Ashley

Products you have upgraded to aren't too bad . If you can afford to upgrade one thing please get rid of the chamois and buy a plush drying towel to reduce the chance of marring. As for your wheels, don't use Autosol it's horrible stuff!!!! Start looking for some Brilliant Zeppelin Metal Polish, immense stuff sir . Any more questions just give me a shout. I am also offering a detail at cost price to a local Gti owner if you're interested? Ashley

Not a problem buddy

A pre-wax cleanser will give an ideal base for the wax to bond on to, therefore giving it more durability. Remember the thinner the layer of wax you apply the better. I've never used a Dodo Juice hard wax to be able to advise on cure time i'm afraid.

Thanks, it took me about 15 hours. I wish I had some before pics, it was so dull and there was absolutely no depth or range in the paintwork. She is nippy, about 170bhp and she weighs about 600kg thanks to fibreglass. Yeah i'm not a big fan of the rear lights either to be honest, but all in all I love it!!! Ashley

That's not too bad at all chap. If you can stretch to it then it's a good idea to use a dedicated pre-wax cleaner before applying the wax, something like Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite or Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze.

Right I don’t normally post threads such as this in forums but over the last couple of days I had the privilege of working on one of my favourite cars from back when I was big into my Minis. Yes I’ve worked on more expensive, more exotic metal but I genuinely prefer this car to anything I’ve worked on before! I didn’t have time for photographs of each stage, before and after shots, 50/50’s etc etc . . . so I will explain the processes / products that I used and then just give you some gratuitous beauty shots at the end. Here we go: - Wheels cleaned with Bilberry, Envy brushes and VP long reach wheel brush for the awkward bits. - Bodywork sprayed with citrus pre-wash, nooks and crannies worked with Envy brushes - Bodywork rinsed (so I don’t have to keep repeating this all water used for rinsing and washing was 0 ppm, reverse osmosised water to eliminate water spotting and aid cleaning). - Bodywork washed using 2bm with CG Glossworkz, grit guard buckets and Dodo Juice Yeti mitts. Door Shuts also cleaned at this point. - Soft top cleaned with 303 convertible cleaner. - Bodywork and soft top rinsed. - Bodywork dried with an Aeolus touchless dryer, - Lower bodywork and wheels sprayed with AS Tardis to remove tar spots so as not to pick them up during the claying stage . . . And rinse. - Lower bodywork and wheels sprayed with Wolfs Decon Gel, allow to harden and rinse well. - Vehicle (bodywork and wheels) was then clayed with Dodo Juice Gentle Grey clay, using Wolfs Pink Slip as a lubricant. - Bodywork rinsed thoroughly. - Bodywork washed again using the same 2bm method and products as above. - Bodywork rinsed and dried with touchless Aeolus dryer. - Wheels polished by hand using Sonus applicator pad and some Gtechniq P1. - Soft top sealed using Nanolex convertible sealant. - Glass Cleaned with VP Citrus Bling, polished with Autoglym glass polish and sealed with Rain-X. - Plastic window in soft top polished with Renovo Soft Top Polish. - Tyres dressed with neat Meguiars Hyper Dressing. - Exterior was then given a two stage machine polish. Now the paint was around 200 microns thick on average which is perfectly healthy. However, this is a flip / pearleascent job and therefore involves 10 layers of paint, so I estimated the thickness of the clearcoat to be around 10% when sprayed. I was also informed that the car had been fizzed over with a rotary and some G3 by a valeter *cringes* so who knows how much he polished away. As a result of this I wanted to air on the side of caution (at least until I can get myself an all singing all dancing posi that can distinguish between paint layers). So once she was all taped up I used Gtechniq P1 with Elite Car Care’s Orange Coolfoam pads and spot pads on my 3M rotary, followed by Gtechniq P2 with Elite Car Care’s Red Coolfoam pads and spot pads, this combo removed swirl marks and light scratches but couldn’t tackle the R.D.S. Awkward areas and door shuts were hand polished with P1 and a Sonus applicator pad. This type of paint is unforgiving, you leave a blemish on the paintwork and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Also the clearcoat was very soft, paint removal was higher than desired during polishing, and it hologrammed like a *****. So all in all good fun! - Bodywork treated with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. Applied with damp MF applicator pad, left to haze and then buffed off with a plush buffing towel. - Bodywork then received 2 layers of Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection. Apply with MF applicator pad, buff off and repeat. - Now she was waxed, 2 coats of Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba wax were just what the doctor ordered. This was worked in by hand to 3 panels at a time, left to cure / haze over for 5 minutes and then buffed off with a super plush towel.. - Window rubbers dressed with Meguiars Hyper Dressing, diluted 1:2. - Exhaust polished with Zeppelin Metal Polish, along with the other little metal bits and bobs. - Now to the inside. Lots of cows clearly died to make this interior so the majority of cleaning involved Raceglaze Leather Cleaner with a soft bristle brush followed up with Raceglaze Leather Balm. - Interior fabric was cleaned via extraction machine. - California Scents air freshener left, customer chose Avalon Apple Cider which I was glad to get rid of haha. - “Cabriolet” metal plates in the door runners were polished with Zeppelin. - Door Shuts treated to the same Blackfire process as the bodywork. - As a final touch I gave the whole car one last wipe over with Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray. All in all this car was very hard work, lots of difficult nooks and crannies, the paint wasn’t easy to finish flawlessly and it just generally took longer than I thought. Having said that though I thoroughly enjoyed working on a car that I really admired back in my Mini days, and the owner is a top guy! Now for the pictures: More photos and a very quick review can be found on the owners FB page, have a look as his photography skills are better than mine: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227122437310034.55791.100000368376101 Thanks for reading, comments and / or criticism welcome. Ashley

does the op still want some advice or is this all sorted now?

there is lots wrong with t-cut. the abrasives are very crude, they don't diminish leaving you with micro-marring. a sonus applicator pad has two sides. the yellow side is coarse and is used to work and break down the polish. while the black side is soft and used for finishing. i think gtechniq offer a similar applicator with their p1 hand polishing kit. any more questions just ask.

don't use t-cut whatever you do. ssrp are ok but not great, the nature of the abrasive particles make it near impossible to break down fully by hand, leaving you with a less than perfect finish. best hand polish is gtechniq p1. use it with a sonus applicator pad. if the swirls are more severe no hand polish will remove them completely, so use a decent filling glaze after, like a poorboys (black hole or white diamond depending on colour).

I personally think that anything above a 14" looks daft on anything other than a Gti, but it's your car. I think 16's are possible yes, I have seen 17's but on Gti's only. Someone with more model specific knowledge may be able to advise further . Oh and welcome to the forum

Have you seen the Mk3 Golf? Or been in a Mk4 Golf 2.0 N/A "Gti"? Haha. On a serious note it will be interesting to see how this develops. I know of a couple of slammed Fox's on the show scene that actually look quite good. They need repeated hits with the holy stick of lowering though, I could still live under the arches after 100mm drop

If you want it to win the show and shine again this year you might want to consider getting it pro detailed, PM if you're interested in a very good offer

How much concentrate are you using? I advise 2.5 inches in the bottle topped up with warm water. Ashley

If you need a pre-wash product to put through your lance from the "high street" then just buy some Meguiars Gold Class and get that foaming through the lance, will do the job until you get your order of a dedicated snow foam from your chosen online car care supplier. Ashley

How is it sad? It's just a hobby, like anything else. Anyway for me my extensive collection of kit is what puts bread on the table. Ashley

Dodo Juice tooled up kit bags are good. Those and the Stanley work chests / carry cases. Ashley

To do the cam cover I doubt you will need to start with the coarsest grade you can get. I would recommend starting at P120, work your way up to P2000 / P2500 and then work the polish. It's simple . Ashley

I am fully mobile but after my travel costs have been factored in it might not be cost effective. Have a look at my traders thread showing estimated prices and if interested drop me a PM. Ashley

Was that a joke? If not . . . where are you based ? Ashley

Nice collection chap. I saw your Loop in the "garage" section and was going to ask if you had your car detailed . . . you've just answered my question . Ashley

Thanks buddy . I love my Yeti's. I have to fill my Grit Guard buckets (both wash and rinse) to the brim when doing a car as they are so thirsty. But they are great. An alternative worth trying is the Swissvax Waschpudel, also very good, and about £9 a go. Ashley

Yeah lots of people do. What engine is in your Lupo out of interest champ?

I love people that REALLY love their cars, fair play to you and all the best with the little bits and bobs you're in the process of getting sorted. Ashley

I know lots of people that swear by the drilled air box, and if they're happy doing it who am I to tell them otherwise? Ashley

Don't be sorry you clearly can't help it . Haha only joking bud, if you think it works then stick with it, fair play to you. Ashley