What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[scot850]

That work on the trim looks awesome. Good to know that some natural products work so well. Shame on the V70R most of the plastics with the exception of the roof trims, is body colored.

Neil.

[Oro]

That work on the trim looks awesome. Good to know that some natural products work so well. Shame on the V70R most of the plastics with the exception of the roof trims, is body colored.

Neil.

Even more dramatic on my original XC. This car looked just as good 18 months after the photo when rear-ended and totaled (I loved that car, still disappointed and haven’t found one as nice again in years).

Before:

After:

[MoVolvos]

Slowly getting my exterior detailed after long neglect. Today I refinished the lower body cladding and door strips with boiled linseed oil. I’ve done this before and it looks great and lasts a LONG time. Only downside is it takes a long time to dry, so I stuck the car in the garage for the weekend.

The “before” picture is misleading; it looks MUCH worse in person.

Before (looks worse IRL):
F282DE47-8D30-40CB-B88F-C230EFBCE345.jpeg

After:
BFBBEE8F-D013-4766-A06E-0F792C86C0F6.jpeg

Linseed oil works really well on the plastic trim!

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You mean Lowe's or food grade linseed / flax-seed? Can it be applied to painted plastic also? Do you wipe on and wipe off? Some use transmission fluid.
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https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jasco-32-fl-oz ... l/50298071
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https://www.britannica.com/science/linseed-oil
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[MoVolvos]

That work on the trim looks awesome. Good to know that some natural products work so well. Shame on the V70R most of the plastics with the exception of the roof trims, is body colored.

Neil.

Even more dramatic on my original XC. This car looked just as good 18 months after the photo when rear-ended and totaled (I loved that car, still disappointed and haven’t found one as nice again in years).

Before:
6C5995AD-063C-49A9-A45D-F3A1D60137B6.jpeg

After:
9E04A626-A909-4111-839D-092F8397F165.jpeg

.
Reminds me I have to get to installing the starter and putting back the intake. Never would consider blue but wanted a V8 so CoPart_ed one. Last V8 was a 95 E420 handled down from parents after they stopped driving. Exceptional when cleaned up and very unique. Son drives it and likes it better than the 09 S60 2.5T AWD he is driving now till I get this back together. Unfortunately, it bit the dust from a Jeep T-Boning it backing up in a parking lot. Still driving it and feels like new as nothing had happened to it and no side curtain deployed. Hope to settle soon but it's going to be thinned from the herd at 118K .
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3.jpg (105.45 KiB) Viewed 241 times

IMG_0904_.jpg (35.07 KiB) Viewed 241 times

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[Oro]

That work on the trim looks awesome. Good to know that some natural products work so well. Shame on the V70R most of the plastics with the exception of the roof trims, is body colored.

Neil.

Even more dramatic on my original XC. This car looked just as good 18 months after the photo when rear-ended and totaled (I loved that car, still disappointed and haven’t found one as nice again in years).

Before:
6C5995AD-063C-49A9-A45D-F3A1D60137B6.jpeg

After:
9E04A626-A909-4111-839D-092F8397F165.jpeg

.
Reminds me I have to get to installing the starter and putting back the intake. Never would consider blue but wanted a V8 so CoPart_ed one. Last V8 was a 95 E420 handled down from parents after they stopped driving. Exceptional when cleaned up and very unique. Son drives it and likes it better than the 09 S60 2.5T AWD he is driving now till I get this back together. Unfortunately, it bit the dust from a Jeep T-Boning it backing up in a parking lot. Still driving it and feels like new as nothing had happened to it and no side curtain deployed. Hope to settle soon but it's going to be thinned from the herd at 118K .
.
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg
09 S60 AWD 2.jpg
IMG_0904_.jpg
.

LoL, on my VERY short list of next cars I want to get, is a blue/tan (1st color choice) GS430 of that generation (also on list, 2004-07 XJ8, and 2001-2006 LS430). It’s a short list.

RE: boiled linseed oil - yes, like you linked. Typically a wood finishing product. It is phenomenal for coating body plastic. You really want “boiled” and not raw. The boiled is already slow to dry, the raw is way too much. I have a can I’ve used on tons of gun grips, furniture, rifle stock, several cars - still got a lot left after 10 years. So it will last a while.

1 - Get the plastic clean. I used a magic eraser pad (I get the generic ones at Home Depot, cheaper), and some Goof-Off or other solvent if you have sap, over-spray, etc. on the plastic. This did not take very long really.

2- Then just go around and wipe the BLO on with a clean lint-free cloth (I used old cotton t-shirt/socks etc. I keep for things like this). It’s pretty quick, also.

3- garage the car a day or two if possible, or do it when the weather is clear and calm. The stuff takes a day or more to get touch-dry and will get dust, etc. in it. But when it dries, it dries with that “wet” look and lasts a long time.

[pfmet]

Judging by the caliper of expertise of the posters I’m assuming that the boiled linseed oil is of course safe on these plastics and I was wondering if it is safe for the rubber weather stripping around our windows and other such rubber pieces. This to me is a marvelous revelation. I have a beautiful antique 1 gal can I inherited from my grandfather.

It’s the raw and what little was left is dried up but I remember that can sitting on a top shelf in his workshop a long time ago so I plan on dying with it sitting on the top self in my workshop. But I do have the right stuff.

I also noted the shine on the tires of that XC. Is that BLO as well? There were some posting in the past year or so about tire companies saying their proprietary compounds couldn’t be warranted to be safe from various detailers the provide shine to the sidewalls and recommended not using them. Don’t recall a source or specific manufacturer but clearly remember reading about it. And I’ve noted the tires on the fire trucks in the parades no longer sport the freshly shined look but just the clean mat rubber finishes. Guess the fire house took it to heart.Interested in any thoughts on this matter.

[MoVolvos]

Even more dramatic on my original XC. This car looked just as good 18 months after the photo when rear-ended and totaled (I loved that car, still disappointed and haven’t found one as nice again in years).

Before:
6C5995AD-063C-49A9-A45D-F3A1D60137B6.jpeg

After:
9E04A626-A909-4111-839D-092F8397F165.jpeg

.
Reminds me I have to get to installing the starter and putting back the intake. Never would consider blue but wanted a V8 so CoPart_ed one. Last V8 was a 95 E420 handled down from parents after they stopped driving. Exceptional when cleaned up and very unique. Son drives it and likes it better than the 09 S60 2.5T AWD he is driving now till I get this back together. Unfortunately, it bit the dust from a Jeep T-Boning it backing up in a parking lot. Still driving it and feels like new as nothing had happened to it and no side curtain deployed. Hope to settle soon but it's going to be thinned from the herd at 118K .
.
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg
09 S60 AWD 2.jpg
IMG_0904_.jpg
.

LoL, on my VERY short list of next cars I want to get, is a blue/tan (1st color choice) GS430 of that generation (also on list, 2004-07 XJ8, and 2001-2006 LS430). It’s a short list.

RE: boiled linseed oil - yes, like you linked. Typically a wood finishing product. It is phenomenal for coating body plastic. You really want “boiled” and not raw. The boiled is already slow to dry, the raw is way too much. I have a can I’ve used on tons of gun grips, furniture, rifle stock, several cars - still got a lot left after 10 years. So it will last a while.

1 - Get the plastic clean. I used a magic eraser pad (I get the generic ones at Home Depot, cheaper), and some Goof-Off or other solvent if you have sap, over-spray, etc. on the plastic. This did not take very long really.

2- Then just go around and wipe the BLO on with a clean lint-free cloth (I used old cotton t-shirt/socks etc. I keep for things like this). It’s pretty quick, also.

3- garage the car a day or two if possible, or do it when the weather is clear and calm. The stuff takes a day or more to get touch-dry and will get dust, etc. in it. But when it dries, it dries with that “wet” look and lasts a long time.

.
The blue/tan 05 GS430 was not loved by the previous owners but since we had an 03 GS300, handed down from my sister in law that was just trouble free, we decided to keep the 05 and do some needed work. The handling is definitely different for the 03 vs 05 due to the V8 so we beefed things up a little. Not the best of anything but competent at 240K plus miles.

For several years I look for a 2003-04 LS430 but gave up. They were either beat up or pristine and the pristine were pretty pricey. I finally gave up however after reading a few unintended acceleration problems so no longer on my bucket list of cars. The XC90 V8 on the other hand .

Just purchased some tire shine besides have a decently full gallon of 303 Aerospace Protectant so the BLO will have to wait for bit. Looks like a durable and lasting way to keep the plastic in good shape.
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Have the blue Megan front strut tower bar also, not pictured.
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[Oro]

1) That Kleen-strip BLO is what I used, exactly. I think the other antique can may be raw linseed oil.

2) I have put it on rubber, like the window weatherstripping, and it really does little. Doesn’t bond and set-up on that surface. Wouldn’t work on tires and the shine there is just spray shine.

3) I haven’t heard about the sidewall issue so I have no idea.

4) for preserving real (or synthetic) rubber, people use silicone grease. Some pay a lot for Shin-etsu (sp?), I use super-lube which is much cheaper. I use it on my door/trunk seals, under hood hoses, etc. Especially great on sun roof as it keeps that seal pliable and tight.

I checked the car this am and it’s still pretty tacky. So from 5pm to 9am, some drying but still another day at least to go, and that’s not for a full “cure” yet.

Glad this helps people; I was thrilled when I learned of it years ago.

[MoVolvos]

1) That Kleen-strip BLO is what I used, exactly. I think the other antique can may be raw linseed oil.

2) I have put it on rubber, like the window weatherstripping, and it really does little. Doesn’t bond and set-up on that surface. Wouldn’t work on tires and the shine there is just spray shine.

3) I haven’t heard about the sidewall issue so I have no idea.

4) for preserving real (or synthetic) rubber, people use silicone grease. Some pay a lot for Shin-etsu (sp?), I use super-lube which is much cheaper. I use it on my door/trunk seals, under hood hoses, etc. Especially great on sun roof as it keeps that seal pliable and tight.

I checked the car this am and it’s still pretty tacky. So from 5pm to 9am, some drying but still another day at least to go, and that’s not for a full “cure” yet.

Glad this helps people; I was thrilled when I learned of it years ago.

.
I use to have some spray silicone for the door seals but decided it was cheaper to buy a tub of Super Lube thinking it was silicone grease. Found the Super Lube thick during winter and the sliding door of the 03 Odyssey would still stick sometimes.

Working on the XC90 shifter assembly decided to try a pool PTFE lube instead. It looks like the Super Lube but much thinner almost water base like but not. The Super Lube contains SYNCOLON which some advertises at PTFE. Recently the Odyssey slider was again experiencing intermittent issues so decided to use a pool PTFE on the seal. So far so good but will see when winter comes.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-41160 ... 1FME&psc=1
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https://revolutionsuperfest.com/pool-fi ... lubricant/
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[Oro]

….

For several years I look for a 2003-04 LS430 but gave up. They were either beat up or pristine and the pristine were pretty pricey. I finally gave up however after reading a few unintended acceleration problems so no longer on my bucket list of cars. The XC90 V8 on the other hand .

….
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Basically my experience, too - same as yours. LS430s - of which a lot around here - have become too expensive for clean ones. I am a V8 fan. I still have a rare early 90s Audi V8 5-speed (non running). A project before long is to restore it back to glory.

This is even funnier, because besides a blue/tan GS430 being what I want, a P2 S60 awd is what I got for my step-son and he drives. I modded the suspension a bit - iPD inserts, converted engine brace to proper strut bar (aka, the “Bob Villa” mod). It handles really well and I really like driving it.

Those braces remind me of something relevant to P80 cars - there is a pretty cheap and very effective way to brace the front top/bottom.

1) Volvo offered an Ohlins strut brace as a factory accessory. A helpful dealer can still special order them and the prices are now lower than in the past. I got one for about $95 in 2021.

2) Volvo offered an “engine grating” for the under-body. When installed, it makes a VERY effective sub-frame brace and greatly stiffens up the front. They are aslo a special order item, but I got one for not much over $100 from Sweden. Smith Volvo in San Louis Obispo did the ordering for both, prices included shipping to my house in WA.

They come galvanized, I just painted them in Volvo colors for a kick. They really sharpen the handling on these cars and do not really compromise ride quality in any way. If someone wants to order these and see if still available, ask me as I’ll dig up the exact part numbers as on the grating, there is an error in the description. I know I have the details in some old emails w/Smith Volvo - who were exceptionally helpful.

Ohlins “factory” brace (I painted blue).

This is the factory engine grating. It is robust, and as you can see it bolts firmly on the front subframe cross-member. There are two slots in the rear cross-member it slides into; clearly made with this in mind. It is rigid enough it actually functions as an effective brace, too.