It's here! I've picked it up and did a ceramic-coat detail thing!
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I very much liked the idea of a pre-delivery detail and the results you guys have seen from ceramic coatings. But it’s a cost that I couldn’t quite justify. I’m no bufty. I’m not even sure I enjoy cleaning cars. But… I don’t like having a dirty one. That said I have amassed a few products that worked for me and having been given a G3 Ceramic coat kit, it seemed rude not to have a go.
As a total surprise checking on Vista, my C order RS was scheduled for production at the beginning of December. I wasn’t expecting it until March
The wait had never really bothered me, like many of us; being so far away it wasn’t real (and thus I didn’t have to worry about it)… When I saw the car built and delivered (1st December and 17th!) everything became very real all of a sudden. Thankfully, things worked out.
I really had to go and check the car out at the compound, thankfully it looked pretty straight and most certainly gave me the fizz!
Oh, please excuse the photos… They’re pretty much straight out of the camera as I literally cannot be bothered to edit them all. Sorry about that.I couldn’t resist firing it up and giving her a little rev! (Well, Mrs. G did)
I did count up 5 RS’ that apparently arrived together…
I was very keen to have the car registered in 2017, partly because we were away for Christmas, partly as we were so close to 2017 anyway and partly as I figured it would be a hell of a way to start the new year.ANYWAY… Onto the cleaning thing
I’m not saying its the right way, but this is what worked for me!
As she rolled out of the compound…. Note the wonky numberplate anti-rattle foam thing.
Into the washbay and a spray down… They did have a full size cleaner, but it doesn’t fit the various attachments so I decided to stick to my faithful Karcher, which also doesn’t have the pressure to flatten the cooling fins on the rad through the grille/letterboxAnd a nice coating of ValetPro Snowfoam. Not bad!
Mmm… Sudsy
After a thorough rinse, it was time for shampoo no.1 – Meguiars Gold Class this time, Microfiber wash mitt and two bucket method…
I was quite impressed at how good the paint was… Hearing some horror stories, I was expecting a few problems, but aside from being standard orange-peely it seems pretty much bob-on in my case. Good.
That said, when I cleaned my Dad’s Focus ST, it was covered in iron deposits, so I decided to give it a once over with Autosmart Red-7. I’m a fan of this particularly on wheels….
Sure enough, a few small spots did show up… albeit not big ones!
Then it was time for another wash down, and then the turn of some tar remover. This time, Autoglym from the collection. I don’t have a vast amount of their stuff, but the tar remover seems to do a half decent job. A surprising amount of dirt came off, largely wax deposits from the doors over the sills and side skirts.
Then another wash down and it was time for a good claying. I’ve long used Meguiars Gold class quick detailer as a clay bar lube. Somehow it just works for me….
Then after another good soaping down with another Mitt, buckets and more Megs I drove her into the sun to help drying and warm the body up a tad. It was then I really realised how nice the paint is, the gold flakes really cause it to pop.
Poppin’
All dry and after a stop for lunch I wheeled her indoors and switched on the tell-tale halogen lights to look for swirls and marring. As a pleasant suprise, the paintwork seemed unmarked despite both Ford and my own best efforts. So, I left my MOP in the boot and decided to hand polish instead which was… Nice. Lime prime for this, Dodo Juice stuff is spot on and smells great, it also doesn’t have any filler which is nice. Tastes awful though.
I was pretty happy by this point and a few people had stopped to have a chat and point at the old girl. This was good, because I was also getting rather bored and it helped psych myself up for the next stage
In order to apply the G3, you must first de-wax and then de-de-wax everything. Thankfully, you can get this on everything as it mostly evapourates.
Then on with the glass coat. This wasn’t as complex as I thought. So long as:
1) Everything is clean, dry and dewaxed2) You’ve checked that the bottle has crystalised into scratcy-scratchy bits of glass
3) You apply everything in straight lines (same as washing and polishing I’m sure)
4) You wipe it off with a damp Microfibre after 10 mins.
It was difficult to get a picture of the overall effect, but the paintwork looks very glossy. Much as if it’s had a fresh coat of laquer…
Still no swirls. Phew
With the wheels and side windows also treated, I decided to dress the tyres – Meguiars Tyre Gel here and took a few snaps of my hard work (having removed more stickers whilst I waited for the G3 to “go off”
This was a massive relief. The interior didn’t put up too much of a fight, so a good hoover, windows cleaned thoroughly – (pressumably someone had been rolling round in a tub of grease before fitting the glass) and a treatment of a fabric protector that, for legal reasons isn’t called Scotchguard. (TM)
Yes, I’m quite happy with my seat choice Thanks… My ST seat cover fits. – Rear bench is a bit disappointing mind.
Finally it was time to add a few flourishes and velcro my plates on…
Ubiquitous inlays… so normal now, that it looks weird to see an RS naked (Much like smoked rears on an S2 RS) – Purchased via the discount scheme on here (Thanks Kenny!)
And complete, bar the fried egg to chrome indicator swap.
And a changing of the guard from my beloved ST MP215!
Undoubtedly I’ll still go for a coat of Dodo Juice supernatural once the coat has properly hardened. (Old-fashioned!)
