New 97 White GQ Patrol - Touch Ups and Headunit

[bend089]

Hi all,

I have a white GQ patrol wagon 97 model.

I was wondering what the best polish is to remove any small scratches or white powder from oxidisation?

Also anyone able to recommend a good headunit to put in the car, be good if it had Bluetooth and AUX.

Thanks!

[Mojo01]

Polish can be a tricky one, the first thing you need to know is if the car has a clear cloat eg metallic paints. as yours is white i would doubt it would so you can use a #3 or #2 cutting polish you can get these for around $8 at your local car parts joint, or you can also find em in places like kmart or bigw

DONT USE A CUTTING POLISH ON METALLIC PAINT JOBS.. you will wear away the clear coat and stuff up the paint.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Kitten-Cutting-Compound-365g.aspx?pid=0078&menuFrom=3011#Description this is what i would class as a #3

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Kitten-Cream-Polish-280g.aspx?pid=0076&menuFrom=3011#Description this is a #2


always start with the lowest polish first eg, polish the whole car with just a normal polish, this will show you where the paint needs extra work ( if at all ), oxidization will sometimes need a #2 polish or cutting compound to get it back to smooth and shinny again.

those pesky little scratches may come out with the #2 or #3, but dont work the polish to hard, remember that cutting compounds actually take a small layer of paint off the car, if they dont come out they are there to stay ( and besides it aint a real 4x4 if it dont have a couple of small dings and scratches)


as for a head unit, i have recently put one of these in mine, I am happy with it

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Sony-Bluetooth-MP3-CD-Player-MEX-BT3050.aspx?pid=322821&menuFrom=9011#Description

[bend089]

Thanks a lot for you help has cleared up a lot of questions I had.

With the head unit did you have to rewire the cars headunit connector to attach to that headunit? Also with the speakers, apart from spacers 6inchers should fit straight in?

Cheers in advance.

[Mojo01]

Unfortunately, by the time my GQ Patrol found it way to me, the loom had already been hacked/stuffed/played with, by god only knows how many previous owners, combine that with the fact that mine also has non working under seat amps for left and right , basically meant a minor nightmare for me, so I rewired all the speakers, and power etc from scratch. In saying this however, the basic patrol/maverick loom is very simple and is not that hard to decipher. if you have access to a manual for your model the stereo loom is depicted on on of the electrical diagrams at the rear of the book (Gregory's ) with full colour coding as to what is what.

but as i said with my case i left all the original wiring alone and ran all new wires for not only the power, but all of the speakers as well, the good thing about the patrol is the ease of running wires etc and thus doing what i did was not as bad as you may think, the main thing that took the time was running the wires through the rubber door grommet thingy.

6inch speakers fit just fine into the rear doors, but as you mentioned spacers are needed for the front, in my case i have a power window model that has this big hunk of plastic that's part of the the arm rest that covers the speaker, and as most patrol/maverick owners soon find out there is only 32mm clearance inside the front door speaker holes, this is fine with the original factory speakers, but trying to find a replacement is a pain in the ass. most of the newer speakers need a min of 45-50mm rear clearance. my advice here is look at the boxes in the shop they give you the measurements of what the speaker needs, in my case i found a set of 6 inch pioneer that had a min back clearance of 45mm, i made a 15mm spacer out of some mdf ( you can buy them ) and i cut the back of the door trim to make room for the front clearance. sounds like a lot of work, but it looks 100% stock yet i have a nice set of 150 watt speakers in my front doors , the inner door skin just has a slight bulge,as the spacers and speakers are behind it thus i was able to keep the wife happy as she don't have some dodgy hack job to complain about and i have my loud tunes when she ain't in the car.

[Silver]

someone, maybe Timbar, put a nice picture and instructions for an MDF backing plate/spacer, I think on a Q and not a U. Was like a cross between a watermelon seed and tear drop, and looked really neat as it followed the contours of what was already there. A search would find it I guess.

[Mojo01]

yeah in my case it was, and I quote with what she who must be obeyed said.

" IT HAD BETTER LOOK LIKE IT DOES NOW WHEN YOU ARE DONE"


.. yes dear..lol

[GQPorkroll]

I use Meguiars or Mothers polish so that has found its way onto the Patrol when it does get a bath. Although mine isn't a show car so its rarely polished, usually hosed down with a jet washer. The only tip I'd give is don't use turtle and don't use any of the colour coded nonsense. I have worked in spare parts for 20years and have sold everything from the $8 bottle to the super duper expensive worlds best cover any scratch type at $40 a bottle. Its all shit and doesn't work.

In regards to your head unit and speakers, In the rear doors, I have 6" Pioneer 3 ways in factory enclosures with factory covers. They're a tight fit, but they do fit. I also have the same speaker in the front doors however the window is fowling on the magnet and won't open past half way. Not a huge concern at the moment but i will be looking for a shallower 6" speaker to replace it with.

Headunit wise, I have a eBay special $169 Pioneer unit. I bought 2, put the other one in my work ute. They've worked flawlessly and for the money, I can't complain at all. It has a USB input, is iPod compatible and has everything you wanted except bluetooth, although I think the next model up also has that. I didn't need bluetooth as my Troll has a full iPhone car kit in it. They came from the states and I think i got both units within a week. Even with freight they were cheaper than I could find in Aus. I like pioneer gear and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again. The other benefit, for me, at least, is that they don't look anything too flash, theres no LED screens, no bright lights, no big flashy screens that will scream out STEAL ME when I park it at work. It is a nice looking unit that fits well in the dash and doesn't look out of place and doesn't get destroyed by dust when you go off road.

[bend089]

So Will I need to rewire the patrols loom to fit into a pioneer headunit? Or will it join straight up without modification? Same per speakers as well?

Thanks!

[GQPorkroll]

I've used factory speaker wire as it was in good condition.

The head unit will require rewiring, by either splicing into the original wiring leaving the factory plug in place so you can refit the standard radio if you sell etc, or aerpro make wiring kits that join to your factory haress and either have a blank end so you can solder your new radio terminals to it, or they have plugs on the end that will join directly to your new radio plugs. Makes fitting the radio a 2 minute job (assuming your factory harness isn't butchered like mine was!) most harnesses are around $50 and can be had on eBay, or via a reputable, knowledgable spare parts shop (as in not Supercheap).

[bend089]

got the headunit, MDF cutouts/spacers, wiring attachment kit, 4 speakers all for only 220!

[GQPorkroll]

Nice work! Sony is a decent brand, I never had any problem with them, I just prefer Pioneer (for no other reason than I always used it and had a huge PIONEER sticker on my car when I was young and I pulled chicks with it!) I also got serious and decided a functional window is a good thing and bought some MDF spacers and 2 new 6" 4way Pioneer speakers for my doors so once I get the truck back i'll be throwing them in.

Good luck with your install, I'm glad you went the proper way, Its a little bit dearer, but so much better than hacking into a good, fresh wiring harness!

[bend089]

Yea Thanks, I am a pioneer man as well, although this was a lot cheaper for a simmilar pioneer spec unit, I also got the 4 speakers for 66 dollars down from about 140... so install is on tomorrow night, cannot wait!

[BLKWDW]

Polish can be a tricky one, the first thing you need to know is if the car has a clear cloat eg metallic paints. as yours is white i would doubt it would so you can use a #3 or #2 cutting polish you can get these for around $8 at your local car parts joint, or you can also find em in places like kmart or bigw

DONT USE A CUTTING POLISH ON METALLIC PAINT JOBS.. you will wear away the clear coat and stuff up the paint.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Kitten-Cutting-Compound-365g.aspx?pid=0078&menuFrom=3011#Description this is what i would class as a #3

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Kitten-Cream-Polish-280g.aspx?pid=0076&menuFrom=3011#Description this is a #2


always start with the lowest polish first eg, polish the whole car with just a normal polish, this will show you where the paint needs extra work ( if at all ), oxidization will sometimes need a #2 polish or cutting compound to get it back to smooth and shinny again.

those pesky little scratches may come out with the #2 or #3, but dont work the polish to hard, remember that cutting compounds actually take a small layer of paint off the car, if they dont come out they are there to stay ( and besides it aint a real 4x4 if it dont have a couple of small dings and scratches)


as for a head unit, i have recently put one of these in mine, I am happy with it

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Sony-Bluetooth-MP3-CD-Player-MEX-BT3050.aspx?pid=322821&menuFrom=9011#Description


Were did you learn you cant use a cutting compound on mettalic paints? I'm a hobby detailer and have done quite a few other peoples cars as well(friends paying customers) and if i've needed to use a cutting compound i have regardless of what the paint it is. If you havnt bought a polish yet stay away from those kitten ones they aint worth shtting on. Grab yourself some megiuars scratch x and with some elbow grease you will remove scratches(technically only hiding them not removing them) and give the car a nice shine all in the one step. If you have a machine polisher will make it easier but you dont need one with the megs stuff for you average punters results. Some wax on top and job done. If you want a more detailed explaination on what to do then pm me.