Polished Bliss: Something different...
17 June 2008, 09:24 AM
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Polished Bliss: Something different...
I'd been looking forward to this car arriving for months and on Tuesday afternoon it finally came round:
Can you guess what it is yet?...
For those that may still be wondering what it is, it's a Lotus 340R. There were 340 made in total and they have an elise engine (this one is just under 200bhp) and weigh just over half a tonne - lots of fun!
Most have see a track day or two but this one is 8 years old and has only done 1300 miles in total! :doublesho
The car was booked in for 3 days as there is alot of little details on one of these so we wanted enough time to get them all done properly
As it was close to 4pm on Tuesday before it arrived i decided to give the interior a quick tidy up as there was no point starting the wash process untill the next day.
It wasnt too bad - just a bit dusty:
So out came the hoover and the brush attatchment:
I made sure i got all the dirt out from the nooks and crannies:
After the hoovering i gave all the surfaces an APC wipe down to remove any grubby marks etc:
No doors to open makes some bits on these things a bit tricky to clean - like the footwells and pedals (who said a detailers job was easy?):
This was where i left it as the interior was no doubt going to get a bit dusty over the next few days.
Wednesday - Day 1
The weather was a bit unpredictable in the morning so i covered the seats incase the heavens opened while i was washing the car:
No pressure washing on this detail so i gave the car a soak with APC on the lower half and then rinsed off with the hose:
Wheels next: these were cleaned with Menz 7.5:
Faces cleaned with a MF mitt:
Inner rims done with a wheel back brush:
Tyres and suspension were sprayed with Megs Superdegreaser and agitated with a brush:
Degreaser was used on a few other bits and bobs too:
before:
after:
I then washed the car (after working out how to do it in a methodical manner!) with the 2BM and Shampoo Plus:
A quik rinse followed before i then rolled the car inside for claying.
I used Aggressive Clay as there was alot of black overspray on the majority of the panels, i'm not really sure what from but either way it had to come off:
The wheels were covered too:
The car was then dried off with a waffle weave towel and the leaf blower.
I then removed a few bits to help with polishing:
Number plate removed:
Wing mirrors too:
The car was sporting more defects than i'd imagined for having so little miles on the clock but i guess it had been sat around gathering dust for a while and had just recently had the body off for a service etc so it was bound to pick up the odd scratch or two...
It wouldnt be a lotus without some buffer trails, every one i've ever done has been the same:
The paint was fairly healthy on all panels:
Pad choice for this detail was one of our new 4" compounding pads with the Rotary. Menz 3.02 was the polish:
Speeds of 1200-1500rpm's were used and temperature was continually checked due to the composite material of the car:
before:
after:
By 8pm i'd managed to get the entire front end corrected so i decided that was a good place to stop for Day 1.
Thursday - Day 2:
Polishing resumed on day 2:
Side skirt before:
after:
The spoiler was then removed so i could gain access to the rear of the tub:
Before:
During:
After:
Onto the lower part at the back end:
before:
During:
After:
The lower piece was one of many sections that needed the handle to be removed from the rotary to gain full acess:
A quick change of pad followed (Meguiars Polishing) before i moved onto the mud guards:
The N/S rear one had a scuff that needed polishing out:
After:
Before i re-fitting the spoiler i polished the underside:
Now back on the car, i corrected it with another 4" compounding pad:
Not hard to see which side has been polished in this shot:
After:
There was a couple of really deep RDS which wouldnt have even come out with wet sanding so i didnt even bother, they can just be seen in the above pic.
I had finished up at pretty much bang on 8pm for the 2nd night running so i stopped for Day 2.
Friday - Day 3:
More polishing for the start of Friday morning, but this time it was the finishing polish. I used Menz 85RD with a 3M Finishing Pad:
A 4" polishing pad was used for the tighter areas:
I always have various pads already centred on backing plates, this makes for a quick and easy change over
The 85RD left a super sharp finish:
Once the second polishing stage was done i went over the paint protection film with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish to freshen it up a bit:
The tailpipes were easy to get to so i used the PC and a 4" Compounding pad with Blackfire Heavy Cut Metal Compound:
This was followed up with a polishing pad and Raceglaze metal polish:
Werkstat Prime Strong was used with a 4" polishing pad to clean up the silencer:
50/50:
Prime Strong came in handy again, this time for the perspex side panels:
Before:
After:
The Superdegreaser had slightly stained the metal surfaces during the wash stage so i polished these up by hand with Raceglaze metal polish:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
I then dusted down all surfaces with our wool duster, gave all the paintwork a wipe down with Menz Top Inspection and then applied Vintage, which was the customers choice of LSP:
This was then buffed off with a PB Ultimate Mega Towel.
The wheels were sealed with PB Wheel Sealant:
Tyres were done with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel:
The inner walls were done too
I then gave the interior another quick hoover to remove any dust. The mats and plastics were dressed and protected with Werkstat Satin Prot and the windscreen was cleaned with Megs Glass Cleaner Concentrate.
A wipe down with Last Touch was the final job on the list before taking a few after pics
Total Work Time - 33 hours
Thanks for looking and hopefully you enjoyed the write up, it took bloody ages to upload all those pics! 
Clark
Can you guess what it is yet?...
For those that may still be wondering what it is, it's a Lotus 340R. There were 340 made in total and they have an elise engine (this one is just under 200bhp) and weigh just over half a tonne - lots of fun!
Most have see a track day or two but this one is 8 years old and has only done 1300 miles in total! :doublesho
The car was booked in for 3 days as there is alot of little details on one of these so we wanted enough time to get them all done properly
As it was close to 4pm on Tuesday before it arrived i decided to give the interior a quick tidy up as there was no point starting the wash process untill the next day.
It wasnt too bad - just a bit dusty:
So out came the hoover and the brush attatchment:
I made sure i got all the dirt out from the nooks and crannies:
After the hoovering i gave all the surfaces an APC wipe down to remove any grubby marks etc:
No doors to open makes some bits on these things a bit tricky to clean - like the footwells and pedals (who said a detailers job was easy?
):This was where i left it as the interior was no doubt going to get a bit dusty over the next few days.
Wednesday - Day 1
The weather was a bit unpredictable in the morning so i covered the seats incase the heavens opened while i was washing the car:
No pressure washing on this detail so i gave the car a soak with APC on the lower half and then rinsed off with the hose:
Wheels next: these were cleaned with Menz 7.5:
Faces cleaned with a MF mitt:
Inner rims done with a wheel back brush:
Tyres and suspension were sprayed with Megs Superdegreaser and agitated with a brush:
Degreaser was used on a few other bits and bobs too:
before:
after:
I then washed the car (after working out how to do it in a methodical manner!) with the 2BM and Shampoo Plus:
A quik rinse followed before i then rolled the car inside for claying.
I used Aggressive Clay as there was alot of black overspray on the majority of the panels, i'm not really sure what from but either way it had to come off:
The wheels were covered too:
The car was then dried off with a waffle weave towel and the leaf blower.
I then removed a few bits to help with polishing:
Number plate removed:
Wing mirrors too:
The car was sporting more defects than i'd imagined for having so little miles on the clock but i guess it had been sat around gathering dust for a while and had just recently had the body off for a service etc so it was bound to pick up the odd scratch or two...
It wouldnt be a lotus without some buffer trails, every one i've ever done has been the same:
The paint was fairly healthy on all panels:
Pad choice for this detail was one of our new 4" compounding pads with the Rotary. Menz 3.02 was the polish:
Speeds of 1200-1500rpm's were used and temperature was continually checked due to the composite material of the car:
before:
after:
By 8pm i'd managed to get the entire front end corrected so i decided that was a good place to stop for Day 1.
Thursday - Day 2:
Polishing resumed on day 2:
Side skirt before:
after:
The spoiler was then removed so i could gain access to the rear of the tub:
Before:
During:
After:
Onto the lower part at the back end:
before:
During:
After:
The lower piece was one of many sections that needed the handle to be removed from the rotary to gain full acess:
A quick change of pad followed (Meguiars Polishing) before i moved onto the mud guards:
The N/S rear one had a scuff that needed polishing out:
After:
Before i re-fitting the spoiler i polished the underside:
Now back on the car, i corrected it with another 4" compounding pad:
Not hard to see which side has been polished in this shot:
After:
There was a couple of really deep RDS which wouldnt have even come out with wet sanding so i didnt even bother, they can just be seen in the above pic.
I had finished up at pretty much bang on 8pm for the 2nd night running so i stopped for Day 2.
Friday - Day 3:
More polishing for the start of Friday morning, but this time it was the finishing polish. I used Menz 85RD with a 3M Finishing Pad:
A 4" polishing pad was used for the tighter areas:
I always have various pads already centred on backing plates, this makes for a quick and easy change over
The 85RD left a super sharp finish:
Once the second polishing stage was done i went over the paint protection film with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish to freshen it up a bit:
The tailpipes were easy to get to so i used the PC and a 4" Compounding pad with Blackfire Heavy Cut Metal Compound:
This was followed up with a polishing pad and Raceglaze metal polish:
Werkstat Prime Strong was used with a 4" polishing pad to clean up the silencer:
50/50:
Prime Strong came in handy again, this time for the perspex side panels:
Before:
After:
The Superdegreaser had slightly stained the metal surfaces during the wash stage so i polished these up by hand with Raceglaze metal polish:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
I then dusted down all surfaces with our wool duster, gave all the paintwork a wipe down with Menz Top Inspection and then applied Vintage, which was the customers choice of LSP:
This was then buffed off with a PB Ultimate Mega Towel.
The wheels were sealed with PB Wheel Sealant:
Tyres were done with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel:
The inner walls were done too
I then gave the interior another quick hoover to remove any dust. The mats and plastics were dressed and protected with Werkstat Satin Prot and the windscreen was cleaned with Megs Glass Cleaner Concentrate.
A wipe down with Last Touch was the final job on the list before taking a few after pics
Total Work Time - 33 hours
Thanks for looking and hopefully you enjoyed the write up, it took bloody ages to upload all those pics!
Clark
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22 June 2008, 11:22 PM
#8
Scooby Regular
One of my dream cars 
I have heard some horror stories about them. Someone told me that if the battery goes the full bodyshell has to be removed from the spaceframe. the man-hours tally up to about £1k. Also, I recall Evo running one as a long-termer and a minor trip onto a verge cracked the front of the shell, costing £9k to repair
Stunning car and a stunning job
I have heard some horror stories about them. Someone told me that if the battery goes the full bodyshell has to be removed from the spaceframe. the man-hours tally up to about £1k. Also, I recall Evo running one as a long-termer and a minor trip onto a verge cracked the front of the shell, costing £9k to repair
Stunning car and a stunning job
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