A little TLC later..

[Buzzark 0]

Had this Wednesday off and having done lots on the house recently I thought the VR was overdue some attention.

Managed to spend a few hours on it on a chilly but sunny day.

In this time I - washed, dried, clayed where needed (tar/sap) masked and applied 1 to 2 "coats" using a cheap buffer of Menzerna One Step Acrylic Jacket. This stuff still impresses me each time I use it.

..and the results;

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Buzzark/Golf/photo#5044891925357954706

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Buzzark/Golf/photo#5044892079976777378

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Buzzark/Golf/photo#5044892170171090610

It looks good but having spent some time up close there are a few bits I need to work on - stone chips and a little rust mainly at the bottom of the front wings behind the arches. So hopefully I'm taking a few days off next week to carry on the process.

[Eat this 2]

bloody hell when are you doin mine mate thats awesome

[kalv 0]

That clay stuff is great.. can't believe how smooth it makes the body!

[SankysVR6 1]

That looks really wet and deep, awesome finish.

Just need to get some dressing on the bottom part of the bumper to finish it off and some tyre dressing.

Well done, I guess cleaning it is a lot easier now your in the new house. No more avoiding (au) (au) (au) (au)

[Buzzark 0]

Yeah, I didn't do anything with the bumpers or plastic trim so I'll need to finish that off at some point. The main idea was to give it a good coating of all the paintwork possible right up to the edges. Might order some of that 303 protectant, seems to have a good reputation.

I need to remove and paint 2 of the wheels and touch up the other 2 slightly. Not sure what paint to get for the wheels yet though as there doesn't appear to be a "VW alloy" paint code. Might go with an enamel too as it's tougher.

You're right about it being easier to clean at the new house, It's a revelation - I can put away the body armor now when cleaning my car!

We've also just expanded the driveway shown by the grey stone on the pictures, that used to be horrible weeds/grass so I have plenty of space around it now to work. I could have had my chains done, wheels re-furbished and a couple of wings for what it cost though :S I've decided to look at the chains this week and see why they tinkle more than I'm comfortable with, I'm suspecting either the top tensioner or guide rail to be less than 100%, that's one for a different section though

Hopefully for this years Inters and/or the VR6 show it'll be in it's best condition since I got it. It was nice when I got it but it never had the surface shine it's got now so we're on the right track.

Oh, really pleased with the finish too guys. I've tried too many products in the past and been largely happy with them but this stuff is stunning for the reflective shine and protection it gives from a single stage product. All waxes/sealants I've used before give good shine but I tried this on the bonnet first and found that while the whole car looked good while clean when you got at a certain angle the bonnet would "pop" with a mirror like reflection!

It's also very weird, most of the dirt rinses off in the rain and with the pre-wash hosing - my rinse bucket is actually almost clean now, it's very spooky!

PS Here's a couple more I hadn't added earlier

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Buzzark/Golf/photo#5044907245506299586

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Buzzark/Golf/photo#5044908083024922322

[Buzzark 0]

Well I had a few days off last week and we also had some great weather I spent some time tackling the little bits of surface rust and correcting other bits of paint damage.

The good news is that the rust on the front wings was just on the surface, most likely surface damage so after treatment should be fine.

The bad news is I used Halfords paint as the local Autopaint place shut down and I didn't want to wait to order some online.

The colour match was fine though and after spending an entire day prepping, treating with multiple coats of rust converter, priming and putting on 4 coats of the base with a small detail brush I left it to harden overnight (24 hours) as it said on the tin. The problem came the next day when I put the clear on... it MELTED the base coat! I mean it was like putting cellulose thinners on cellulose paint (for those that can remember that far back).

It's fair to say I was pretty miffed, I've never seen that with an acrylic paint normally it goes off within a couple of hours enough to clearcoat if you're in a rush.

I will be returning the paint to Halfords, getting some decent paint online and doing the paintwork again. :S

At least I'm part way there, I even took the boot handle off and treated the mounting studs underneath - well, the weather was particularly nice and it was quite relaxing.

Incidentally, the Halfords paint was the thinest I've ever seen in a spray can both the base and clear - although I still didn't expect the result I got.

[EmkayVR6 0]

looking lush mate gotta get round to doing mine soon, but got other things on it that need doin 1st

[Buzzark 0]

Halfords refunded on the crap paint.

I'll just have to order some decent stuff and redo the paint when I have a couple of days off.

[EmkayVR6 0]

At least they refunded u, did they quarrel about at all?

[Buzzark 0]

No, they were fine about it. Just asked if I'd left it long enough before applying the clearcoat, which I had. (24+ hours)