Auto Finesse

Jaguar XF-RS

Multi Stage Correction

When the enquiry came through for a Single Stage machine polish on a 911 the last thing I expected to arrive was a French Racing Blue Jaguar XF-RS. In the short time between arranging the initial inspection and bringing the car to see me the client had sold the Porsche and replaced it for this rather shouty V8 Powerhouse.

During it's initial inspection it was quickly evident the bodywork and exterior in general had been through a lot and it was going to take some serious work to get it up to scratch. A solid pastel blue French Racing Blue is an individual colour rarely found on many other Jaguars. 14 weeks later the car arrived onsite and I was relishing at the opportunity to transform such an iconic car for Jaguar.

The RS received the usual treatment outside a thorough decontamination and deep clean prior to the commencement of any machine work. These stages always reveal the true story behind every car and the true level of the task ahead. Booked for a multi stage correction detail I knew I had my work cut out but I wasn't prepared for some of the discoveries I made with the bodywork and wheels. Once inside the car was raised up and the wheels removed. Once I had the wheels off I was able to see the the terrible state they were in, neither me or the client were expecting me to find the nasty smart repairs on the wheels or the heaps of overspray in the barrels so after short discussions with my Wheel guy and the client all four wheels were sent off for full refurbishment while the car was with me. The discoveries didn't end there, the nearside had seen its fair share of repairs, the worst being the rear quarter which left a lot to be desired for.   After completing the full initial assessment, depth readings and inspection delicate surfaces were taped and the initial cutting stage of machine polishing commenced.

In total I spent nearly three days cutting, being a solid paint French Racing blue was a super super soft paint to work with so patience was key. Go in too heavy and the paint micro marred, go in too light and I'd have been there all year. It was about finding a happy medium but the result of that is extended cutting stages as you can't go in with anything too agressive. The upside to this is that very little refining is required as I took my time with cutting very few defects were inflicted by the initial stage. The cutting stages were followed by a refining and finishing stage in order to ensure the striking blue was finished to the highest possible level adding a deep rich gloss and a very sharp crisp finish. In total I spent five long days cutting and refining the paintwork in order to reach a finish I deemed more than acceptable. Door shuts, boot shuts and the engine bay all received some level of polishing to ensure the highest possible finish throughout the vehicle. With final wipe down complete the first stage of coatings got underway with the base layer of GTechniq CS Light applied and left to cure overnight before returning in the morning to apply the top layer of Gtechniq EXO v3. At this point the wheels returned and the coating of the glass and wheels were complete and the end was finally in sight. I tend to spend in the region of a day completing all the final touches once all the coatings are applied. This allows me to work around the vehicle meticulously dressing the engine bay, polishing exhausts, dressing arches and tyres and chasing the level of perfection I pursue.

On the final day the wheels were returned and coated. The wheels unfortunately had seen an extremely hard life. Upon removal the faces had seen multiple cheap smart repairs and at some point some full refurbishments where they had taken the life out of the wheel. Diamond cut wheels are a challenge when it comes to refurbishment if you don't know what your doing, they are extremely easy to mess up and these wheels are prime examples of wheels that have been poorly refurbished time after time. The result of this was that they were not perfect when they returned. The reason being is because so much had been taken from the face of the wheels during previous refurbishments that my wheel guy had very little alloy left to work with making it extremely difficult to get the perfect finish with clean lines between the contrasting diamond cut and black. The client was kept informed throughout and both myself and my wheel guy did all that we could to ensure he was satisfied with the end result but it goes to show you really don't know what your buying until it's in the hands of a professional.

This detail was a challenge from start to finish. I enjoyed every minute of it and in some areas it was a learning curve but I take positives from that and it only makes me a better detailer. The outcome was stunning and was the result of over 100 hours detailing. This doesn't come cheap but when your looking for the level of finish I achieved with the additional touches of wheels and coatings you would be a fool to pay an amateur.

Thats enough of my waffle and time to let the photos do the talking...

 

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Audi R8 V8

Protection Detail

R8's for me are a car that have quickly aged. They were extremely underrated when released but have slowly climbed the ladder as a cheaper entry into the high performance world especially when you can pick a good used one up for the same price as a new RS3!

This one was another that was due to be sold on and it had been sat around for some time so the owner wasn't looking to spend too much but wanted to show the full potential of the car off which is understandable. He opted for a standard protection detail which would involve deep cleaning of the exterior, interior and engine bay. 

As always I began with the wheels, Satin black to be honest they were hiding the dirt fairly well. Deep cleaned I had to give the dishes several hits to remove the baked on fallout but after some elbow grease all fallout was removed and it was onto the engine bay and arches. Using APC and degreasers, long reach brushes and various other items I spent around an hour deep cleaning the door shuts, wheel arches, engine bay and other areas that often get neglected. For me this is one of the most important parts of every detail. Time after time I see enthusiasts and even fellow detailers investing so much time on the overall appearance of the car, but when you look a little closer the eye for detail just simply isn't there. 

Onto the paintwork, Snow foam applied, dwelled and rinsed. Two bucket wash method to safely wash the paintwork before claying and drying the car. I opted for Auto Finesse Rejuvenate as a pre wax cleanser, This product has to be one of my favourite pre wax cleansers. I have a shelf full of PWC's in the van and this one is normally my weapon of choice. The reason being is its so easy to use and the results are second to none. Sure any pre wax cleanser only serves two purposes, to clean and conceal however they are certainly not products to be ignored. Once applied by hand I opted to protect with Auto Finesse Desire, another popular AF choice. Two coats of desire were applied, Tyres Dressed, Wheels sealed with mint rims and glass cleaned and I was nearing completion of the detail. 

I moved onto the interior also detailed using Auto finesse products, dressed the engine bay all just in time for the grey clouds to roll on in. All in all a very satisfying detail and a stunning car all ready to be advertised for sale. 

BMW F80 M3

Enhancement Detail

A BMW Man through and through I'm always happy to have one through the doors. This stunning F80 M3 was no exception. This colour is exceptional, to look at the paint looks like solid blue, however under lighting and when the sun comes out it has a stunning metallic tint to it which I couldn't wait to fully extract through the polishing stages. 

The owner had booked the car in mainly for the purposes of coatings. He knew about ceramic and glass coatings and was looking for the best possible protection from the british elements with good durability too. C-Quartz UK seemed like a great choice, always adding a silky gloss to solid colour cars I though it would suit this M3 perfectly. 

Upon arrival the car was showing signs of some neglect and good use, which dont get me wrong good use certainly isn't a bad thing. First things first was to go through all the decontamination stages prior to any paintwork work. So a nice thick layer of snow foam was applied, removing all surface dirt and contaminants. Whilst that dwelled I began working on the wheels. BMW wheels can be right nightmare if they haven't been looked after properly, Iron fallout builds up in the well that runs around the back of the wheel spokes and takes some time and dedication to remove. So after ensuring every last spec was removed from the wheels I jetted the car down and moved on. 

Time to get washing, two buckets of course with grit guards, and a good soft mitt is essential to the washing stages. A good thorough wash, she was rinsed off ready to apply TFR removers. Iron X removing the Iron Fall out and Tardis removing tar, both products make for easy decontamination in prep for clay. Now not everyones a fan of clay mitts but I must say on a newer car they are an utter time saver, this M3 hadn't seen too many months of use so out came the mitt and a good clay later she was rinsed down ready to be dried. 

Dried safely with a variety of towels and our handy little metro vac the car was taken inside and left to dry naturally to ensure that all the water ran out the cracks to make sure when we taped up the tape didn't peel back or bubble. Tape up, gloves on, machine out, STOP! Dont forget paint measurements. So step by step I walked around the car, taking measurements and recording them to ensure that every panel was machine safe, fortunately it was so lights on and I got down to business. I tried out a new single stage compound and polish to do this F80 M3 after a recommendation from a fellow detailer and I must say what a cracking product it is. The polishing went without a hitch on this lovely M3 and after around 20 Hours of polishing she was finally ready for IPA Wipe down and final inspection.

Ceramic Bolt on meant the customer had a few choices to make, he opted for Car Pro C Quartz UK for the paint, Gtechniq C5 for the Wheels and Carbon Collective Platinum for the glass. This stage must not be rushed, so several hours were spent applying various coats to the different parts of the car before leaving it to cure. Whilst curing I got on with the interior. By the time the coatings had cured, the interior was done and I had also done all the last few bits such as dressing the engine bay, polishing the exhausts and dressing the tyres. 

Two and Half days later she was finished, light swirling and a few minor defects removed by a single stage enhancement detail, followed by ceramic bolt ons to the paint glass and wheels. Lovely car, lovely finish and a pleasure to detail. 

Land Rover Discovery

New Car Protection Detail

Land Rovers are a different breed of cars nowadays, full leather interior, thousands of pounds of electronics and in general a league above many of its competitors. Over the years they have soared in value and are such a high value car now its worth investing in having your investment protected at the highest possible level, in the highest possible detail. Booked for a new car protection detail the owner was solely focussed on having every possible surface protected with the most durable and resistant coating. Carbon Collective Oracle an extremely hydrophobic coating offers maximum repellency against anything that comes into contact with the paintwork whilst increasing gloss levels. With a durability of up to three years dependant on maintenance Oracle was the perfect fit. Already showing signs of minor use between the time it was collected to the earliest time I could get to the car some decontamination was required prior to any coatings. Following complete decontamination and cleanse all surfaces where prepared with Carbon Collective Panel Prep before 2 coats of Oracle were applied to paintwork, rubbers, plastics and trim. Following that Carbon Collective Platinum Glass was applied to all exterior glass and Platinum Wheels applied with the alloys. Moving to the inside, G-Tehcniq L1 was applied to all leather surfaces and interior cleaned and dressed. The end result, an extremely glossy Discovery ready for all the elements can throw at it. 


Mercedes C63 AMG

Enhancement Detail

A personal favourite of mine it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to prepare this C63 for a wedding. The notoriously hard Mercedes paint had picked up its fare share of swirls during its life and my work was cut out to turn it around and return the gloss during the jeweling stages. First off was to prepare and decontaminate all surfaces. The exterior was washed, decontaminated and deep cleaned. The car was moved inside, readings taken and fully inspected. Via the Rupes BigFoot UHS system the paintwork was corrected to return the paint to better than factory condition and then enhanced to increase gloss levels. The paintwork was then sealed with Gtehcniq C2v3, Wheels with Auto Finesse Mint Rims. The interior was deep cleaned, leather wiped down and cleaned with DR Leather wipes then treated. The end results where incredible and the gloss levels achieved where beyond my expectations. Unfortunately I didn't get time to take photos of the decontamination stages however the rest of the photos speak for themselves.


Renault Sport Megane R26R

Enhancement Detail

This Renault Sport Megane had seen months of hard track use prior to arrival at Detail Driven. A pedigree track car, it has been used for what it was built for. The owner decided it was time to sell up and decided to let me turn back the clock and restore the life back into this tired looking car. Following a heavy decontamination process and deep cleanse, the car was taken inside for paint readings. Some signs of repair, it was a good job readings where taken as they varied throughout. The paintwork underwent a single stage correction via the Rupes Bigfoot system. The interior and engine bay were deep cleaned and enhanced prior to the exterior being sealed with G-Techniq C2v3. Wheels were sealed in Auto Finesse Mint Rims and engine bay, trims and tyres dressed. The outcome, a stunning R26R that deep down, I wish I could have bought myself.


Ferrari 458 Italia

Enhancement Detail

This Ferrari 458 Enhancement detail was a sales prep. The customer felt it was time to part with his pride and joy and wanted the paint in exceptional condition. Following full decontamination, Clay and meticulous removal of all the tar the car was taken inside for paint readings and inspection. Given the car it is the paintwork displayed minor swirling which was gently corrected out using lightly abrasive polishes and then refined. The paintwork was then sealed with Auto Finesse Illusion a show car wax to enhance the finish and appearance as much as possible. Wheels were sealed in Auto Finesse mint rims and the engine bay and exhausts fined and enhanced. A beautiful car looking absolutely stunning ready for its new life.