Rav4 Photo's.

[three5]

Hi Guys,

been meaning to post this photo for some time. It's taken at the most northerly point to which you can take a car in the UK, the entrance to the Herma Ness nature reserve at the north end of the isle of Unst.

[anchorman]

Staffybull

Welcome to the club. Thanks for posting with us.

Chris

Flippin ek

Just looked where it is on a map. Half way to Norway!!!

[three5]

Chris

Flippin ek

Just looked where it is on a map. Half way to Norway!!!

Hi Don,

It's coming up to Summer again ( I'm a dangerous optimist! ) and wondered if we should re-start the idea of "photos of RAVs in beautiful/unusual places". I was very envious of yours hiding behind a snowdrift.

Re: Unst - I have an old mate who moved up there, hence the holiday. I think even Bothy and Big Kev might struggle with the dialect/language though. The locals are great - very hospitable, very generous. WARNING! Don't even think about going if you are on a diet.

[Big Kev]

Chris

Flippin ek

Just looked where it is on a map. Half way to Norway!!!

Hi Don,

It's coming up to Summer again ( I'm a dangerous optimist! ) and wondered if we should re-start the idea of "photos of RAVs in beautiful/unusual places". I was very envious of yours hiding behind a snowdrift.

Re: Unst - I have an old mate who moved up there, hence the holiday. I think even Bothy and Big Kev might struggle with the dialect/language though. The locals are great - very hospitable, very generous. WARNING! Don't even think about going if you are on a diet.

Some far king Englander parked a bloody big car in that phoaty and spoiled the view!!!!

[three5]

Some far king Englander parked a !Removed! big car in that phoaty and spoiled the view!!!!

Now then BK - I'm not a king, just a lowly pleb! Can't help but agree that it spoilt the view though. If you want the unadulterated version, have a look at the phoaty in Google Earth. You will note that there are roads that go further north, but there are signs that discourage ordinary citizens from using them. Google earth also shows an interesting installation adjacent to the more northerly road! ;)

[Big Kev]

Some far king Englander parked a bloody big car in that phoaty and spoiled the view!!!!

Now then BK - I'm not a king, just a lowly pleb! Can't help but agree that it spoilt the view though. If you want the unadulterated version, have a look at the phoaty in Google Earth. You will note that there are roads that go further north, but there are signs that discourage ordinary citizens from using them. Google earth also shows an interesting installation adjacent to the more northerly road! ;)

Je capitulate.......

[anchorman]

OK folks, RAVs in beautiful surroundings is Chris's gauntlet.

Any takers?

[Parts-King]

Hi Guys,

been meaning to post this photo for some time. It's taken at the most northerly point to which you can take a car in the UK, the entrance to the Herma Ness nature reserve at the north end of the isle of Unst.

Ive been there Chris!

My Uncle Don (not not THAT Don) was in the RAF there many moons ago, we Brits had an early warning radar station there in case Russia decided to invade The RAF and the Ruskys would play cat and mouse with each other for fun, Russians would send subs around the coastline and the RAF would have to find them, it was all a game to them

Don, no not Uncle Don, I mean Anchorman Don, the nearest railway station to Unst is in Norway, I loved the fishing, 24 hour daylight in the summer and lovely sandy beaches where if you could stand the cold of the water, when wading out you would stand on huge Plaice and they would wriggle under your feet, eee bye gum, when I were a lad..........................Took us 3 days to get there by car /boat

Kingo

[three5]

Hi Guys,

been meaning to post this photo for some time. It's taken at the most northerly point to which you can take a car in the UK, the entrance to the Herma Ness nature reserve at the north end of the isle of Unst.

Ive been there Chris!

My Uncle Don (not not THAT Don) was in the RAF there many moons ago, we Brits had an early warning radar station there in case Russia decided to invade The RAF and the Ruskys would play cat and mouse with each other for fun, Russians would send subs around the coastline and the RAF would have to find them, it was all a game to them

Don, no not Uncle Don, I mean Anchorman Don, the nearest railway station to Unst is in Norway, I loved the fishing, 24 hour daylight in the summer and lovely sandy beaches where if you could stand the cold of the water, when wading out you would stand on huge Plaice and they would wriggle under your feet, eee bye gum, when I were a lad..........................Took us 3 days to get there by car /boat

Kingo

Hi Kingo,

I'm guessing that the installation on the top of the hill with the "non-public" road access is the place he was based then. Another question answered - ain't this forum wonderful ;)

[Parts-King]

Yes Chris, you have it, RAF Saxa Vord, it was split over a few sites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Saxa_Vord

Uncle Don told told me of some very strange tales with the Russians, subs would pop up and Special Forces would try and land. The RAF would track them and fire off a few shots overhead, just to let them know they had been spotted. If they were missed, bottles of Vodka and biscuits would be left on a beach somewhere, just to show the RAF they had missed a landing party, seems all very civilised considering this was in the cold war days

Kingo

[Big Kev]

Yes Chris, you have it, RAF Saxa Vord, it was split over a few sites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Saxa_Vord

Uncle Don told told me of some very strange tales with the Russians, subs would pop up and Special Forces would try and land. The RAF would track them and fire off a few shots overhead, just to let them know they had been spotted. If they were missed, bottles of Vodka and biscuits would be left on a beach somewhere, just to show the RAF they had missed a landing party, seems all very civilised considering this was in the cold war days

Kingo

So....let me get this right.....if ah see them, they were chased away. If ah didnae see them, they left me Vodka and biscuits?

Thank God for bad eyesight then.......

[voyager t180]

Its probably been covered before,but this is a massive thread to trawl through.
My question is, is it advisable to hide your reg plate when posting pics and why??
thanks.

[voyager t180]

As a newbie just thought I'd stick a few pics up..from what I've seen not too many silver ones around.

[Gordon in Angus]

Hello hello, finally got the RAV4 out in reasonable weather to get a photo, so here's the car for you all :-)

I refilled the tank for the first time after picking it up & after two weeks motoring we got 42mpg, Not bad and only 3200 miles on her, so I'm hoping it will get even better :-)

[three5]

Smashing looking motor Gordon. I've had black cars for several years - but that red looks dead right on the RAV. Interior looks almost identical to my 2008 XT5 - did they upgrade the XTR spec when the 4.3.5 was launched? Finally managed to clean mine today after what seems like weeks of dire weather. Very glad to be rid of the salt.

[anchorman]

It so happens my old RAV came by for a little job that can be found in the maintenance section soon. However, after a little wash I couldn't resist a photo;

[three5]

It so happens my old RAV came by for a little job that can be found in the maintenance section soon. However, after a little wash I couldn't resist a photo;

IMG_1398.JPG

IMG_1399.JPG

The perspective is unfortunate - yours looks humoungous compared with the red one!

[staffybull]

Paul, Nice to see the battery is in a nice easy place. Mine is a real bugger to get at...have to take of some molding on passenger side off to to get to it....

getting at my Battery was a pain when i had to jump start some people at work so i had my leads adapted with some anderson connectors like they have on the old landrovers now it works a treat no taking panels off when jump starting

[plaifender]

Rav today after a very long detail.

1. Pressure washed using standard pressure wash crappy carwash soap 2euros for 6 minutes..

2. Entire car clayed

3. Polished using Duragloss 601 Polish bonding agent.

4. Sealed using Duragloss 111 Clearcoat Sealant

5. Topped off with Meguiar's NXT 2 Clearcoat Sealant (completely unecessary step, but I was bored and love the look of this sealant even though it doesn't last long.. that's why I got the 111 as a base sealant).

6. Buffed using Duragloss 951 Aquawax and microfiber cloth

7. Wheels and rims finished using the same above process

8. Leather Conditioned and cleaned using Chemical Guys SPI-101 leather care

9. Cabin Air filter lightly sprayed with Chemical Guys New Car Scent spray (incredible product, worth the cost)

10. Decided to take some photos WAYY too late. I'll repeat the process in about 2 months probably. Being sure to take photos off all my products and processes!

If anyone is wondering about Duragloss products, I HIGHLY recommend them. Light years beyond any product that Meguiar's or Mother's makes. There is some speculation among the detaling forums that the same formulas are used by Zaino. I can say that I used one bottle of Zaino Z2 on my previous car before deciding it was just too damn expensive, even though my results were incredible. I can say that Duragloss is equally as brilliant and long lasting. I used to use Meguiar's Gold Class and this wax puts it to shame.

Chemical guys makes GREAT cleaning products. A small specialty shop out of California that makes incredible products for a decent price. They have lots of videos on youtube if you're interested. These two product lines are my products of choice for life, until someone convinces me of better quality items for a better price!

Now onto a few shots. The photos have not been edited, just put some vignetting around the edges, but color, contrast, etc is all untouched:

[brav]

It is like new!!

[plaifender]

Thanks Brav. Next time ill try and get some close ups of the finish. There's always a lot of hoopla concerning silver cars and their lack of shine, but with duragloas I feel like I can really exploit the silvery color instead of making it look "plasticky" like most waxes tend to do with silver.

[Big Kev]

And here was I thinking Plaifender was a guitar tuition book.....!!! Taylor make better guitars anyway.

Cracking job there, Ryan, and a definite contest to ensue between yourself and Charlie Farlie as to who really IS the son of Howard Hughes.....LOL.

Fellow member shcm also achieves such a finish on his silver one.

Big Kev

[Davrav]

Pro job with the car and photos Ryan

What do you use on the interior plastics?

[plaifender]

And here was I thinking Plaifender was a guitar tuition book.....!!! Taylor make better guitars anyway.

Cracking job there, Ryan, and a definite contest to ensue between yourself and Charlie Farlie as to who really IS the son of Howard Hughes.....LOL.

Fellow member shcm also achieves such a finish on his silver one.

Big Kev

Thanks BK, Taylor makes great acoustic guitars.. Fender makes a great electric guitar... Comparing apples to oranges here! I will have to check Charlie's and SHCM's rides out. Have they got pics posted somewhere. I've toyed with the idea of a car detailing business. But doubt it could be very profitable here in Madrid. I'm REALLy the only person I know in this city that even cares this much about my car's paint finish. In the States riding around in a dirty car is unacceptable in many circles.. In spain, it's commonplace. :(

Pro job with the car and photos Ryan

What do you use on the interior plastics?

Thanks Davrav,

I use three products religiously on the interior.

1. Chemical Guys- InnerClean. AMAZING product if you want to restore the nice factory matte finish to your vehicle's plastics. I use it especially on the turn signals and steeringwheel levers, as these areas tend to get shiny from body oils. Cleans and keeps all surfaces UV protected and OEM looking.

2. Chemical Guys- Leather Clearner- See point 3 below

&

3. Chemical Guys- Leather conditioner- i use this on the steering wheel, shift knob and all leather areas. If you suffer from "Shiny" leather, this will bring your leather back to that nice fresh factory mate finish. I will take a picture of my interior on my next detail. When I got my car, the leather was "cracked" and creased in several areas and very shiny. (the driver's seat overall). With good cleaning i was able to get it back to factory matte finish. And after 2-3 months of conditioning on a weekly basis the leather lost most of its creases and has returned to almost new form. Leather conditioning also "tightens" your leather over time if it looks "baggy". It's not instantaneous but with steady conditioning over several months you should see its elasticity come back.

[Big Kev]

Both are prolific manufacturers of both Ryan, only one is made in the far east to tolerances of plus or minus a fortnight, whilst the other is made in your homeland to exacting standards....woops......incoming.......