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I’ll definitely join you guys. I was a bit quite lately but there are some good reasons for that. My first baby girl was born less then a month ago so I was a bit busy you can say…
However, no way in the world I’m gonna miss this. See y’all Saturday morning!
;Db; ;Db;
:clap: :clap: :clap: CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL AND NIV!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:
Definitely up for breakfast, I'll look around on my way in Friday for anything close by. Otherwise, we can convoy the 20-some-odd miles into Ocala.
Most have my contact info, I'll send a few more PM's out today, so let me know if you don't. Depending on who shows up Friday I may do a bit of trail scouting so we don't have to wander about too terribly much. :lookg:
As mentioned in earlier posts, remember to bring some munchies, drinks and mosquito coils. Since skullcap can't make it I'll take the responsibility of exposing y'all to VX Caviar! :freek:
Just a couple days! Woohoo! :dance:
Hey Joe_,
First, is that your real name?
Second, in response to your response, I've tried every bug/tar/sap remover except the right one(s), I guess. I was so embarrassed to turn in my '95 Avenger as a trade on the VX with sap all over it. Couldn't get the crap off and was kinda pressed for time. Probably would have made a big difference in what I got for it, too.
LOL! Yeah, that's my real name. Wasn't all that funny in school and never really was cool until I was a DJ doin' the slam-scene back in the 80's. Black was the "in" thing, especially with the goth/industrial/punk club scene. Then the Brad movie. Which I never saw. Still.
Now for the real sap! I used to operate a detailing business and the 3M stuff worked well but I ended up going with just plain mineral spirits. I was going to buff and wax the car anyway and the stuff worked great. Usually would just put it on a cotton ball or piece of old t-shirt and hold it on the sap for a bit before rubbing it off. Here's some additional info I found on the web you might find interesting:
Parking under large trees can result in unwanted deposits of a sticky substance on the car. Most people assume this is tree sap, but the real culprit is far more likely to be insect honeydew, excreted by aphids or scale insects that infest the leaves and branches.
Composed of sugars and other waste products that pass undigested through the insects' bodies, honeydew becomes harder to remove the longer it's left on the car.
If you remove the honeydew and park under the tree again, you'll just end up with more sticky stuff dripping down on your vehicle. You may be able to dislodge and reduce the numbers of offending aphids in the tree by blasting overhanging branches with a forceful stream of water from a hose. Unfortunately, a hard stream of water does not help much if the source of honeydew is scale insects.
Spraying with insecticides is rarely needed to protect the health of the tree.
Above courtesy of the University of Minnesota Horticulture department.
How to Remove Tree Sap
To remove the tree sap from your vehicle's surface, you can use finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball. After the sap is removed, make a paste of water and baking soda to wash the affected area, then apply wax.
Another method to remove the sap is to use mineral sprits (it will also remove tar). Use a soft, terry towel, or wash cloth dampened with mineral sprits. After removal, wash the car and apply wax to the affected area.
Tree sap can also be removed by using a water-soluble paint brush cleaner. A common household solution is bacon grease or lard. Just rub it on, and off comes the sap. To get tree sap off of your hands, simply rub mayonnaise on them and wash it off. To remove tree sap and other substances, you can use common solvents like lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol, WD-40 or even Skin-So-Soft bath oil.
The way to use those materials is to let them do their work of dissolving (in the case of alcohol) or softening (in the case of oils), enough to rub off the remaining sap. If you use the oil, wash the car afterwards to remove it.
You can also use commercial wax and grease-removing products available at auto supply stores. Be sure to wash and dry the car before applying the wax and grease remover. Then dampen a clean cloth with the solvent and rub the affected area. It may require several attempts if the sap is very thick or extremely hard. The surface may appear hazy after the solvent evaporates, but a good wax application will eliminate the haze and complete the job.
Removing tree sap from a car's finish is a bit more difficult than tar, as hardened sap can scratch your paint. I've found that by hand-rubbing the sap spots with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol, I'm able to easily remove the sap without damaging the finish. Mineral spirits and denatured alcohol acts as a solvent to break up and dissolve the sap.
If there is a large amount of sap on the car, or if the sap has been left on the finish for an extended period of time, it can be a lot of work to remove. For these cases, you can try hitting the affected areas with a light-duty buffing compound to remove the hardened surface on the sap spots. Then you can use mineral spirits or a similar solvent to remove it. The light duty buffing compound softens the sap so the solvent can do its job. The goal is to use the least pressure possible to reduce the risk of scratching the paint. After removing heavy sap, always buff the treated areas with a good polish to clean up any marks created during hand-rubbing with solvent. The treated area must also be re-waxed.
Another technique is to use orange based solvents and children's molding clay. Apply a bit of the solvent and rub with the clay. It is abrasive enough to scrub off the sap which has been broken down by the solvent.
The chemicals used to remove road stains can also remove your wax or sealants. After removing tar, sap or bugs, plan to spot wax or re-wax your vehicle. If you don't have time to wax right away, use a quick detailing spray that contains wax. A quick spray wax is great for this kind of spot waxing, too.
Old tar, tree sap, and paint over-spray can be easily removed with a miraculous new product called automotive clay. As you rub it across any type of surface (paint, glass, plastic, metal, rubber, vinyl) it instantly sticks-to and pulls-off all contamination that is stuck to the surface. Here's how to use an automotive clay bar:
To use the automotive clay, spray a water-based lubricant on a small area of your car and rub the bar back and forth with light to medium pressure. If the lubricant begins to dry, you'll need to spray more. Clay bars are fairly sticky, and they cannot be used dry.
After a few passes with the clay bar, rub your hand over the area to feel if the surface contamination was removed. Keep rubbing until all contamination bumps are gone. Finally, wipe the clay residue off with a soft terry cloth towel, and buff to a nice luster. Just like waxing, work in small areas.
Check the clay bar frequently for hard particles. When found, pick them off. Make it a habit to occasionally knead and reform the bar so that a fresh portion of the bar contacts your car's paint.
When you're finished claying your car, you should go over it with a pre-wax cleaner to finish cleaning the paint and restore essential oils. Then, protect your newly cleaned finish with one or more coats of rich Carnauba wax.
...and there you have it!
Hey, thanks for all that info!
Okay, here's the deal. Timing for this meet is a bit bad for me in that everyone has something going on and that leaves me no available babysitters. Therefore I have to drop my dogs off at a kennel Saturday AM, no earlier than 8:00. Trip is a bit over 2 hrs, so can't make the breakfast get-together and will have to meet you all at the campsite afterward, probably between 10:30/11:00. Does this sound ok?
I can overnight there no problem and hang out some Sunday too - only thing is I must get home Sunday by a certain time (it's either 5:00 or 6:00). I know it's really late in the game now, but if you can still get me a spot at the campground, I'll take it and bring my tent. Hopefully everyone is going to camp out the July 4th weekend so maybe the crowds will be slack this weekend.
Alright, hopefully Joe will call a couple of us Friday about where breakfest will be Saturday, and someone can post it here. If you miss the post, well, you still won't be able to miss us. I'm sure it will be somewhere right off State Road 40 between Ocala and the campsite. Just look around for more than one rare, hand built, all-terrain vehicle in one place, and you found us.
For anyone getting there later Saturday, make sure you have Joe's cell so you can find us, cause I'm sure we'll be hitting the trails not long after breakfest.
Scott Swett
Woohoo! I just saw in the other thread that we may have another VXer showing up! Cool... plus I have managed to make alternate arrangements for the dogs! Meaning I will save about $60 and allowing me to make it there in time for breakfast with you all. :-)
Woohoo! Getting excited... gonna be great fun and as a newbie VXer, I look forward to learning tons from the gurus. :-)
Not sure who is responsible for the get together but I just got a call from Frank (whom we met in Moab by accident and went offroading with us - super guy from Hungaria) and he is way into coming but does not have a computer. If someone from your group could give him a call, he is about 3hrs from Ocala but really wants to go. Frank’s number is 954-476-2164 -Thanks
Tone, just got off the phone with Frank. Thanks much for passing along the info, he sounds like a great guy. Looks like he'll try to make breakfast on Saturday morning. Everyone check here Friday as the location for breakfast will be posted by afternoon. I thought I'd get there early tomorrow but it looks like mid-day now, but still plenty of time for me to scout trails!
See y'all this weekend!!! :dance:
FLORIDA MEET < 1 day!!!
Alright, I just spent all night cleaning and polishing the VX so I can go mudding this weekend. Make sense? I dunno. Anybody else wanna fess up? Well, I'll look really good on the way there...
Seriously, what I really look forward to is the ride home (not that I want the meet to be over), but somehow I tend to draw more attention the dirtier I get (just ask my girlfriend:) ), and I plan to be PLENTY dirty... er... I mean get plenty dirty, or you know what I mean!
Scott Swett
The scouts have checked in-
We are at campsite #45
Good chance your cell phone may not work out there, so tell your loved-ones goodbye. (They'll work closer to Ocala though)
Saturday morning, 9:00am, we will meet for breakfest at Jake's. Jake's is located 10 miles west of the campsite (toward Ocala) on Hwy 40.
See ya there!
Thanks for the info!
Yep, I was just about to not do anything to mine, figuring there was no point if I was going to get it all dirty. Still cleaned it up a bit anyway though. I don't know - maybe not so much of the dirt will stick as well now. Anyone know what it's like out there? Muddy? Pretty dry? Somewhere in-between? Gonna check the weather forecast... could get some rain tomorrow. Hope not.