Kinda off topic, guy I used to work with had a wild harley he custom built and painted, was also a photographer. He'd regularly recruit dancers as models for a photoshoot - gonna be in a biker magazine- he mentioned it was generally a happy ending for all involved, and he had a lot of really nice pics of his bike.
i won a trophy once, a cheap plastic store bought one. didn't know what to do with it. i broke all the car related stuff off it and removed br*** looking tag off it and replaced it with a tag i had engraved ****S NEW***MER OF THE YEAR AWARD i presented it to a friend at a party he was hosting. it was a big hit.
Here is my 10 suggestions to help your thread stay on topic, even though we aren't on page 4 yet. 1. I buy spray detailer from an auto paint store up the street. They only sell non silicone products for obvious reasons, the result is an expensive product but one I use on chrome, paint and gl*** with no streaking. I buy several at a time so I don't run out. 2. Use the HD tire cleaner on your weather striping, radiator hoses, plug wires, rubber floor mats, etc. 3. Always have a wad of 0000 steel wool in your go bag. 4. Use silicone blades to remove water from paint, then air compressor, then micro fiber towels followed by spray detailer and micro fiber polishing towels. 5. Always have touch up paint in the go bag, both body color, motor color and semi flat black. 6. You said OT so make sure you have your restoration decals in the correct spots. 7. Index your tires and wheels, even blackwalls. 8. If you have a vinyl roof use that "new vinyl" as seen on TV ****, it works like magic and keeps the roof clean and shiny. 9. My detailer hates California Car Dusters, he calls them California car scratchers. The reason being people don't clean them. Wipe your car, clean the duster away from the car, then make another p***. You don't wipe the dust all over the car, that puts micro scratches in the paint finish. 10. Take your vacuum hoses off, wipe them down with cleaner, put one end in your vice and the other end clamp it to a step ladder, then use of these thingy's to paint the correct color stripes on them. Makes the engine bay on a resto rod or restoration look complete and detailed. Oh, and I don't have any car show trophy's, I get there too late for the judging and leave too early for the ceremony. I just like detailed machinery.
OK here's a tip, Dis***emble your tail lights and scrub and rinse the lenses and housings. Then re***emble.
I have floor mats that I use while driving, when I get to the show, take them out, put them under the vehicle out of sight. Presto- clean carpet. Don't forget them when you leave. Some -times I use the mats to protect my new trophy, then i get my carpet dirty.
#6 , car is O/T but not a #'s matching big buck Muscle Car. Far from stock,but way more fun! Thanks for the tips, I'm sure I can use a few.
Thanks guys, of all the tips I got the "newspaper to clean windows" was the best. I had the cleanest, streak free windows in the show. I took everybody's advice & cleaned the hell out my car. The show was this past weekend. All of your tips really paid off, my car finished first in it's cl*** & also won Best Street Machine. I would post pics but it's o/t. Let the Summer begin, now I can go out & get it dirty.
Not maybe for shows but 303 has sure made the tires on all my drivers look great. Inside to car too on the plastic and vinyl.
Oh yeah, I forgot about 303, that stuff worked great on my vinyl top & interior. Another great tip. I didn't use it on the tires, I used the HD wheel & tire cleaner. Thanks!
my friend Jon has two high end cars, a 37 Packard roadster & a 58 Cad ragtop.....his favorite sayings "keep your trophy, I'm just here for the beer & the women"....."if you need your ride validated by a $10 trophy, you built it for the wrong reason"
This thread developed more kindly than I expected. I guess the HAMB is softening up. Just for kicks, I'd say get one or two of those crybaby dolls, they always draw attention.
Well, ok, but if it happens to be one of those cute little German imports from the 50s and 60s I wouldn't use bug-b-gone on it!
Speaking of car show trophies.... does anyone besides me and maybe HRP remember this? Consolation Prize I'm always there, but seldom win, No prizes for my vintage tin. Those trophies tall I never snag, But I always get my goodie bag! Will O'Neil - 1974
I'm married & I don't drink. Your buddy probably has no more room for trophies, those are two beautiful cars.
I've come to realize my cars are not show material, and I'm comfortable with that. It doesn't really matter what type of show it is, they are too traditional to win the votes of the street rod guys, and they are too street rod to win the votes o the traditional guys. That's OK. I look at the cars that win and I'm usually much more happy with my own car/truck than with the "winner". And that's what counts. I do like to use the tag that they give you for the windshield, to list the year/model of car, for those walking the show and who want to know about it, but I've either turned it around backwards, if I can, or scratch off the number on the tag, indicating to the judges that I'm not interested in or participating in the show, just there to look at cars, and talk to people, and enjoy my own car. I much prefer the driving, rod run, poker run types of events. I find judging and trophys at every cruise night ridiculous.
But I do have some tips for cleaning up car that I like to use, not to win a trophy, just cause I like doing it, I like seeing the results, and the actual work of polishing is kind of relaxing and satisfying. The satisfaction sticks around for hours afterwards, it's like a high (probably releases some kind f endorphins or something). So, I hardly ever wash a car with a hose and bucket of soapy water. If it's really dirty I might fill a bucket with water an wipe the paint down, a section at a time, and dry it immediately. Then follow that up with some Lemon Pledge, or Meguirs Quick Detailer. Windex on the windows and bright work. A little Neverdull if they need more than that. For the engine, and the ch***is, I'll clean up a lot with some industrial wipes, then follow up with Pledge. Pledge works really trick, especially on any painted surfaces that heat up, like the engine and the exhaust pipes. Clean and polish them up with the Pledge, than fire it up and watch the Pledge melt into a waxy coating, then polish it some more. Try it, you'll thank me later. This was learned years ago in my motorcycling days. Pledge is well known a**** bikers, for all the above reasons. A great tip for cleaning up an aluminum intake manifold and carburetors is lighter fluid. It dissolves gas/oil films and evaporates quickly, leaving a nicely cleaned surface.
A few of my tips and tricks-- 1. Hit the primer spots with some 600 grit wet sandpaper to get rid of some of the embedded grime. (I typically only do this one at the start of show season... on leap years.) 2. Make sure tool bag, jumper cables, oil rags, and old antifreeze jug are stuffed completely under seats so they can't easily be seen by judges. 3. Roll down windows to hide how dusty they really are. 4. Enjoy show.
I like driving mine better than sitting all day in a lawn chair too, but....... There was still 2 feet of snow in my backyard a day before the show. I entered the show mostly because this was something I could do that was car related. We get a slow start at summer up here. I don't get very good traction in the snow.
tricks and tips: clay bar, never dull, use crumpled newspapers to clean your gl*** inside and out, q-tips and baby wipes
Pledge multi surface. Great for all surfaces, inside and out. It is especially helpful getting the bugs off as it doesn't evaporate quickly. Let it soak in then just wipe the bugs off. Leaves a super clean natural look to tires without the too-shiney look. I do use detailer for the paint after the bugs are removed. Just be aware that most big name brand detailers have silicon in them. Most of the car shows I do involve a few hundred miles or more to get there, so I don't go overboard with the cleaning, just enough to make it presentable. Guess that's enough cause I picked up 3 trophies in the past year. I'm proud that it is a driver, with 17K miles the first two years since finished. I'm certainly not a trophy hound, but the recognition is appreciated, especially the "Most Innovative" one I picked up at the West Texas Roundup in Lubbock last month. That one meant alot to me as, even though a lot of my car is not Hamb friendly, it was built in the traditional hot rod manner. Absolutely nothing better than the tons of comments, inquiries, and lengthy discussions especially when I'm in Chevy country, lol. That part is much better than the trophy aspect.
The Jalopy Journal
