Lexus LS430 Receives Incredibly-detailed Refresh
We like to think that we clean our cars better than most. But odds are, few go to the extremes this Club Lexus member does!
Here at Club Lexus, we see all sorts of different build threads. Some involve simply changing a car’s stance or swapping out wheels and tires. Others document a complete overhaul, both cosmetically and performance-wise. But when it came time for Romanova to start working on his newly acquired Lexus LS430, his approach was a little different. And it immediately becomes quite clear that he’s a bit of a perfectionist.
“I’m still getting a feel for the car and generally trying to get it as absolutely clean as possible. It is well kept and the dealer did a decent job of prepping it for sale. But there are a lot of small, overlooked areas that I will be addressing. Today, I started with the trunk. It presents well with perfect carpet, two cargo nets, a full tool kit, and an empty first aid kit which I will replenish with fresh supplies. I pulled out the spare tire to check its condition and found a gently used 18-inch Bridgestone with a 2008 date stamp on it. The wheel itself also showed signs of being used and was a bit dirty. There was some residue on the inner portion of the wheel from previous stick-on weights.
‘But Romanova, no one is ever going to see the damn wheel!’ Well, lets clean it anyways. Cleaned it up with Chemical Guys wheel cleaner and Goo Gone for the residue. Then I used 303 Aerospace protectant on the tire.”
After that little bit of obsessive cleaning, it was time to play around with some features!
“Did a few tweaks with Techstream. Seems like the original owner had ALL of the fun stuff turned off. In fact, in the supplemental documentation that came in the owners manual there is a checklist. With everything fun turned off.”
Next, it was time for some more (you guessed it) cleaning! The mildly-hazy headlights received a good polish and look good as new. The car’s pinstriping was also fading a bit, so the OP addressed that with an aggressive pad/polish combo. And the more he looked to address these little niggles, the more he found!
“Cup holder didn’t work when I purchased it. A quick search of this wonderful forum had a great walk through which I used this morning. Cup holder now functions as it should. Also went back in with Techstream to turn off the DRLs. It was at this time that I saw that the foglights are in terrible need of polishing. Very hazed over, to the point where I don’t think polish alone will be enough. Going to order a kit from Amazon and do them up proper.”
After replacing the timing belt, the OP tackled the hazy fog lights with some wet sanding and polishing. And then some more OCD-induced cleaning — this time on the back of the car’s trim pieces! Heck, he even removed the wheels just so he could clean the fender liners, sway bar, and various other trim pieces.
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