You are here: Forums Hatchbacks Ford Focus Ford Focus Care & Maintenance

Ford Focus Care & Maintenance

309 messages,  Last post on Oct 18, 2009 at 1:19 PM

You are in the Ford Focus Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer

What is this discussion about? Ford Focus, Hatchback, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 4 of 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 31 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#31 of 309 Meguires Cleaner/Wax by silver_bullet Apr 30, 2001 (6:41 am)
This is a nice product for a daily driven car - it is very easy to apply and remove, is economical, and provides a decent (but not the ultimate) level of protection for your finish. Short of going to a multi-step, premium priced product, this Meguires product is a good compromise. BEWARE - do not get this product, or any wax for that matter, on the black side mouldings. I'd keep it off the black door handles, mirror housings, and rear horizontal trim strip as well. The resulting wax stains will be very hard, if not impossible, to remove from the trim.
#32 of 309 strange noise from rear right by jnmartin May 01, 2001 (8:28 am)
I've noticed a strange noise, as if something was loose, from the rear right of my ZX3. When it first started, I had just gotten the hinge recall and assumed that was what was making the noise. After taking her in for the recall, I still hear the noise (when I go over a bump) and I noticed this week that I start to loose traction, and the back half kind of jumps to the left. I called my dealer and they're going to get back to me, but they want to take care of a couple of things (repainting hood because the clear coat is peeling off and looking at my brakes) at one time and have to fit me into their appointments/schedule somewhere. I was curious as to whether anyone else had this problem or may know what it might be?   It basically sounds as if something is loose and "rattles" or "knocks" when I go over a bump. It also sounds like it's coming from inside the cabin, but if that's the case it shouldn't affect my driving.   As far as getting wax on the trim, someone on the Focus Sedan chat offered this advice:   "It is not true, you can keep your trim black. 1. BE VERY CAREFUL! You can avoid getting wax on the trim and windshield washer nozzles by using a smaller applicator and more care. 2. If you do get some, I use Mother's "Back to Black" It works well, its cheap and is available at most decent auto parts stores. 3. I didn't mention above that you should scrub the trim a little if you did get wax on it, to loosen the particles. toothbrushes are great for this. 4. Somewhere a while back I saw someone talking about Peanut butter as a remedy. I don't know how this works. 5. Another recommendation is Black Magic, in the Thick Silicone version (not the spray for tires) I have had good results with this too.
#33 of 309 Mothers by kebbat May 09, 2001 (5:00 am)
Last night after washing my Z, I used to Mothers products and loved them!   1) Mothers Back to Black, as recommended above. Due to carelessness by me, I got a bit of wax residue on the door trim. The Back to Black was extremely easy to use and the end result was terrific. I belive I only paid about $4 for a bottle and you use it sparingly so I feel as though it's an especially good value. Thanks for the tip jnmartin! Oh yeah, the stuff smells great! 2) Mothers Metal Polish - my wheels were looking a bit dirty. The polish was very easy to use and the wheels now look brand new again.   If I could just keep all of the *#^&* pollen from falling off of the tree directly above my car I would be all set. But the california car duster seems to work very well for quick wipe downs.
#34 of 309 kebbat - Whoa!! by silver_bullet May 09, 2001 (6:19 am)
Your factory wheels are painted and clearcoated, much like the finish on the rest of the car - DO NOT use a metal polish on them!!! Just wash them with the same car wash products you use for the rest of the car, maybe using a bit of Simple Green to remove built-up brake dust if necessary. Apply a coat of car wax from time to time, and you'll be set. Metal polish contains abrasives which will strip the clearcoat right off your wheels, and the paint too if you keep using it. Metal polishes are for use on non-clearcoated and non-anodized metals only.   A good tip - wash your wheels only when they are cool, and use a separate wash mitt and wheel brush. Start with the wheels, and after you've got them clean, dump your wash bucket, rinse it out, and do the rest of the car with a fresh bucket of carwash and a wash mitt reserved for the rest of the car. Lots of grit and bad stuff on the wheels that you don't want to carry up to the rest of the paint finish.
#35 of 309 uh oh .... by kebbat May 09, 2001 (6:45 am)
.... even the very outside part is clearcoated? The very outside part of the wheel - on the front tires - that collects the brake dust and is really hard to get out?   Yikes, it sure did look metallic to me! I can see where the center is that way, but I had no idea that the whole thing was clearcoat.   Thanks
#36 of 309 kebbat - clearcoat on alloy wheels by silver_bullet May 09, 2001 (7:15 am)
Most factory wheels are painted, or are finished with a combination of painting and machining/polishing, then are clearcoated to protect the finish and keep them nice. The entire outer surface of the wheel is coated, and sometimes the reverse side as well on better wheels. Clearcoat is nothing more than non-pigmented paint - you should treat it like you would the finish on the car. Never use abrasive polishes on painted surfaces, unless you are experienced, and are trying to remedy a specific paint defect (like severe overspray).
#37 of 309 strange noise from rear right - ATTN: jnmartin by njbongo May 09, 2001 (7:31 am)
Hi, I too have that sound you describe.... HOWEVER, just to be clear.... it has to be a pretty bad bump that sets it off... I'm going to look into it, maybe it's the jack, spare or floorboard in the hatch (that's the kind of noise it sounds like). I jacked the car up and looked underneath, there doesn't appear to be anything broken, bent or out of place.   I'll let you know what I find. When I take the car in for it's 5000 miles service (got a while to go at 1300 miles)... I'm gonna have them check it too.   Also, to you other clean nuts... took Edmund's reccomendation and bought the entire McGuire's line of products. I got the Cleaner Wax (step 2), the polishing wax (step 3) and the Deep Crystal Carnauba Paste (step 4). By the way, step 1 is there car shampoo...since I live in a condo complex with no hose outside, i go to the do-it-yourself carwash by me for the washing part.   Anyway, this stuff is AMAZING. I did it on Sunday, and so far today it is still PERFECTLY clean. I have that pollen problem too, and with these waxes, it just blows right off the car...nothing sticks !!! I love it. I've always used either Gliptone Teflon Wax or Mother's and neither hold a candle to this.   I also got there long-lasting tire stuff (forget what its called)...you put it on with a little pad instead of spraying it like armor-all (which I hate). And finally, there "armor-all" equivalent for the intireor and extereor plastic trim...it takes any stray wax right off with one wipe.   Anyone thinking of using there products...go for it...they are cheap and amazing.   Good luck everyone,   Vic
#38 of 309 Mothers Back-to-Black by vadp May 09, 2001 (8:23 am)
works...for a while. It's a silicone-based product. It does nothing but masks the stains. Your trim will stay black for about a month or two. Then it will wash off and you will have to reapply it again and so on. I heard that a toothbrush and toothpaste or baking soda would do the trick (of removing the wax permanently).
#40 of 309 re: njbongo by jnmartin May 09, 2001 (8:28 am)
Yes - it only happens on a bad bump. Don't get me wrong, I'm not driving through potholes or anything that severe - but I'm talking about "ridges" in pavement or anything else similar around that size which causes the noise and in some cases where there are multiple "road imperfections" I lose traction and the car jumps to the left a little. Syracuse has some of the worst roads in New York and my route home takes me through two areas that have the multiple ridges I described and there's no way to avoid them. They are at stoplights and kinda look like a Mac truck came to a quick stop and the road buckled a little in front of the wheels - like in a looney toons cartoon.   I'm still waiting on the service tech to get back to me, I understand he's out with the flu or something but I was promised that someone will call me soon. I've got a little over 11,000 miles on my ZX3, but wasn't having such a noticible problem when I went in for my 10,000 so I didn't get it taken care of then. I hope they can fix it as I am going down south again and don't look forward to driving 2000 miles with something that may develop into a more serious problem and cause an accident.   kebbat - I'm glad Mother's works well as I haven't tried it yet. Were you being sarcastic about the smell??

Messages Page 4 of 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 31 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Hatchbacks Ford Focus Ford Focus Care & Maintenance