chinese made HF "crap" that's exactly what was implied.
 
To be fair, Harbor Freight is famously junk to hit a price point. The only stuff I buy there are things with no moving parts, and only then when I expect them to be more or less disposable (I was teaching a shop class and bought a bunch of screwdrivers and the like for a few bucks apiece). I would never, ever buy power tools there, because you can bet that the bearings are going to be undersized, the casing is going to be thin, the windings will be slight, the assembly will be sloppy, and tolerances will be vague. The runout on an HF drill press is alarming.

OTOH, they have a perfectly decent $100 rolling parts bin that's a great value, and I'm currently using a $5 black moving blanket in the back of my CX5 for padding duties, so certainly some cheap and useful stuff to be had. But man, the power tools...... proceed at your own risk.
 
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To be fair, Harbor Freight is famously junk to hit a price point. The only stuff I buy there are things with no moving parts, and only then when I expect them to be more or less disposable (I was teaching a shop class and bought a bunch of screwdrivers and the like for a few bucks apiece). I would never, ever buy power tools there, because you can bet that the bearings are going to be undersized, the casing is going to be thin, the windings will be slight, the assembly will be sloppy, and tolerances will be vague. The runout on an HF drill press is alarming.

OTOH, they have a perfectly decent $100 rolling parts bin that's a great value, and I'm currently using a $5 black moving blanket in the back of my CX5 for padding duties, so certainly some cheap and useful stuff to be had. But man, the power tools...... proceed at your own risk.

I ended up going over there and they were having a sale. Ended up with the polisher and 2 different type of pad for < $50 OTD. If it is poop I will return it.
 
Finally activated my free Sirius subscription.
 
washed it with some armor all carnauba wax soap. gonna start washing it myself because too many swirls and lines are appearing. I will try too polish it tomorrow. Also used a chamois rag for the first time and it took some getting used to but they are great.
 
hatch.webp

Spent the afternoon wiring and firing up my amp and sub. Getting through the firewall was a pain in the ass.

Getting old sucks BTW - 10 years ago and my cargo area would be filled with a lot more then a sealed 8in.
 
Spent the afternoon wiring and firing up my amp and sub. Getting through the firewall was a pain in the ass.

Do you mean bend down and up and under the dash was a pain in the ass, or actual penetration through the wall? I thought the bending down was the pain. I used to do it as a profession, but now that I only do it on my car, my body feels it... CRACK, CRACK (lol2). Looks clean though, where did you mount the amp?
 
Finally had some quality time with the new ride. Gave her a nice bubble bath and then proceeded on a full wax job..........Hmm, yes I'm talking about the CX5
 
Installed my RB muffler, and changed the oil/filter. Little tip for anyone who does their own maintenance and will be removing the engine cover, spray the rubber grommets and bushings with some silicone or other lubricant. This will make it easier to remove the cover, and keep you from breaking the posts as it gets older (experience with motorcycle side covers). Shouldn't have to do it every time, just take note of how hard it pulls off.
 
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