Hi guys, just wanted to share 2 new things I got to take care of the car.
1) Covercraft Custom Sun Shade
2) Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax
Above Pic: In the pic, had just finished applying Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax ($21) by hand the day before. I've also used Meguiar's Deep Crystal Wax ($8). ULW is not a Carnauba wax, it is actually a synthetic paint sealant while the Deep Crystal is made with Carnauba. Comparing the two visually, I see no measurable difference. The thing that will differentiate between the 2 is the durability. I felt after a month, a month and a half, DC would have to be re-applied. We shall see how well the ULW lasts. The MOST important thing for me though was ULW's promise NOT to stain black plastic trim. I had stained the black plastic trim with the DC for sure when I used it. Thankfully, I actually was able to get it off with a red, pencil eraser! I definitely wanted a wax I could apply without having to tape my car off (time constraints!). I did not purposely try to avoid the black trim, but I certainly was not shy about applying wax where the red meets the black! Had I used the DC in this manner, I know for a fact my black trim would have been quite stained. I am extremely pleased to report that the ULW most certainly does NOT stain black plastic! Now if it lasts at least 3 months in this FL heat, I will have my wax of choice!!
Above 2 Pics: Rained later that evening. Some pics to display the water beadage. Looked like my car was sweating! I also apply wax to my front windshield. I have done this with Meguiar's DC and the ULW. I'd like to report that when using the DC, the rain droplets would not begin to slide off the glass (RainX effect) until I hit ~40 mph. WIth the ULW, RainX effect seems to kick in at around ~30-35mph.
Above Pic: Look how insane the FL sun can get! So blinding, looks like a picture I took in heaven. Anyways, I am so glad I got the custom sunshade from Covercraft. I was doubting it was actually going to be fit to the measurements of the model of the car. I'm happy to report that it actually is custom cut to the car's windshield measurements. The build quality is also much better than generic Autozone sunshades. In the pic you can see how dark it is in the interior thanks to the sun shade. I promise you without it, with the FL sun as it was in the pic, everything would have been illuminated. There is SUCH a big difference when I go into my car now (I also have 3M's Crystalline Window Tint on all windows). Before, it was like getting my face slapped when I opened up the car door at noon. If you live in a northern state, let me just illustrate it this way. If you've baked something in the oven and finally opened the oven door to get the food out at the end, that overwhelming, initial heat wave is the sensation I am talking about. I don't have to deal with that anymore and I can no longer cook eggs on my dash! I love the custom fit as it leaves very little space for sun to get through except around the front, rear view mirror. Since I have the top tint strip on my windshield, the only real sun that gets through has to come through the 20VLT tint strip.
Above 2 pics: Interior view of sunshade.
In the North, you have to worry about salt destroying your car in the Winter. Here in the South, you have to worry about the Sun destroying your car in the Summer! Actually, here in FL, it's basically all the seasons you still have to worry about the Sun minus Winter..
-Charlie-