Friday, February 3, 2012

Buffing the Spots Away

This update tackles a problem that surfaced on my recently purchased 2008 Honda Pilot, but it should apply to any car. The windows, particularly the back windows with factory tint, were badly spotted. These spots, noticeable primarily in sunlight, didn't disappear when using some liquid products designed to remove various deposits. This led me to believe the spots were perhaps the result of acid rain.

Bar Keepers Friend and my old pal, the 6" orbital polisher.
I searched online and found plenty of advice including using extra fine steel wool (not worth the risk) to remove the spots. There were also some special glass polishers as well, but they were pricey for a product I'd seldom use. I decided to try Bar Keepers Friend (BKF) Liquid—not the powder—which I already had. It was recommended on the BKF website for this task.

I applied the BKF to a clean side window with my polisher and spent about 5 minutes slowly going over the glass. I did not treat the windshield, because I didn't want to get the BKF in all the microscopic chips. I also didn't do the side mirrors, since they might scratch more easily than the glass windows.

BEFORE: These spots wouldn't clean off with anything, or so I thought.
DURING: I spent a couple minutes on the task by this point and saw an improvement.
AFTER: I spent a few more minutes with the polisher and ended up with this.

Overall, this was an easy task and the glass looks great again.

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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Project EHR: Concluded! (For now...)

I've upgraded a number of pieces in the 2001 Bullitt interior so far including a new steering wheel, shifter and e-brake boots, e-brake handle, shifter trim and other billet bits, floor mats, pillar pods, rear shelf, console cover, and an epic Dynamat install.

And while I still have not installed the Alcantara headliner I bought, or wired the lighted visors and aftermarket rear view mirror, I'm calling this project done—for now.

Here's where I started a couple months ago.
The "new" interior has some worthwhile upgrades that make it a quieter and more comfortable place to be.
I'll update individual posts as the remaining final pieces are finished, particularly the headliner and rear view mirror.



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More Steady Progress on the '66

We've made a little more progress on the '66 the past couple weekends. The engine is now sitting in the engine bay, and the large-diameter Centerforce clutch is installed onto the back of the engine. The bellhousing and the transmission are installed as well.

We are ordering a few more needed bits and pieces this week to hopefully get a bunch more done next weekend.

The 331 is installed in the engine bay—headers and starter bolted on.
Here's the CenterForce DF021048 installed on the back of the engine.
I'll more closely go into the EZ EFI installation in another post as work progresses (and I have more pix to offer). The Worx has come up with what appears to be a stellar solution to one bit of the install—where to install the ECT sensor. I'm looking forward to explaining that in case anyone else decides to fuel-inject their small-block Ford.


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