97 SE, The Cleanup

[bluetrane2028]

Our new (to us) 97 SE was bought from somebody who owned an asphalt paving business. As a result, the car was covered in thick tar. The only way to remove tar like this was ligher fluid and a rag. Gas wasn't strong enough, the lighter fluid did a better job.

Before:
http://www.geocities.com/thesaxman36/etc/images/tar1.JPG

After:
http://www.geocities.com/thesaxman36/etc/images/tar2.JPG

It isn't perfect, but the car looks pretty good for its age now that it's less covered in tar

http://www.geocities.com/thesaxman36/etc/images/front1.JPG

My other ride, an '07 Impreza, is parked behind the GA in that last pic.

I will have to give the GA a full detail, but with the winter about to set in fully, it will probably wait until the spring. At that time it will probably need new tires, which will be mounted on these wheels:

http://www.geocities.com/thesaxman36/etc/images/93gawheels.JPG

Only one wheel has curb damage, the other ones just need detailing and they'll look like new. For $40, I'm not going to complain.

[Gagt518]

Nice.... lighter fluid does wonders :lol:

[lowrider2962]

glad to see ur taking car of ur car. it really does look pretty good in that pic. find any body damage or rust or anything? keep up the good work.

[PORTMAN96]

much better

[XoticGA]

Wow... lighter fluid? I had no idea :lol:

[bluetrane2028]

I first tried gasoline, but it smelled real bad and made me want to pass out, plus it didn't work all that well. One of my friends used to work in a detailing shop, and I asked him what he would try. Cheap charcoal grill lighter fluid was his answer. 6 bucks later I had like 64 ounces of the stuff, and while it still took forever and was extremely messy to deal with, the tar lost in the end. Keep in mind, I only took the tar off of the white paint, not off of the entire inside wheel well. I will get to that eventually, but it's not as noticeable by far.

Body damage noticed so far: the rocker panel on the passenger side is loose near the rear wheel. It's not broken, but more like Pontiac forgot to put in a screw... You don't notice it unless you manually jiggle the part. Obviously the hood dent needs to go, and the car really should be re-painted... but that costs more than I have right now.

[Big Joe]

dam, I've seen people spend weekends at the track and have less stuff in the wheel wells.