Completed this at the beginning of October. My boss bought this car earlier in the year and at the time asked me to do something with it, we've tried to get a few days sorted for me to have a look at it a few times but as he was on holiday for an extended weekend i thought it would be as good a time as any to get my hands on it.
I'd given myself 2 days to basically do what i could with the car so this was from the start a "do what you can in the time given" sort of detail.
So, the car after getting it home
DSCF0895 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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From 6 feet off it doesnt look too bad... dirty but in reasonable condition... wrong !
The front end was littered with welded on bugs, bird bombs, stone chips and swirls / scratches. The rear passenger door has scratches and scuffs all over it and there were some lighter scratches and random white marks over a lot of the panels. Then the usual swirls from years of car washes and poor technique (not from the owner i must add).
First things first then, a strong APC and Starngloss Foam mix was used to cover the car, this was left to dwell while i cleaned the wheels using Megs Wheel Brightener, SN shampoo and a mixture of brushes and a mitt
DSCF0900 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0901 by
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The wheels were pretty shocking to be honest requiring 2 applications of wheel brightener and 2-3 hits with the brushes etc. They came up pretty well to be fair but to be as good as i would have liked them they would have had to come off the car and I just didnt have the time to spare unfortunately.
With the car then rinsed off and clayed with SN and Megs clay using Megs L/T as lube then rinsed and dried I was left with the following.
DSCF0902 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
A quick scout round to check out the defects
That rear door
DSCF0905 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Rear quarter - swirly !
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
Bonnet - more swirls
DSCF0907 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
After taping off a section of the bonnet i decided to try a few pads and polishes... i was always going to use the Megs compounds i recently got but tried a polishing pad first and after 2 passes with the rotary wasnt happy with the level of cut and the time it took so decided to go with Megs 105 on a lake country cutting pad. This felt a bit extreme (although i did consider wool for a second) but it cut through in good time and although left some holograming which was expected finished down pretty well and got rid of all but the most stubborn marks
DSCF0909 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
I didnt have time for any other before / during shots as i wanted to get all of the heavy polishing and as much of the refining done on day 1 as possible but here are some after shots.
Note: These are after Megs 105 on the cutting pad and before refining.
Bonnet
DSCF0910 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0911 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Passenger side
DSCF0912 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0915 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Drivers side
DSCF0925 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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With all the heavy polishing done I decided to refine using Megs 205 on a Megs polishing pad but with the G220 instead of the rotary. As a test i worked with this on the bonnet and was pleased with the results. The holograming was removed and the finish left glossy with nice levels of reflection and flake.
As i completed each panel I put down a layer of CG's Extreme Top Coat sealant and left that to cure while i refined the next panel or 2. Once the sealant had cured i buffed it off to leave the following
Bonnet
DSCF0928 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Drivers front corner
DSCF0929 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0930 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Oldest daughter took this of our youngest... caught me grafting in the background :lol:
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
Then this one of herself in the passenger front door
DSCF0935 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
With the light fading but not all of the refining completed and not all panels sealed i decided enough was enough for day 1 and packed away.
The next morning i looked out the bathroom window to see this 50/50 of the roof which was half refined and sealed (left side).
DSCF0946 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
After giving the car a rinse down and dry i cracked on with the refining and sealing. There wasnt a huge amount left but once it was all done and buffed I had the following to show for my efforts
Roof
DSCF0947 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0948 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Passenger rear quarter
DSCF0949 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
Gave the car a rinse to get rid of the polish dust and to make sure everything was clean ready for waxing. Took a couple of beading pics (this is just the sealant btw).
DSCF0951 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0952 by
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Dried off and waxed with DoDo SN, left to cure and then buffed. Trimmed the tyres with Zaino Z-16, arches and engine bay with CG's Bare Bones and glass cleaned with Rain-X cleaner / sealant.
DSCF0956 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
I wanted to give the car a final wipe down once the wax had settled for a hour or so. the interior was looking a bit sorry for itself so i decided to give it a wipe over and vac.
Befores
DSCF0968 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
Boot cover was stained and pretty dirty
DSCF0973 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
After a vac out and a wipe down with Megs APC (10:1) plus some CG's Fabric Clean with a brush here and there I had the following
DSCF0975 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
DSCF0976 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
All done then... well not quite. As i said i wanted to give the car a wipe down before taking it back. I decided to go with Zaino Z-6 as I love the glossy finish this gives over something like Megs L/T.
DSCF0983 by
n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
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n_d_fox, on Flickr
Overall then very happy with the results. My boss is on holiday until Tuesday so hasnt seen the car yet. Hopefully he'll be pleased with the results. This was a big car to work on, bigger than anything i have done before but because i gave myself that extra time on day 2 it meant i didnt have to break myself trying to get everything done in 1 day. This left me to enjoy the detail and although i didnt exactly take my time i did relax more which meant i felt better afterwards :thumb:
Thanks for looking, Nige