Poundy

I had spell of 3 nights a couple of years ago, turned out it was a very small moth flying round the interior mirror when the street light came on at night. 😄 2 options, give the cabin a spray with bug killer and leave over night or you can always turn the interior disturbance part of the alarm off, before locking the car.

Prevention is always the preferred option for me, so mine will be going in Sept/Oct for cleaning off and then treating underneath, cavities, behind arch liners etc with LanoGuard, quoted around £160. I didn't think at that price it was worth DIYing without a ramp.

So today was brake calipers painting day, as the alloy finish was starting to look rather tired. I decided that as the Ct's calipers were rather inept looking when compared with most of the larger sporting car models that look good with the fire red, bright yellows etc, I would attempt a reverse psychology and make them try and disappear lol! I decided to use the Anthracite grey paint but rejected the Lexus caliper stickers. I am happy with the outcome as I feel the alloy wheel is more prominent and looks less cluttered behind it. Application was very easy in situ with use of a wire brush. Plus the paint kit also came with a brake cleaning spray and small paint brush, so once the wheels are off it only takes a few minutes per wheel. I also took the opportunity to clean and treat the plastic arch liners with the Ultimate Black. Before and after pics.

I must admit to being impressed with the performance of the DiamondBrite coating they applied, when comparing the cost with the Jags Ceramic coating I had done. It also appears that the top up products designated mainly for Ceramic coatings appear to work even better with the standard Diamondbrite finish. My thinking is, that perhaps being a slightly softer finish it is holding the top up coats better than the harder ceramic coatings and making for an even slicker finish. Of course ceramic has a longer warranty period and should perform better for longer in the bang a scrape departments with less attention. But from a visual point of view I think the diamondbrite is edging it for me. Plus I have a new aid in the fight for a car that stays dry in the rain😅 Car pro Hydro2, It's applied as a light mist to a wet car after washing then power washed off. Something causes a reaction that bonds it to the panel, don't ask lol!

So today I gave it a wash with Reset car wash and dried it off using the contactless hose method to see what the previous application of Reload had done. Hard to do one handed when taking a vid but I'm sure you get the gist lol! Very little to dab off when finished and no water stains when dry. Not Sure if the vid will load but here it is. 20230816_102715_001.mp4

Probably need to consider if the cheaper service options are offering you an included free 10yr warranty in the price. I usually knock back any offered additives as being a user of only super fuels, and having done a fair amount of research into them, am happy they already contain the ones they are offering me.

Same here and a Birmingham screwdriver 😉

Yorkshire Lexus 50% comment is showing him as owning UX e Electric

In Australia all personal accident injury is covered by MAIB which is part of the car registration fee, and means that any sustained injury by any person under any vehicle accident scenario gets whatever treatment is needed regardless of cost. As such having car insurance is not a legal requirement but means you can if proven to be at fault get sued for any property damage. Consequently, fully comp is still the norm, but not being a legal requirement and not having the personal injury liability. Insurance companies are a lot more competitive price wise in getting business. The problem with making things a legal requirement, is it gives the supplier of the service a licence to rob. Same with the MOT rip off, no such thing in Australia as long as the car is taxed it's street legal, If the tax lapses it's a full over the pits job to reinstate it or on change of ownership. Even so there is only a fraction of unroadworthy cars over there compared to here and the police are always ready to pull any likely candidates over for a thorough safety check.

I think if I had the UX E, which is a relative newcomer to the range of Lexus vehicles, I would prefer to have it done by Lexus until the local independent is more familiar with any gremlins that may surface. Of course the Relax warranty can still be taken up after the initial factory warranty, just by letting Lexus start servicing the car on year 4.

Hi Kish, not used GTechniq but viewed as a top brand, the Jag was done in SiRamik coating and i used their SC15mist for quite sometime then changed to the Car Pro range, mainly Reset for washing as this also adds a slight film when hosed off, Reload is so easy to use compared with some others that can leave a haze. I just use a light spray onto a cloth and smear it over 1 panel at a time then buff it off with hardly any pressure, with another clean cloth. Their Bug and Tar remover is amazing for the front panel, spray it on leave for a few minutes and it just wipes off with a wet cloth or hose. Having said that where have all the bugs gone I hardly use it now lol! Managed to show some beading but had to be quick before it all slid off.😄

So today I gave it a layer of Car Pro Reload which is an inorganic Silica spray mainly for use on unwaxed, contaminate free and Ceramic coated paintwork. This adds an extra layer of protection and makes the car a little bit slicker and more repellent of rain, bugs bird dropping etc. It also prevents brake dust sticking to the wheels and the car should look good with just a wash and hose down and no need for any future polish or waxes applied. As this car is kept outdoors, I will apply the reload perhaps every 3-4 months to keep it looking sweet and well protected. Sat watching the rain slide off as we speak 😄

To be fair I was well pleased with the outcome as I phoned them on the Sunday night after rear ending someone lol! And it was all sorted and booked in for the repair on the Monday with collection arranged 3 days later, top job done. The only downside was 3 months later getting a threatening letter off the other parties insurer saying they would be taking me to court for their clients costs because my insurers hadn't settled with them 🥲 After a few long winded phone calls my insurers sorted it, even so I sent a letter of complaint over the hassle I received. Imagine my surprise when nearly 1 year later I received a nice letter of apology and an inconvenience cheque for £300.

I think Lexus believe they already have the best technology when stating the new LBX will continue with the original NiMH battery concept as they feel even though it is more costly, it does a better job than the more popular lion batteries. Also interesting that the press are now circulating Toyota's breakthrough in EV batteries with a range in the vicinity of 750 miles and a charging time of 10 minutes, 😉

True, and the reason my Jag came back repaired with new bumper and bonnet but no PPF or Ceramic coating applied. However if I had declared it and paid an increased premium, I would certainly have asked the question.

I think we may misinterpret the reason for the cost increase and the reason for the declaration of upgraded items. Like fitting larger quality painted wheels, or expensive aftermarket upgraded painted calipers, is a different ball game to painting your own fitted items. The extra premium is for no other reason than to offset the likelihood of the insurer having a higher pay out to replace the non standard Items. Therefore not declaring none safety or vehicle performance affecting items should not affect any claim other than them only reimbursing you for the OE item value. Also unless you have owned the car from new it would be hard to know every mod a number of previous owner's had performed over the years and an impossible task for insurers to police. Eg: When I approached my Insurance company about a full body ceramic coating and front end protective film put on one of my cars. I was told if I declared it I would incur a £100 increase in premium but should I not declare it (which I didn't) In the event of accident damage the car would only be repaired to OE quality finish and any additional ceramic or film would be left to me and the body shop to resolve. Get what you pay for I guess lol! But painting anything that may suffer corrosion is good car maintenance and not a modification.

Hmmm! I own this but it's not been assigned to any vehicle yet. But If You Know You Know 🤔 royoftherovers would have been all over it like a rash 😄RIP John

Had my wife's CT done last week fixed a bit of kerb rash cleaned, stripped, powder coated and painted silver sparkle, then oven baked. I dropped them off just before close on Tuesday and picked them up the following night. It's the time spent in the stripping tank and later in the oven that takes the time. Haggled for my 17" and managed £240 the set, top Job.

He has also given me a quote of £160 to clean, treat and do the under body seal protection. With a choice of Clear Lanoline, gold coloured' lanoline or the Waxoyl As I am away and then he is away it won't happen for about six weeks but I will get some pics off him on the finished job when done. I will just add to this thread with any trials or tribulation we have with the car as we go along. lol!

So to summarise so far I am very pleased with the work performed so far. Especially as the detailer did more than I was expecting with the additional upholstery protection and all the interior boot lid door steps rubbers etc etc. for £300 all in.

So I have the car back and am really impressed with the results, the finish is really slick and completely free from all the bird droppings damage and the numerous clear coat scratches that were accumulated over the years. It was raining when I arrived to collect it but the rain was just sheeting straight off the car. On arriving home and when the rain stopped I took the opportunity to get my large microfiber towel out and and slowly dry off any remaining spots. I find using this method soon highlights any imperfections in the paintwork, but none were evident 😀 The process I decided on was a full stage1 clear coat correction which consisted of all the paint work having any marks polished out at a cost of £100 This was followed by another polishing procedure to enhance the shine and enhance the colour and highlight the gold fleck in the paint. at a cost of £100. Having gone this far I decided to go with the Diamond Brite 3 year warranty paint protection system. at an additional cost of £100. Having had a ceramic coating on the XF R-Sport I am a great fan of wash only car coatings and not one for "wax on wax off" 😉 I also have a supply of nano coating alkaline "Reset Shampoo" and some "Reload top up coating" left over from the Jag which should help to keep it looking smart.

Wheels were done by Longbridge Tyres near the old Austin works, he used to farm them out but started getting bad service, so invested in all the good gear himself. Recently added a £50k lathe machine to enable the skimming of Diamond Cut wheels that many refurbishes don't do. The Detailer was a by chance find when I drove past his premises on another errand. He is based on Enfield Industrial estate nr Redditch. Enfield Detailing and Body Wrapping. some nice pics on his Facebook Page. Not Crazy prices like many of the others like to charge, so will give a verdict on the exterior later today.

I did a complete interior freshen up before taking it in for exterior detailing. The photo doesn't do it justice as it looks great after methodically going through the interior with an application of Meguire's Ultimate Black Plastic & Trim restorer @ around £14. I may get some new front mats for summer use and put the current ones back in for use at winter time. Detailer's finished and informed me he did a freebie on the interior seating clean and spray on protectant, to finish the interior off. My kind of guy lol!

Car back tomorrow from exterior paint correction etc

After noticing a little paint fade on the silver painted alloys and some minor kerb rash on a couple I decided to refurb the wheels. Apparently the fade was due to the original diamond cut wheels previously having a low budget spray coating or two applied. Even so I decided to stay with the Silver finish in preference to the original Diamond cut finish so the wheels went in for the full monty, cleaned, completely stripped, powder coated, high temp oven baked and finished in Silver sparkle at a negotiated price down to £60 per wheel, £240 the set, well chuffed. I have since taken delivery of some Anthracite grey caliper paint and White Lexus stickers and will also replace the rusting locking nuts at the same time Think the paint kit and stickers came in at around £20 all up. A job for finer weather lol!