Tip one: there has been a lot of discussion about roof squeaks and the moon roof is identified as the culprit. All kinds of products have been used and I am one of those involved. I tried Mequiars Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner and Conditioner on the surrounding seal (wiping it on and leaving it on) and so far after a couple of months......not a sound. I did wipe off the excess and off the glass.
Tip two: The brake dust is maddening and many things have been tried. However, I sprayed and wiped on 303 Aerospace Protectant and it actually removed the most stubborn black smears easily and left a shine. Perhaps next time the dust will come off with ease using a car duster (black) that I have used before with limited success. Thanks for listening.

 

Funny, I use that Aerospace 303 on my moonroof seals!

Don't think I'll try the leather cleaner on the wheels though.

That 303 might be a tad expensive to use for brake dust but it is excellent that it works. It is a type of silicone spray so not surprised it works. Never thought to try it.

 

Yeh.....you got most of it but the leather cleaner was not used on the wheels but rather on the moon roof seal (surrounding the glass)......and I never thought for one second that it would stop the squeaking of that moon roof !! It doesn't seem to have had any bad effect on the seal itself however.

 

Just joking. Since I used the Aerospace 303 on the moonroof seals twisted logic would indicate I should try your other tip on the wheels.

Also, I meant to recommend you try the Aerospace 303 on those moonroof seals next time instead of leather cleaner as the 303 is actually designed for that use, and door seals and for tire "blacking".

The leather cleaner idea is clever because most leather cleaners contain lanolin which is a durable organic lubricant that is also very water resistant (sheep's wool oil, and you've never seen a sheep shiver in the rain because the lanolin waterproofs her wool). Before silicone sprays lanolin was used to lubricate and waterproof leather seals. It would also stick nicely to rubber and lubricate that. It may attract dirt though.

 

Jagular, have you found 303 locally? If so, where?

 

Last time was .....Walmart! Haven't seen it since. I shall inquire of my secret agent and ask where he gets his.

 

Try any marine supply store such as West Marine etc.

 

This is interesting.
303Products

 

Tough to shop stateside from Canada for small orders. We have to pay customs brokerage fees that are far in excess of the duties and taxes payable. We need a retailer here, even online, to bring the stuff across the 49 th in large enough quantities to amortize these brokerage fees.

 

Does that include purchases from Amazon?

 

It varies by the shipping company, UPS in particular is a disaster, I've been nailed for 60 or 70 dollars in brokerage to assess $5 in GST (sales tax). So...in the worst case, I've paid $175 plus shipping charges for a $100 item. The really big pain is that so many online vendors only use UPS, you attempt to communicate how badly you get screwed and the answer is 'everything goes through UPS'. Bottom line is online vendors that use UPS to ship to Canada are slowly destroying the Canadian market for themselves. I know...nobody cares.

FedEx, DHL and others have lower brokerage charges, UPS gouges the !#$#! out of us. It's borderline criminal. It's as though we're supposed to have a customs broker to buy a $50 item.

Vendors like tirerack actually calculate the exact total charge you will pay at the point of placing the order. It's a much better experience than having your package held at ransom by your courier (that you already paid to ship it!!!).

Shipping via USPS takes care of this and keeps the charges reasonable.

 

Yes. Unless we buy from Amazon.ca, the Canadian arm, many items on Amazon.com won't ship to Canada. Including those windshield sunshades we can't get. Even our local dealer can't get them.

 

What happens if a "Friend" in the lower 48 sends you a "gift" in the mail?

 

Works perfectly. My sister or my mother can do so from beautiful Northern California.

 

Yup, the risk ends up being on the sender...can only send so many 'gifts' but it does work. Several vendors have done that.

 

I just wanted to thank you guys for introducing me to Aerospace 303....After reading your-all stories and tips about using this stuff..I did a little more research and was convinced this stuff was for me...I ordered the 32 oz size spray bottle, got it in 3 days and have completely treated every inch of rubber and vinyl on the XF..I even did the upper leather pieces on the doors and the dashboard (that gets most of the hard sun)..I let it set a few minutes to soak in, then I dried the surface so it wouldn't have a shiny glaze to it..but the other door, boot and bonnet parts including the sun roof seals got a heavy coat...I hope it holds up a little longer than some other stuff I usually use and don't water spot if it gets wet..I treated the engine bay too, also the wheels and tires..I was like a mad man..I couldn't stop using it..I really like the stuff...

Thanks again for the heads up...

 

I just bought the 32oz 303 from an Amazon seller. Just got it, but haven't used it yet. I want to use it on my upper dash to prevent sun damage from UV rays, but don't want the dash to be shinny and cause glare. How does your upper dash look after using it?

 

Same here Lew..I wiped a generous coat on the dash, let it set 5 minutes or so and then took a microfiber cloth and rubbed the dash all over and the finish is a soft matt just like it should be..no shiny glaze at all..If you leave it dry, you can still rub out the shine if it does..


Yes..Amazon was $18.99 shipped for a 32oz