DaveE's 55 GTI Tornado Red

[DaveE]

Hi all, fairly new here. Recently bought a 55 plate mkv Gti. Needs a bit of work to get it up to a decent standard, the headlights are really hazy. I'm thinking of wet sanding them and then polishing with pc? Nevertheless i'm loving the car.

Here are two shots from the advert:




Then these are once I got it home:





notice the dodgy air filter?! Thats getting sorted when I have the funds.


Then a few after I'd given it a clean. I treated the faded grille and all other black plastic, cleaned some stains from the seats and went over the interior controls, gear stick, steering wheel with APC and detailing brush to remove grime!

first, they grey honeycomb




Best and most recent shot, with slightly more 'black' honeycomb..


Now I need to also show my beloved MK4.....
1998 1.4 petrol S reg.
My first car, my only car until the GTI. I had it for ten years, never let me down. I used to be fairly active on the uk-mkivs.net forum (a keen eye may spot the sticker in the rear window). Completely standard when i bought it. I tidied it up, became OCD with detailing polished the paintwork until it was immaculate etc etc. Sad to see it go!







Thanks for looking. Any comments welcome.

[Rickster]

Nice GTI, always had a soft spot for the MK4 too.

Enjoy it.

[ChrisGT]

Smart looking car. Looks much better now you've sorted that grill too  Good job!

Out of interest did you paint it or coat it with something like Gtechniq C4 or other detailing product?

Cheers

Chris

[DaveE]

Thanks lads. Yeah I do love a good mkiv!

The grill was just treated with Autoglym Bumper Care. I was pleased with the results, but i'm not sure how long it'll last! I will try something else if this fails.
Thanks for the positive comments.

[ChrisGT]

Cool, Has come up really nice, hope it lasts. Plenty more products to try if it doesn't

Are you a member on detailing world? Can get a lot of discount codes from some suppliers so worth joining up and looking about if it's something you're interested in 

Mk4 looks really smart too 

Chris

[DaveE]

Cool, Has come up really nice, hope it lasts. Plenty more products to try if it doesn't

Are you a member on detailing world? Can get a lot of discount codes from some suppliers so worth joining up and looking about if it's something you're interested in 

Mk4 looks really smart too 

Chris

Yes I am member (though haven't been on for years!), thanks for the reminder.

[Dave J]

Welcome! The mk5 looks good - tornado red is a strong colour for the mk5, it does look good!

Glad to see you enjoyed a mkiv for as long as I did, and the uk-mkivs.net forum used to be my second home! I was sorry to see my mkiv go too - largely as I wasn't finished with it - sadly mine was killed by a 1-series BMW (always hated those cars). Yours looked tidy - US rear lights are a decent touch.

Hope you enjoy your mk5 more than the mkiv - I think I have in terms of driving dynamics & looks, even if the quality isn't as good, and it is more complex in terms of electronics, etc...

[DaveE]

Welcome! The mk5 looks good - tornado red is a strong colour for the mk5, it does look good!

Glad to see you enjoyed a mkiv for as long as I did, and the uk-mkivs.net forum used to be my second home! I was sorry to see my mkiv go too - largely as I wasn't finished with it - sadly mine was killed by a 1-series BMW (always hated those cars). Yours looked tidy - US rear lights are a decent touch.

Hope you enjoy your mk5 more than the mkiv - I think I have in terms of driving dynamics & looks, even if the quality isn't as good, and it is more complex in terms of electronics, etc...

Hi Dave,

Yeah, really liked the US R32 lights. Very subtle.
The mk4's interior seemed way ahead of its time! Before I got the GTI i did look at some lower spec mk5's, I preferred the interior on my 18 year old mk4 every time.

I am however, really liking this GTI, starting to feel like mine now (if you know what i mean). Fuel consumption is, however.......noticeably higher! 

[ska_wars]

Regarding the headlights, try not to wet sand them as it'll take off the coating on the front of the lens. Just polish it with something like Autoglym Super Resin. That'll minimise the hazing without affecting the coating :)

[DaveE]

Regarding the headlights, try not to wet sand them as it'll take off the coating on the front of the lens. Just polish it with something like Autoglym Super Resin. That'll minimise the hazing without affecting the coating :)

Thanks for that, I just assumed it all needed sanding off (seen a few guides on it). Will try polishing first.