Pop
Premium Member
Registered: 8th May 03
Location: Lancaster
User status: Online
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posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:10     |
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Hey...
Saw this thread on Detailing World earlier and have copied it into this thread because I reckon a few people will be interested.
FRIDAY
PICK UP FROM DEALERSHIP
Well after nearly six months of waiting my vxr astra finally arrived at Greens of Holborough my local Vauxhalldealership....
I knew from the start what i wanted from this car and had prearranged
with the dealer principal to help me out while the car was in their
care so they agreed to put the car on ramps for a week to enable me to
have the wheels sent off .....
The car was then placed on vectra vxr 19" alloys...
SATURDAY
INTERIOR...
Next was a trip to Leicester to classic car services a professional
leather re-trimmers and upholsters with whom i had discussed what i
wanted from the interior of the vxr and had sent me samples as well as
different ideas of what would suit the style and colour of the car....
I chose classic car services from a list of 7 due to the fact that they
were a well established company who have produced interiors for show
cars aswell as magazine shoots and they came highly recommended....
They agreed to let me replace my vxr recaros with like for like seats
for a week which meant i could return in 1 week to pick my new seats
up!!
The spec i had decided on with Steve was for a top quality Scottish
Weir which had been dyed and matched the metallic Arden Blue paintwork
I also requested vxr embroiderry on the headrests...
2 hours later and i returned from Leicester ready to start the detail...
The car was nice and dirty ready for my detail..
FOAMBATH...
I decided to give the car a foam bath first using autobrites foam lance
and supersnow foam....I also sprayed the arches with megs apc diluted
4:1
Before karchering the car i was surprised at how the foam was running
down the sides of the car dirty so it was obviously eating in to the
dirt nicely...
WASH
Next using zymol autowash and a natural sea sponge i used the 2 bucket
method to wash the car before spraying off and pouring 100 litres of
zero ppm r.o water over it...
DRYING...
I then put the car into the garage and using sonus ultimate drying
towels and aquatouch towels proceeded to dry the car whilst using Megs
last touch to aid with the drying...
I paid particular attention to door and boot shuts...
CLAYING...
Now the car was dry i decided to clay the car. The clay i used was
zymols lehm clayjust simply because i have had good results with this
before and it was a toss up between this and sonus green....
I made a mixture of claylube from zymol autowash and zero ppm r.o water...
Once i started to clay the car i noticed what i can only describe as a
fine pitting and rough surface which felt like overspray but could not
visibly see anything...
After a panel the clay was not actually to dirty so i proceeded to clay
the whole car regularly turning the claybar and this was the worst it
got
The paintwork felt silky smooth now and i was happy that i had no
marring on the paintwork probably due to being over cautious with the
clay lube on a new car!!!!
I then washed the car again , dryed and placed in the garage overnight ready for sunday and paintwork correction....
I asked Paul Dalton to give me some advice on this issue being a new
car and how he felt about helping me to get the result that i was
looking for and to give the car the best start with regards to its
bodywork...We eventually went out for the night and thrashed out a deal
we were both happy with over the space of 4 days to get the look i
wanted!
SUNDAY
INSPECTION...
Paul arrived on the dot at 9am and saw the car for the first time.
Before he did anything he looked the car over and pointed out that to
get the perfect result he would need to do some tests and paint gauge
readings to accertain what he needed to do paintwork correction wise to
rid the paintwork of the hills and valleys and to get a nice level
surface for maximum reflection...
First he checked the car for blemishes with a 3m pps colour checklight ..
Straight away he found some scratches that must have come from factory
(pray i didnt do them). I had instructed my dealership Greens of
Holborough not to touch the car upon delivery off the transporter even
to the point of leaving all window stickers on!!!! They did this
perfectly for me.
PAINT DEPTH READINGS...
Paul then explained to me that to get an accurate assesment of the
Vauxhall paintwork he would need to take 25 individual readings from
each panel to build up a 3d picture in his head of how he would tackle
this....He also told me the data would be loaded into a laptop after
all readings were taken..
He then proceeded to take all relavent readings and downloaded them
Next Paul explained to me that everypanel had a batch number which were as follows:
Batch 1.1 = roof
Batch 1.2 = bonnet
Batch 1.3 = nearside front wing
Batch 1.4 = nearside front door
Batch 1.5 = nearside rear quarter panel
Batch 1.6 = offside front wing
Batch 1.7 = offside front door
Batch 1.8 = offside rear quarter panel
Batch 1.9 = boot
This is a graph representing the roof panel of the vxr...
This showed that the roof panel was 155 microns at the thickest point compared to 120 at the lowest.....
I asked Paul why this was so important and he explained that for
maximum reflection you needed to take away the peaks in the clearcoat
to a maximum point of the lowest trough microscopically which should
flatten the clearcoat to a reading of + or - 2 microns across the board
and take no more than 8 microns from the clearcoat for fear of
clearcoat failure in the future....
I had had the same discussion recently with a guy from BASF whom i deal
with at work and he explained to me exactly the same that clearcoats
are desighed to protect the paintwork provided that they maintain an
average layer of no more than 8 to 10 microns being removed...He
explained that with regards to paintwork you could happily do this 3 to
4 times to take to the 8 micron barrier!
Now that the readings were taken Paul was surprised at how good he felt
the Vauxhall paint was in comparison to some other marques. He agreed
with me though that the clearcoat finish had a very fine pin pricked
effect of which he said he would remove and inspected it and showed me
it under a magnified illuminated linen tester...
PAINTWORK CORRECTION
Paul then set about paintwork correction on the car and using his
rotary started to work on the panels then taking paintwork readings..
He then changed to smaller pads for more intricate areas...
He explained how he was looking for changes in the polishes he was
using and from time to time mixed up some additives and polishes before
applying to new pads and starting again..
With Paul now finishing the paintwork correction he was taking readings again and restarting again until he was happy...
He then pointed out to me that he had noticed a slight imperfection to
do with glass distortion which he proceeded to show me on the
headlights....I have to be honest i thought they were fine but he said
he would do glass correction on them and make them perfect and he
proceeded to skim what he said was approxumatly 1 micron off with a
diamond polish until they were crystal clear....I was quite surprised
at the result...
He then machine polished them to get a perfect shine and clarity in the glass...
The result was superb
BEFORE
AFTER
MICROSCOPIC MACHINE POLISHING
Now with the paintwork correction finished Paul set to work m/c
polishing the paintwork in preparation for the hd cleanse stage and
waxing....
Paul used many products at this stage including 3m and Menzerna and
used some additives and oils of his own which he refused to talk
about...he just smiled!!
He explained to me how he worked in chequer boards and looked for
changes in oil and composition of polish before deciding when to stop
at maximum point of breakdown...
DECISIONS
The next stage was really to decide what we both felt would be best for
the paintwork and to choose which wax to use out of Pauls massive
collection...
Owning Zymol titanium , Concours and Destiny i felt it only right to
keep it in the family as i love their products so much we decided on
Zymol Royale.....It seemed rude not to...
We decided to apply Royale over 4 days to get multiple layers on and decided on 4 layers.....
HD-CLEANSE
I then set about hd cleansing the paintwork...
I told Paul that i wanted to go over the paintwork twice which he agreed with...and then i proceeded to wipe it off...
ZYMOL ROYALE
This was my favourite stage throughout the day....
I was quite surprised at how lumpy the royale seemed compared to my
Destiny and other zymol waxes and it was definetly not as easy to apply
which now makes me understand posts when people state that the high end
glazes are not easy to work with....
We both applied the wax one side each ...
After the wax had taken on the bodywork after about 5 minutes we proceeded to gently buff off.....
THE RESULTS
Well let me say that before and after shots are taken at different
times of day and lighting etc changed so can only try and get best
balance possible setting lighting to tungsten to get fairest
result.......
BONNET BEFORE
BONNET AFTER
REFLECTION SHOTS
That was sunday finished...
MONDAY
WHEELS
Today was all about the wheels ...
When i ordered the car i knew i wanted a look away from the standard
silver but didnt want to go to bling s looked into pure chrome but was
advised against it due to poor rim protection and £500 per wheel
cost....
So spoke to a few wheel guys and decided on an american chromium finish
with diamond tipped faces witha double clear laquer to protect the bare
ally in the event of stone chippage...
Clayed the wheels first..
Then hd cleansed...
Then the wheels were royaled fronts and titaniumed backs....
OLD WHEEL
NEW WHEEL
The car was washed and dryed and Royaled again Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday including wheels....
SATURDAY
Back to Leicester to ccs to see new interior...
Walking in i spotted my seats which i thought looked dynamite and exactly what i wanted....
Steve had been totally professional emailing me every day including shots of the stitching and retrimming as he was doing it!!!
And my fronts finished...
And my embroiderry...
So my cars complete and im over the moon with it ....
FINAL SHOTS...
DEPTH IN BOOT LIKE DEATHSTAR LANDING BAY!!
GREAT ARCHITECTURE OR GRAND DESIGN?
MODERN ART OR TECHNOLOGICAL MASTERPIECE?
EYES IN THE NIGHT!
NO RUSH!
[Edited on 24-03-2007 by Ian]
msn - english_tim@hotmail.com
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fir3vip3r
Member
Registered: 14th Jun 06
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:18 |
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amazing post.. soooo clean
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ChazSXi
Member
Registered: 26th Jan 03
Location: Waterlooville, Hampshire
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:19 |
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stunning!!
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Dave A
Premium Member
Registered: 10th Dec 03
Location: Durham
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:20 |
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"Paul then explained to me that to get an
accurate assesment of the Vauxhall paintwork he would need to take 25
individual readings from each panel to build up a 3d picture in his
head"
"I made a mixture of claylube from zymol autowash and zero ppm r.o water"
"He then pointed out to me that he had noticed a slight imperfection to
do with glass distortion which he proceeded to show me on the
headlights....I have to be honest i thought they were fine but he said
he would do glass correction on them and make them perfect and he
proceeded to skim what he said was approxumatly 1 micron off with a
diamond polish until they were crystal clear"
"I had instructed my dealership Greens of Holborough not to touch the
car upon delivery off the transporter even to the point of leaving all
window stickers on"
clearly a complete tit with too much time on his hands.
its an astra FFS!
Vsport www.vsportonline.co.uk
Custom Exhausts - Rolling Road - Performance Parts - Spax and Gaz
Suspension - Custom Made Springs - Hispec Brakes - Engine Builds -
Engine Conversions - 0191 5365900 Unit 18 Bensham Street, Boldon, NE35
9LN
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Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:21 |
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think he is of gay and likes a bit of bum action IMPO!
car would just get dirty again after a week 
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Dave A
Premium Member
Registered: 10th Dec 03
Location: Durham
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:21 |
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why not stick it in a cardboard box filled with cotton wool and push it round the streets wearing silk gloves as well?
Vsport www.vsportonline.co.uk
Custom Exhausts - Rolling Road - Performance Parts - Spax and Gaz
Suspension - Custom Made Springs - Hispec Brakes - Engine Builds -
Engine Conversions - 0191 5365900 Unit 18 Bensham Street, Boldon, NE35
9LN
|
fir3vip3r
Member
Registered: 14th Jun 06
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:22 |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave A
"Paul then explained to me that to get an accurate assesment of the
Vauxhall paintwork he would need to take 25 individual readings from
each panel to build up a 3d picture in his head"
"I made a mixture of claylube from zymol autowash and zero ppm r.o water"
"He then pointed out to me that he had noticed a slight imperfection to
do with glass distortion which he proceeded to show me on the
headlights....I have to be honest i thought they were fine but he said
he would do glass correction on them and make them perfect and he
proceeded to skim what he said was approxumatly 1 micron off with a
diamond polish until they were crystal clear"
"I had instructed my dealership Greens of Holborough not to touch the
car upon delivery off the transporter even to the point of leaving all
window stickers on"
clearly a complete tit with too much time on his hands.
its an astra FFS!
is there anything you DONT moan about 
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Nath
Premium Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ibiza Cupra 1.8T 20v
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:24 |
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 Holy shit, attention to detail or what?!!
XBL Gamertag: Nath83
Kevin Blackwells Barmy Army
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P1CK4D
Premium Member
Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Around Essex Somewhere
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:26 |
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I'd be pissed if i got a stone chip!
Project GSi in progress... 
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wilson_sri
Premium Member
Registered: 31st Aug 04
Location: Dunfermline, Fife Drives: Nova GSI
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:27 |
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Brilliant read. Really impressive stuff.
ASTRA GSI SOLD 
NOVA GSI BOUGHT 
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Fonz
Premium Member
Registered: 12th May 06
Location: Coventry, West Midlands
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:30 |
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WOW
I Love my Sara Blue
K&N with Irmy Exhaust....sweet sound!
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Ian
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:30 |
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I couldn't do that, I would crash first time I drove it.
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loo_goblin
Premium Member
Registered: 14th Jul 04
Location: Horshamshire, Sussexshire, or Norfolkshire
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:33 |
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not being funny, but what a goon, probably spent about a quater of what he paid for the vxr to get it to what it is now.
i rekon he insists on using zymol as lube when he has sex
God gave me a penis and a brain, but only enough blood to operate one at a time.
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Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:35 |
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quote:
Originally posted by loo_goblin
not being funny, but what a goon, probably spent about a quater of what he paid for the vxr to get it to what it is now.
i rekon he insists on using zymol as lube when he has sex
i think he works for zymol lol. but he probably does, he looks of gay
anyway. i very much doubt anyone who spends that much time cleaning
there car would have a ''other half''
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jammo20
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Nov 03
Location: medway. drives a jabba golf mk4 turbo
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:36 |
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waste of time and money tbh lol
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John
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:37 |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave A
clearly a complete tit with too much time on his hands.
its an astra FFS!
Thats exactly what I thought tbh.
Cost and time of doing that is far above what a 20k car needs.
A sunday afternoon with a bucket and sponge and some meguiars would have done the job.
its a good start mate. just drop it 60-80 mm and stick a phat oval pipe on it
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Tom
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: Liverpoooool
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:37 |
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What a complete waste of time 
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S.A Corsa
Member
Registered: 10th Jul 06
Location: N.M.E
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:38 |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave A
why not stick it in a cardboard box filled with cotton wool and push it round the streets wearing silk gloves as well?
Dont be so daft the light might damage it 
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cash_2_my_corsa
Premium Member
Registered: 26th Nov 05
Location: in a town near u!
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:38 |
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oh my god i fort i was bad wen i polished my nova 6 times over 1 wk end.
now my corsa just gets done when i have time.
shane2corsa says i cant be an uncle as i dont have a sister ???? doh
shane2corsa turns to me and says.....i fancy ago on a mincer ???? ok gay boy.
damm car eats my money ggggrrrr
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Corsa_1800_SRi
Member
Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: West Yorkshire Drives: Corsa 1.8 SRi 145bhp
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:40 |
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Wana clean mine lol
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deano87
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:41 |
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And I bet it rained the next day.
12v powaaahhhhhh! <-- click for Project.
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cash_2_my_corsa
Premium Member
Registered: 26th Nov 05
Location: in a town near u!
User status: Offline
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:42 |
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wait till a bird shits on it lol
shane2corsa says i cant be an uncle as i dont have a sister ???? doh
shane2corsa turns to me and says.....i fancy ago on a mincer ???? ok gay boy.
damm car eats my money ggggrrrr
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sam-smith
Member
Registered: 8th Jan 07
Location: plymouth, UK
User status: Online
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:43 |
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quote:
Originally posted by cash_2_my_corsa
wait till a bird shits on it lol
that bloke gets in his van and drives to it straight away. no joke
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Rob H
Member
Registered: 28th Oct 00
Location: Staffordshire Drives: Corsa C Sri
User status: Online
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:44 |
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He bought a brand new Astra VXR, then left it
in the dealers garage for a week (I can't work out why though?). Then
to make it worse he then spent the first 4 days of ownership cleaning
it instead of driving it  .
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ed
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| posted on 19th Mar 07 at 17:45 |
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Interesting stuff 
boobies
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