Saving the world, one recycled blog post at a time

Scrolling through our "blog post" folder on the desktop, I've noticed a blog which was written a while back, but for some reason, probably the move to our new unit, never made it onto Blogger™. An Aston Martin DBS. Had lots of fun with this car so it seems a shame not to post it just because it was a while ago...

One from a bit further away for us. We collected this Aston Martin DBS from our client north of London, revelling in the Bond theme CD all the way up the M4 back to our workshop. We'd had this car in a few months previously to recolour and reproof its soft top, with the owner being so happy with the result he soon booked in for a full correction and nano ceramic treatment to address the exterior paintwork.

Whilst silver cars do show up scratching less than darker coloured cars, it was immediately apparent, under our workshop lights, that the car would benefit from a correction polish. In addition, the car had be resprayed around a year previously, and the body shop had definitely left its mark on the car – over spray on rubber seals, orange peel unrefined in areas and sanding marks on chrome trim - which should have been removed prior to work commencing!

A paint lacquer chip on a wing meant the car had to first go to our friends up at Spraytech, north of Cirencester, where Alan did a superb job of spot repairing and re lacquering the arch for a near perfect finish, at a fraction of the cost of a full wing respray - which may not have matched up perfectly to the surrounding paintwork anyway.

Once back with us, we carefully removed all chrome trim strips and managed to rectify around 90% of the dual sanding marks marring the finish via the body-shop's slap-dash sanding, finishing on a cotton rouge wheel. We then removed as much of the silver paint over spray and polish residue from the panel gaps and trim as was accessible, before refitting.

A pillars were tested for individual layer paint thickness using our ultrasonic paint depth gauge, and wet sanded down to correct the rough orange peel finish. The bodywork was methodically machine polished to remove surface scratches and enhance the gloss from the clear coat. Once complete, the paintwork was sealed with a coat of Gtechniq Crystal Serum light, to protect from further marring and keep the finish locked in. In addition, the leather seats were gently cleaned to remove the built up surface dirt and sealed with another Gtechniq product – L1 leather sealant. The wheels were removed, deep cleaned, polished, and sealed, and the glass treated with a long lasting hydrophobic sealant to aid water dispersal in the rain...

 

Stunning car and a pleasure to see the reaction when our client collected the vehicle.

Ch Ch Cha Changes

Not our usual sort of post, but more of a news update!

We've now relocated to our awesome new unit, a couple of mile east in Ewen, just outside of Cirencester.

Branding has changed to UK Detailing, with the new logo:

New website is active at UKDetailing.com

Keep an eye on the blog over the coming weeks - we've created a lot of content, which will shortly be appearing in some national magazines, so once that's published we will post our own version of it here.

As always, we love to hear from readers, so do comment below with any questions and we#ll get back to you as soon as posssible!


Ian

Iron Fallout

Iron fallout, or ferrous fallout is something that, with modern high traffic volumes, has become a greater issue to detailing. Although often referred to as industrial fallout and very common around train lines, a majority of the iron contamination comes from road user's brake pads; each time the person in front of you brakes, microscopic pieces of iron fly into the air and pelt your cars paint work. Of these particles, a fraction can become embedded in the paint due to the sharp, jagged edges (we're on a tiny scale here), especially if unprotected, and can lead to body corrosion if not addressed. Especially prevalent in the case of alloy wheels, where the iron particles, plus road salt can lead to electrolysis, speeding up under-paint corrosion.

Semi-regular treatment with a fallout remover safely dissolves the sharp edges of these iron particles, loosening them from the paintwork surface without affecting the surrounding area and enabling them to be safely washed away. However using those too often CAN damage surfaces, and is unnecessary as most iron fallout will be removed with simple regular washing, hence why regular waxing as prevention is better than remedy.

 

The downside is, they smell rotten, largely due to the ammonic reaction with citric acid, thioglycolic acid, and the iron itself, the combination of which results in the purple/red colour change associated with the products.

If your car, or wheels seem clean, but upon closer inspection reveals tiny black dots, sometimes with an orange halo, this is a good indication of iron contamination and something we can help with removal of.

EK9 Paint Correction

The first Civic to receive the Type R badge, the EK9, was introduced in August 1997. This first generation of Honda's VTEC powered “Type R” hot hatches gave a blistering rev range and 183bhp, hugging drivers in red alcantara seats and carbon fibre effect dash panels, and was Japan’s answer to the Golf GTI and Saxo VTR's domination of the hot hatch scene in the late 90s.

We were handed the keys to this one with the aim of restoring some shine to the, almost matt, Olympic White paintwork.

First step was to thoroughly clean the car, this revealed a second issue, thousands upon thousands of tiny iron particles in the paintwork. Two rounds of iron removal with VP Dragons Breath iron contamination remover and a thorough clay barring reduced these down to negligible amounts, and gave us a safe surface to begin polishing.

The oxidisation removed from the test panel alone was phenomenal, we were washing pads between each pass to remove the chalky build up of old oxidised paint, but the difference was immediately apparent. Working around the car the bright slick gloss began to show through, and with only a single stage polish using Lime Prime as our cleaner, taking around 6 hours, we were able to restore the paint's shine and reflectivity. 

in this 50/50 down the centre, you can see the line where the light picks back up...

Finished with two coats of diamond bright by Dodo Juice the finish shone through and snow blindness crept in…

Convertible Roof Paint Spot Removal

We were contacted by Insurers NFU to come to the aid of this black convertible which had been doused with thousands of fine paint spots – a result of wall painting by roller at the owners company car park – which had dried onto the surface.

No problem for us. A clean, followed by a steam cleaner for more stubborn marks and complete water extraction and re-seal, and the roof was as good as new, giving the customer back a perfect car, and saving the insurers around £1,500 for a replacement roof.

Paint damage on your convertible roof, from paint to stubborn mould? just give us a call.

Dealership Hologram Removal – Ford Fiesta ST

Sometimes dealerships are guilty of trying too hard. In this case, we suspect a bird etching on the bonnet had led them to “buff out” the problem, but without a refining stage, this left its own mark on the new owners purchase. Every time the sun hit it, rather than exploding into flake popping loveliness, all you could see were holograms etched over the surface where the rotary polisher had been. In addition, poor wash technique has left light swirl marks over the rest of the car to remove.

A light machine polish with finishing compounds was all it took to restore the surface, after checking the panel with IPA wipe to ensure no fillers were masking further imperfections, the paint was topped with a coat of wax to protect it going forward and bring our the superb colour to the highest level. 

New purchase with similar issues? Give us a call for a no obligation quote to rectify the damage.

2000 Boxster S

This 16 year old Boxster S came to us as a “cheap buy” from the owner, determined to get it back to its former glory.

Amongst the jobs was fixing a cracked rear bumper, repainting the calipers, reviving the faded soft top, repairing a worn leather bolster, removal of several car park dings, and repairing some of the thousands of stone chips from the bonnet, to name but a few.

The roof was cleaned and recoloured with Renovo dyes and allowed to dry for 24 hours before sealing. We removed the bumper, which had several smart repair patches bringing down the finish, and sent it to our bodyshop to be completely stripped back and resprayed.

The calipers were removed, masked, and blasted clear of the old loose paint, with the seals – an expensive replacement item – in place and protected. They were then resprayed in Brembo EHT red with new white decals, and refitted to the car.

Whilst in the air with the wheels removed, paintless dent removal took care of the 8-9 car park dings, and we began coaxing some life out of the badly marred paintwork with a two stage machine polish, before filling 12-18 of the worst of the stone chips and scrapes with custom matched chipex paint, also touching in the door edges, before refining the finish to a high gloss. 

New red Porsche decals were fitted to the side skirts to add a touch of class to the finish and the car was then coated in 2 coats of high carnauba wax.

The leather bolster was stripped back and recoloured to match the surrounding panels for a flawless finish.

Total time: to be honest we lost count, but I think you'll agree it was worth it…

Ferrari F430 Leather Repair

Bolster wear is the most common problem with leather seats. Thankfully there is a repair option.

For this Ferrari F430, that involved stripping back the original leather coating, before masking the fine blue stitching and re-coating in a colour matched pigment, blending in to the surrounding area, before applying a protective top coat for a strong finish, as durable (or more so!) as the original colouring.

Prices start from £130. Do get in touch for more information or a no obligation quotation.

350Z Engine Bay Detail

350Z Engine Bay Detail

Engine bays need special attention, especially in modern cars with sensitive electronics. A clean engine bay not only enhances the overall appearance of a vehicle – useful prior to a sale – but also makes it easier to spot leaks and drips before they become problematic. 

Before

In the case of this Nissan 350Z, new to the owner, we used a combination of citrus and solvent degreasers and steam to safely remove built up dirt and grime deep in the engine bay, before removing residual moisture with a warm air blower, waxing painted surfaces and dressing plastic trim to enhance the finish.

After

Revive your engine bay, from only £45. Call us to discuss, or send us an email to mail@demonfinishers.co.uk

Customised Brembo Calipers

We recently refurbished a set of calipers from an R33 Skyline, for a client with a specific colour scheme in mind. Unfortunately, the materials to complete such a project are not even available in the UK! We therefore imported the powder from our friends across the pond – a special effect two stage burnt metallic orange finish, which explodes into life when the sunlight hits it.

The calipers were stripped, and the parts to be replaced, including inner and outer Brembo seals, were sourced from the original part numbers - as a listing for these did not exist. After an acid bath to remove all grease and coatings from the calipers, the bores were protected and the surface blasted for a clean substrate. 

The powder was shot in two stages with a bake in between at 200c for full curing. We then rebuilt and pressure tested the calipers, before applying custom cut logo decals to finish.

Fiat 500 Cream Convertible Roof Clean

If you think your black or blue roof is in need of a clean, spare a thought for people with cream canvas roofs. 

This is the second Fiat roof in 12 months in this condition we have addressed, and it's not a job for the faint hearted. Whilst cleaning the algae and dirt from the roof is a fairly run of the mill job, this was compounded by a build up of black mould spots which would not move with chemical cleaning alone. Addressing the roof in sections, we managed to not only clean the mould spores from the fabric, but after a treatment with natural tea-tree, successfully killed all the mould causes in the fabric, leaving the roof clean, fresh, and back to its original cream colour.

Porsche Boxster S post-storage leather clean

This superb one-owner Porsche Boxster S was brought to us from nearby Tetbury, after being removed from winter storage to find the interior leather covered in mould spots – a problem often encountered in leather due to its organic nature - which the owner couldn't remove with conventional cleaning. In addition, the gear stick and handbrake were showing obvious signs of wear, and were in need of re-colouring after a previous attempt by the owner failed to yield satisfactory results.

Using our leather care experience borne from manufacturer training, we were able to remove all traces of mould from the leather, restoring its semi-matt finish before conditioning to protect against abrasion and UV damage, and allowing easier cleaning going forward!

The handbrake and gear stick are not simple to remove from these Boxsters, and so with reams of masking in place to protect the rest of the interior, the old colouring was removed where needed and colour was applied via airbrush, before sealing with a semi-matt topcoat to blend the finish.

Extremely happy customer and just as satisfying for us. 

Range Rover Sport - New Car Protection

This 2 month old 2015 Range Rover came to us from a client near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, for exterior Nano-ceramic sealant package and protection for the cream leather interior. 

As the car was already a few months out of the showroom, we first spent over 12 hours machine polishing the paintwork free of minor scratches and swirl marks picked up since collection.

The paintwork was then coated in a micro fine layer of the glass-like sealant to protect the perfected finish. The wheels were removed, deep cleaned and polished before being sealed and the glass treated with a hydrophobic sealant for enhanced visibility in wet conditions.

The interior leather was then cleaned and treated to a UV and abrasion resistant protectant, to extend its life and make it easy to maintain.

Furthermore, the client has now taken advantage of our scheduled maintenance package to keep his vehicle in top shape all year round.

If you're about to take delivery of a new car, or are interested in the easy to care for option nano ceramic treatments can offer any vehicle, get in touch with us via our website at www.demonfinishers.co.uk