Well after months and months of waiting my Dads new car finally arrived John and I went to inspect the car as soon as it arrived at the compound just outside of Aberdeen, you wait ages to see one and then two turn up at once Can't say I was overly impressed at the level of "care" taken with either of the cars at this point, how hard is it to get in and out of a car without kicking the sills to bits? The 500 behind my dad’s had similar greasy/oily marks to the one above including a massive hand print right in the middle of the bonnet. It looks like the bonnet will be getting re-wrapped as nothing was shifting it last time we spoke with the owner! Few more pics to give you an idea of the condition of the car at this point: And a quick note of the mileage in case anyone decided to take it further than the distance from the compound to the PDI centre: Despite being filthy, both John and I were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the wrap. We've read so many horror stories about all the other 500's which maybe lead us to expect a lot worse but bar 2 tiny little imperfections the wrap was pretty damn good - definitely one of the lucky cars to pass through I think - I was just hoping this would still be the case once it was properly clean! With everyone in sight instructed not to touch the car we'll fast forward a couple of days to where the car was left with us ready to be detailed just in time for our open day which was planned for the Saturday: The "do not touch" instructions obviously fell on deaf ears as there were loads of new hand prints and finger marks all over the car Anyways, hoping that all these new marks wouldn't prove too difficult to remove the car was put outside and the detail began. As I was busy working away on the 993 turbo during this week Alan did the majority of the work on the RS (nothing like pressure eh, my Dads car and a matt finish to work on! ) all be it with me watching him like a hawk :lol: Up first were the wheels, these were given a thorough pre rinse to get rid of the majority of the grime: Then sprayed with Gloss-It Wheel Gel (4:1)... ...agitated with the various brushes... ...then rinsed off: Arches and tyres were cleaned with APC: ...then thoroughly rinsed... The engine bay was cleaned with APC also: All the shuts and exterior trim were then cleaned but this time using a hot water and Swisswax Opaque Shampoo Mix as you don't really want to be using APC's or regular shampoos and snow foams on the exterior if you can help it: Once they were done it was time to give the car a thorough rinse at a temperature of 50/60 degrees: The car was then washed twice with a Lambs wool mitt, 2BM and Swisswax Opaque Shampoo. The vinyl seemed to hold onto a lot of the dirt first time round even after a good pre rinse so a second wash was necessary. A few minor tar spots were taken care of with Autosmart Tardis before being rinsed off and put inside for a bit of claying on the painted parts: The car was then dried off with the Black Baron drier, very handy for a car like this: It was at this point I could get a really good look at the quality and condition of the wrap and luckily there was nothing too major to report - still a slight hint of a few oily marks but this was to be removed with the next stage which was the Swisswax Pre-Cleaner Opaque: This was sprayed directly onto the vinyl and thoroughly worked with a Swisswax microfibre: This made quite a noticeable difference already and fully removed any minor marks. The Vinyl now ready to be protected (I think it should have been protected as soon as the car was wrapped in all honesty, this would have prevented a lot of problems for other 500 owners IMO) with Swisswax Opaque: This was applied to a couple of panels at a time and then buffed off: You can see the noticeable yet subtle difference this made to the appearance of the vinyl - giving a slightly more uniform look once given a final buff: The car was given 2 coats of wax over the space of 12 hours or so The wheels were first prepped with Swisswax Cleaner Fluid: Then Swisswax Autobahn before being buffed off after 10/15 minutes: Tyres dressed with Gloss-It Signature Tyre Gloss as I think really glossy tyres set the matt paintwork off more I decided the silver wheel nuts didn't go with the rest of the car so I convinced Dad to let me paint them: Much better :thumb: The engine had earlier been dried with the Black Baron: Then dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant: Once the 303 had been left for an hour or two it was given a final wipe down to remove any excess product: The gloss black parts were done with Cleaner Fluid then waxed with Best of Show:
Onto the interior now, the glass was cleaned with 3M Glass Cleaner: Checking for smears with the Sun Gun: Then a thorough hoover: Then APC wipe down of all plastics: Exterior glass was treated to Nanolex Premium, first up was the cleaner: This was given a mist of water to help with removal: Then the sealant was applied and buffed off: And that was it pretty much ready to be put on display for our open day However, Dad wasn't allowed to take it home yet as we weren't quite finished with it. Whilst the wrap was nice I decided it would be better to remove it completely!..................... Only joking I'd intended on getting the gloss parts machine polished as they had the usual buffer trails and scratches but we ran out of time during the week leading up to the open day so I got them done the following Saturday. A few pics to show what I mean, every RS has this when new: Before I could correct them the car had to be given a quick rinse off outside first as it had been rained on a couple of times during the open day and gathered a fine layer of dust etc. A 50 degree rinse with the pressure washer revealed some pretty good beading :thumb: The car was then dried off the Black Baron once again, now the vinyl and paint was properly protected this took no time at all My Dad and Brother had arrived by this point so while I did the correction on the painted parts (no after pics so you'll just have to trust me they were done!) Dad removed the wheels to protect the inner rims/callipers etc while my Brother messed about with his camera: However he didn't get off that easily so once he'd finished pretending he was Tim Wallace I got him to apply another coat of Autobahn to the faces of the wheels while I gave the car its 3rd and final coat of wax and wiped down the engine bay again to remove a few water spots: Then onto some afters, some taken by my Brother and some by me with Rich's Camera :thumb: And finally a couple of arty ones from my Brother: Thanks for viewing :thumb: Clark
My god, that is absolutely amazing! Awesome work, and one sick little car. Too bad we'll never get these stateside. :shakehead:
I gotta tell ya, Im not a fan of small cars, but that thing looks SICK. What a car. Hows the performance on that thing. Great prep job. Its nice you guys all share the same passion for detailing.
Absolutely stunning work and prep on that beast. I will probably own hatch's my whole life cuz it's and addiction and this is one fix I don't think I will ever get because we'll never see it over here.
wow! looks amazing. I've been hot for these cars since they were announced. Your father is lucky to own one, it is certainly a very special car and it looks like it is in very good hands! Too bad I live in the US, otherwise I'd give my left kidney...
Car looks stunning Clark! Nice to see the subtle difference added by the SV Opaque. Any special process or procedure to follow when it comes to washing and maintenance on the matt waxes?
great job, how did you like the SV opaque? just to double check, that's a vinyl wrap and not like the frozen gray paint on the bmw? thanks and great job!
Interesting color scheme you got there. It definitely sets you apart from every other car on the road. Just curious, where did you guys find a STi WR1 version?
Ive always wondered about proper care for vinyl wrapped cars. now i know. There were rumours that Ford Australia were going to bring a limited batch of RS's to Australia. Hadnt seen the 500 till now though. Quite a bold move to matt black wrap straight from the factory.
Not really mate, just take care with washing as always to avoid inflicting any light scratches and avoid using snow foams etc Yes, it is a wrap - not painted. Really like the Opaque range, nice and easy to use and gives great results :thumb:
