Megane R26
Today saw me travel to a very cold Cradley Heath to restore a bit of life into the paint on this very rare, Fiesta Super Sport 1300.
The car itself is in superb condition, but has been re-painted quite recently and was covered in holograms and swirl marks. It's being exhibited at the Classic Car Show at the NEC this weekend, so I had (only) 8 hours to do what I could with her, in preparation for the show... no pressure then, given how unforgiving the NEC's lights are!! :doublesho
I arrived at 8am or so, and took a few pics of the car before I began...
DSC00792 by RussZS, on Flickr
What an engine bay...
Rubber looking a bit weathered:
DSC00793 by RussZS, on Flickr
Generally very clean:
DSC00794 by RussZS, on Flickr
Mint interior:
DSC00795 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00798 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was VERY cold, so not many pics of the wash process. I started with Smart Wheels on the tyres and wheels:
DSC00800 by RussZS, on Flickr
Washed with Optimum Car Shampoo:
DSC00801 by RussZS, on Flickr
Dried, then rolled inside:
DSC00802 by RussZS, on Flickr
There was no presence of tar or bonded contamination, as it hasn't been used much since the respray. IronX did very little too.
I then assessed the paint thickness - I knew it had seen paint, so was expecting readings to be high, but there was quite a range from:
DSC00843 by RussZS, on Flickr
to...
DSC00845 by RussZS, on Flickr
Now, time to see how swirly it is....
DSC00805 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00806 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00807 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00808 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00809 by RussZS, on Flickr
Wow...
I had a play with about 8 combinations before realising that I wouldn't be able to correct this to an acceptable level without a 2 stage polish. At this stage, I agreed with the customer, that I would concentrate my limited time on the bonnet and roof, then upper panels on the car, then would return in a few weeks to sort the lower panels. We took this decision given that it was going to the NEC.
I finally settled on Scholl for cutting and Megs for finishing:
DSC00815 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00817 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00825 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00828 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00830 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00832 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00835 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00837 by RussZS, on Flickr
A quick pic after polishing...
DSC00840 by RussZS, on Flickr
Random green tape shot
DSC00841 by RussZS, on Flickr
Some deeper scratches were left - these will be dealt with next time:
DSC00847 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00849 by RussZS, on Flickr
Spirit was applied and left for a few minutes before removing:
DSC00854 by RussZS, on Flickr
Revive used on rubber and some plastics:
DSC00857 by RussZS, on Flickr
Also:
- Optimum Metal Polish on the exhausts
- Mint Rims on wheels
- Crystal on glass
- CG NLTG on tyres
I'm a little disappointed with the 'afters' as the lighting was poor, it was dark outside and I had no tripod...
DSC00858 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00859 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00860 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00861 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00864 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00867 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00868 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00870 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00872 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00873 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00875 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00880 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00881 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00884 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00888 by RussZS, on Flickr
I was happy with the results, but would have loved to have spent 2-3 days on it to get it as near perfect as possible, but time constraints dictated otherwise. I spent a lot of time ensuring the bonnet and roof were in decent condition.
It was a superb car and a real pleasure to work on.
Thanks for reading.
DSC00891 by RussZS, on Flickr
Russ.
The car itself is in superb condition, but has been re-painted quite recently and was covered in holograms and swirl marks. It's being exhibited at the Classic Car Show at the NEC this weekend, so I had (only) 8 hours to do what I could with her, in preparation for the show... no pressure then, given how unforgiving the NEC's lights are!! :doublesho
I arrived at 8am or so, and took a few pics of the car before I began...
DSC00792 by RussZS, on Flickr
What an engine bay...
Rubber looking a bit weathered:
DSC00793 by RussZS, on Flickr
Generally very clean:
DSC00794 by RussZS, on Flickr
Mint interior:
DSC00795 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00798 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was VERY cold, so not many pics of the wash process. I started with Smart Wheels on the tyres and wheels:
DSC00800 by RussZS, on Flickr
Washed with Optimum Car Shampoo:
DSC00801 by RussZS, on Flickr
Dried, then rolled inside:
DSC00802 by RussZS, on Flickr
There was no presence of tar or bonded contamination, as it hasn't been used much since the respray. IronX did very little too.
I then assessed the paint thickness - I knew it had seen paint, so was expecting readings to be high, but there was quite a range from:
DSC00843 by RussZS, on Flickr
to...
DSC00845 by RussZS, on Flickr
Now, time to see how swirly it is....
DSC00805 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00806 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00807 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00808 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00809 by RussZS, on Flickr
Wow...
I had a play with about 8 combinations before realising that I wouldn't be able to correct this to an acceptable level without a 2 stage polish. At this stage, I agreed with the customer, that I would concentrate my limited time on the bonnet and roof, then upper panels on the car, then would return in a few weeks to sort the lower panels. We took this decision given that it was going to the NEC.
I finally settled on Scholl for cutting and Megs for finishing:
DSC00815 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00817 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00825 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00828 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00830 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00832 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00835 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00837 by RussZS, on Flickr
A quick pic after polishing...
DSC00840 by RussZS, on Flickr
Random green tape shot
DSC00841 by RussZS, on Flickr
Some deeper scratches were left - these will be dealt with next time:
DSC00847 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00849 by RussZS, on Flickr
Spirit was applied and left for a few minutes before removing:
DSC00854 by RussZS, on Flickr
Revive used on rubber and some plastics:
DSC00857 by RussZS, on Flickr
Also:
- Optimum Metal Polish on the exhausts
- Mint Rims on wheels
- Crystal on glass
- CG NLTG on tyres
I'm a little disappointed with the 'afters' as the lighting was poor, it was dark outside and I had no tripod...
DSC00858 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00859 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00860 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00861 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00864 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00867 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00868 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00870 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00872 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00873 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00875 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00880 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00881 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00884 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC00888 by RussZS, on Flickr
I was happy with the results, but would have loved to have spent 2-3 days on it to get it as near perfect as possible, but time constraints dictated otherwise. I spent a lot of time ensuring the bonnet and roof were in decent condition.
It was a superb car and a real pleasure to work on.
Thanks for reading.
DSC00891 by RussZS, on Flickr
Russ.
