GMballistic

Yep I keep thinking more and more about how I might just give in one of these days & let the pros do their magic on my car.

Not at all. Tbh I'd be so pi**ed off by that too. I bet you she'd be pi**ed off at you for doing it to her & probably even start asking you if you were bangin' some other girl & that's why you didn't text/ring her. Doesn't take much just to send a text saying "I'm ok, miss you" or similar and I don't care what other people say as being drunk or high or whatever is no excuse imo.

Welcome aboard Derry.

That's fair enough. I would love to take my car to you or Ed from Divine Detail to be done professionally but as you're both fairly far away I try to do what I can with the basics I have. Tbh, if it wasn't for Matt (ilogikal1) on here I'd probably still be using my 10 year old bottle of T-Cut and a sponge to wash my car with! :lol:

Aren't they just. (Posh) Gf got her A1 from the one in Trafford. Christ. Women working there looked like models or bond girls and the guys were dressed like Bond. And the showroom itself. Wow. They weren't arsed at all about selling an A1 to normal people. Shobna Gulati was at a desk to our side buying something mega. I heard a balance of 75k being mentioned (she traded in a TTRS) Don't get me started on the women there, ...it was literally like a parade of models. Even the, shall we say "plus size" girl, who was on the reception area was banging. That would be quite funny I'm sure & that would definitely rile up some of the German purists turning up at a show like that. I do prefer performance mods though & subtle changes so we'll see. You called? Decent reflections there, mate. Good work for a hand job on that super hard German... paint. Cheers Matt. In the end the bonnet was the only area I actually got finished. When I started looking at the doors and side panels in the light yesterday I could see quite a lot of light blemishes/marks so I used that Lake Country Hydro Pad that you had recommended to me before along with some Scratch x2.0. It worked really well actually but by the time I had worked my way around the whole car with that & finished the Megs 3 stage on the bonnet it was 9 o'clock odd so I thought I'd call it a day. Definitely satisfying though seeing the results (even if it's not quite as good as what the Pros can achieve).

That is true but it honestly doesn't make it look that bad, ...definitely an improvement still imo. One thing I'd do though just to make it look a little "newer" shall we say is renew some of the older rustier bolts with some fresh stainless steel versions. Maybe even add a few coloured washers like the Password JDM ones or D1 spec ones etc that you can get on eBay. I actually bought some stainless steel countersunk bolts the other night from an eBay seller and it was only £1.36 including delivery for five M6x40mm bolts. Just an idea.

Well as I'm not a professional detailer or a night time road worker or an emergency responder I don't actually have any work lamps to do that with. Still I'm happy enough with it although I know it could always be better.

Pity they didn't make the numbers they were after on that occasion but still a very impressive Zed.

^^ Much better.

Yeah I think I might leave those to the pros, ...or secretly get Ed@Divine Detail to do my Audi then just pass it off as all my own work.

You can still get pretty decent results with just good old fashioned muscle power. My effort today on my Audi S3's bonnet using the Meguiars 3 stage crystal system. This stuff fyi: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meguiars-3-Step-Crystal-System-Cleaner-Polish-and-Wax-all-473ml-Brand-New-/191870800466?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

As SuperStu was stating that there wasn't much to bling up in the engine bay I decided to use some of the Password JDM anodized red washers & stainless steel bolts just to add some colour at least. Literally that's it though! Think I fitted around 5 of them in there. Waiting on some longer countersunk stainless steel bolts though & then I might be able to fit a few more. The S3 did have a good hoover, wash, correction, polish & wax yesterday/today. Still not finished completely as I'm using the Meguiars 3 stage crystal system by hand so it does take time to complete to a good standard. Finished the bonnet though and I'm pretty pleased with it. Hopefully ilogikal1 or some of the other detailing guys can comment on my reflection shots though as I'd be interested to know what others think.

Ha ha ok not a problem anyway. Gives me something to do. Hopefully someone finds the info useful. Enjoy the bank holiday as you say.

You put it in the title though! ..."Off topic" so I moved it to that section.

What did you paint exactly coldel? Give us a clue. The alternator was it?

Yep I had an embarrassing one when I bought my S3 just recently too Brad: No owners handbook with the car & I was trying to find the fuel flap release as I had tried pulling it but it was locked. Ended up phoning the garage I had bought it from who were just round the corner so a guy came running over to show me. He just pushed on the fuel flap and it popped opened. What a flippin' plonker I looked. Welcome aboard Banz.

Stop copying me, ...that's what I said.

Hydrodipped parts are lacquered afterwards (covered with clear coat) so yes they can be polished/waxed just like normal painted car parts. Hope that's what you were asking.

Sold - thread locked

Yeah could really do with knowing what alloys they are. Tbh though it's all personal taste with these type of things. I actually prefer as little badging & stickering as possible on my cars to the point were I actually end up de-badging them myself a lot of the time.

Sold - thread locked

That's cool Ian and glad you've found something fun to fettle with. Subscribed & liked for you bud. If you haven't spotted it already you might find longsh07 thread on his MX5 interesting: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/86529-mx5-build-thread-no-hairdressing-equipment-left-in-vehicle-overnight/

Not going to play this game, ...the Zed alone was probably like £20+K including purchase price & mods etc. You can't take it with you though and as long as you enjoy it that's the main thing.

The heat shield has a K&N sticker on it, ...doesn't mean K&N made it imo. The whole set up could just be one bought off eBay tbh. It looks similar to the Injen air induction kit so could be a copy. Doesn't mean it's not decent enough to do the job intended though especially if coupled with a decent cone filter.