Bit Of A Spring Clean

[jamesm]

Adding to the number of topics on cleaning, I spent a last weekend cleaning and polishing. For one reason and another I have really neglected washing and cleaning and you could really tell.

So having recently acquired a Megs G220 and various goodies from Polished Bliss I finally got round to trying them out.

Whilst not everyone’s idea of a fun weekend, it needed doing and I actually quite enjoyed myself.

Before

Began by taking the wheels off, cleaning out the arches with Megs Super Degreaser and washing and claying the wheels. The wheels were pretty easy as they haven't long been powdercoated. Finished them with Poorboys Wheel Sealant before putting them back on.

Next it was washed and then clayed to remove the vast amount of bonded contaminants. The chips were touched up and gone over lightly with some 2500 then 3000 grade Meguiars Unigrit Finishing Paper to flatten them out.

Next step was the machine polish which was initially done with Menzerna Intensive Polish to get most of the swirls, scratches and scuffs out, before being finished with Menzerna Final Finish.

To finish, I went over the car with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection.

Finally, I sprayed up the sills which were looking pretty battered.

The whole process probably took about 12 hours, but I was staggered with the finish I got.

Really pleased with the look of the car now, so all that is left is to work out how to make it go faster…………

As a practice with the machine, I had a go on my 12 year old runabout. Same process and products and the results again were pretty amazing.

This is what was left after washing.

[tommo9375]

Good job- looking nice and shiney

[scoobyiain]

Fantastic results mate, well done

Not had the balls to wet sand yet myself

[colzo]

Looking good mate, top job.

[euan_r]

what a transformation

[C_WRX]

Wet sanding , that's not for the beginner, you must have done this before !

Results look excellent, well done.

Said it many a time before, and likely will again, black comes up so nicely, always have a grin on my face when the final stage is complete and you stand back and admire the shine. Nice pic of the gold fleck too, can never seem to get that on my camera !!

[sczscoob]

Got to agree you've got balls wet sanding. I've got a practise panel lined up for wet sanding.

Looking good though, takes a while getting there but the finish results are worth it.

[gus the bus]

Car was looking fantastic yesterday James well worth the effort

[oobster]

Excellent results!

[terzo neil]

great car condition

can i drop mines off ?

[jamesm]

Cheers for the comments guys.

A trip through the 4 fields to get to the Langton Stage on the Jim Clark Rally has now covered it in orange dust! Oh well, you buy them to drive, not just to make shiny.

I am a complete novice at this. I thought I was being adventurous last spring when I bought a clay bar for the first time!

Perhaps the wet sanding was more naivety than bravery! Saw it on Detailing World and thought that looks easy! Just cut a wee bit of paper, wrapped it round the bottom of a pencil and rubbed using soapy water. Probably could rub it back more as it is still a raised a bit but I have definitely taken the edge off the prominence and looks no bad.

Still the odd swirl in the sunshine, but pretty pleased with it none the less.

[thewelsho]

Cheers for the comments guys.

A trip through the 4 fields to get to the Langton Stage on the Jim Clark Rally has now covered it in orange dust! Oh well, you buy them to drive, not just to make shiny.

I am a complete novice at this. I thought I was being adventurous last spring when I bought a clay bar for the first time!

Perhaps the wet sanding was more naivety than bravery! Saw it on Detailing World and thought that looks easy! Just cut a wee bit of paper, wrapped it round the bottom of a pencil and rubbed using soapy water. Probably could rub it back more as it is still a raised a bit but I have definitely taken the edge off the prominence and looks no bad.

Still the odd swirl in the sunshine, but pretty pleased with it none the less.

What exactly did you rub own using this sandpaper? And how fine was the sandpaper?

[jamesm]

What exactly did you rub own using this sandpaper? And how fine was the sandpaper?

I had a large chip in the rear nearside door. I had touched it up, but you could still see it a mile off. So I used some very fine wet and dry paper, 2500 then 3000 grade, to try to rub the lump of paint flat.

This is what you get.

The machine together with the intensive polish then polished out the light marks on the paint. At the end, the obviousness of the touched up chip was really reduced.

Perhaps a bit foolhardy to set out and do this with only minimal practice, but it did the job.

[Midnight21]

great car condition

can i drop mines off ?

Mine too ha

[micra_wrc]

Car was looking fantastic yesterday James well worth the effort

agreed, the car was looking v clean and shiny on Sat morning

[thewelsho]

I had a large chip in the rear nearside door. I had touched it up, but you could still see it a mile off. So I used some very fine wet and dry paper, 2500 then 3000 grade, to try to rub the lump of paint flat.

This is what you get.

The machine together with the intensive polish then polished out the light marks on the paint. At the end, the obviousness of the touched up chip was really reduced.

Perhaps a bit foolhardy to set out and do this with only minimal practice, but it did the job.

Oh, very clever. I have some deep scores on my rear bumper that I have filled with touchup paint and left it high. So, following your lead, I can just sand it down and blast it with the machine polisher and everything will be ok?