C_WRX

Tardis all the way. Excellent product, you can spray it on the offending tar and see it melt away, then just wipe off any left over. If just one or two spots can just put on a cloth and wipe off. Strong stuff ! Clay bar will also work but not stubborn bits so much. Like with a clay bar any bodywork wax etc protection will also come off.

Personally I just have it applied to the windscreen, top up depends on how often the car is used and washed so need to gauge that yourself. Can't remember where or when but sure I read an opinion on one or the other with both together not being of any real additional benefit ?? Ooops , and I never asked if you wanted Rain-X on your windscreen Imy, some people just don't like it ! If you ever re-visit I'll make sure it goes on .

Looks very nice Barry. You always seem to put together a car that turns heads - this is a great starting point so when it comes to wheel decision etc I'm sure you'll get it right (not putting any pressure on you or nothing !! ). Look forward to seeing its progress....and welcome back...again !

...and thank you for your assistance !

Many thanks for all the kind comments. As said, was a pleasure to work away on Imy's (I see you all worked out who the owner was ) car, and the shine is there for all to see. Imy and Grant's complimentary comments when they saw it made it all the more worthwhile. I enjoy working away on a car and seeing its transformation at the end. Doubt very much the car will stay spotless for long at this time of year but this hopefully made it that bit easier to look after. I won't repeat what Grant said about trying to shine up the Banana, if you know him you'll know type of words used .

Reckon it could look very good Jon, be quite interesting to see it. Wrapping wise I remember reading through this, cracking looking car and quite informative. Sure there's plenty other write up's like it out there but just keep remembering this one. http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/show...=vinyl+wrapping

As title says. Trying to pm scuzz and Inbox is full, need some space made in there !! Ta much if anyone knows of another way to get in touch with her to ask her to do so.

Ooh you gotta be pleased with those figures !! Looking good still !

Actually if done well that's not a bad price. Just had badbaz refurb the pistons on my 4pots and although I can't compare with how much it cost me (got my pistons and seal kit from a nice follow on here at a slightly reduced cost) it won't be a million miles away from that to the point where it's likely a £50 labour charge (£150 to £200). Don't forget to factor in shipping costs too if swapping.

I got my wifes car tinted all round with a legal tint. You can subtily notice it BUT getting a pic of it is not as easy as it sounds. It really depends on the angle and way the light is hitting the window as to how dark it does/doesn't look at that time. Always think window tinting is a personal thing, I wanted it next shade darker on the rear windows but her car so her choice - not often I say this but in this case think she was right ! Some cars/colours suit it but perhaps not so much others. If you get it done fire up a pic or two.

Some may know, some not. Back in December I put forward a Winter Protection Detail for raffle at the Santa cruise night Peter put together. The lucky (hope that's the right word ) winner was......well lets see how quickly you can work it out from the pics below - a very well known car on Scottish Scoobies and a few hints along the way . Although the weather is a total pain at the moment for this kinda thing decided just to set a date and go for it. My original plan was that this was just a deep clean and protect, but with my weekend freeing up more and the car needing a little bit more attention I took the opportunity to spend more time on it and try a couple of slightly different things out to expand my "tried it" experiences. There was loads more I'd liked to have done to the car but had the draw the line somewhere. I actually was running out of time at the end as the wheel arches and mudflaps not being covered in the finished pics show . Annoyed about that! Was decided to leave the alloys also as the owner is looking in to getting a needed refurb on them. Car arrived, owners requests - well none - "Do what you thinks best" !! Okay ! On with cleaning - you like it in white ? off with many years of ingrained dirt - bodywork felt like sandpaper before and glass after due to this little magically product there were just some bits that wouldn't come off no matter what I used (no, no stickers were harmed in filming of this detail!! ) After all the cleansing reality hit ! The paintwork was suffering big time. Very dull, age was showing, water staining, etc. Ideally this would have had days of machining to remove all of this along with the scratches and swirls, and I'm not being rude there as it is a 14 year old car that on the whole is a well looked after car, so at this point I decided to change from my original plan and got to work. Machine correction wasn't really an option given the time (one thing I just won't rush!) and the fact that once one bit was done you really need to get on and do the rest - I did however decide break out the machine to apply the glaze to bring the paintwork back to life to give this.... Few 50/50 shots (out of focus!!?) Boot : and the bonnet - before and during : So after a few hours working away and the protection coat added, the finished article Before and After - notice any difference ? Many years ago I test drove a classic Subaru and from then till I bought my newage knew I had to get a Scoob. Must admit though I do have a soft spot for the raw feel to this kind of special edition classic. Pleasure to work away on despite it giving me a challenge or two along the way, plus the [beep'n] p*** poor weather. Hope the owner is still as happy with it as they looked/sounded when I pulled it out of the garage in to the daylight ! Good to meet you both again, and maybe I'll see it at a meet or two through the year !!

Welcome along. Lovely looking example of a WR1 you have there.

Keep in touch Kenny, not forgotten where the pistons came from !! Really hoping these DS2500's are very good once bedded in, fed up with rubbish brakes recently ! When say refurbed calipers, I haven't done anything with the exterior of them (as the pics will show ), it is the pistons and seal kit Barry replaced (nearly said "we replaced" there ) as they had been sticking. When we removed the old pistons it was obvious that some benefitted from being replaced, not all needed changed but I have heard mentioned before worth just doing all 8 but that'd be personal choice as will be more expensive (think?? they're about £15-£20 each and then about £20-£30 for the seal kit - may be cheaper as a package). If that is what you meant then Barry would be able to answer that better than me !

A quick write up and a few pics along the way (which make my calipers look in a terrible state!!) of the replacement of my 4pot pistons & brake discs / pads change Badbaz did for me (my contribution was keen learner / wheel remover / sander). Problem stemmed from a few months back from general rubbish braking feel and then one of the pistons sticking, Barry freed that one but with the seals obviously letting in moisture to rust was only a matter of time before it happened again and the rubbish braking feel was never going to get any better. On asking a lot of questions to various people my decision was to keep my calipers and refurb them changing all 8 front pistons with new seal kit (thanks Kenny for the free kit ) and at the same time I got a good buy on grooved discs from Godspeed with an expensive buy on DS2500 pads - hoping for good improvement within reasonable budget (yes I'd have very much liked the K-sport upgrade but I can't justify spending that given the cars use). I'll not get too technical cause I'll end up having to use words such as thingimies/round bits/what-do-ya-ma-call-its/thingimebobs, so more or less I think it was the following : Wheels off, pads off, discs off, calipers off. Pistons out, emery paper cleaned areas rust had built up, air pressure blown. Renewed the hydraulic seals, refitted new pistons, external dust seals held by spring rings all back onto calipers. Hub fronts emery paper rubbed Calipers, new discs and pads & shims fitted, bled with 5.1 brake fluid. Brake fluid topped up. ...and no my wheels aren't rusty it is a reflection!! No major problems, just a few of the old pistons not wanting to come out. I think there were about 3 or 4 of the 8 total pistons that were not moving as freely as would like. So, how do they feel now. May be my imagination but the car seems to move more freely, braking is very different feeling given can almost tell the pistons are all okay now plus still got to get the pads bedded in. Stopping doesn't seem better but again reckon need to give the pads time to bed in. Huge thanks to Barry for his advice, time, patience (I asked a lot of questions!) and mechanical expertise. Loads of Scoob chat also. Just need to be more aware of the lorry diesel fumes nearly knocking me out if ever back for any more assistance. Between the advice, help and parts needed goes to show just there's plenty of decent helpful folks on here !

Got mine from here http://www.geocities.com/harveysmith3000/p...ndproducts.html for my newage. Can only really comment for a newage WRX and STi ones are also decent.

Godspeed grooved discs and DS2500 for the front - can tell you after today how they are...well as long as it isn't snowy for the next 2 weeks !! There are cheaper choices for the pads in between the kevlar and DS2500's that may be worth considering. Call Ian and he'll talk you through them I'm sure.

Different Gordon, different ! Remember you saying you were thinking of decaling, never thought of that though. I'll definitely know it's you around the town now - Scooby and the Bandit Any more on or just the front ?

Nicely done. The before and after are quite noticeable - and only 7 weeks old !! Always amazing what you see a clay bar pulling off supposed clean looking paint work isn't it ! Red does shine up fantastically well doesn't it !! Wife has a red car in major need of the machine but some nice mini snow shovel digger thing clipped the bumper in her works car park and has cracked the paint (and didn't own up !!!!) plus a deep scratch along passengers door so after the bodyshop visit I'll get going on it. The winter protection though was topped up at the weekend and the shine from it was fantastic under the winter sun. Make sure you keep on top of it now Brian, easy enough to do so get in to the habit !!

Nice subtle changes. Can I ask, the tints, with Strike on them, is the Strike on the inside or outside, just woondering if it would affect the tint if you were to take the Strike off ??

I have the same car as you. Couple years ago changed my front discs and pads, looking at time for a modest improvement. Spoke to Alyn at ASPerformance and he suggested, on my low budget, to stick with OEM discs and upgrade the pads. The pad selection is really personal choice and you will get plenty of opinions on good ones. Pads need upgrading from OEM for sure I'd say. Since then my brakes have been getting gradually worse but after ceasing Mr.Badbaz was good enough to look at them for me and diagnosed my pistons were sticking (seals done in and rust starting) which affect basically the calipers doing their thing. So hopefully this week we (I say we but more likely him!) will be working on them and I will be changing my discs and pads again. I have a set of grooved discs from Godspeed (a very good price) and a set of DS2500 to go on. The DS2500's are expensive but I've been so fed up with my brakes as of late thought I'd spend a little more getting best within my budget. I have high expectations from these repairs/changes ! As far as I know on our power the rears don't need much fancy on there ??

What polishing machine did you get (please don't say Halfords!). Before you move on to your own car get a scrap panel for practice. The training days mentioned may also be of interest if you wanted to speed up the learning. Very possible to do just take your time, and would say if you are going to get right in to it the cost will mount up !

As others have said, would agree with comments, yes to getting it done for power and reassurance. Think I have at moment what you're about to do, I've a 2004 WRX with decat everything with exception of sportscat downpipe (can't be bothered with hassle come MOT time). My uppipe came from Harvey & wrapped, but STi ones are also fine. I have about 280bhp.

Cracking when you see a nice shine at a certain angle or when the light/sun hits a certain bit and shows it at its best. It can be a bit of a skill to get that on to the camera...something I'm rubbish at !!

Your neighbours won't look any more disapprovingly at you, should be fine reckon.

Cracking looking example there. If the pics of the bodywork are any indication of how the car has been looked after then you got a good one - and yes, blacks best ! Enjoy.