bobmc

@rayaans Carplan No.1 was so simple to use. I think I saw a bit of streaking on the bonnet but I may well have applied a lttle bit too much product - however, the streaks did appear to buff out though. I will see how it lasts. I didn't buy any tyre dressing and it probably does spoil the overall effect. Are you still recommending Autosmart Highstyle?

@Farqui The window trim spoils the look. It's not only on the quarter light area, it's on all four door strips to some degree. I bought some Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel hoping this would work and it didn't touch it at all.

Well the weather was kind today and now I'm knackered! But the car looks a lot better for all the time and attention (and expense)

Here's a pic, freshly washed with two bucket method and after application of fallout remover and tar cleaner and then clayed using the G3 mitt

I then spent about half an hour trying to get rid of a bird poo mark right in the middle of the bonnet with the hair dryer method. Didn't seem to make much difference so not sure what I was doing wrong but gave up in the end.

Then it was onto Autoglym SRP. Probably applied to much and left it too long at the beginning because there was an awful lot of white dust when polishing off. Got better as I went along and it did seem to make quite a difference. 

Then finally, I applied the Carplan No.1. Seems ridiculously easy, spray and wipe - wasn't sure I was doing it right but I guess I must have been because there's definite beading going on (see the video for full effect - don't know why it doesn't play direct?)

VID_20170707_154049.mp4

Disappointment of the day was the fact that I'd wasted £8 on a bottle of Autoglym product that made absolutely no difference to the window trim

I think Jason's day job is alluded to by his forum ID and the quality of the pics 

Stunning car and pics tho' 

I've just changed the picture link. The quick detailer was an impulse buy - £2 in wilkinsons - I was thinking to use it for either clay lube or keeping in the car for removing bird poo but reading the instructions it seems to be more of a wax product, so probably not suitable for either.

All ready for tomorrow - weather permitting!

Well that's encouraging if it is just the tires and wheels rather than some difficult to diagnose suspension issue.

If sticking to standard tyre sizes, then the wheels should 8.5j rear / 8j front - offset 45mm CB 60.1

These look really nice on the IS if you can find a set

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lexus-18-G-Spider-Staggered-WHEELS-SET-w-Center-Caps-OEM-Genuine-/131010690964

@J Henderson thanks for the advice. The TripleQX fallout stuff looks good value for 2.5ltr from ECP so I'll go with that for wheels and paint. I'm not sure if the window trims are plastic or rubber but they've gone a bit green and mottled so I suspect they're rubberised and I'll need to do as you suggest and use a specialised product.

@rayaans  again thanks for the advice. SRP it is then - and I'll arrange to borrow a hairdryer as I don't normally have any need for one of those :)

The carplan no.1 looks good with good feedback on car detailing world although I have seen some comments about streaking and difficulty removing which make me a bit nervous. I might try it on a wet car as a 'drying aid?' 

I have a couple of days off work this week and I am thinking about trying to give my IS250 some shine

It's a dark blue colour - Windsor Blue - and if I wash and dry the car it doesn't look too bad - from a distance. Up close, you can see that the paintwork hasn't had the best of care over the years with a few small scratches and lots and lots of swirl marks as well as a few bird-poo etchings

Given I've left this until the last minute, I will need to buy any supplies locally and this means probably from Halfords. At least I will be able to make use of my discount card :)

So, I'm thinking wash as usual but then to move on to tar and iron removal, followed by claying (I have a G3 clay mitt which I've not used yet)

My question(s) are

Will dragon's breath (or similar) wheel cleaners work on paintwork for iron removal?

As I will need to mask paintwork defects - is Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine Car Polish worth the extra over Autoglym SRP? Will this mask the bird-poo etchings as well?

Would/Should I then need to use a wax product on top? Given that Halfords has a limited range what would you recommend with ease of use probably the most important factor.

Finally, the horizontal black trim on the doors is tarnished - what can I do about this?

thanks for any help and advice

. 

3 minutes ago, Texas said:

 not that he's gonna get £11k plus for it.

Yeah, I doubt that. Even £8k is top price for year/spec/mileage

Keep looking, something will turn up if you're patient.

Love what you've done. I couldn't see myself driving it but I still think it looks fantastic - well done, it's clearly your pride'n'joy

Thanks for sharing the pics with us.

Correct me if I'm wrong but..

It's the same car

Someone from Wakefield has bought the car from a dealer in Dorset

And is now trying to sell it on eBay with a mark up of nearly £4K

Or am I going mad

It's a judgement call at 10 years, particularly as some of the wear and tear items, being 10 years old, will likely need attention and won't be covered by the warranty. Having said that you only need one unexpected bill for the warranty to pay for itself and Lexus do have a decent reputation for handling warranty claims. In this case it sounds like the OP is getting mates rates from his local garage so that complicates matters even further. 

@Linas.P They do have a semi-gloss appearance, but yes Anthracite was the colour they invoiced.

I know we've been dragged a bit off-topic but I agree that @Monocle has done a very good job indeed and I'm looking forward to seeing the end result when all 4 wheels have been done.

So you've got all the service records/invoices? You should have the last inspection report as well then.

New timing belt and water pump plus just serviced... sounds like you've done pretty well there :)

@J Henderson Yes mines a Windsor Blue, this is what it looks like now

12 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

And the same wheels that were on my previous IS250. 

In terms of cost, my last refurb job (in 2015) cost £72 per wheel for a black-chrome finish on 3rd-gen F-Sport wheels.

 

That's making me think I should have gone chrome, they look sooo classy.

17 minutes ago, peachy said:

Same wheels as me bobmc. G spiders.

I had mine refurbished and finished in gunmetal. May go for black next time though. 

 

I agree, I think black would go well with white bodywork.

Still think the wheel style is officially 'Baransu'

Hi Chris

Congrats on your new purchase. I can sympathise with your emotions as I went a long way to buy my Lexus and that places huge psycological pressure to see things through rose-tinted glasses so well done in picking up all those faults and rejecting it. I don't think I'd have been brave enough to take the wife as well!

I'm sure the SR will be fine and you'll have many happy miles together. Having said that, it would do any harm to have it looked over by some one qualified. I was lucky with mine, almost as soon as I'd bought it there was a recall and it had to go into the local Lexus dealer, while they had it they did an inspection and although they reported everything was ok they issued an advisory that there was a leak on one of the front ball joints. 

Don't know what you've decided to do about servicing, but you could book it in to Lexus for an 'essential service' and you will get an inspection report including a hybrid health check. 

I think a 2007 RX400h might be too old to get a Lexus warranty plan but you could ask. If you're nervous about bills then seriously consider this as an option.

@Linas.P I did enquire about getting a colour match to Lexus but the cost would have been very expensive. This was one of their standard colours, Anthracite. 

I wasn't entirely sure if I liked it at first but now I think it looks very nice

Well this is the sales blurb from the place I got mine done

"Our full refurbishment involves chemically stripping the wheel in acid back to bare metal, then sand blasting to remove any corrosion, then any kerb damage or lumps and bumps are removed or filled. We then apply a protective undercoat, colour then laquer and the wheels are baked in the oven for a lasting finish."

Mine were quite badly corroded

And after... (they even painted the caps to match)

Twelve month warranty on the work but time will tell I suppose. Three months in and the only marks on them so far are self-inflicted.

I got all 4 wheels refurbished about 3 months ago for £150 all in. Lasted a whole month before I curbed one of the fronts 

It doesn't look too bad to me, certainly better than it would have been if I had been trying to do something like this! And now you've learnt from the 1st one you'll get better results for the other three.

Having said that, given the time and effort involved, I still think I would pay to have them done properly - I got mine done recently for less than £40 a corner

Like the painted calipers

Well the manual would have cost you more in road tax and by all accounts is not best suited to the car in any case.

I wasn't sure I'd be comfortable with an auto after a lifetime of driving manual transmissions but I needn't have worried. Some models have semi-manual gear-shift paddles on the steering wheel and so you can use them if you feel the need to have some manual control.

Just noticed - £12k for a MY12 with 12k on the clock - something about the number 12?

Turn it around. Tell your daughter to find a couple of cars she likes within budget and then reject any that don't meet your criteria of reliabilty and value.