Car refurbishment

[Soya]

46 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

He said before in another thread.

COE Suzuki Swift

Then nothing to say liao

Edited March 18, 2021 by Soya

[Albeniz]

20 hours ago, Albeniz said:

When I raised the same question on my 11 year old Teana, all my atas friends in mcf tell me to,

Change car.

Of course, I don't listen to them.

I don't believe in spending exorbitant amount of money on cosmetic imperfections.   The most I would spend is on a new coat of paint, if really necessary.

Actually for the well-known Teana dashboard crack issue, I just bought a customized cover at ~$38 and then spent another ~$25 on a decent seat cover.  Both from Lazada or Shopee.

Got Picture Got Talk, ok?!  Please see below.

I am very kiam kana hor?   Anyway, I don't live or stay in the car and spend less than 1 hour sitting in it every day.

Would prefer to save money for the mechanical wear and tear replacements instead.

I am a typical family father.

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by Albeniz

[Adrianli]

41 minutes ago, Albeniz said:

I don't believe in spending exorbitant amount of money on cosmetic imperfections.   The most I would spend is on a new coat of paint, if really necessary.

Actually for the well-known Teana dashboard crack issue, I just bought a customized cover at ~$38 and then spent another ~$25 on a decent seat cover.  Both from Lazada or Shopee.

Got Picture Got Talk, ok?!  Please see below.

I am very kiam kana hor?   Anyway, I don't live or stay in the car and spend less than 1 hour sitting in it every day.

Would prefer to save money for the mechanical wear and tear replacements instead.

I am a typical family father.

 

Good job.

[Goldenvodka]

Thanks for all the valuable comments.

yes I am on a humble swift sport which will be around for at least the next 5 8 years which is the end of COE or when electric car infrastructure in SG become mature whichever earlier.

[Comage]

4) deep cleaning of the interior of the vehicle. Removing seats and other fittings

 

This - I don't think you will ever find a workshop that does this. If you do, tell me, because I am looking for such a workshop also.

So far what I seen is no detailing workshop has the "balls" to do this (expertise, sure have) - think it's something to do with the safety aspect of post-customer service...

Unless you dare to disassemble your seats on your own, and torque them back with the right torque specifications... (Which I have done before after being so frustrated at not finding a workshop that offers such "detailing" service).

[Colin03]

Nice job Done, Albeniz

$60 dollars resolve 2 issues.

[Volvobrick]

1 hour ago, Comage said:

4) deep cleaning of the interior of the vehicle. Removing seats and other fittings

 

This - I don't think you will ever find a workshop that does this. If you do, tell me, because I am looking for such a workshop also.

So far what I seen is no detailing workshop has the "balls" to do this (expertise, sure have) - think it's something to do with the safety aspect of post-customer service...

Unless you dare to disassemble your seats on your own, and torque them back with the right torque specifications... (Which I have done before after being so frustrated at not finding a workshop that offers such "detailing" service).

If you have the time, and the place to remove the seats, it is not difficult. Old swift probably not electric seats, which would make the job easier (no cables, and lighter). 

I scrubbed the exposed carpet after that and used a wet and dry vacuum to remove as much water as possible, but the car interior would be damp for a few days even when left under the sun. 

[Sdf4786k]

On 3/18/2021 at 9:46 AM, kobayashiGT said:

Nice, I always find an old but well-taken care car more charming than a new car.

My replies are in red.

1) a new paint job, maybe a change of colour from black to yellow? 😆 or to save cost do a good polish to make the black paint shiny again

- I will stick to black. After 10 years of original paint, I don't think any detailer will guarantee anything. So go respray.

2) realignment of front bumper. 1 side the gap looks big 

- need to check if you bumper clip is broken anot. If it is broken, you can use quick fix like this to solve the problem.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32806369765.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.62f94c4dttVEqW

3) rewrap of seats and door panels. Driver seat got hole already 😂  

- Go and rewrap. You will spend like 80% of your time inside the car.

4) deep cleaning of the interior of the vehicle. Removing seats and other fittings 

- Recommended also.

5) new rims

- Good to have, but not very necessary

6) polish or replace of front headlamp. Looks cloudy now. Tried polishing it, failed.

Can get professional to polish.

Except for the driver seat .. a alternative would be this

https://www.mikimarketing.com/collections/recaro-racing-seat/products/recaro-profi-spg-racing-seat

 

[Comage]

On 3/17/2021 at 7:09 PM, Goldenvodka said:

6) polish or replace of front headlamp. Looks cloudy now. Tried polishing it, failed.

anything if I miss out please feel free to share here. 

For this item - how did you do it? Polishing of the front headlamp usually involves a few steps:

1) Sanding it down (with multiple grit sandpapers)

2) Cleaning away the sanded plastic residue

3) Sealing the remaining plastic with a sealant such as UV protection paint clear-coat, or ceramic coating

I did mine with clear-coat paint which was not UV-resistant, and it lasted me about 2 years.