Having owned my RRS now for 16 months, the condition of the paint has been bugging the hell out of me... sadly, after being diagnosed with a rare cancer in June last year, my health just hasn't been up to the task, but have refrained from getting it done as I enjoy detailing and haven't spent £1000s on equipment and products to sit pretty in the garage.

With one treatment left to go, the sun obviously makes everyone feel better.. so decided that I was feeling a bit better and started to attach the paint. Didn't make the progress I would have liked, but after spending 4 hours polishing the bonnet alone, fatigue set in... but finally off the mark. This will be a long drawn out process, but looking forward to getting it all completed sometime in the not too distant future

I don't think the RRS had seen any kind of TLC in regards to the paint since it was registered in Sept 2008.. and the paintwork is a real mess.. but here's a quick before / after of the bonnet (crappy iPhone pics).. nice to see decent reflections now when driving in the glorious sunshine at least


Before:

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Hi Ian,,looking good,,did you do it by hand or did you use a machine polisher.?

Andy. Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

Hi Andy..

Done with my trusty 5 year old DAS6 Pro machine, Lake Country pads and Menzerna polishes.. final wax layer with Dodo Juice purple haze (first time trying this wax). Every panel looks like the bonnet did!

After my wedding in mid June, I think I'm gonna get a Rupes Bigfoot 21 and some Scholl polishes and hopefully cut the time down doing the rest (got a classic Mini to detail and change the water pump on before June for the wedding too)



Cheers..

Ian

Impressive, I've also wanted do this to mine but don't feel confident enough to use the machine, if anyone in the west London area can show me, I'd be willing to get the drinks in.

Hi mate..

I got involved initially after someone ran a key the full length of my black BMW convertible. I read up on lots of things and a DAS6 Pro (orbital machine) was recommended for beginners as there's far less chance of doing any damage than with a rotary machine. It's done me well over various cars and as it's a hobby rather than as a profession, I've been quite happy with it over the years.

I'm in NW London. I have one more chemo session on the 28th April, but shortly after that (once I get a bit of energy back again)... I'd be happy to meet up if you're interested



Cheers..

Ian

Hi Ian,I'm just in the process of getting a das6 pro from Clean Your Car with the megs 105 & 205 & the chemical guys pads.
I've just ordered some C5 wheel armour to coat the 22's.




Andy Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

Hi Andy..

Good choice! I got my kit from CYC too (and have been a repeat customer of theirs ever since.. always a great service). They have a very friendly member-run forum too

The Chemical Guys pads are good too.. have a stack of those sitting in the toolbox as well.. and the Megs polishes are well known and won't let you down.

The paint on the RRS is quite hard, so you can easily apply a few passes for polishing.. takes a bit of effort, but worth it in the long run, but also have the safety that causing burn through with an orbital machine would basically need to be a deliberate action.

Like everything though, the key is in the prep... so I'd definitely if nothing else, grab some claybar too if you don't have any as this will remove the contaminates from the paintwork before you start polishing. Tar (Tardis is my preference) and Iron (I'm currently testing some Gyeon iron remover) removers are also recommended, but you can do it with just claybar to start with.

I've not used C5 as yet (still been using my trusty pot of Poorboys sealant) but have definitely heared good things about it and will likely try it very soon. It should definitely look after those 22s... they look sweet! (thinking about 22" Vogues for mine, but we'll see...).

Definitely have to show us your results when you get going.. be interesting to see (I never personally get tired of seeing detail threads ).



Cheers..

Ian

thats a good turn around , must have taken ages as a tree grew whilst you was doing it

Ive had the wheels off today Ian & when I bought the wheel 6 month ago I gave them all 3 coats of poorboys wheel sealant & the water was just beading off the rears once I'd cleaned them with auto smart red 7 & bilberry,the fronts weren't as good I'm guessing the brake dust probably didn't help so I polished them with auto finesse triple then gave them a coating of OCD sterling wax,,I will strip everything off next week with Carpro eraser then apply the C5.
I've just got myself one off the clay towels as they seem to be a bit quicker than the clay bar I have (bilt hamber).

Andy. Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

npinks wrote:

thats a good turn around , must have taken ages as a tree grew whilst you was doing it

hahahah.. indeed... and a very very long extension cable.. probably about 2 miles in length



Cheers..

Ian

Tyrefitter wrote:

Ive had the wheels off today Ian & when I bought the wheel 6 month ago I gave them all 3 coats of poorboys wheel sealant & the water was just beading off the rears once I'd cleaned them with auto smart red 7 & bilberry,the fronts weren't as good I'm guessing the brake dust probably didn't help so I polished them with auto finesse triple then gave them a coating of OCD sterling wax,,I will strip everything off next week with Carpro eraser then apply the C5.
I've just got myself one off the clay towels as they seem to be a bit quicker than the clay bar I have (bilt hamber).

Andy.

Ahah.. I see you're quite into this stuff too Andy (apologies if my previous post came across patronising (hindsight... a wonderful thing!). I quite like Poorboys sealant.. also FinishKare 1000P hard wax works really well too (and such a massive "bang per buck").

I like bilberry too. I tried some blue chemical guys cleaner last time, but didn't find it as good as bilberry, so will be ordering some more when the CG stuff runs out.

I've heard some really good things about the clay towels.. but yet to try one personally (maybe because there's about 10 blocks of 3M clay bar in the toolbox as it was on a great offer a year or so ago).

I get told I'm crazy by my better half (and any of the neighbours that happen to walk past) for taking my wheels off to clean them... although most of said people would also be happy with a stiff broom and some "truck wash" to clean their motors (actually, one of our neighbours decided that because those lil sponge / brillo pads are so good at cleaning dishes, they must also be great for removing bird crap off the roof of your car too............... ).

I'm quite liking some of the Gyeon range.. so thinking about trying Gyeon Q2M MOHS+ but really need to be able to find the right time to do this as I don't have covered facilities to apply it in.



Cheers..

Ian