Honda S2000 and a VW MKV Golf GTi

Jimmeh

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Honda S2000 – finished in a pearl white…

Having spent three days with Jonny from PureDetail a month or two back down in Sevenoaks, Kent, it was time we caught up again. I was invited to the PureDetail HQ in the North West, the plan was to help out on a correctional detail he had on the go and also to try my hand at wet-flatting using the DA.

The car in question was a recently resprayed track-spec Honda S2000. If I am honest, the finish was dreadful. Probably the worst respray I have seen to date. With this in mind, only so much could be done with the flatting; sanding scores, paint runs, hundreds of fish-eyes and deeper ‘dimples’ were dotted around on every panel.

On my arrival, Jonny had already put the Honda through the full wash stage including clay and tar removal. The wheels hadn’t been touched as they would be coming off the following day for a full cleanse and wheel-nuts to be painted.

The tailgate was suffering the worst – Mirka Abralon 2000 sanding discs used on the DA to give a consistent smooth finish.

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Here, you can see what we were up against: (Note the dimples)

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As we were working with UK paint and not the usual ‘butter-soft’ Jap stuff, we were able to go quite heavy with defect removal. Multiple hits of 3M/Menzerna polishes given to chase our sanding marks and swirling.

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Whilst Jonny battled with the best part of the tailgate, I got stuck in with Menzerna polishes to correct both the near and offside of the Honda.

Buffer-trails spotted before:

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Clear and crisp after:

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More machine holograms:

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Removed via correct rotary polishing and product choice:

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Although not badly swirled, the N/S front wing was covered in a haze:

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A single stage machine correction pass was able to remove the holograms and restore the high gloss:

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Check out the paint run on the front bumper:

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Jonny refining his work on the rear end:

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My before/after on the N/S rear quarter:

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And a nice shot of the pearl flake ‘popping’ now it’s correctly finished:

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Switching sides, I took control of the DA for a bit of wet-flatting and Jonny corrected the bonnet:

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The far left hand side of the tailgate was left for me… A 2000 sanding disc to remove the nastier scratches and to lessen the fish-eyes, then following with a finer 4000 grade disc before compounding and polishing to a near on perfect finish.

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Whilst Jonny finished his work on the bonnet, I rejoined him on the rotary and started to work down the O/S hoping to meet him half way.

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Paintwork was wiped down with an IPA to remove polishing oils.

Paintwork protected with Jeffs Werkstat Jett Trigger – We used Jeffs Trigger to highlight the flake ‘pop’ and clarity offered by a sealant as opposed to the ‘warm’ glossy results that a carnauba wax gives.

Glass was cleaned inside and out with 3M’s Glass Cleaner (on my recommendation)

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Metalwork cleaned and protected.

The engine bay had previously been tidied before I arrived but was then dressed with AutoGlym’s Vinyl and Rubber Care (I didn’t capture any photos on this; I hope to steal some of Jonny’s images later!)

A final wipe down of the paint and we’re finished. Not a bad afternoon’s work!

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It’s a shame about the respray nasties… The cars style/colour coupled with the aggressive track-stance really grew on me. A good day spent at the PureDetail HQ – watch this space for more tag-team work coming soon in a capital city near you!!

Jim.
 
Volkswagen MKV Golf GTi – Shadow Blue. Minor Correction.

Having only owned the car for 10 days, the owner searched for ‘Detailers’ in his area in hope of giving the Golf a lick of protection and a general tidy up. Many recommendations were given on various Volkswagen sites for WhiteDetails – a few emails were exchanged and a date was set.

Slight change in the plan however. After seeing the results of a Minor Correction Detail, the owner decided to scrap the Winter Protection and go with the latter (A good job, too!)

Product

• 3M Glass Cleaner
• 303 Aerospace Protectant
• AutoSmart Tardis
• AutoSmart G101
• AutoGlym Vinyl and Rubber Care
• Belgom ALU
• Chemical Guys JetSEAL109
• Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild
• Dodo Juice SuperNatural
• Elite Fine Grade Clay
• LTT Auto Ultra Foam
• LTT Auto Ultra Protect
• Meguiars Last Touch
• Meguiars All Season Dressing
• Meguiars Super Degreaser
• Menzerna 203S
• Menzerna 85RD 3.02


Inspection.

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The vehicle was dropped off the night before… I quickly took the owner round the vehicle inspecting the paint through the thick layer of grime. Even through the dirt, some serious defects were spotted and lots of buffer tails/sanding marks from bodyshop repairs. Unfortunately this was news to the owner; as said above, it’s a good job it was booked in for a Correctional Detail after all!

I scuttled on through the wash stage without documenting a single thing... It was ‘minus penguins’, it was raining and I just wanted to get on.

Wheels, tyres and arches cleaned with AutoSmart G101, AutoSmart Tardis and Meguiars Super Degreaser. Engine bay soaked and cleaned with Meguiars Super Degreaser. Doorshuts and sills cleaned with AutoSmart G101 and body washed with Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild.

To touch, the car felt fairly silky. A sign that little claying was required maybe?

After a test section,

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Heh. I take that back. The car was clayed, and, as you see, it was pretty contaminated. The lowers were soaked in AutoSmart Tardis to dissolve the tar specs and Megs Last Touch was used to aid the clay bar.

Rinsing as I go to shift the residues, a final ‘open-hose’ rinse was given to sheet the standing water off of the car.

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After a quick towel dry session, the black baron made light work of the trapped water in the grilles, the panel gaps and the badges.

An awesome bit of kit - it really is. I wouldn’t like to work without one at this time of year to be honest. Yes, you probably add fifteen minutes to the drying stages, but later on in the day you’re not having to worry about chasing drips, smears and contaminated pads when trying to machine polish, apply a glaze, wax or window cleaner etc.

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Now bear in mind the car was soaked through just twenty minutes ago:

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Time to inspect the paint now it’s clean.

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Colour match, eh? One of the two has been painted… (Turns out, they both have (just at different times one must assume!?))

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The rear O/S quarter was awesome. One of the areas I pointed out to the customer when he dropped the vehicle off:

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So pretty! Even under strip lights it looked horrific.

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Gloss black B-Pillars:

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Roof: (with a loooong scratch that stretched from the boot spoiler all the way across to the windscreen (possible ‘water-blade’ maybe?))

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With the kettle on boil and the biscuits at hand, it was time to gear up. Paint thickness checked…

“oh, little low on the bonnet in places…”

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“The O/S isn’t much better..”

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“OK. Another area of caution.” On the tailgate this time…

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“Finally. Some healthy readings!” (Turns out it had been painted)

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The difference between the N/S door and the N/S front wing:

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70 microns is really pushing it. I’m pleased we’re only booked for a ‘Minor’ correction as I don’t fancy going too heavy on that area at all!

By the end of the two days, I was trying to piece together the cars history. The front bumper had been sprayed (lacquer peel in a couple of places and a little bit of flaking on the edges), as had the N/S front wing and the door. “But the paint thickness readings on the wing were low?” Yes, but, wait till you see the marks from the DA sanding session!

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The N/S wing and the door were a different colour to that of the N/S rear quarter. Photos later will show you this…

Testing my polish and pad combinations, I tape a 50/50 up on the bonnet.

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Before/after:

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Menzerna 203s and a 3M yellow polishing pad. Happy with the correction given (for a single-pass ‘minor correction’ detail) and I was able to finish with it well too. (IE, a burnished finish with no need to follow with a milder approach)

Bonnet 50/50 visible under the strip lighting:

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Continuing to work down the O/S.

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Remember this?

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The single-pass with Menz 203s managed to clean the swirls and buffer trails quite nicely (…but left massive room for improvement!)

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As thickness levels were healthy(ier!), I went with Menzerna 85RD 3.02 for more cut.

Much better:

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Back to Menz 203s and the yellow 3M pad - up onto the roof:

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…and the tailgate:

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The O/S B-pillars taped and polished.

Menz 85RD 3.02 followed by 203s.

Before/After:

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O/S complete along with the tailgate and half the roof.

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Spinning the car round, I got stuck into the N/S working from the back to the front of the vehicle.

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Even though the door is yet to be corrected in this next shot, you can see the difference in colour between the two panels:

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Before:

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After:

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50/50:

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Before/After:

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The N/S front wing which suffered badly from the DA sanding marks, and, as a result, paint thickness readings were low!

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Before/After

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Before/After

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Much like the BMW Tourer recently completed, another burn through spotted on the edge of a panel:

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Good progress. The N/S complete now too:

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(…other than the B-pillar!)

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Bringing Day 1 to an end, I dressed the engine bay with AutoGlym’s Vinyl and Rubber Care.

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Another clue as to this vehicle having bodyshop repairs.

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Quite a ‘lip’ between the edge of the bonnet and the edge of the wing on the N/S.

Comparison between the wonky N/S and the flush O/S…

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The morning of Day 2 and I’m finalising the machine work. Front bumper, rear bumper and half the bonnet to go… (The big 50/50 on the bonnet had been left on purpose for the owner to see when they popped in later on in the day on Day 1)

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Light clusters before/after:

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The sun was shining so I made the most of it by finding the excuse to turn the vehicle back-around…

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And the rear wing that was riddled with deeper scratches and machine trails:

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A stunning colour once properly prepped.

…puts mine to shame anyway!!!

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A thorough IPA wipedown was given (as whilst checking my work in the sun, a few greasy product smears were spotted.)

Following the IPA, Dodo Juice Supernatural was applied to protect.

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While the wax cured, the exhausts were brought back to life with Belgom ALU.

Before/After:

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Wax removed. Glass polished inside and out. Alloys protected and tyres dressed.

It’s pushing mid-afternoon; so I didn’t lose the sun, I snapped my ‘final’ outdoor shots before continuing with the interior work.

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So, before and after:

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And shimmering in the sun:

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Typical, isn’t it… I spend 13+ hours beautifying someone’s new pride and joy, and, in the two minutes the car is outside, it gets poo’d on! Gah!!!

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Leather seats, although not too dirty, were cleaned and protected (on request) with the LTT Auto Ultra kit:

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The owner calls in at this point, and, we’re finished.

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With the brinkman (LED torch) showing correction levels:

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Again, lovely colour:

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As always, thanks.

Have a nice weekend!

Jim.
 
Great work Jim.
I realy wish i had managed to make it over to see this and show you mine, its probably on the same kind of level.
Hope to see you soon
 
Cheers guys. The Golf was an enjoyable one - glad it came in for the Minor Correction as opposed a Protection Detail only...

Here's a snap from yesterdays job, a Renault Clio RS200

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With only 200 miles on the clock, it was factory fresh (or atleast so we thought). Even before washing the vehicle we could see both sides riddled with swirls and buffertrails. Renault were instructed not to touch this car in the PDI stages and it was hoped that I would be the first to wash it! Long story short, the images have been sent to Renault UK and we're awaiting word back to see if they will cover the costs for a Major Correction.

Defects:

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50/50:

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And the door/rear-wing corrected to show the dealer how it should have been delivered:

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For now, it's a case of 'watch this space' :)