As there's now a new section dedicated to Detailing, we thought we'd get a write up on to share with you all what we do! Some of you may have already seen this write up if you stray over to the dark-side and visit the Mk5 Gti forum
This one was a real dream come true for us, particularly for Jim, whose dream car since childhood has been a Ferrari F40
When we arrived, it was clear to see that the car was well loved and well maintained, but with that came years of swirl marks and defects that had never previously been corrected.
This is the view that we were greeted with when we pulled round the corner...
To start with, it was the usual process - the wheels were cleaned first using Bilberry Wheel Cleaner, diluted 5:1 and applied using a 5 litre pressure sprayer, agitated using EZ Detail Brushes, Swissvax Wheel Brushes and then washed off with the pressure washer
The front was splattered with flies and bugs... we figured that a car like this just doesn’t go slow, and therefore just couldn’t help but pick up so many hitchhikers
These were sprayed with Bug Squash, which was left to dwell for a couple of minutes before being pressure washed off
Next we covered the car in snow foam, using Valet Pro pH Neutral Snowfoam...
And then followed with the hand wash working down from the top to the bottom using our Sheep Puppet and Lusso Auto Bathe...
Dried the car using an Autoperfection Super Plush Drying Towel...
There were a few small tar spots, particularly around the rear end, which were removed using a mild grey clay and Valet Pro Citrus Bling as the lube (not Last Touch Neat, as it says on the bottle
)
After the whole car had been washed and clayed, it was easy to see that Jim had his work cut out with the machining stage! The sun was kind enough to allow me to get lots of pictures of what needed fixing...
Having spent quite some time talking things through with the owner, we set out with the intention of achieving 80% correction due to the level of damage and the amount of time we had to work on the car. The correction stage was tough for Jim due to the level of defects present... Machining had to go at a steady pace because of the carbon fibre body panels. We used 3M Extra Fine with a Yellow Pad, and then refined with 3M Ultrafina and a Blue Pad. In actual fact, after the two stages were complete, we managed to achieve closer to 90% with some deeper random scratches remaining (although these were reduced with the final finishing stages).
All of the plastic parts of the engine and front bit (I’m sure there’s a technical name for this part, but I don’t know what it is :ashamed:) were cleaned and treated with Valet Pro Protectant, to remove grime, restore colour and offer protection against future build-up
The exhaust pipes and tips were all cleaned with Raceglaze Alutech, which leaves behind a protective film to help keep them clean and shiny for longer
For the final stages, we cleansed the paint with Lusso Revitalising Creme before applying two coats of Swissvax Best of Show and the wheels were cleansed also with the Lusso RC and then protected with Swissvax Autobahn.
It was such hard work, but so rewarding and satisfying! We started working on the car at 09:30 and finished at just gone 19:30, with two of us working solidly the car was treated to just over 20 hours of work-time, and this is what we left behind...
Thanks for looking!
Taryn and Jim
