August 2006 Winner

[tompinney]

This is my Mum's new car. We've only had it a couple of months now but the car has 10k miles on it and the paint was a little worse for it, although it was by no means terrible. Here is what I started the weekend with...

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail007.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail004.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail030.jpg

Lots of bugs and tar spots
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail009.jpg

Minor Swirling
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail001.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail003.jpg


The first task of the day was to wash the car with Megs NXT shampoo using a wash mitt and the two bucket method. I then dried the car with a Waffle Weave towel and then clayed the car with my Clay Magic kit and followed that up with another wash.

Next up the wheels and arches.

Before
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail010.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail011.jpg

The alloys were cleaned using AutoBrite Brite Wheels. Any stubborn tar stains were treated with AG Bug and Tar Remover and the the rims were polished with AG SRP, then coated in AG Alloy Wheel Seal and topped with NXT Tech Wax. The tyres were cleaned with APC and Megs Endurance Gel.

After
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail014.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail016.jpg

The front arches were cleaned with APC and the trim treated with AG Rubber & Vinyl Care
Before
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail013.jpg
After
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail017.jpg
Can any of the eagle eyed spot the difference in the two photos above, aside from the fact its been cleaned?

The same process was repeated for the rear wheels and arches
Before
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail022.jpg
After
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail024.jpg

And heres the car at the halfway through the wheel cleaning
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail020.jpg


With the car all taped up I polished the car with Sonus SFX-2 polish and and a white SFX-2 pad on the PC. I made 1 pass a speed 2 to spread the polish then 2 passes at speed 4 and then 1-2passes as necessary at speed 6. I then applied some #21 sealant with a foam applicator and followed that up with a coat of Megs #16 wax applied by PC. The windows were polished with AG Glass Polish and the trim was treated with Megs #38

Look no swirls :D
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail034.jpg

Nice flake shot!
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail036.jpg

The obligatory tree shot ;)
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail033.jpg

And here are some shots of the results of my efforts...

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3002.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3003.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3005.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3007.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3017.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3018.jpg

No more bugs littered over the front bumper! And a nice reflection of the neighbourhood :D
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3015.jpg

And some final reflection shots
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3013.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetailDay3016.jpg

Here are some interior shots. The old rubber mats were removed and replaced with some bargin OE luxury mats I got from ebay. The interior was hoovered, rubber and plastic trim was treated with AG Vinyl and Rubber Care, Leather seats were conditioned with Megs Gold Class Leather Cleaner/Conditioner and the Glass was cleaned with AG Glass Polish.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/Interior014Medium.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/Interior012Medium.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/Interior010Medium.jpg

[Jace]

Great results on a really underated car :thumb:



Do I detect a thing for red cars in your family :lol: ??

[Xorro]

Can any of the eagle eyed spot the difference in the two photos above, aside from the fact its been cleaned?


New mudflaps :thumb:


Do I detect a thing for red cars in your family :lol: ??

just what I was going to say!

[GlynRS2]

You can have any colour as long as it is Nightfire Red at your house then!
Good work there:thumb:

[dino]

Very good entry!!!

[Dave KG]

Glad to see this one in the competition! :thumb:

[m500dpp]

didnt look too bad before, but wow you really added to it, very impressive!!!

My daughters Rover 100 (n plate 13k miles) has immaculate nightfire red paint, but seeing that I am going to have to try harder!!!!

agree its a much underated car, as with many Rovers, what a pity the press slated them, and effectively helped to kill off our motor industry.........always amuses me with people being "patriotic" with george cross flags on their french/german/italian cars, If they were really patriotic they would have bought british!!!!!!!!

[tompinney]

They're not all nightfire, but they're all red and british! We used to have all blue cars... just how things have turned out!

The 75 is Pearlescent Firefrost
The 'bubble' 200 is Flame Red
My 200 Coupe is Nightfire Red
and the GT6, which is in the garage is Signal Red

Oh and my sister drives an old red fiesta!

As for the car it wasn't too bad but the paint was really rough to touch there were lots of fine swirls which the SFX-2 was more than able to cope with. I reckon thats my best detail so far, I've learnt a lot of things from here, and from doing my own car back at easter, so now I'll be able to go back to my coupe and improve that further I hope.

[m500dpp]

excellent I should add I also have a Rover 200vi, (black)and 2 Rover Minis (black and tahiti blue)

I think the 200 is very underrated, and I really thought the 75 should have sold much better they really are a nice car.

In some ways its easy to improve a car thats not ben cleaned for years, but you have taken one in good order and transformed it - fantastic!

must break out the PC on my daughters car again.....

[tompinney]

a 200vi... thats a car I wouldn't mind owning... serious street sleeper that imo!

I've said elsewhere that I'm planning on getting another car for work because I don't wanna pile the miles onto the coupe, and the vi or a ZS are potentials, although the vi isn't the most economical car, its more economical than my coupe!

[m500dpp]

although the vi isn't the most economical car

ours does 36 - 38 mpg with the wife driving, it only revs to 7000 when I drive it!! (and even then not that often cos its so quick theres not much opportunity to really use it.) As you say quite a sleeper..........

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f329/m500dpp/rover2002.jpg

[aston_87]

Good entry. Impressed with arches!!

[tompinney]

ours does 36 - 38 mpg with the wife driving, it only revs to 7000 when I drive it!! (and even then not that often cos its so quick theres not much opportunity to really use it.) As you say quite a sleeper..........

Now that looks nice.

That around town mpg? Either way for a car like that its a good mpg. My coop does 36ish on long runs but around town I can't really better 25ish, whereas my dads 211 for example can manage 45 around town but is awful on the open road. When I know what sort of driving I'm doing to and from work I can decide what sort of car I need, but that vi aint bad, just comparing it to the sort of driving I'm expecting, its not AS economical as the smaller engine.

[leeshez]

Wow amazing. I wish mine was like that.

[tompinney]

A quick shot of the water beading on the roof of the car this morning following the torrential rain last night!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/tompinney/R75/FullDetail-Beading.jpg

[Spcmarine]

As said before, the rover has a level of class about it, Well done with the glossy shine, I really like the attention to the arches

[tompinney]

Pics of the interior now added to the first post.

[Thomas-182]

Very nice entry