The Bimmer Basement

[wreckdiver1321]

Nice!

As an insurance adjuster myself, he's bugging you because the company is bugging him. CLOSE THE CLAIM haha.

Having a shed is so useful when you've got kids and shop stuff everywhere. If you even want things to look clean, you need a shed, I've discovered.

 

[Mpower5266]

Just a small update. I plan on starting the e24 detail tonight. I think I may have gotten the Bulova up and running but its a little slow.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

My buddy was in Houston over the weekend and stopped by Swatch for me. They just so happened to have a moonswatch so I asked him to grab it for me.

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But the best update, was my dad building a storage solution for the kids little Bmws. He designed it to look like a 4 post lift.

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I will have some updates on the e24 tomorrow hopefully.

 

[Trapps]

The Moonswatch is so unique. Nice score!

 

[Mpower5266]

Got started on the detail last night. But first my son had to inspect it.

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He thinks we may need to dye the seats but we can get away with a good cleaning first.

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My daughter had no opinion. So I went ahead and gave it a good wash with Adams Strip wash to remove any waxes or sealants that may have been on the car.

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Then I hit it with some Adams Iron remover.

by Nick Wood, on Flickr

There wasn't much on there, but it did pull some from the roof and quarter panel.

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Then I gave it a claybar.

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I did a couple test spots and I think its going to come out great. Its hard to see but the lower half of this photo is a test spot.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The 1/4 that looked like it had a blended spot doesnt seem to have a clear coat. I am a little concerned about that but I will start there and see what I can do to make it look better. We may eventually have that resprayed. I will get it taped up and hopefully finish compounding it tonight.

 

[Mpower5266]

Started on the paint correction last night. The first step was taping up all of the trim on this thing.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Got my weapons prepped. I am honestly pretty happy with the cheapo 3" polisher I picked up for this project.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I was going to go with Jescar Compound, but I was running a little low. I used Megs 105 and other than the dust, I am happy with the results.

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Here is a before and after of the passenger door.

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And after Megs 105 with a microfiber pad.

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Hood.

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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And fully compounded.

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I am hoping to finish the polish tonight and the majority of the detail over this weekend.

 

[Mpower5266]

Made more progress on the e24 this weekend. Friday night my buddy came over and hung out while I polished the car. I am pretty happy with the results.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Shiny…

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Took it pretty easy Saturday, I had other projects to work on. I did put the first coat of sealant on. Today I got started bright and early.

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Started off cleaning the trim and putting solution finish on it. Before.
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After.
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I then put the second coat of sealant on the paint.

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After that, came my least favorite part of car cleaning, the interior….

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It was fairly easy to clean the dash, door panels, etc etc. And it needed it.
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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The leather was next and it was rough.

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It just took a lot of scrubbing and contorting myself into weird positions.. Here are some before/after/progress pics..

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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

This was a brand new towel.

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After about 2 hours.

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I still need to condition the leather, clean the carpets, glass, coat the trim, wheels/tires, and one more coat of wax on the paint. Hopefully I’ll have it done in time for cars and coffee Saturday.

 

[Arclitgold]

I just got caught up after a long GJ hiatus! So glad you all are back in shape after the tornado and the family all seems to be doing well!

Congrats on the 6! And still jealous about the 02.

 

[Mpower5266]

Very small update. I was tired after work last night so I didn't do a ton. I did vac and clean the carpets. Before.

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After. It looks a little dark but it was wet. This morning it had dried out nicely.

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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Then I conditioned the seats.

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No photos but I cleaned the inside windows and coated the trim. After that I put a coat of collinite 845 on the paint.

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I am pretty close to finishing it up. I just need to coat the glass, clean the wheels(I am not going to remove them to clean them, just wipe them down), and dress the tires. I should have it done in time for cars and coffee this weekend.

 

[Mpower5266]

I put the finishing touches on the detail last night and over all I am pretty happy with it.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also tossed the mats out of my wagon in for now, they seem to work okay. I think we will eventually find some cocomats for it.

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I was hoping to get it out this afternoon for some better pictures but we have rain until Friday and I want to keep it clean for cars and coffee Saturday morning. I think the plan for now is to address some leaks, find a steering wheel, z3 short shifter, and hopefully exhaust(the muffler needs to be replaced. ) I am also on the hunt for some wheels, which will need restoration I am sure.

Now that I am done with this, I am going to hopefully get the garage back to its former glory. I also need to get the washbay lights wired to on a switch again and work on cleaning that back up. I need to organize and address some leaks on the pressure washer. I am hoping to get some projects done, which also means I will be back to posting in here again.

 

[fouckhest]

That thing would look great on a nice set of RS's

 

[Mpower5266]

That thing would look great on a nice set of RS's

Yea but a little out of the budget. Bmw style 5's will work for now.

 

[fouckhest]

For sure, love style 5s....I actually ran a set of 18" on my R32 for a while back in my stancey days

That being said, I bet you could find a set of 17s for $500 ish that need some love

 

[Zengineer]

Love the E24, it looks awesome fully detailed. Want to come do my E28 next?

 

[M-technik-3]

Progress is looking good, in photos the pain looks great. Think maybe a set of system wheels.

 

[Mpower5266]

Progress is looking good, in photos the pain looks great. Think maybe a set of system wheels.

Those would be awesome but pricey.

 

[M-technik-3]

Yeah with covers they tend to be, I have a set like that but want fans vs blades. They are forged wheels so they are strong and light but not cheap as they were 10 years ago, Old choice in wheels weight, price, strength and you can only choose two was an old analogy.

The iron remover? you use that before clay barring the paint?

 

[Mpower5266]

Yeah with covers they tend to be, I have a set like that but want fans vs blades. They are forged wheels so they are strong and light but not cheap as they were 10 years ago, Old choice in wheels weight, price, strength and you can only choose two was an old analogy.

The iron remover? you use that before clay barring the paint?

You want to sell your set cheap? Haha. And yeah I do a decon wash, rinse, Iron remover(which doesnt seem to do much for me) and then clay. I think the idea of the iron remover is that if car was transported by train it would keep iron particles from getting into the pad and scratching during polishing. Most of my cars have very little iron on them, so I probably dont need it.

 

[M-technik-3]

Mine are on my M3,

I honestly like them without the turbines or throwing stars, but still want some turbines to have all three setups.

 

[Mpower5266]

I didn't do a ton this weekend. I was fighting a cold and now that I am closing in on 40 everything hurts. I did take the e24 to cars and coffee Saturday and to my surprise it got a ton of attention. My parents watched the kids for most of the day Saturday so after cars and coffee, my wife and I grabbed lunch and cruised around. Saturday night we watched the Clemson game..... in the biergarten..... on our new projector set up.

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Amazon saw us coming when they did their prime preview day. The whole set up was under $130 and it was a lot of fun. I cant wait for summer movie nights with the kiddos when they are little older.

Sunday we hung out with the inlaws and the kids. But while the kids were napping, my dad and I finally got the lights in the washbay wired back on a switch. No more extension cords for this guy.

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We left the loop in the wiring because I think I want a plug and a switch facing the Biergarten. I would be nice to be able to flip a switch to turn on the string lights. More soon, we have some parts coming for the e24.

 

[Mpower5266]

Hey, its been a while. In my last post, in October, I noted that I finally got the lights wired in the washbay. Last week, I finally used them... apparently the wagon hadn't been washed since September...really weird for me.

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We did a little more tuning on the E9 and its like 99% there, still chasing a slight heat soak issue but it is running and starting perfectly.

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And used the projector for the second time on Saturday. I think we are going to have a superbowl party so I need to build some sort of mount for it to make set up easier.

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Ok enough of that.

Small e24 updates.... As you can see in this photo the weird little cover dealies(no clue what to call them) were looking pretty rough.

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So we pulled them to re-glue.

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Added new speakers. I am not an audiophile so these will be fine..

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Cleaned them and reinstalled.

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The exhaust didnt sound great and had a "putty" patch on it. We removed the patch to see if it could be repaired... its a lost cause so a Billy Boat exhaust is on the way.

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Since we are waiting on the exhaust, it seemed like a good time to fix some other stuff. Leaks on the trans and diff were addressed and cleaned.

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And the tired old shifter was pulled and replaced with a Z3 lever.

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Hopefully the e24 will be done in the next week or so and we can do some little things on the e9 before putting the Jeep Cherokee Chief project on the lift.

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[MadeByMiller]

I really enjoy your detailing posts. I look up to folks like you that are experts in detailing including paint correction/ceramic coating. It's a goal of mine to develop those skills. I'm quite jealous of your ability to hand wash at home year round and detail inside! Am I seeing correctly that you mostly prefer Adam's products?

 

[Mpower5266]

I really enjoy your detailing posts. I look up to folks like you that are experts in detailing including paint correction/ceramic coating. It's a goal of mine to develop those skills. I'm quite jealous of your ability to hand wash at home year round and detail inside! Am I seeing correctly that you mostly prefer Adam's products?

I think I only use their strip wash and iron remover. I use all sorts of different brands to be honest.

 

[Mpower5266]

Small update on the E24. The exhaust showed up.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

But the mid pipes were wrong so they are going back to Billy boat. Since we are holding on that we decided to pull the rear package tray.

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We tried cleaning it but it seemed like it would be better to just re-dye it.

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Much better.

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We may re-dye the seats soon. Just waiting on the exhaust parts to come in right now.

I also had an issue with the headlights in the 2002, said issue was that I did not have headlights..... I pulled the relay and slathered some dielectric grease on it and so far they seem to work.

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Nothing else really garage related. I did decorate the Jeep as usual.

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And added this torture device to the garage.

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[Mpower5266]

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. My wife and I agreed just to get stocking stuffers so I didnt get anything really cool. Her brother and his wife were in town so she took the kiddos over to her parents and I got a few hours to just sit and relax in a quiet house.... much better than anything store bought. One of those afternoons, Christmas day, I took the Wagoneer out for a cruise/beer run and clipped the bumper on the carport. Hopefully an easy fix.

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Later that night, I went out to get some Chinese food for dinner and noticed some water in my driveway, when I got back it was much worse. My neighbor had a pipe burst, it was in the teens this weekend, and the water ran out of her house and into my driveway. She wasn't home and recently moved in so no one had her number, I took it upon myself to cut off her water at the street, and my wife tracked her down on facebook. This was my driveway Monday morning.

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This presented a slight problem, because we had some battery issues in the Tahoe and I had to get it out and over to my parents shop to pull the battery. Thankfully I could pull around onto the grass and got up the hill. I took the kiddos over to see grandma and grandpa while I swapped the battery. Ivey inspected the e24.

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Speaking of, we finally got the exhaust installed. I am hoping to maybe drive it a little this week.

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All and all a fairly good Christmas weekend.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Glad you have a good Christmas Nick. Having a relaxing quiet day is better than any gift when you're a parent.

Good on you for shutting off the neighbor's water and contacting her. We need more neighbors like that.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Man, those kids are growing like weeds!

 

[Mpower5266]

Small e24 update.. Since the interior was halfway apart, we decided to finish the job and dye the seats. They were rough even after the cleaning. We started with the rears.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And then worked on the fronts. Its almost done maybe another few days.

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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And grabbed a new shift knob. Its a weighted knock off of a ZHP, it will work.

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I cant wait to drive it again, I feel like its been down for months. I also think that this will be the car we take to the vintage this year but I might take a 2nd car.

The only other update, is not a good one.... Last Thursday we had some bad weather in the area. Pretty bad tornado damage a few towns over. We were spared major damage, but..... the one tree we still have.....

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It dropped a branch and broke a plank in our new fence.

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It's not a big deal but really annoying...

 

[fouckhest]

Bummer on the fence, we had those same storms....my neighbor directly across the street had the top half of a tree come down onto his house/carport, tree was probably 18" diameter where it broke off, needless to say, the roof will certainly need some major repair.

Glad yall missed the worst parts of the storm

 

[jeepster1407]

That ***** about the fence. I'm building a privacy fence myself and just know when I finish something will surely hit it and break it.

 

[Mpower5266]

So you know how we totally finish projects before moving on to something else..... yea me either. I was scrolling facebook market place on Sunday and something caught my eye.... I called my dad and we went to check it out. When I was in high school, my parents had a white 1997 Tahoe 4 door 4x4, I loved it. That thing set off a bit of an obsession with that body style so when this thing popped up on my feed we had to move on it.

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Its a 1995 4X4 with tons of miles. The best part is that its stripped out and was owned new by the city of Jacksonville. I am thinking that it was as Fish and Game, codes, or beach patrol.

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Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We are just in the planning stage right now. I think we are going to address the drivers rocking chair first, its very loose. Then put it up on the lift to look at the front end and brakes. I am honestly not sure what will happen with it, we may flip it, but I could easily see myself falling in love.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

So you know how we totally finish projects before moving on to something else..... yea me either. I was scrolling facebook market place on Sunday and something caught my eye.... I called my dad and we went to check it out. When I was in high school, my parents had a white 1997 Tahoe 4 door 4x4, I loved it. That thing set off a bit of an obsession with that body style so when this thing popped up on my feed we had to move on it.

We are just in the planning stage right now. I think we are going to address the drivers rocking chair first, its very loose. Then put it up on the lift to look at the front end and brakes. I am honestly not sure what will happen with it, we may flip it, but I could easily see myself falling in love.

Nice! Pay close attention to the rear lines, too...guessing it was spared too much rust, but they get nasty (both the main rear and the one along the axle). Give it an old fashioned tune-up (Delco cap 'n rotor, plugs through the fenderwells), check the oil for coolant (int manifold gasket leak).

Also try to find the records from the city...my '98 C1500 was a local water company truck, I waited too long and they'd tossed them. Wish I'd gone earlier.

BTW, the cheap door pulls on eBay fit well and work fine.

 

[Mpower5266]

Nice! Pay close attention to the rear lines, too...guessing it was spared too much rust, but they get nasty (both the main rear and the one along the axle). Give it an old fashioned tune-up (Delco cap 'n rotor, plugs through the fenderwells), check the oil for coolant (int manifold gasket leak).

Also try to find the records from the city...my '98 C1500 was a local water company truck, I waited too long and they'd tossed them. Wish I'd gone earlier.

BTW, the cheap door pulls on eBay fit well and work fine.

Its going on the lift this week so we will look it all over.

 

[jbrentd]

I'm a big fan of the 2-door Tahoe as well. Never have owned one, but would like to someday. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[isonic]

As a fellow Chevy old body style owner I approve, lol. Clean pre '98 (99) trucks are a gem. Have fun with it.

 

[Mpower5266]

Small update on the E24. The 2nd to last seat has been dyed.
Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The last seat is at the upholstery shop getting a seam fixed, I am hoping to have the e24 back on the road next week.

We also put the Tahoe on the lift, looked it over, fixed some stuff, and ordered parts.

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The drivers seat was loose, that was a quick fix. Got the glove box door lined back up and working. And few other small bits here and then. While it was up we greased the front suspension since my dad said it was wondering when he drove it. Not sure if that fixed anything but all the tires were at 42psi, so I lowed them to 32 which I think will fix the wondering. The front brakes are done, so we have pads and rotors coming. Hopefully it will be tagged and driving this weekend.

My wife went to an estate sale on Friday and got this cool set of drawers.

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I stole it for my watch stuff.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I grabbed some felt for the bottom two drawers.

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Its perfect for storing watch bracelets when they are off the watch.

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Speaking of watches... I turn 40 later this year and I have been saving to get something special. I was looking at Rolex Subs and Exp II's but I have other watches that kinda fill those same roles. I came across a good deal on a 1983 Omega Speedmaster Pro and got it in last week. I love it and I have wanted something "birth year" for a while.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[nicholam77]

WOW! That speedy is a stunner. Nothing wrong with a sub or explorer 2, but I like your choice, especially birth year / going vintage. A classic, and I feel like a chrono is right in line with the whole car thing you have going on.

Maybe I ask how / where you acquired the speedy? (Feel free to PM instead, or not at all). I've been going down a rabbit hole of vintage Omega recently (mostly the Jumbo dress watch references like these), but am completely overwhelmed by verifying authenticity, originality (re-dials), pricing, etc. Vintage is intriguing to me but I don't like too small or too much patina, and seems like a lot of "gotchas" in general.

 

[Mpower5266]

WOW! That speedy is a stunner. Nothing wrong with a sub or explorer 2, but I like your choice, especially birth year / going vintage. A classic, and I feel like a chrono is right in line with the whole car thing you have going on.

Maybe I ask how / where you acquired the speedy? (Feel free to PM instead, or not at all). I've been going down a rabbit hole of vintage Omega recently (mostly the Jumbo dress watch references like these), but am completely overwhelmed by verifying authenticity, originality (re-dials), pricing, etc. Vintage is intriguing to me but I don't like too small or too much patina, and seems like a lot of "gotchas" in general.

I love it, and yea it seems perfect for all the car stuff I do. I got it on Chrono24, but the seller bought it on ebay and had their authenticity guarentee with it from a few years ago. The best thing you can do, is just get nerdy and research a ton.

 

[jbrentd]

Love the new drawers...perfect for what you are using it for. Love the new Omega too! My first Pogue was a birthyear watch. It's one of my favorites. I also have a birth month/year Seiko Lord Matic that see a lot of wrist time.

 

[Mpower5266]

Love the new drawers...perfect for what you are using it for. Love the new Omega too! My first Pogue was a birthyear watch. It's one of my favorites. I also have a birth month/year Seiko Lord Matic that see a lot of wrist time.

Someday, I will find a nice Pogue. I love that watch.

 

[Mpower5266]

Another small e24 update. The steering wheel was rough. We bought a new one but it didnt fit since its a 1983 model, so we decided to refinish it.

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Glued in a piece of leather

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Used a super glue gel and sanded.

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Applied a black leather dye.

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And after a few coats and letting it dry.

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I am very happy with the results.

On another note, the Tahoe is tagged and insured. Just waiting on the brakes to come today before I can start driving it.