Detailed my 03Lava Vibe today! **NEW PICS, DEBADGED**

[Zer0VIBE03]

**NEW PICS IN LAST POST**I took four loving hours by hand to detail my 03 Lava Vibe by hand. She's not perfect, but today she looked beautiful.Wash with blue corral and loveHand polished with Nu FinishHand waxed with Meguire's Gold ClassArmorall tire wet gelPlastic-X on Headlights/mirrorsBack in Black on the claddingRain held off just lon enough for me to enjoy my clean car for 8 hours, started to rain as I pulled into the driveway. I get the outside spot today

[BadBrew]

Great work! Looks like new

[Zer0VIBE03]

thanks. I'm glad my camera is old and kinda junky so you don't see all the fail in the paint and dings on the doors.. LolOh and in case if anyone is wondering, the tire size is 225/60R16. Looks pretty good to fill in the wheel wells without changing out rims or getting lowering springs (would be a bad idea for me, Chicago winters, FTW). People said they wouldn't fit, they do and there's no rub. And the rear view looks kinda cool with wide tires

[jkm311]

Sexy Lava FTW! I am also in the bigger-than-OEM tire club. I stayed with the 215 width, but have 60 sidewall. MUCH better choice for me than lowering, because of my daily drive's road conditions.

[1SC]

Great work. Your car looks really nice for a 7 years old car. A lot of those Vibes sure don't look nearly as good as yours.

[BadBrew]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »Oh and in case if anyone is wondering, the tire size is 225/60R16. Looks pretty good to fill in the wheel wells without changing out rims or getting lowering springs (would be a bad idea for me, Chicago winters, FTW). People said they wouldn't fit, they do and there's no rub. And the rear view looks kinda cool with wide tires Nice I used to fit this exact size on my Grand Prix, and I still have them almost new... hummm...BTW I did install an Eibach Pro kit (1.25" drop) and drove through Montreal winters without any itch for now

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by BadBrew »Nice I used to fit this exact size on my Grand Prix, and I still have them almost new... hummm...BTW I did install an Eibach Pro kit (1.25" drop) and drove through Montreal winters without any itch for now Well we shall see when I need new tires what happens. If I try to lower it with these tires on (with the width) I will probably have some rub. It's close now at stock height, but it looks oh so good.And close to 90,000 miles, I've only owned it for 20,000. I am officially in love with the hatchback.

[A Psycho Martyr]

job well done!The stuff you used on the cladding has got it lookin pretty ill!How long does it last before you have to treat it again and how much does it cost?

[ponta2147]

Des Plaines IL Represent! That's where I grew up!!! I think I recognize where your car is parked in these shots too

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Des Plaines IL Represent! That's where I grew up!!! I think I recognize where your car is parked in these shots too Well I work at Brunswick Zone, Mt. Prospect. Lol it is the tiny parking area between my work and the catering hall next door off of Rand.Quote, originally posted by A Psycho Martyr »job well done!The stuff you used on the cladding has got it lookin pretty ill!How long does it last before you have to treat it again and how much does it cost?The "Back in Black" product has lasted 3 days and some rain so far. You have to clean the cladding real well before you put the shine on it. It may streak, so you gotta get it rubbed in there good.**Honestly** you CAN use your favorite tire-shine on the cladding. I used some of the spare stuff I had on a rag to touch up spots I missed when I went around with the "Back in Black" stuff. The "Back in Black" stuff is not expensive, but it's watery so you can end up using a lot if you're not careful.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »Well I work at Brunswick Zone, Mt. Prospect. Lol it is the tiny parking area between my work and the catering hall next door off of Rand.Yup, the Bristol Court banquets, I've been to that Brunswick many-a-time growing up lol! Used to work at the Staples in the Wal-Mart shopping center right down the street too.If you ever need a Vibe to hang out with, we're really close by in Palatine.

[Zer0VIBE03]

well I work there at BZMP typically on weekends. If you ever go in when I'm working I'll give you a "gen vibe" discount on bowling. Lol. You can easily find me, my name tag either says "Brandon" or "Bob the Builder"

[Zer0VIBE03]

Yesterday I installed new Monroe Sensitrac front struts cause the one on my passenger side ate the boot and would no longer compress. The Vibe was literally sitting on an upslant on the passenger side.. now it's all even!! And it rides MUCH better.so I got around to cleaning it for the first time after I debadged it last week... I can't wait until I have money to do many more *little* things to make it my own.

[ponta2147]

Looks great! I'll have to keep my eye out for it!

[A Psycho Martyr]

CLEAN as a mug right there! Good job detailing.

[petervivian]

Amazing, you hand washed, detailed and waxed the car in four hours. Hand polish the hood, 4 doors on the vibe took me more than four hours already.

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by petervivian »Amazing, you hand washed, detailed and waxed the car in four hours. Hand polish the hood, 4 doors on the vibe took me more than four hours already. Haha I did it VERY quickly. I used my "bowling" arm. I am definitely going to invest in a Clay Bar and PC one day and do a hardcore clean on the car. I got some orange peel from a paint repair and a LOT of swirls, but my camera sucks enough that you can't see most of it. Thanks for the comments guys, I take pride in the little I can do for this car right now.

[vibenvy]

The Vibe is looking great Brandon ! One thing I would suggest that would be cheap and easy to do would be to re-paint the steelies black. Just a thought. I really hope you can make it out to our next Chicagoland Vibe get together (whenever we figure out when and where it's going to be that is ). Can't wait to see what the future holds for your Vibe !

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »The Vibe is looking great Brandon ! One thing I would suggest that would be cheap and easy to do would be to re-paint the steelies black. Just a thought.thanks! Yeah the steelies were buggin the crap outta me.. don't know why I didn't think about just rattle canning the steelies. Do I need to do any prep work other than washing them off or can I just go ahead and spray? I mean I know blocking off the tires, yadda yadda.. but do I need to sand the surface??Maybe I'll also unbolt the grills and get them nice and shiny black with some clear..I do have many smalllllll plans for this baby. Gonna find some touchup paint and get some chips that are bugging me also.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »thanks! Yeah the steelies were buggin the crap outta me.. don't know why I didn't think about just rattle canning the steelies. Do I need to do any prep work other than washing them off or can I just go ahead and spray? I mean I know blocking off the tires, yadda yadda.. but do I need to sand the surface??Maybe I'll also unbolt the grills and get them nice and shiny black with some clear..I do have many smalllllll plans for this baby. Gonna find some touchup paint and get some chips that are bugging me also. Yes... start the paint mods... come to the dark side, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated, etc. etc. etc.

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Yes... start the paint mods... come to the dark side, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated, etc. etc. etc. Yeah those stupid silver pieces in the car are starting to bother me actually.. damn! How do I get these interior pieces off without breaking them?

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »Yeah those stupid silver pieces in the car are starting to bother me actually.. damn! How do I get these interior pieces off without breaking them? It's not so bad, let me know if you want some help (and some red paint )

[cptnsolo77]

Wow! Looks brand spanking new! Im amazed at how good your headlights look. They look better than mine atfer I sanded & polished lol. How many miles on the Vibe?

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »Yeah those stupid silver pieces in the car are starting to bother me actually.. damn! How do I get these interior pieces off without breaking them? The trim around the instrument panel is a little tricky to separate. For the pieces under the radio, pull the panel off around the radio, then gently pull the trim off. I did mine a while ago and love it.

[ponta2147]

Next time I'll actually come in and say hi (were running late doing errands next door) but wanted to say I saw ya and it looks good!!

[Zer0VIBE03]

creepy!! Yet hilarious at the same time. Yeah this weekend was hell. When was this? Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Today? I worked too effin much this weekend. Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »How many miles on the Vibe?As of today, 89,0XX. I've put on 19k in the 1.5 years I've had it.I was surprised what the Scratch-X stuff did for the lenses. It also did some nice work on the mirrors (it said clear plastic.. but experimenting is so much fun).

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by Zer0VIBE03 »thanks! Yeah the steelies were buggin the crap outta me.. don't know why I didn't think about just rattle canning the steelies. Do I need to do any prep work other than washing them off or can I just go ahead and spray? I mean I know blocking off the tires, yadda yadda.. but do I need to sand the surface??I would sand them first, then clean them off with rubbing alcohol. Duplicolor makes wheel-specific paint in many different colors. I used that on the steelies for my Sunfire and it worked and looked good.

[Zer0VIBE03]

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »I would sand them first, then clean them off with rubbing alcohol. Duplicolor makes wheel-specific paint in many different colors. I used that on the steelies for my Sunfire and it worked and looked good.thanks! I am thinking I'll find a day where I'm not doing anything and go at it. I may spray them black and clear coat the crap out of them and just ride around on steelies. These stupid hub cap covers are bugging me badly, but I don't have the coin for rims Just kidding though, I'd only ride around on steelies if I had a Crown Vic Police Interceptor or something

[vibenvy]

I ride around on 16" steelies in the winter to save the 18s from getting destroyed by salt, etc. I was wanting to get factory wheel covers for them, but that's turning out to be much more of a PITA then it's worth. I really don't have a problem with steelies. They don't look that great, but then again, wheel covers can break and fall off, etc. so it kind of makes more sense to just have the plain old ghetto steelies .