This was my first detail of 2012, and what a challenge it was!
This car recently went into a local main dealer for some warranty work and came out a little worse for wear after being attacked with TFR and a gritty sponge, so today saw me remove their 'hard work' and also address most of the swirling also present.
Please excuse two things in this write up:
- The lack of pics - the battery on my camera is refusing to hold a proper charge at the moment, so I had to constantly recharge it, resulting in less time to take pics!
- The mess in the background in my unit - it should all finally be sorted during this coming week and all of the mess cleared away - I wouldn't normally operate in such a cluttered environment!
So, on to the detail...
The car had already been washed the day before by the owner, removing most of the winter dirt it had recently picked up, but even so I washed it like I would any other car - I began as always with the wheels:
A thorough rinse with pressure washer to remove any loose dirt/dust:
DSC02241 by RussZS, on Flickr
Surfex HD used on the rear of the wheels, wheel faces, tyres and arches. The S-HD was agitated with EZ Brush, Swissvax Wheel Brush and a Vikan Brush:
DSC02242 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02243 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02244 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02246 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next, snow foamed with Auto Finesse Lather:
DSC02247 by RussZS, on Flickr
The foam isn't very thick, but it is very effective!
This car was recently protected by Winter by Midlands Car Care, so there wasn't much contamination present, however I did remove Tar with Tardis, used Iron X and clayed:
DSC02250 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02252 by RussZS, on Flickr
The car was then re-foamed, rinsed and dried with Uber Towels. I also used my Aeolus 901X to blow dry the car removing any water trapped under wing mirrors, around wheel bolts etc:
DSC02254 by RussZS, on Flickr
The car was littered in RDS and deep swirling:
DSC02255 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02260 by RussZS, on Flickr
I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find a combination that would offer me a decent level of correction and finish down well - I've managed to use Scholl S17 and an appropriate pad to get a very good 1 stage correction on some cars in the past. The paint on this Leon was some the hardest I've ever come across. I had to result to Scholl S3 Gold via various wool pads, then follow that up with Megs 205 and a 3M Polishing pad. However, I was very stretched for time, so I agreed with the owner that I would concentrate my efforts on the sides of the car which had the most severe swirling. The rest of the car would be dealt with at a later date, but would receive a single stage polish today.
Correction shots (before refining)
DSC02266 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02270 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02271 by RussZS, on Flickr
Before:
DSC02273 by RussZS, on Flickr
After:
DSC02272 by RussZS, on Flickr
50/50:
DSC02274 by RussZS, on Flickr
We finished up with:
- Interior plastics with 1Z Cockpit Premium
- Glass with Auto Finesse Crystal
- Wheels with Auto Finesse Mint Rims (worked REALLY well on the matte black!)
- Tyres with Pinnacle Black Onyx
Plastics were protected with GTechniq C4:
DSC02277 by RussZS, on Flickr
It never fails to impress:
DSC02278 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next was the exhausts, which were a perfect opportunity to test out the forthcoming Auto Finesse Metal Polish - Mercury.
Mercury REALLY impressed us - cutting through carbon build up very quickly and easily and leaving a superb finish on the exhaust - I'll do a more in-depth review on my own exhaust which needs a bit of love, shortly, but it's certainly going to replace Optimum Metal Polish in my collection based on the performance seen today:
DSC02276 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02279 by RussZS, on Flickr
We finished up with Auto Finesse Desire:
DSC02287 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02289 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02291 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02294 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02306 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02308 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02309 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02311 by RussZS, on Flickr
Round 2 will include:
- Full correction on the roof and boot lid
- Wet sand on the poorly finished/painted bonnet to revive the finish
- Wet vac interior
- Optimum Opti Coat 2.0 protection
Next from Midlands Car Care we have a RenaultSport Megane 250 in Grey, for an Enhancement Detail with Optimum Opti Coat 2.0! (and hopefully a painted floor!!)
Thanks for reading.
DSC02310 by RussZS, on Flickr
Russ - Midlands Car Care
This car recently went into a local main dealer for some warranty work and came out a little worse for wear after being attacked with TFR and a gritty sponge, so today saw me remove their 'hard work' and also address most of the swirling also present.
Please excuse two things in this write up:
- The lack of pics - the battery on my camera is refusing to hold a proper charge at the moment, so I had to constantly recharge it, resulting in less time to take pics!
- The mess in the background in my unit - it should all finally be sorted during this coming week and all of the mess cleared away - I wouldn't normally operate in such a cluttered environment!
So, on to the detail...
The car had already been washed the day before by the owner, removing most of the winter dirt it had recently picked up, but even so I washed it like I would any other car - I began as always with the wheels:
A thorough rinse with pressure washer to remove any loose dirt/dust:
DSC02241 by RussZS, on Flickr
Surfex HD used on the rear of the wheels, wheel faces, tyres and arches. The S-HD was agitated with EZ Brush, Swissvax Wheel Brush and a Vikan Brush:
DSC02242 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02243 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02244 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02246 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next, snow foamed with Auto Finesse Lather:
DSC02247 by RussZS, on Flickr
The foam isn't very thick, but it is very effective!
This car was recently protected by Winter by Midlands Car Care, so there wasn't much contamination present, however I did remove Tar with Tardis, used Iron X and clayed:
DSC02250 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02252 by RussZS, on Flickr
The car was then re-foamed, rinsed and dried with Uber Towels. I also used my Aeolus 901X to blow dry the car removing any water trapped under wing mirrors, around wheel bolts etc:
DSC02254 by RussZS, on Flickr
The car was littered in RDS and deep swirling:
DSC02255 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02260 by RussZS, on Flickr
I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find a combination that would offer me a decent level of correction and finish down well - I've managed to use Scholl S17 and an appropriate pad to get a very good 1 stage correction on some cars in the past. The paint on this Leon was some the hardest I've ever come across. I had to result to Scholl S3 Gold via various wool pads, then follow that up with Megs 205 and a 3M Polishing pad. However, I was very stretched for time, so I agreed with the owner that I would concentrate my efforts on the sides of the car which had the most severe swirling. The rest of the car would be dealt with at a later date, but would receive a single stage polish today.
Correction shots (before refining)
DSC02266 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02270 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02271 by RussZS, on Flickr
Before:
DSC02273 by RussZS, on Flickr
After:
DSC02272 by RussZS, on Flickr
50/50:
DSC02274 by RussZS, on Flickr
We finished up with:
- Interior plastics with 1Z Cockpit Premium
- Glass with Auto Finesse Crystal
- Wheels with Auto Finesse Mint Rims (worked REALLY well on the matte black!)
- Tyres with Pinnacle Black Onyx
Plastics were protected with GTechniq C4:
DSC02277 by RussZS, on Flickr
It never fails to impress:
DSC02278 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next was the exhausts, which were a perfect opportunity to test out the forthcoming Auto Finesse Metal Polish - Mercury.
Mercury REALLY impressed us - cutting through carbon build up very quickly and easily and leaving a superb finish on the exhaust - I'll do a more in-depth review on my own exhaust which needs a bit of love, shortly, but it's certainly going to replace Optimum Metal Polish in my collection based on the performance seen today:
DSC02276 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02279 by RussZS, on Flickr
We finished up with Auto Finesse Desire:
DSC02287 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02289 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02291 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02294 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02306 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02308 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02309 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02311 by RussZS, on Flickr
Round 2 will include:
- Full correction on the roof and boot lid
- Wet sand on the poorly finished/painted bonnet to revive the finish
- Wet vac interior
- Optimum Opti Coat 2.0 protection
Next from Midlands Car Care we have a RenaultSport Megane 250 in Grey, for an Enhancement Detail with Optimum Opti Coat 2.0! (and hopefully a painted floor!!)
Thanks for reading.
DSC02310 by RussZS, on Flickr
Russ - Midlands Car Care
