FLORIDA MEET - OCALA FOREST JUNE 28th

[Joe_Black]

Just in case people need the address again:

Juniper Springs Campground
26701 East State Road 40
Silver Springs FL 34488
352-625-3147

PM or email me if you want my cell as I'll be there Friday morning setting up.

See y'all there!

[forgetful]

Hey everybody. Sorry you haven't heard from me, I've been so busy on the road and trying to buy another house that I haven't had much time to do anything. I wish we could come down for the meet, but with everything going on, we just can't get away.

I don't remember you telling me that you broke your tow strap Joe. I probably would have gone and bought you a new one. You mentioned in one of your posts that you kinda watch out when off roading so not to scratch anything. Well, it was obvious that NIV-D doesn't feel the same way with the way he drove his in GA. woods. He's a wild man. You guys are gonna have alot of fun. Break Heraclid in right. We never did find any real mud. Just that little spot of it there in GA. That's where you all are gonna have a blast. Be sure to take lots of pics to post for all to see.

Wish I was gonna be there.Maybe next time. Have fun
later.....Forgetful

[Heraclid]

But my engine bay is SO clean. LOL! I already have four things (windows are slow going up, CD changer is dead, dent in passenger door, scuffed cladding) to fix and I've had it two months. It's special to me and I just want to keep it in excellent condition because I plan to have it a long, long time. Seriously considering the Line-X treatment for the cladding. That alone would make me breathe a lot easier if it is half as good as they say it is. I actually wish this wasn't my daily driver, but it is, and it would be hard not to get to drive it daily. :-)

[Heraclid]

Okay, got a few questions. Just show up sometime Saturday, or Saturday morning would be best, right? Any particular time? Also, what do I need? Will this possibly be a Saturday-going-into-Sunday thing, or just Saturday? I have a tent - should I have it with me? Any other suggestions?

[Heraclid]

Sorry, one more... is there a usage fee associated with the camping space we'll be occupying? Just trying to have all the bases covered.

[Joe_Black]

Shawn, you'll be missed! It seems a lot of the SE regulars had all sorts of things come up to prevent attending this meet, so don't feel too bad. LOL! In any case, no, my tow-strap isn't broken. I just didn't want to be the only one!

Heraclid, the idea is for the meet to run Friday thru Sunday but you can show up at any time. If you're camping, the overnite fee was $14 last I checked for the tent loop. It is on a first-come basis, so let me know if you're going to camp and when so I can try to get adjoining sites if they'll let me.

As for beating up your VX, don't sweat it. Check out the gallery pix in mine, Niv-d and forgetful to get an idea of what we did at the last meet. We all drove home from N. GA. and pretty much just had to wash a bunch of clay off. This is my fourth Isuzu 4X4 and believe me, they're hard to break!:yesg:

[Heraclid]

Hey Joe_Black,

Sent you a PM asking for your cell # and then realized you'd already sent it... thanks! Sent you mine too, but it said your mailbox was full, so...

Heraclid (David)
904-610-9288

[VX1]

Wawhooo! Check out all these jeep trails:

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=17...=430722&size=m

We're there Saturday morning thru Sunday evening. Closest hotel found was Holiday Inn down State Rd 40 in Silver Springs, so that'll be us Saturday night. There's also a Days Inn next door for 40 bucks.

Anybody up for meeting for breakfest Saturday morning, 9 or 9:30am??? Maybe Joe can scout out a good place, which will probably be back around civilization in Silver Springs or even Ocala.

And, I hope everyone is packing some lunch for both days, cause we're not likely to pass a drive thru where we'll be going.

Scott Swett

[Jonnie]

I'm up for breakfast, I can handle that without a VX yet.

Jonathan

[Heraclid]

Breakfast sounds good, just let me know where to be and when. Also, I do not know for sure if I'm overnighting yet. Wish I could say for sure, but can't yet. When I know more I guess we'll see what options are still open.

My wife, parents and brother are all going to be out of town at the same time. I have to have some kind of arrangement made for the dogs while I'm gone.

Just so you know, my plan is to leave early and get there Saturday morning and spend Saturday there at least.

[niv_d]

I’ll definitely join you guys. I was a bit quite lately but there are some good reasons for that. My first baby girl was born less then a month ago so I was a bit busy you can say…

However, no way in the world I’m gonna miss this. See y’all Saturday morning!

[Joe_Black]

CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL AND NIV!!!

Definitely up for breakfast, I'll look around on my way in Friday for anything close by. Otherwise, we can convoy the 20-some-odd miles into Ocala.

Most have my contact info, I'll send a few more PM's out today, so let me know if you don't. Depending on who shows up Friday I may do a bit of trail scouting so we don't have to wander about too terribly much. :lookg:

As mentioned in earlier posts, remember to bring some munchies, drinks and mosquito coils. Since skullcap can't make it I'll take the responsibility of exposing y'all to VX Caviar!

Just a couple days! Woohoo!

[Heraclid]

Hey Joe_,

First, is that your real name?

Second, in response to your response, I've tried every bug/tar/sap remover except the right one(s), I guess. I was so embarrassed to turn in my '95 Avenger as a trade on the VX with sap all over it. Couldn't get the crap off and was kinda pressed for time. Probably would have made a big difference in what I got for it, too.

[Joe_Black]

LOL! Yeah, that's my real name. Wasn't all that funny in school and never really was cool until I was a DJ doin' the slam-scene back in the 80's. Black was the "in" thing, especially with the goth/industrial/punk club scene. Then the Brad movie. Which I never saw. Still.

Now for the real sap! I used to operate a detailing business and the 3M stuff worked well but I ended up going with just plain mineral spirits. I was going to buff and wax the car anyway and the stuff worked great. Usually would just put it on a cotton ball or piece of old t-shirt and hold it on the sap for a bit before rubbing it off. Here's some additional info I found on the web you might find interesting:

Parking under large trees can result in unwanted deposits of a sticky substance on the car. Most people assume this is tree sap, but the real culprit is far more likely to be insect honeydew, excreted by aphids or scale insects that infest the leaves and branches.

Composed of sugars and other waste products that pass undigested through the insects' bodies, honeydew becomes harder to remove the longer it's left on the car.

If you remove the honeydew and park under the tree again, you'll just end up with more sticky stuff dripping down on your vehicle. You may be able to dislodge and reduce the numbers of offending aphids in the tree by blasting overhanging branches with a forceful stream of water from a hose. Unfortunately, a hard stream of water does not help much if the source of honeydew is scale insects.

Spraying with insecticides is rarely needed to protect the health of the tree.

Above courtesy of the University of Minnesota Horticulture department.

How to Remove Tree Sap

To remove the tree sap from your vehicle's surface, you can use finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball. After the sap is removed, make a paste of water and baking soda to wash the affected area, then apply wax.

Another method to remove the sap is to use mineral sprits (it will also remove tar). Use a soft, terry towel, or wash cloth dampened with mineral sprits. After removal, wash the car and apply wax to the affected area.

Tree sap can also be removed by using a water-soluble paint brush cleaner. A common household solution is bacon grease or lard. Just rub it on, and off comes the sap. To get tree sap off of your hands, simply rub mayonnaise on them and wash it off. To remove tree sap and other substances, you can use common solvents like lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol, WD-40 or even Skin-So-Soft bath oil.

The way to use those materials is to let them do their work of dissolving (in the case of alcohol) or softening (in the case of oils), enough to rub off the remaining sap. If you use the oil, wash the car afterwards to remove it.

You can also use commercial wax and grease-removing products available at auto supply stores. Be sure to wash and dry the car before applying the wax and grease remover. Then dampen a clean cloth with the solvent and rub the affected area. It may require several attempts if the sap is very thick or extremely hard. The surface may appear hazy after the solvent evaporates, but a good wax application will eliminate the haze and complete the job.

Removing tree sap from a car's finish is a bit more difficult than tar, as hardened sap can scratch your paint. I've found that by hand-rubbing the sap spots with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol, I'm able to easily remove the sap without damaging the finish. Mineral spirits and denatured alcohol acts as a solvent to break up and dissolve the sap.

If there is a large amount of sap on the car, or if the sap has been left on the finish for an extended period of time, it can be a lot of work to remove. For these cases, you can try hitting the affected areas with a light-duty buffing compound to remove the hardened surface on the sap spots. Then you can use mineral spirits or a similar solvent to remove it. The light duty buffing compound softens the sap so the solvent can do its job. The goal is to use the least pressure possible to reduce the risk of scratching the paint. After removing heavy sap, always buff the treated areas with a good polish to clean up any marks created during hand-rubbing with solvent. The treated area must also be re-waxed.

Another technique is to use orange based solvents and children's molding clay. Apply a bit of the solvent and rub with the clay. It is abrasive enough to scrub off the sap which has been broken down by the solvent.

The chemicals used to remove road stains can also remove your wax or sealants. After removing tar, sap or bugs, plan to spot wax or re-wax your vehicle. If you don't have time to wax right away, use a quick detailing spray that contains wax. A quick spray wax is great for this kind of spot waxing, too.

Old tar, tree sap, and paint over-spray can be easily removed with a miraculous new product called automotive clay. As you rub it across any type of surface (paint, glass, plastic, metal, rubber, vinyl) it instantly sticks-to and pulls-off all contamination that is stuck to the surface. Here's how to use an automotive clay bar:

To use the automotive clay, spray a water-based lubricant on a small area of your car and rub the bar back and forth with light to medium pressure. If the lubricant begins to dry, you'll need to spray more. Clay bars are fairly sticky, and they cannot be used dry.

After a few passes with the clay bar, rub your hand over the area to feel if the surface contamination was removed. Keep rubbing until all contamination bumps are gone. Finally, wipe the clay residue off with a soft terry cloth towel, and buff to a nice luster. Just like waxing, work in small areas.

Check the clay bar frequently for hard particles. When found, pick them off. Make it a habit to occasionally knead and reform the bar so that a fresh portion of the bar contacts your car's paint.

When you're finished claying your car, you should go over it with a pre-wax cleaner to finish cleaning the paint and restore essential oils. Then, protect your newly cleaned finish with one or more coats of rich Carnauba wax.


...and there you have it!

[Heraclid]

Hey, thanks for all that info!

Okay, here's the deal. Timing for this meet is a bit bad for me in that everyone has something going on and that leaves me no available babysitters. Therefore I have to drop my dogs off at a kennel Saturday AM, no earlier than 8:00. Trip is a bit over 2 hrs, so can't make the breakfast get-together and will have to meet you all at the campsite afterward, probably between 10:30/11:00. Does this sound ok?

I can overnight there no problem and hang out some Sunday too - only thing is I must get home Sunday by a certain time (it's either 5:00 or 6:00). I know it's really late in the game now, but if you can still get me a spot at the campground, I'll take it and bring my tent. Hopefully everyone is going to camp out the July 4th weekend so maybe the crowds will be slack this weekend.