Hi all,

2 separate details carried out on this very rare Seat Cupra R K1 in Enfield, North London… The owner wanted all exterior, interior and engine bay surfaces cleansed and protected – with the added addition of the paintwork receiving a 1-step machine enhancement (Gold Package + Full Interior + Engine Bay Detail).

The exterior was completed on a later date from the engine and interior, hence the differing photo locations.

Interior Before

All very clean and tidy to begin with but definitely in need of a lift – the upholstery was shampooed, dried and then protected with 303 Fabric Guard; plus all the other surfaces were treated accordingly.

Interior After

Much better, now it was time for the engine bay!

Engine Bay Before

Pretty well soiled! Lots of degreaser on this one and removing the mould from the sound deadening…

Engine Bay After

Now onto the exterior that was completed approx 1 month later.

On Arrival

Closer Inspection

Not looking overly bad, tar spots were the main source of contamination and stuck out like a sore thumb on a lighter coloured vehicle.

First up were the alloys.

Alloys Before

Alloys After

Next up was the exhaust.

Exhaust Before

Exhaust After

Once the exterior had received its extensive wash process, it was then time to clay bar to paintwork to remove any bonded contaminants.

Lots of sap from the top halves of the car!

Plus some rogue tar spots on the lower half the car!

Sorry about the lack of photographs, however, light was not on my side plus the paintwork defects removed were hard to capture as it was only light marring.

Once machine polished, the vehicle received protection from Auto Finesse’s Tough Coat spray sealant as opposed to our usual application of Valentines Concours at the customers request.

I have to say top marks to James and the team! What an unbelievably easy product to use and the final finish it left was incredible on this lighter coloured K1… I haven’t heard anything on the durability so I can’t comment but nonetheless a great product to work with.

As well as the paint being protected, all the other exterior plastic/rubbers, glasswork, etc. were treated.

The Results

and a few reflections off the bonnet…

Thanks for looking and reading as always, plus a huge thank you to the owner’s hospitality over the 2 details.

Adam

Here’s a job the I did back in September, still quite a backlog of write ups to do!! Well it’s the first write up for 2012 for us so I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas & New Year!

This is quite a long one so grab yourself a cup of tea and perhaps a cheeky biscuit before continuing…

The plan was to treat this gorgeous Focus RS to our Platinum Package, which is a 2 day 2-step minor correction and protection – we undertook the job at our detailing unit near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

On Arrival

Looking reasonable but definitely in need of a thorough cleanse!

Closer Inspection

Bug splatter, nothing overly awful.

Light soiling throughout.

First up were the alloy wheels.

Alloys Before

They were treated with a non-acidic wheel brightener, later being protected with a high durability wheel wax. The tyres & arches were also treated accordingly over the course of the detail.

Alloys After

Once the alloys were completed, the RS received our standard wash process, dried off and rolled into the unit.

The vehicle then had all of the bonded contaminants removed with a clay bar to ensure a perfectly clean surface to begin polishing; this is the worst that was picked up by the clay, so not too bad:

Paint measurements were then taken to see if it was safe to proceed to mask up and begin machine polishing.

A very healthy 206 microns here, across the board there was 160-220microns.

Now onto getting the paintwork assessed under the lighting and getting down to correcting the finish.

Bonnet Before

Bonnet After

Drivers Wing Before

Drivers Wing After

Drivers Door Before

Drivers Door After

Drivers 3/4 Panel Before

Drivers 3/4 Panel After

Roof Before

Roof After

Roof – Bootlid Spoiler 50/50

Bootlid Spoiler Before

Bootlid Spoiler After

Rear Lens Before

Rear Lens After

Really pleased with the correction achieved given the timescales, all swirl marks removed – some random deep scratches remained in areas but were reduced to the degree that they could not be spotted with the naked eye in natural lighting.

Assorted Post-Correction & Reflections

Obligatory thumbs up:

The finish was then protected with 2 applications of Valentines Concours Wax plus all the final details: the plastic/rubber, glasswork, etc. was completed.

The Results

[i]Before[i]

After

Before

After

Before

After

Total Work Time: 18hrs

Well done! You’ve got to the end – It was a real pleasure bringing this rare Ford back to its former glory – thanks for looking and reading as always, and here are a few shots that I love from the morning of the pickup!

Adam, Refined Details.

Another long overdue update and a vehicle, which I completed in the summer at my unit near Aylesbury…

The vehicle in question was a brand new Audi A6 Avant S-Line requiring a full cleanse and protection (Bronze Package)

On Arrival

Light traffic film throughout… and dealership polish residues:

Plus improper wash techniques marred the paintwork…

First up were the alloys.

Alloys Before

The alloys were treated with a non-acidic wheel brightener, detarred and deironised – followed by a high durability wheel wax later in the detail; the tyres & arches were also treated.

Alloys After

The owner also requested that I removed the badges from the bootlid.

Badges Before

Badges After

The vehicle was then treated to the standard Refined Details wash process including snow foam and the two bucket method.

The paintwork was then treated to a pre-wax cleanser, which removed the dealership marring and provided a perfect bonding surface for Valentines Concours Wax. The glasswork, plastics/rubbers and other surfaces were also treated accordingly.

The Results

Before

After

Obligatory thumbs up…

Pink, blue and green flake pop coming back into play!

Thank you for looking and reading as always…

Adam

Hi all, sorry for the delay in write ups – this detail was undertaken in August to give you an idea of how far I am behind with portfolio write ups!

The package performed on this vehicle was our Gold 1-step Machine Enhancement Package.

On Arrival

The SST was treated to the usual Refined Details wash process (minus pressure washer and snow foam) as the last thing you want to do is flood the engine! Areas were cleaned with APC/Degreaser and brushes mostly and rinsed with an open hose.

Wheels Before

Wheels After

Seat Before

Seat After

The seat fabric was reproofed and protected, as were all the other surfaces, which also received the Gold standard clay bar decontamination and machine polished with lime prime.

The choice of wax was Valentines Road ‘n Track.

The Results

An enjoyable change of pace from the cars, I am always amazed at how long a bike takes to detail properly!

Total work time 6 hours.

Thank you for looking and reading as always…

Hi all, sorry about the huge delay in write ups… I have a “small” back log but I have finally found a minute to bring to you this beautiful Euro BMW Z3, which had been decked within an inch of its life!

The detail performed on this vehicle was the Diamond Package – bespoke machine detail.

The plan was to undertake a thorough cleanse, followed by a 1-step enhancement of the paintwork with focus on spot correcting/reducing some deeper scratches on the vehicle. Then an all surface protection including the paintwork being treated to Valentines Concours Wax, hood reproofed, etc.

On Arrival

A dull August morning to say the least! Light soiling was witnessed around the vehicle but nothing out of the ordinary.

First up were the wheels.

Alloys Before

The alloys were treated with an All Purpose Cleaner, De-ironised and were later protected with a high durability wheel wax. The tyres & arches were also treated.

Alloys After

This was then followed by the usual intensive Refined Details wash process, no pictures unfortunately as it was raining and I wanted to get the vehicle in the unit to clay in preparation for machine polishing.

Sap removed from 1/6 of the bonnet:

Contaminants removed from the passenger wing:

Once fully decontaminated I assessed the scratches in question, starting with paint thickness readings:

All readings of which appeared to be factory, albeit a touch low in places.

Passenger 3/4 Scratch

Before

After

Passenger Door Scratch

Before

More of a poor touch up of a previous scratch, time to level the paint with some wet sanding.

During

After

Passenger Wing Scratch

Before

A little bit too deep to completely removed but definitely something that could be improved upon – it was wet sanded to level the paint, polished and any remaining deeper marks were carefully touched in with the correct paint (cosmos black).

During

After

Drivers Door Scratch

Before

After

I also spotted that there was a small bit of corrective work to be completed on the bootlid (Removed badge outline remaining).

Boot Plinth Before

Boot Plinth After

Some scratches removed, others improved! Now it was time to assess the swirl marks across the board; the vehicle was treated to a 1-step machine enhancement so the swirls were significantly reduced rather than removed completely.

Bonnet Before

Bonnet 50/50

Bonnet After

Drivers Door Before

Drivers Door After

Drivers 3/4 Before

Drivers 3/4 After

Bootlid Before

Bootlid After

A vast improvement to what she once was – the vehicle then received an all surface protection.

The Results

Before

After

Before

After

Paintwork in the Sunshine

Top down I hear you cry?! Would be rude not to!

and finally my favourite of the day…

Total Work Time: 12 Hours

Thank you very much for looking and reading as always…

Adam