To say this car was much unloved by its previous owner is a helluva understatement! For such a new car (2-3 year old), the paintwork looked like something you'd even struggle to find on a 20 year old classic, whose owner had used nothing more than a chamois or tea towel (whichever came to hand) and dishwashing detergent, on a fortnightly basis. Suffice it to say, the paint looked utterly lifeless, and what had been done to the roof, beggars belief. So, one beleaguered Honda Civic was picked up by its current owner at a bargain basement price (for his wife), and handed over to "see what you can do with it". Anyway, enough of the preliminary narration, on with the picture show......click on images to view full size version. Scratch on the driver's door, extending to the rear passenger's, with a continuation just above the rear arch for 4 inches..... That's only a fraction of how poor the paint looked! Car washed, clayed, and dried.........and now you'll see the REAL mess that I had to contend with! In all my time of detailing, I don't think I've ever been witness to such a state as that which you're about to see - forgive the poorly focused shots, I should really use the preview more. Nonetheless, they still portray the sorry state of affairs the roof was in. Doesn't look too bad, sure it doesn't? Think again......! Starting to get there, after one hit (relating to the mid-back of the roof - the first image above). And now the "reveal" of the second image above (the heavily scored front passenger's side of the roof). A couple of deeper marks remain after 2 hits..... .........et voilà....! There's something about being in a position to be able to provide this sort of transformation for the owner - this has to take a certain pride of place as one of THE most satisfying details to have done. And so, the finished article, with which the owner was over the moon. Wonder how much the seller/dealer might have been able to charge for the same car, after a full correction (save for the too deep scratches on the doors and arch - but dramatically reduced)? Guess we'll never know! Now for the expected products and tools list used to obtain the results.......okay, here goes: Roof initially tickled with a few combinations of pad and polishes, but the one that unlocked it for me, was Scholl Concepts S17 (a medium polish) in conjunction with their Wool pad. You'd think this was suicide on supposedly such soft, and thin, paint (it wasn't that thin to be honest), but the combo worked really well, and to such a degree (with my very long working of the polishes technique) that it didn't need any refining. A couple of new products were also employed from Autobrite - glass cleaner, and QD on this occasion, both of which worked very well indeed. In fact, as much as I've said before in the past, that most detailing glass cleaners are no better than what you can buy in the supermarket, this one has surprised me. The QD has a nice smell to it, and leaves a nice finish - nothing false or plasticky like some do, just a very honest, no nonsense look. Wheels were treated to Very Cherry Wheel Cleaner, and whilst doing an admirable job in the main, it took a local supplier's Stone Brite to deal the killer blow to some very heavy contamination at the spokes/rim radiused interface. Tyres got Mark V California Tyre Dressing applied - leaving a nice, almost natural, satin sheen. Interior was vacuumed, and given the once over with 303 Aerospace Protectant, and similarly the engine bay plastic/rubber. And last, but by no means least, the LSP was............a new sealant which is being trialled for suitablity and durability - and it's NOT a Bilt Hamber one. More talk about it in due course. Hope you liked the write up and images - voice your opinions as you see fit, below.
