Race Valeting

This has been on the cards now for a couple of months, I also look after the owners TTS and the Ferrari has now been put on a month maintenance and the TTS on a Bi-monthly :thumb: The car was the last F430 to be sold by the hampshires dealer and was bought with 16 miles on the clock as the showroom car, as this was my first Ferrari I was expecting it to be pretty well prepped due to the prestige and price of the cars but how wrong was I. This was the car on arrival: The car wasn't firthly but did have a bit of grime on her, firstly started with the wheels and some bilberry and a selection of brushes, the tyres and arches with HD Surfex. Next up the car was foamed using megs hyper wash and left to dwell for 5 mins before being rinsed, then washed 2bm and some hyper wash the car was then taken on the unit to clay/paint readings etc etc Not much contamination came off with the clay so then onto the paint reading, pretty strange some panels were 140-190 others 200-250 microns and there was a couple of odd patches on the passenger door where it looks like the metallic hadn't laid correctly of the paintwork had been brushed past while still wet :doublesho Look just above the halogen and to the left is where the paint defects are along with all the dealers nice holograms:devil: This is the rest of the cars defects: The car was machined using the 220 and a yellow 3m pad and some ultrafina mixed with ultrafine compound this was knocking the holograms out a treat and some places were taking 2-3 hits to remove the marks, I only had the car for 1 day due to the owners insurance not allowing it to be anywhere overnight so didn't have much time on my hands. Once all the machining was done the car was given a IPA wipedown ready for the cleansing using Zymol HD Cleanse, this was followed by a coat of Vintage applied panel at a time then buffed and given a final wipedown with field glaze prior to the owner collecting. The glass was cleaned using megs, the exhaust with britemax final shine and the engine given a wipe over to remove and water marks/dust etc then onto the interior. The wheels were sealed with zaino cs and the tyres dressed with cg new look trim gel. Fully hoovered and the leathers conditioned with gliptone etc etc. And at around 9pm the car was looking like this: The beast Finally before: Afters: Total time was 12 hrs and had a fellow DW member pop in a say hello and admire the beast for a while, nice to see you again Adam:thumb: Thanks for looking and all C & C welcome. Paul

Hi, I used 3m yellow top extra fine compound and refined using megs 205 on the rotary. Paul

Hi Folks, Sorry for the lack of write ups lately been taking it easy under doctors orders due to nerve damage in my arm/hands (white finger):censored: I have still been pretty busy despite with this lovely Porsche 356 pre a speedster 1 of 7 RHD in the world this was in for a vintage detail the usual wash down and hd cleanse followed by 2 coats of vintage topped with some field glaze, the hood was cleaned and protected using 303 fabric guard tyres dressed etc. Audi TTS in sprint blue booked in for its 2nd protection detail, I detailed the car back when it was new and now ready for some more protection for winter. Washed/clayed/hd cleansed/vintage x 2 etc etc the interior was also detailed, 303 areospace on all the plastics, gliptone for the leather, glass cleaned sealed with 2x coats rainx, wheels sealed with zaino cs and tyres dressed with zaino z16 You may have spotted the nice black f430 in the background too, this is a up coming maintance car and is a brand spanker Next up a full correction on this impreza sti Fiesta also booked in for a minor correction detail, its suffered a big dealership **** up anti freeze in the washer bottle that has etched right through the lacquer, the owner is taking it up with fords for a full respray but wanted all the swirls scratches taken out. Sorry for the short write ups just don't have the time of late. Paul

Many thanks, Its a little easier and quicker for me with the videos rather than having 100's of pics to upload etc. Paul

Had another e39 Carbon black M5 booked in last week for a minor correction detail, interior detail and also to sort out the engine bay which was covered and I mean covered in a yellow lacquer, the dealer told the owner is was still the transport wax:confused: never seen anything like it before. Quick video of the car before showing all the swirls and defects where someone had a go at using t-cut:doublesho The car was washed the usually way wheel first with just a apc cleaner due to the polished lip, the engine and all the shuts with g101 and a selection of brushes. The car was pre soaked then foam then washed using dodo btbm and then taken inside for claying using ab mild grey clay. Car was then dried and taped up ready for polishing, paint readings were taken all standard paint apart from bonnet/bootlid so plenty to play with. defects: 50/50's Correction was done with a megs polishing pad and menz ip/ff mix 2-3 hits on most panels and the bonnet had some servere cat scratches which I used fc+ on a elite car care pad again 3 hits followed by menz ip/ff to refine a little, once all the correction was done I then refined the finish using a lc black finishing pad and some 3m ultrafina se. Next up the paintwork was cleansed using zymol hd cleanse small areas at a time then buffed, this took around 1.5-2 hrs to do the whole car and then the paintwork was ready for the first layer of zymol vintage First time i've ever used the wax and must say I applied the first layer by hand and think I got it a tad too thick, I did a panl at a time then buffed and then 2-3hrs later buffed again but a few wax holograms started to show with the sunlight beeming through the window so a quick spray of QD and another buff seem to do the trick. I then got on with the interior fully hoovered and carpets scrubbed with interior cleaner, the leather cleaned/conditioned using einzett leather care, and the dash etc with 303. Now time for the engine bay, I spent 4 hrs in there scrubbing away with a tooth brush and tardis/de-greaser/IPA trying to remove this yellow lacquer it was on the rocker cover, covered all the plastics/hoses pretty much everywhere, once cleaned I then dressed the plastics with CG new look trim gel. Then time for the 2nd layer of vintage now 5 hrs had passed this time applied by applicator to get a nice thin layer and seemed to do the trick a little better, again panel at a time and buffed. Then the following morning before it was being collected I gave the car the 3rd and final layer followed by a field glaze spritz, the wheels were treated with zaino aio and cs and the polished lips with britemax final shine, the tyres were dressed with zaino z16, trim dressed with cg new look trim gel, windows cleaned using megs and finally job done and looking stunning. Finished pics: A brief bit of sun, so a quick finished video for you all. (just uploading now, will add shortly) A sheeting video of the vintage with 3 layers: Total time was 32 hrs Thanks for looking Paul

Yes either the lambswool mitt or the Zymol sponge which is what I have been using the past 2 yrs without any major problems. http://www.elkparts.com/car-care/zymol- ... p3340.html Paul

Yes it was lovely, the owner has another too a yellow/black 1

I had booked in for a 2-3 day minor correction on a 2 yr old black Range Rover Sport, the car has covered 80k in the 2 yrs but bodywork and wheels were pretty mint with only 1 wheel suffering slight kurb damage and 1 small parking dent. On inspection the car was rather dirty so hard to see the true extent of the work needed. Before: Firstly the wheels were cleaned using AS Smart wheels and a selection of brushes, the was some servere brake dust build up on the faces which had to be clayed off using AB purple clay, there was also lots of old wheel weights which were removed using tardis. The aches had a thorough scrub using g101 at 6:1 and a vikan brush, the engine was also sprayed with g101 and agitated using a selection of brushes before rinsing, all the shuts were then cleaned using the sam methods. Then onto the citrus pre-wash to the lowers to help loosen some of the dirt followed by a good dose of snow foam which was left to dwell for 10 mins before rinsing. This was followed by a 2bm wash using a z sponge and dodo sour power, and then taken into the unit for clay. before: after the passenger side wing/drivers door The car was then dried and inspected using the halogens. You get the picture the car has been washed weekly using the poles:wall: I taped up the car ready for polishing and then took some paint readings all nice and heathly which was good as some needed a fair few hits to remove some of the deeper marks. The paintwork was prooving a real challenge due to being really sticky and with so many deep defects, I stated with menz ip/ff mix on a megs polsihing no joy, then megs 83/80 drying out too quick even tried a blob of dodo lp to extend the work time but not cutting it. Ended up using megs 85/80 on a megs polishing pad followed by 3m yellow top and then finally refined using ulrafina se on a elite car care red finishing pad. Some 50/50 shots Before: After: Before: Afters: Before: afters: before: after: before: after: before: after: before: after: before: after: sorry about the ugly mug but a super clear bonnet reflection shot: Once all the correction work was done the car was refined using the g220 and a red elite car acre pad and 3m ultrafina, the car was then given a IPA wipedown to remove all the oils from the polish ready for the sealant. This I applied 2 layers of jetseal 109 via the da left to bond for 20 mins before being buffed, then left for an hour before applying the 2nd layer mean while I polished the alloys using ag srp and then sealed using zaino cs. All the shuts were then polishing using zaino AIO, then glass cleaned and sealed again using zaino cs, the engine was dressed using 303 aerospace protectant and the metal work with zaino AIO. Now time for the 2nd layer of jetseal again applied via da and again left for 20 mins to bond while I raised the suspension and dressed the arches using 303 aerospace and the tyres with AS smart shine 2 coats. The car was then given a coat of cg 50/50 and left to cure before buffing, the plastics were dressed using cg new look trim gel along with the window rubbers. Next up was the interior, nice cream with walnut well grubby cream leather anyway. Befores: And this is how grubby they were afters: before: after: 50/50's The interior was cleaned using g101 and then dressed using 303 aerospace, the leather cleaned using a Autoglym magic sponge and then conditioned using einzett leather care. All the carpets hoovers and the matts cleaned and then the Lidl W5 fabric guard was applied (first matt has 3 coats applied and left to dry for 2 hrs, then 2'nd matt in the video has only 2 light coats, definate thumbs up from me:thumb: for £2.49 500ml can apposed to the £8-10 for scotchguard) Now time for some after pics Before after: Total time was 31 hrs but well worth it I must admit, not my favourite paintwork to work on but now have my hands on another carbon black e39 M5 so sticky-hard paint:rolleyes: The owners face was a picture when they collected the car:D makes all the work well worth it. Thanks for looking all C & C welcome

Catching up on a few write ups from the last couple of weeks. This car is Richard Westbrook 2005 championship runner up car. This was just a spruce up as the owners uses Vintage himself this was just a wipedown and then Z Y M O L field glaze, interior and all shuts also wiped what I could anyway a tad hard when theres a great big rollcage and 2x wrap around buckets in the front. The wheels were polished using the britemax twins, the tyres dressed with zaino tyre gloss, the engine was cleaned using g101 and a selection of brushes, the plastics were dressed using 303 and the metal cleaned/protected using zaino AIO. Enjoy: Thanks for looking Paul

Yes another quick wash down and spruce up of another stunning 1960's Porsche 911 this time the (s) same processes as the previous detail. This car was in for a wash down using Z y m o l clear due to the car already wearing many coats of Vintage, dried using plush towels and then z y m o l field glaze applied, all the metal/chrome work was polsihed using britemax, the rubber trim with raceglaze rubber dressing and tyres with zaino z16. The engine was also wipedown and zaino AIO applied to all the metal work, door shuts also applied with field glaze. enjoy; Thanks for looking Paul

Today quick wash and wipedowns from this evening, been a bust busy day up in Hook this morning doing a full valet on a BMW 116 then back down to the unit for a couple of cracking Porsche 911's. This car was in for a wash down using Z y m o l clear due to the car already wearing many coats of Vintage, dried using plush towels and then z y m o l field glaze applied, all the metal/chrome work was polsihed using britemax, the rubber trim with raceglaze rubber dressing and tyres with zaino z16. The engine was also wipedown and zaino AIO applied to all the metal work, door shuts also applied with field glaze. enjoy; Thanks for looking Paul Ps. Keep yur eyes peeled for their big daddy brother'(s) soon Carrera RS;)

YES another 911 and this time one of the others big brothers a rare 911 RS, the car was washed with the usual 2 bm with Zym o l clear and a z sponge then dried using super plush towels. Then a quick spritz with z y m o l field glaze as the car is already wearing a good few layers of vintage, the tyres were dressed with pneu, the car then went on for its MOT and passed with flying colours. This is a true sportscar and I'm a truely lucky to get the oppertunity to detail it, I am hoping to do a bigger detail later on this year on her. Currently got the owner's M5 motorway muncher in for a 2 day correction Thanks for looking Paul

Thanks Jon Must say it was a tricky car to finish correctly due to the super soft paint, nice and easy to remove the swirls but also just as easy to re-inflict swirling/marring. Give me tough german paint anyday of the week. Paul

Over the past 2 days i've been carrying out a minor correction detail on this 56 plate nighthawk black Honda Civic. The car suffered some serious swirling/marring and lots of bush scratches of which all down the passenger side the owner tried to correct with T-CUT :doublesho you can imagine the outcome. Anyway heres the car on arrival: Start you all off gently. Wheels needed some love to on the inners. Engine before shots: Firstly the wheels were soaked in some AS smart wheels and left to work its stuff for a few mins before being agitated with a selection of brushes, the tyres and arches were cleaned using g101. The car was then pre-soaked using a apc mix to the lowers to help loosen some dirt, this was then rinsed and ready for foaming. The engine/door/boot shuts cleaned using a swissvax style brush and some g101 and then rinsed. This was left for 10 mins before rinsing and then washed using 2bm and DJ sp and a Z sponge, the car was then dried using megs LT and a uber drying towel. The car was then taken inside and clayed with AB grey clay, not alot of contamination tbh just small bit from the lowers. Here is the car under the halogens: The car was then taped up ready for polishing and paint readings taken, all pretty healthy and standard of between 100-135microns. I knew the paintwork was like butter from previous Honda's i've worked on so started off with megs polishing pads and 3m extrafine compound/utrafina se mix this seemed to work a treat on the bonnet only think the residue took a fair bit of wiping off due to the oils and with the paintwork being like butter had to be careful not to marr the finish. 50/50 of the bonnet: Front part of wing corrected: wing 50/50 A load more before, 50/50 and corrected shots After all the correcting was done there was a few trails left from the compund some opted to finish using a red elite finishing pad on the g220 and some ultrafina this finish the paint lovely, then just a IPA wipedown and ready for the swissvax BOS this was applied by hand and buffed after 10 mins and trying not to apply it too thick due to the paintwork being so horrid to work a cloth on:devil: The wheels were then cleaned using Zaino AIO and then sealed using Zaino cs, the tyres dressed using megs endurance then plastic trim with ground nutmeg oil, the exhaust with britemax twins and the glass cleaned and then treated with rainx, official i've gone off this product too working it in the sun what a nightmare to get off..... The engine was then dressed with 303 and the metal work with zaino AIO along with all the door/boot shuts. Finally all the interior was fully hoovered and the plastics cleaned and dressed, hay presto job done. 19hrs later Some sun shots this afternoon before the car was collected. Engine bay afters Wheels Finally Befores/afters: Thanks for looking Paul Upcoming details Corrections: Subaru RB5, Range Rover Sport, BMW M5 Enhancement: BMW Alpina Touring Estroil Blue Porsche Carrera RS, Porsche 356 Roadster Wash/wax: Porsche GT3 Racecar New Car prep: VW Golf, BMW X5

Where the lacquer had peeled this was left and mentioned to the owner, I had to touch up a fair few stone chips that had gone down to bare metal. TBH the passenger door/front wing had a poor paint repair and the lacquer was very OP and blotchy.