This lovely example of a Lupo GTI belongs to the wife of my mate who owns the 5 door Golf GTI 'show car' which I detailed a few months ago (its won a few awards this season - congrats Al :thumb:)
The car itself is in generally very good condition for a 10 year old car, but the flat black paint had very obvious swirling and scratches (visible in natural daylight) and the car needed some protection.
Please note that the wheels are for sale and being replaced with original Lupo GTI wheels, which are being refurbed by A1 Wheels in Anthracite, which will be on the car after I have protected them, mid next week.
I actually started the car last weekend, but got rained off just before I started the correction process, but this meant I was able to play with the new Meguiars D300 and MF DA System, which I'd purchased last week from Tim@CYC (thanks Tim!).
I also took the opportunity to test out some more Auto Finesse products, so I'll add thoughts and comments on these too...
So, to start off, some befores...
P1050967 by
RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
As ever, I started with the wheels.
First off, I rinsed the wheels and arches with my Karcher X5.700:
P1050974 by
RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Next up, I used Auto Finesse Imperial Wheel Cleaner and consciously worked quickly given the potentially delicate nature of the polished part of the wheels.
P1050976 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Applied liberally - I like the way this product foams up, it's very easy to work with
P1050977 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Worked with an Envy Brush and Wheel Woolies:
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Tyres and Arches were dealt with via Autosmart G101 @ 4:1
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Lots of dirt in the upper part of the arch:
P1050984 by
RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Rinsed:
P1050986 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Next I worked around the car with G101@10:1 and dealt with the shuts, petrol cap, etc etc:
P1050987 by
RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Grill cleaned with Wheel Woolies and G101:
P1060008 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Next, the whole car was rinsed, then washed with a lambswool wash mitt and Auto Finesse Lather. Lather has impressed me to the point where I have sold off all but one of my other shampoos - I love it that much! It cleans very well, foams up well, clings well and rinses very cleanly. Perfect shampoo for my personal taste:
P1060009 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Car all washed - looking better already :)
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RussZS, on Flickr
I then clayed the car with BH Auto Clay Soft and Water with a dash of Lather as lube (which worked really well!)
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
The Lupo was then rewashed, rinsed and dried with Uber Drying Towels:
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RussZS, on Flickr
I then went round the car with my Aeolus 901 removing any trapped, excess water:
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
Straight away, the freshly cleaned car was beginning to show up the issues with the paintwork, in the bright Sun:
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
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At this point, I got rained off
:censored:
So, I returned again today, to pick up where I left off.
The car was still very clean, so I quickly cleaned the wheels, tyres and arches with G101.
I then got to try out one of my new products - Auto Finesse Citrus Power, which I used on the dead insects on the front of the car and the wing mirrors:
P1060115 by
RussZS, on Flickr
No pics of it in action I'm afraid, but it was VERY effective at breaking the bugs down, which simply rinsed away with a quick blast from my pressure washer - it's a very promising product.
Dried again with an Uber Drying Towel:
P1060116 by
RussZS, on Flickr
Few cheeky pics of my Golf with Al's...
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RussZS, on Flickr
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RussZS, on Flickr
(I really need those Xenons!!!)
I then assessed the paint on the car, to see what I had to play with.
I was getting generally healthy readings of 160 ish over most of the car:
P1060034 by
RussZS, on Flickr
However, there was some evidence of paint on the rear NS wing:
P1060037 by
RussZS, on Flickr
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