Tash

You just want to sit in front of my car which will be equipped with a GoPro Motorsports HERO HD Camera. :P Lol... perhaps :P Especially with the new tail lights in :D

I know it's not technically a price, but seeings it's a thread for Meguairs products I thought I'd add to it - I just found out that the Slide Lock Detail Brush and the Triple Duty Detail Brush are actually discontinued items... Considering I've paid for both as a "pre-order" of sorts at Autobarn I'm hoping the Vic Sales manager is true to his word in saying he can track them down for me! There's a pretty limited range here in Bendigo, Autobarn seems to be the best, with Super Cheap Auto only having the most popular/basic ones (they didn't have any Ultimate Compound). Thank god for the 20% off vouchers available on dealbusters.com.au so I can shop at Autobarn and not get totally ripped off. Can anyone recommend a good store/stockist in Sydney? Might have to buy some more supplies for future while I'm up in Sydney for the meet!

Sorry I can't help you on that one Lee - although I'd love to know the answer. You might just have to bite the bullet and try a few different things, see if anything helps. It's a pity those rim skins don't come in a clear colour, although they probably don't work anyway. I've got a question to add although I haven't had a really good trawl through this thread; what do people use to clean the chrome strips around the windows??? I've got water marks on mine and I just can't get them off! I tried the chrome polish that I've used on my wheels (with great success) and whilst they made them really shiny they didn't remove any of the marks.

Oh no, that's no good :( But great that you can still come and say g'day beforehand cos I need to grab that wax kit off you hahahahah! Sounds like there'll be plenty of cameras at this meet which is always awesome :D Some spirited driving towards the end will be good also, although I'll hang out toward the back and take it easy this time, take in more of the scenery hahah

Hahah right!! NOW I know where you're talking about - I had heard of it (you know that whole Brimbank council saga) but had no idea what it actually meant or incorporated. I know how to get to Sunshine :) So I guess the shopping centre in Deer Park must be pretty easy to get to! Looking at your list of dates in July could you please go with one of the later weekends? I know it's a joint decision to decide on the date but historically we aim for meets in the latter half of the month, and I'm pretty sure I will be booked out early July (given I won't be home from Sydney until late-June, and my weekends for June are already filled up lol) It just gives everyone plenty of time to lock it in and get organised :) The 18th of July could be a potential date? Maybe add a poll to this topic and see what date in July people would prefer? Plus I know the couple of friends I want to bring along are free then and I'm planning on having them keep me awake for all the driving I'll be doing!! (being in Bendigo, I will prob head in the opposite direction when you guys finish and go up past Ballarat to get back)

Nah they're clear LED the whole way around - set imported from the states that was on another Camry for about 3 months. I was gunna import some smoked ones myself but the price of these was too good to resist lol Figure I will put them on clear and can always tint them later :)

Hooray!! I figured with everyone going along there wouldn't be any shortage of willing/able hands :D Hahah well I hope it's easy too, I have heard it's meant to be pretty much a straight swap.

Heheh looking good Kenshin - might as well shift it forwards if you like, you're already more organised than the rest of us in terms of putting together other meets :) How about August like you suggested? Then maybe in July we could just have a catch-up day. Count me in tentatively for this, I've only been down the GOR once (last March - which was a lovely time to do it) so would love to do so again. It's just the logistics for me really, would obv. need to stay in Melb the night before to meet up with you all. One question: where the hell is Brimbank???

Might as well shift it forwards if you want to - I'll be away most of June so wouldn't be able to do a recon run for anything up my way until July anyway lol Attendance list is still looking great, hope we don't have a lot of people drop out before the main event. I'm champing at the bit to get down there, never been to the Dandenongs so it'll be a good run :D Oh and someone pretty please bring some tools (I'm looking at you Nathan :P) if they fancy putting my new tail lights on for me lol

Hahah, unfortunately I've got a pretty narrow carport, so I've taken to parking the car on the nature strip after I come back from a wash! But that's a good idea then, I'll book myself out for Sunday the 30th and do all of that then so then it's only a quick go over for the meet I will check out those YouTube vids when I get home :D I keep forgetting about YouTube and that just about everything is on there lol

Thank you so so much - I hope this has been helpful for other people too as it's certainly been helpful for me :) I've never tried any type of scratch removal myself so I will go looking for either Ultimate Compound or ScratchX, and probably some SwirlX for those finer marks on the boot/bonnet. Looking forward to trying this now! Although decisions decisions, do I do it before I drive up to Sydney or when I'm there? Lol.. Probably wash it and clay it and do the scratch removal and polish & wax before and then just wash it and polish and wax again when I'm up there.

Thank you, that's a big help :) So I guess then the safest method is obviously to stick to using the polisher simply to apply wax and polish and go by hand to remove any other marks. Looking at the whole process applying by hand for that would probably work best so that I'm able to concentrate on one area at a time. There are some pretty deep scratches around the door handles I would like to attack, and some various white scratches here and there, although I'm not sure if they're too deep to do anything about. Bit of light swirling on the bonnet and boot so I reckon I will give that swirlX a go :) Final question (I hope!) - I would be applying any scratch removal product after a wash and clay bar but before I polish it then wax it?

Thanks -DAvo, that answers my questions perfectly :) Yes I will be getting the Mother's Wax Attack kit so good to hear that it is gentle on the paintwork. I have seen it used once before on my car (to great effect with just wax and polish) and feel pretty confident I will be able to use it well. Good info about the pads too, I know the kit comes with two (one I'll use for wax and one for the polish) so I will invest in another down the track then that I can use products like Scratch X on. One other query, I only plan on doing the whole lot every couple of months, and probably something like the scratch removal every 4-5 months. So then for that time the process would be wash, clay, scratch x, polish, then wax? Edit: I just saw your other posts in the topic about Scratch X and see that you said it works best for spot repairs. Would Ultimate Compound be better to use after the clay before you polish?? Sorry for all the questions, guess I'm looking for the best process and products for the 2-3 monthly general wax and polish, and then for more serious scratch removal.

both are really good when u have swirls and scratches (that dont catch ur finger nail in them). u need to work it in a few times if ur doing it by hand. i prefer this as i'm not comfortable with the DA as u can easily overheat the paint and break the top clear coat. but the DA can def cut ur work time in half if u know what ur doing :) Ah cool, well that sounds alright then. Yeah I am a touch worried getting this Mothers Kit, although I have seen it used on my car to great result and would like to try my own hand at it - perhaps the difference with it then is it's not quite as powerful as the DA?

Okay, please forgive me for probably asking one of the dumbest questions ever, but I am starting to gain more of keen interest in really detailing my car properly. Anyhoo! I am about to pick up the Mother's Wax kit shortly - now I gather that it is Mother's version of the G220 DA that Meguairs has? So I can then basically achieve exactly the same results using it? Also, what do you do to clean the pads after use? Or do you just stick to using one type of product on each pad, and buy new ones as needed? Overall though I like that process very much and is similar to what I do myself - although in Bendigo I'm not allowed to hand wash so I go and use the car wash (although I do not use the hogs brush as it leaves scratches). And then obviously I would only be doing the full wax and polish/scratch removal every couple of months. Normal routine is just to dry the car down, clean the interior, polish the wheels (Meguiars Chrome Polish is wonderful!) etc I have not used Swirl X or Scratch X before, are they easy to use?

YES IVY RESTAURANT AND PIE IN THE SKY!!!!! Hahaha I gather by that reaction that you have obviously sampled and enjoyed both! Would either of them be a possible alternative and seat 25 people?

G'day - I don't know whether it will help you or not, but I'll post my own experience. I traded in a 1995 4 Cyl Camry with very similar km's on the clock (186,000) and was only given $2000 for it, basically I had 'extras' thrown in such as more rego, bonnet and headlight protectors, rear scuff plates and a very reduced price on extended factory warranty. I bought a 2006 Camry Sportivo (manual) as a demo, and it had 20,000km on the clock and I paid $22,500 after changeover; the original advertised price was $25,500. I was pretty happy with that, did alright I think for a young single girl (buying/talking cars is still very much a man's world...) I tend to look up Carsales every so often and it looks like most demo Sportivo models are around the $24-30,000 mark; is there any reason you're looking at an '09 model? Just because as aside from it being slightly newer there is no real difference. Stability control became standard on all models built from early 2008 onward, and its the 2010 builds that are the facelift variety. If you go back to a late '08 model you might shave a bit more off the price, and there are still quite a few around with very little km's on them. I've had a couple of slight drama's with mine (dust in clutch, boot leak) but they're all the result of the dealers mistakes, so I can very highly recommend this car. Great looking car, still very economical to run and service (there is an increase in fuel consumption compared to the Gen 3, but there's also more power in this 4 cyl) and it's solid as a rock. Plus a great base for some mods!

Every time I check up on this thread the attendance list has grown! Great to see, hopefully there won't be a heap of drop-outs before the event :) But yes, we might have to forgo the BBQ idea now, probably going to be too much of a hassle given the large number of us. Is there anywhere else to eat up at Sky High besides the restaurant? Although it would be a nice place to go and sit to have a meal no doubt.

Yeah well that's true, I guess if we keep it simple then it's not so hard to do/pack-up. Someone will just have to pack a nice big esky for the snags hehehe And then everyone could just byo drinks and maybe a snack to share? Oh and someone bring some paper towel to clean the bbq lol Doesn't matter whether your car is hotted up beyond belief or stock as a rock, we're all there to enjoy each other's company and appreciate each others rides all the same :) It's a great way to meet like-minded people and swap information, I know I have picked the guys brains regarding mods to the Camry and will continue to do so heheheh So please come along! :) And Lee, stoked that you can make it - I've gotta see those Buddy Club's up close again :D

Excellent update to the first post Johnny :D Great to have all the details locked in so people can get themselves organised - it'll be a great group of cars and a great day, we're all a good bunch of people so I don't reckon we'll have any problems sticking together :) Will be nice to have a gentler cruise and catch-up with some photos and finish off with a bit of driving :D And hooray I won't be the only Camry :D (Although Lawrence was there last time with the Gen 5)

Hey guys - great recon run :D Loving those photos! I reckon leave the plan as is and have lunch at Sky High, I know we could do a bbq but it just saves the hassle of bringing it all and packing up afterwards, make some other buggers cook and clean up lol Paying a deposit shouldn't be too bad, surely it doesn't have to be a large one? At any rate there is now plenty of time to chip in, and we have quite a few definites :)

Sounds good guys - glad you're doing another recon run :) The SkyHigh menu looks alright to me, there's only so often you go out and enjoy a nice meal so stuff it, why not? Just gotta remember to have cash on us cos it says they don't split the bill! And for anyone that's confused, on the last couple of pages the Rolla boys have been talking about doing another recon run NOT the details for the meet & cruise. So the first post of this thread is still to be updated with final details after they do another recon run. Tentative details for the 16th May meet are to meet at the car park suggested at the bottom of the mountain before midday, cruise up to Sky High, have lunch, take photos with the view and then finish up with an afternoon cruise maybe through Yarra Glen and up to Kinglake.

Hey Shannon - topic title suggests it's an 07 Camry, so that's why I offered my thoughts :) You're definitely right about the wheel arch.. finding wheels overall for this Camry was a definite pain in the ****, unless I liked multi spoke designs lol

yeah i was thinking august even september when my parents are gone for 2 weeks, THEN i will be free every weekend :) edit: don't worry, ladies first Lol ladies better be first! :P Although the pressure is on now to come up with a cruise route! How about tentatively we put James' next, for July (as he had some stuff in mind), "mine" and Nathan's in August, and then Kenshin's in September? Alhough that's the future so we've got plenty of time to suss it all out ;) Recon run for this Sunday sounds awesome, thanks again to those sussing it out and doing the ground work. Then Johnny will be able to update the first post again with some more concrete details :D (I like to be organised early lol) I like the idea of meeting by midday, up the mountain for lunch and photos, and then a good drive in the afternoon :) Also, woohoo for 20 cars!! If we can get all 20 there the day of the meet that'll be absolutely awesome :D

Cool as, thanks for doing all the running around for this - and kudos for getting the ball rolling on another meet :) I like the idea of meeting up around 11/11:30 at the foot of the mountain, and then going up there for lunch and some photos, and then have a bit of spirited driving in the afternoon. Looking at the map potentially we could return via Yarra Glen and Kinglake as James suggested, or go in the other direction for a ways and then do a freeway run back in. Will leave it in your capable hands! :) yeah cruise down that way wudnt be bad.. but i think we owe tash a cruise down her way first.. Lol well it's a fair hike for me - lovely drive though and could work down the track, although I'd probably look at taking a day off work if we were to do it on a Sunday. Heheh I'm still working on that one Johnnie, am stoked that you guys would like to come this way :) I'm thinking areas like Castlemaine/Maryborough/Daysleford but not too sure. The other idea Nathan and I have had is Mt Macedon so we'll try to do a run around there sometime in future. It's a pity North East Victoria is too far away because there's some really beautiful countryside up there - think Bright, Myrtleford, Chiltern etc But way too far to go for a day trip.