Megane R26
It's getting mightily chilly out there! It was only 2 degrees this morning!
Today's car was a rather lovely Red Ford Focus ST3, which has been treated to a bit of Mountune love. It was also the owners Birthday today, so I was keen to pull out all the stops to make sure the detail helped conclude a great day!
As a Birthday treat, I also upgraded the LSP on this detail to Crystal Rock :thumb:
On with the detail... Befores:
DSC02647 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02648 by RussZS, on Flickr
Nice! :lol:
DSC02649 by RussZS, on Flickr
Wheels first as always. I always rinse wheels and arches first to remove as much loose debris and dirt as possible, before making physical contact with the wheel itself.
Before:
DSC02651 by RussZS, on Flickr
After rinse:
DSC02652 by RussZS, on Flickr
The wheels were then liberally covered with AutoSmart Smart Wheels mixed 4:1:
DSC02654 by RussZS, on Flickr
I'd recently picked up the new Valet Pro brushes, so decided to test them against my 'go to' Swissvax offering, which despite its very high price tag, has split and begun to fall apart! However, it is the best at what it does, but I'm always looking to try new items released to see if anything can be improved upon!
DSC02657 by RussZS, on Flickr
As you can see, there are two sizes, both of which are smaller than the Swissvax brush.
DSC02655 by RussZS, on Flickr
I find the bristles on the larger VP brush to be relatively stiff, which made it a great choice on tyres and brake calipers. The smaller brushes bristles were softer and more flexible, making it ideal for intricate areas on some wheels, and around the wheel bolts where the Swissvax brush is sometimes a bit too 'big' to get into effectively.
I don't think these will replace my Swissvax brush, but they serve to compliment it very well, so I'll be using all three from now on, for more effective wheel cleaning!
The rear of the wheels were cleaned with the EZ Detail Brush (Wheel Woolies will be added alongside this later this week - I should have never sold them!)
DSC02656 by RussZS, on Flickr
All clean:
DSC02658 by RussZS, on Flickr
Rinsed:
DSC02659 by RussZS, on Flickr
Lastly the wheels were treated to new formula Iron-X! The smell hasn't improved, but it seems like the performance has got even better!!
DSC02660 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02662 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02663 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next up trusty Hyper Wash via Foam Lance. My Kranzle is about to die, so the Karcher X5.700 was used today.
DSC02664 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02665 by RussZS, on Flickr
I then worked around the car with a Swissvax Detail brush, and Surfex as and when required:
DSC02666 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02667 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02668 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02669 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02670 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02671 by RussZS, on Flickr
After a rinse, the car was hand washed using Auto Finesse Lather shampoo:
DSC02672 by RussZS, on Flickr
I also tried out the new Valet Pro Sponge:
DSC02673 by RussZS, on Flickr
I'm not sure if it's because I've been using a mitt for so long, but I struggled to use the sponge. I'll give it a try out again on a warmer day when I have a bit more time, but I love my CQuartz Mitt, so went back to that for today. The sponge is easily on a par with the Zymol one quality wise though.
DSC02674 by RussZS, on Flickr
After rinsing, the car was treated to IronX and Tardis:
DSC02677 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02678 by RussZS, on Flickr
I then moved it inside for claying. The car had evidently been clayed recently as next to nothing was coming off the paintwork - a credit to its owner!
Next I dried using a combination of Uber Drying Towel and Aeolus 901 blower, to remove trapped water from under wing mirrors, bump strips etc:
DSC02684 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02682 by RussZS, on Flickr
The paint was then assessed to look for any low or high areas to ascertain if any panels had been resprayed or seen polishing before.
The average was about 180:
DSC02685 by RussZS, on Flickr
Defect wise the car was mixed. The rear bumper had recently been sprayed and the bodyshop had hacked away at the rear quarters for some reason leaving a swirly mess. Otherwise the paint wasn't too bad aside from a few etchings from bird poop:
DSC02690 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02692 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02697 by RussZS, on Flickr
It had also clearly been polished (badly) before, with lumps of polish in door shuts, under badges and on plastics!
DSC02700 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02702 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02705 by RussZS, on Flickr
Correction wise I mainly used Megs 105 and 205 on various pads. Some panels were finished with Lime Prime as they were hologramming very easily (I used Eraser to check it wasn't filling!)
50/50:
DSC02713 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02716 by RussZS, on Flickr
Whilst I was correcting, I drafted in my 'wheel specialist' for some of her other skills - nothing rude, but exhaust polishing!!
So, out came the Mercury again (James I need some more soon!)
DSC02720 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02721 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02723 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02725 by RussZS, on Flickr
Taa-daa!
DSC02729 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02730 by RussZS, on Flickr
Meanwhile I was still busy correcting!
DSC02726 by RussZS, on Flickr
The resprayed rear bumper held a bit of a surprise!
Before:
DSC02733 by RussZS, on Flickr
Oh...
DSC02734 by RussZS, on Flickr
After:
DSC02736 by RussZS, on Flickr
It is covered in score lines from poor wet sanding, so it is going back in for another respray. Hopefully they won't "polish" the rear quarter this time!
The finishing products were patiently waiting for their turn!
DSC02737 by RussZS, on Flickr
As a Birthday treat to the owner, I upgraded the wax for him to a layer of the £800 Crystal Rock (normally a £40 extra). How nice am I?
DSC02739 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was also the first outing for Dodo's new trim dressing. It left a great finish but struggled slightly with the polish residue:
DSC02740 by RussZS, on Flickr
So I got the trusty Revive out:
DSC02742 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02743 by RussZS, on Flickr
Much better! (the remaining white residue was removed safely with a Megs Triple Duty Brush)
Today's car was a rather lovely Red Ford Focus ST3, which has been treated to a bit of Mountune love. It was also the owners Birthday today, so I was keen to pull out all the stops to make sure the detail helped conclude a great day!
As a Birthday treat, I also upgraded the LSP on this detail to Crystal Rock :thumb:
On with the detail... Befores:
DSC02647 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02648 by RussZS, on Flickr
Nice! :lol:
DSC02649 by RussZS, on Flickr
Wheels first as always. I always rinse wheels and arches first to remove as much loose debris and dirt as possible, before making physical contact with the wheel itself.
Before:
DSC02651 by RussZS, on Flickr
After rinse:
DSC02652 by RussZS, on Flickr
The wheels were then liberally covered with AutoSmart Smart Wheels mixed 4:1:
DSC02654 by RussZS, on Flickr
I'd recently picked up the new Valet Pro brushes, so decided to test them against my 'go to' Swissvax offering, which despite its very high price tag, has split and begun to fall apart! However, it is the best at what it does, but I'm always looking to try new items released to see if anything can be improved upon!
DSC02657 by RussZS, on Flickr
As you can see, there are two sizes, both of which are smaller than the Swissvax brush.
DSC02655 by RussZS, on Flickr
I find the bristles on the larger VP brush to be relatively stiff, which made it a great choice on tyres and brake calipers. The smaller brushes bristles were softer and more flexible, making it ideal for intricate areas on some wheels, and around the wheel bolts where the Swissvax brush is sometimes a bit too 'big' to get into effectively.
I don't think these will replace my Swissvax brush, but they serve to compliment it very well, so I'll be using all three from now on, for more effective wheel cleaning!
The rear of the wheels were cleaned with the EZ Detail Brush (Wheel Woolies will be added alongside this later this week - I should have never sold them!)
DSC02656 by RussZS, on Flickr
All clean:
DSC02658 by RussZS, on Flickr
Rinsed:
DSC02659 by RussZS, on Flickr
Lastly the wheels were treated to new formula Iron-X! The smell hasn't improved, but it seems like the performance has got even better!!
DSC02660 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02662 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02663 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next up trusty Hyper Wash via Foam Lance. My Kranzle is about to die, so the Karcher X5.700 was used today.
DSC02664 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02665 by RussZS, on Flickr
I then worked around the car with a Swissvax Detail brush, and Surfex as and when required:
DSC02666 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02667 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02668 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02669 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02670 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02671 by RussZS, on Flickr
After a rinse, the car was hand washed using Auto Finesse Lather shampoo:
DSC02672 by RussZS, on Flickr
I also tried out the new Valet Pro Sponge:
DSC02673 by RussZS, on Flickr
I'm not sure if it's because I've been using a mitt for so long, but I struggled to use the sponge. I'll give it a try out again on a warmer day when I have a bit more time, but I love my CQuartz Mitt, so went back to that for today. The sponge is easily on a par with the Zymol one quality wise though.
DSC02674 by RussZS, on Flickr
After rinsing, the car was treated to IronX and Tardis:
DSC02677 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02678 by RussZS, on Flickr
I then moved it inside for claying. The car had evidently been clayed recently as next to nothing was coming off the paintwork - a credit to its owner!
Next I dried using a combination of Uber Drying Towel and Aeolus 901 blower, to remove trapped water from under wing mirrors, bump strips etc:
DSC02684 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02682 by RussZS, on Flickr
The paint was then assessed to look for any low or high areas to ascertain if any panels had been resprayed or seen polishing before.
The average was about 180:
DSC02685 by RussZS, on Flickr
Defect wise the car was mixed. The rear bumper had recently been sprayed and the bodyshop had hacked away at the rear quarters for some reason leaving a swirly mess. Otherwise the paint wasn't too bad aside from a few etchings from bird poop:
DSC02690 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02692 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02697 by RussZS, on Flickr
It had also clearly been polished (badly) before, with lumps of polish in door shuts, under badges and on plastics!
DSC02700 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02702 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02705 by RussZS, on Flickr
Correction wise I mainly used Megs 105 and 205 on various pads. Some panels were finished with Lime Prime as they were hologramming very easily (I used Eraser to check it wasn't filling!)
50/50:
DSC02713 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02716 by RussZS, on Flickr
Whilst I was correcting, I drafted in my 'wheel specialist' for some of her other skills - nothing rude, but exhaust polishing!!
So, out came the Mercury again (James I need some more soon!)
DSC02720 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02721 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02723 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02725 by RussZS, on Flickr
Taa-daa!
DSC02729 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02730 by RussZS, on Flickr
Meanwhile I was still busy correcting!
DSC02726 by RussZS, on Flickr
The resprayed rear bumper held a bit of a surprise!
Before:
DSC02733 by RussZS, on Flickr
Oh...
DSC02734 by RussZS, on Flickr
After:
DSC02736 by RussZS, on Flickr
It is covered in score lines from poor wet sanding, so it is going back in for another respray. Hopefully they won't "polish" the rear quarter this time!
The finishing products were patiently waiting for their turn!
DSC02737 by RussZS, on Flickr
As a Birthday treat to the owner, I upgraded the wax for him to a layer of the £800 Crystal Rock (normally a £40 extra). How nice am I?
DSC02739 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was also the first outing for Dodo's new trim dressing. It left a great finish but struggled slightly with the polish residue:
DSC02740 by RussZS, on Flickr
So I got the trusty Revive out:
DSC02742 by RussZS, on Flickr
DSC02743 by RussZS, on Flickr
Much better! (the remaining white residue was removed safely with a Megs Triple Duty Brush)
I'm waiting for Auto Finesse's web guys to finish it for me... should be sweet when it's done!!
