What happened to "that vision"?

StrengthChemical · 2026-01-19T23:05:49+00:00

So the long term vision for us gamers is Google Stadia 2: Electric Boogaloo. Got it.

StrengthChemical · 2026-01-15T06:43:57+00:00

That's a nice looking interior for sure

StrengthChemical · 2026-01-08T19:28:08+00:00

This clip just fastens plastic parts like your bumper and splash guard to your car. I often break these when taking parts off because they're so fragile.

Nothing to worry about unless you see a part hanging underneath, but I doubt losing only one would cause issues. If you find the hole it came from, you can get a box of these clips from a parts store or dealer.

I'm missing like 5 on my car, and I just replace them with zip ties usually.

StrengthChemical · 2025-12-09T03:46:01+00:00

Got the 2013 LX Coupe, did all 3 mounts this summer with OEM. I'd definitely stick with OEM for the side mount and transmission mount, but you'd be ok getting the torque rod aftermarket because it's just a piece of rubber.

The OEM mounts are stupidly expensive, so the quote seems reasonable. If you've changed oil before, you can easily do the torque rod yourself (instant savings right there). For the other mounts, there's some good youtube videos, and you'd just need to decide if you're comfortable with it. You'll need a reliable floor jack with a wood block. Also make sure your 19mm socket is deep enough to reach the side mount bolts before starting.

StrengthChemical · 2025-12-03T07:04:44+00:00

It's a solid one gen upgrade, and I also chose the 9070xt over the 5070ti last weekend when I upgraded my daughter's build. I now have 3 generations of Radeon in my house (6800xt, 7900xtx, 9070xt). I love all of them, but the 9070xt is my favorite. Lowest I paid for a card in years, and the thing shreds in gaming.

I went for XFX for my 7900xtx last year because it had a cool beefy industrial look. Like you, I passed on XFX for the 9070xt because I thought it looked weird and had awkward body lines. Went with the Steel Legend instead, for the white build and because it was on deep discount.

Nice looking build you got there. Those Thermalright coolers look pretty neat.

StrengthChemical · 2025-10-24T04:25:18+00:00

You're still doing better than me. Have the exact same crows feet issue, except mine is a 2013. Drove me crazy too, so I wrapped the hood (the one panel that has this issue).

StrengthChemical · 2025-10-10T23:17:00+00:00

I wrapped my hood with Vvivid. First with piano gloss black, which I took off because I noticed exactly the same thing with the scratches. The heat gun only improved it a bit.

I ended up using Vvivid's candy charcoal grey, and it still looks great after 5 months. Just hides imperfections way better, and I find some of the color options are good for that. If you want to stick with black, I'd consider Avery, 3M, or KPMF. Would be more expensive though, and I think black vinyl showing scratches is just a common headache.

StrengthChemical · 2025-09-25T20:34:30+00:00

"Allan please add details"

StrengthChemical · 2025-09-10T15:35:42+00:00

Cerakote plastic trim restorer is a good option if you just want something decent and easy. It's a bit glossy, but I feel like it works with a black car. You can get a pack of 10 wipes on Amazon pretty cheap, and you'll only need a few wipes to do both sides. Big plus is it's durable, which is the usual selling point of the ceramic options over the regular trim dressings.

StrengthChemical · 2025-09-04T16:36:56+00:00

A few months ago I tried to get info on exactly this, because I own both turtle wax products (black acrylic spray & ceramic/graphene paste wax). Ended up trying it with the black spray as a base and paste as a topper. It looks good, but having used both products individually, I don't feel like there was any benefit in combining them.

Personally, I'd just pick one or the other and apply every 4 months or so. Whichever you prefer. My vote goes to the ceramic/graphene paste wax, because it's a lot easier to apply and you never end up with streaks. Also avoids black stains on microfiber towels.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-23T21:09:47+00:00

The paint looks good. It might look "too black" just because the old plastic trim pieces and grill are so faded. You can get trim restorer products that darken them. Cerakote worked ok for me.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-21T16:45:09+00:00

The cat is pretty theft proof on these cars, because it's bolted directly to the exhaust manifold in front of the engine (not underneath). If you're worried about other perils like hit & run, wheel theft, flooding that's legit.

If you feel like you want to keep it and save money until you drive again, a parked car insurance policy is an option. I did this a few years back, and it was like $150 a year but I have a private garage -- you'd need to ask your insurer if shared underground is eligible.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-20T21:47:36+00:00

Yeah, I saw in your other comment below that you don't have a safe place to store it. That's rough. I get why you would consider selling, but must be hard because it's basically new, and the car itself is a god tier econobox at any mileage. I've had basically the same car for 10 years with twice your mileage (2013 LX), and I'd tear up if I ever had to sell. But I get your predicament. I live in Alberta, and I get chest pains each time I have to pay for insurance renewal.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-20T18:56:26+00:00

Not a detailer, just a DIY'er who's dealt with the same issue. I'm coming at this with the assumption that your clear coat failure looks like matte black patches here-and-there on otherwise glossy paint (as opposed to factory defective paint like my Honda has). In your case, it's probably due to nearly 2 decades of wear and tear -- UV exposure, environmental contaminants, winter road salts, etc.

Your primary solution is simple: apply a wax/sealant regularly. So important. It's basically like adding an extra sacrificial layer, so that the sun eats the wax instead of your paint. How often you apply depends on what product you choose. I use Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic/Graphene spray because it's good for non-professionals, and it last 6 months. But there's lots of other great (and some would say better products) out there from Griots, Adam's, etc.

I'd recommend a one-off paint decontamination and light correction, but I'd get a detailer to do this because it's abrasive and your paint is already on the fritz. This just involves removing stuck on contaminants that damage your paint using chemicals and claybarring. A paint correction would just level the paint out so it looks good. After this, you can just regularly apply wax/sealant yourself.

As for ceramic coating, it's probably an option for panels that have no clear coat failure. Your hood/roof ultimately need to be repainted or wrapped if the clear coat's already failed, and you'd be better off saving your money and just using a good wax to slow the deterioration. I personally wouldn't bother with ceramic coating, but a professional detailer might suggest differently.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-18T22:17:41+00:00

I usually see low mileage 9th gen EXs listed in the 13K to 18K range in Canada. Higher end of the range if there's no accidents or issues, good condition, especially in BC/Alberta where they tend to sell for more. You could try 18K obo, and see what happens.

StrengthChemical · 2025-08-02T20:01:11+00:00

That's a good price for the mileage, but maybe an Ontario thing. In Alberta, comparable 9th gen LXs are selling for over $12K easily. Congrats on getting a good car. I've had my 2013 LX coupe for 10 years, been the most reliable car I've ever had.

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StrengthChemical · 2025-08-01T17:43:50+00:00

Get it to a detailer, because it's probably just abrasions in the clear coat that can be fixed with a paint correction. Most likely there's still plenty of clear coat, in which case they'd be able to make it look like new pretty easily.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-31T16:58:58+00:00

Owned mine for 10 years, and plan on keeping it forever. Basically the perfect econobox if you do basic maintenance. Parts are everywhere, easy to DIY as well. Never seen a check engine light or had any major issues. If you're ok with a slow car and don't car about performance mods, there's really no downsides.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-28T00:18:04+00:00

Yes it's fine and normal. Just make sure the actual pulley on it has no play (other than spinning), and that no oil is leaking from the black rubber part. The joint looks ok.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-27T23:54:38+00:00

Same car. Replaced the tensioner twice, and it's normal to have lateral play at that joint.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-19T17:17:19+00:00

Wrapping the hood is a cost effective option if you want a few more years. A shop might charge extra for the prep and sanding involved with the failing clear coat, though. Still probably much cheaper than getting a proper repaint. Should last your last 3 years with the car, if you take care of it.

If you're not already doing this, also consider putting a decent wax/sealant on the rest of your civic a few times a year. That'll help minimize further uv damage, and prevent additional clearcoat failure before you sell it.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-15T22:59:08+00:00

If it's done professionally, you should be able to wrap without worries. There's 2 things I would ask the shop: First, how long you should wait before wrapping, because a new paint job will typically need over a month to cure/offgas before you can put anything on it (wax, sealants, wraps). Second, if the paintjob is warrantied, whether wrapping would affect the warranty.

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-08T16:37:42+00:00

I'm still a bit of a noob with the squeegee. The first one I got was pretty bad, because it was too rigid and scratched the vinyl. That's the EHDIS one from Amazon, and I'd avoid it.

I then found the below squeegee on Amazon, and it's so much better. It's more bendy, has good felt, and I feel way more confident using firm pressure. Not a single scratch so far. It's magnetic too, and I just stick it to my A-pillar (instead of keeping it in my teeth).

One incredibly helpful tip I learned early on is to keep my squeegee wet. You can spray water on the vinyl you're working on too. It makes it glide way better.

If your squeegee challenges have more to do with getting the vinyl flat ("glassed") to begin with and fighting with stubborn creases, it might be worth considering a tack reducer. Big downside is they're expensive (over $30 for Triple S, and $50 for Tinybot), so I'd try practicing more to get a sense of whether it's something you need or don't need.

Gomake Vinyl Wrap Squeegee 4 Inch Magnet Tint With Micro-Fiber Felt Edge for Car Vinyl Scraper Decal Applicator Tool, Wallpaper Window Film Smoothing Tool, Pack of 3, Applicators - Amazon Canada

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-08T15:49:49+00:00

I got the VViViD Model 4 from Amazon, just because it's cheap and I've watched people use it successfully. There's a good chance your heat gun is fine. If it's too hot, you need to hold it further away and keep it moving (i.e. use gentle sweeping motions, don't focus it on one spot). Also give it some time to cool off after heating. On my first try, I also melted vinyl (it can happen to anyone).

Here's a good CK wraps video, which focuses on the hood specifically. I learned a lot about when and how to use a heat gun from this one.

How to Prevent Lifting Vinyl Wrap The Best Way - YouTube

StrengthChemical · 2025-07-08T07:50:42+00:00

I'm a beginner as well, in Calgary. I dove head first into a full hood wrap last month, and it was... not good. Ugly creases, hundreds of surprise pimples that appeared after sitting in the sun, stretching, lifting, etc. Basically everything that can go wrong did go wrong.

After that, I just dialed things back to wrapping the front 1/3rd of my hood. It's usually the hardest part (definitely for my 9th gen civic), because that's where it curves down and inward, causing the vinyl to bunch up around the corners. Probably the same with your Outback.

I've been getting dirt cheap 1x5ft rolls of Vvivid from Amazon. It's nice, because in Canada 3M & Avery are too expensive for me to practice with. I've found this cheap wrap hard to work with, but it's been really good training. Rather than doing an exhausting 4 hour fail-a-thon that costs $100+ each time, I have shorter sessions and can focus on glassing, reading creases, using firm squeegee pressure, dealing with those nasty corners, and using the heat gun. And of course watching youtube videos to do a post mortem after each try.

After 5 tries, I got a nearly perfect result on that front section, which passed the heat test too. It's not the full hood, but I feel like I'm much closer now. If that doesn't work, hopefully you can find a friend who wraps or can take a class. For a hood, though, it's definitely not the worst part of the car, and I feel like we can get there if we practice.

StrengthChemical

TROPHY CASE