Polished Bliss vs Elise No.2 and Jool's buggered bonnet!
 

With only a day’s rest from the 14 hour detail on Elise No.1 last Sunday, this one rolled into the drive at 9am on Tuesday, after the owner had pootled up the road from Edinburgh. Without being able to inspect this car in advance, I was unsure just how bad it was going to be, and when it first arrived it didn’t look too bad. However, after the wash the halogens went on and my heart sunk – a myriad of severe swirls and random scratches. Immediately I knew I was in for a long session, so I broke out the Blackfire SRC polishes again and set to work. Not being able to take paint thickness readings due to the bodywork being composite, I proceeded with caution, and strictly limited myself to two attempts with the Compound per panel. As it turned out, all panels needed this, and on some this was still not enough to fully correct the defects. However, I laid out the options to the owner, and we decided that two attempts was enough – the car is relatively new and may need compounding again in the future. We didn’t get chance to do the finishing touches (wheel protection, tyre gel, trim protection, exhaust tips) due to the owner needing to get back to Edinburgh, but this wasn’t an issue as the owner mainly came up for paint correction. Once again the weather was unkind (the sea fog stayed with us all day long), and we didn’t finish until 9pm (yet another 12 hour job!) when the light was failing, so apologies in advance for the quality of the pictures.

Wash

Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys treated with Blackfire Wheel and Tyre Gel (didn’t use Wheel Brightener as alloys were all showing signs of corrosion) and rinsed with open ended hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with P21S Total Auto Wash
Whole car washed with Blackfire Gloss Shampoo using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Whole car dried with waffle weave towels

Clay

All paintwork and windows clayed using Meguiars Detailing Clay and Meguiars Quik Detailer
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels

Polish

Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Blackfire SRC Compound and Lake Country orange light cut pads. Two attempts on each panel comprising multiple passes (1st at speed 1 no pressure, rest at speed 5-6 using moderate to heavy pressure) was enough to get 80-90% of defects out, bar some of the random scratches. I then followed up with Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish using Lake Country green finishing pads, as the finish left by the Compound was good but not perfect (some micromarring). The quality of the finish left by this finishing polish is better than I’ve seen before, with terrific brightness and flake pop. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.

Protect

All bodywork protected with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied using foam pads and buffed using Poorboy's’ Deluxe Mega towels

Here’s the pics…

General before shot…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406a.jpg

Defects before any work…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406b.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406c.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406d.jpg

After using the SRC Compound (from the same angles)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406e.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406f.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406g.jpg

These next four were taken after using the SRC Finishing Polish…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406h.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406i.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406j.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406k.jpg

General after shot…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elise0406l.jpg

---

Next day I got a call from Jools - his STI had been damaged by an act of good intention turned bad. He had taken the car to work and the guy on security had seen a bird crap on the bonnet, so he duly went out and wiped it off with a paper towel. This is the damage he caused…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...6/sti0506a.jpg

I only had an hour to work on the car, and when I first arrived I actually thought about suggesting to Jools that we leave it and that I come back another day for a longer wetsanding session. However, with Jools set to be away for 3 weeks and Alford looming, I thought I'd try and do something with the time available, so I took some paint thickness readings with my PosiTest DFT, and then hit the problem area hard with Blackfire SRC Compound using an orange light cut spot pad. Would you believe it, everything came out, with only ~5 microns of paint loss. I finished up by going over the whole bonnet with the SRC Finishing Polish using a green finishing pad, and then reapplying a coat of protection. Final finish…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...6/sti0506b.jpg

:)

What is the best way to remove bird crap from the bonnet if the car isn't spotless to start with. Put water on it to soak or what?

Option 1 - best way is to jet wash it as soon as possible.

Option 2 - use a quick wash spray to soak the turd thoroughly. Then use a plush microbfibre to gently scoop it up, without rubbing. If the lower layers stick simply spray again, wait, and then repeat.

:)

That's some good looking work indeed.

Are you going to be at Alford for the Scottish National Day?

Yes, we'll have a wee stand set up, and Jool's has promised me a few laps - cue terrified scared passenger!

Excellent. I'll swing by if I make it up from Glasgow. Jools has an excellent car, should be an interesting few laps.

Very impressed with your hard work there - will probably see you this weekend @ F&M, and also planning to attend the SIDC day @ Alford.

You have PM by the way.

Cheers, see you Sunday. :)