It was quite a weekend for the Rainier.
Saturday morning it had the resonator cut off and a polished tip put on. $65 OTD. I couldn't buy the parts for less than that. I sprayed the new pipe (not the tip) with some high-temp paint to stave off corrosion. The sound is much better (bear in mind I have the V8). It passes the wife test. From inside the vehicle, at highway speeds, there's no noticeable change in volume or tone - there's plenty of wind and tire noise to block it out. From outside, standing next to it, it's slightly louder and certainly deeper. The increase in volume is minimal - certainly not at the level of typical aftermarket exhausts. It won't bother my neighbors or attract the attention of the cops. This was done mainly for aesthetics. The extra bit of chrome on the rear end looks nice.
Sunday afternoon it was washed with Optimum No Rinse, polished with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, and then topped it with Klasse All-In-One acrylic sealant.
I don't know why UC is called a compound, since it's not like any other compound I have used or seen. It's not very aggressive and it seems comparable to Meguiar's #80 Speed Glaze in terms of cut, and final finish.
It's not necessarily a bad product, just weak. Or, perhaps a better way to say it would be that the name is misleading. It did well on swirls, but some deeper scratches were unaffected. The scratches in the door handles from the prior owner's finger nails were lessened slightly but not completely removed. It also didn't do much for etching, nor did it effect orange peel. It was applied with a Porter Cable 7424 set to 5 on a white Lake Country polishing pad, moving at about 1 inch per second. The worst part of UC is that it smells like cinnamon gum. I *hate* the smell of cinnamon gum.
As a consumer product, I suppose UC is fine. It seems like a very safe product to use. It removed easily with a microfiber towel and is able to be applied by hand as well. It left a smooth, glossy finish that was ready for a glaze ("pure polish") or last step product (wax or sealant).
I also tried a new-to-me car wash soap called Optimum No Rinse. It's a rinseless car wash - you wipe the surface like usual, but then you dry it immediately. No rinsing (hence the name) necessary. The ONR exceeded my expectations. No marring, excellent shine, and the surface was clean. It even has a pleasant smell, almost like berry or maybe bubblegum. I decided to try it since I have issues with water spots because water dries so quickly on the black paint and I have no shade in my driveway. With the ONR, I can wash in the garage since it uses minimal water. I mixed according to the label instructions - two gallons of water and 1 ounce of ONR. I was left with well over a gallon of solution, so this will prove to be economical too.
ONR looks to be an excellent product, but do your research before using it. It is not for heavily soiled surfaces (sorry Roadie!). It's reportedly temperamental about how it's mixed - too much can cause streaking. You also need clean MF towels to wipe down the surface. I used one towel per panel, except for the tailgate and hood which got two each. The ONR worked well as there was very little dirt on most of the MF towels when drying.
The ONR will come in handy in colder weather when I can use warm tap water.
So I replaced the Cam Position Sensor and cleaned the Cam Actuator Solenoid, DTC went away. We shall see. Love the ride on the new springs though! Got rid of a lot of body sway.
..
The postal service in your area doesn't deliver mail if there's a fireworks show? What's up with that? 
nice!!
Nice rims 
