TVR Cerbera...with a little Miracle!

[Shine On]

I'd like to start by saying a big huge thanks to Paul Dalton. A chance meeting led to his unexpected and very generous offer of me trying a little of the very very good stuff from his personal stash that so few people ever get to try - yes indeed, the big one - Royale!

This Cerbera spends a lot of time showboating, its driven how it was intended, but does a lot of public appearances amoungst TVR and other events so the owner wanted to help give it its asthetics a boost. So, an early start for a trip to Cambridge.

Upon arrival the weather was looming, so I set up my recently purchased awning at my friends house where I had borrowed a driveway for the day. The customer arrived shortly after (we heard the car long before we saw it!), I inspected it with the customer and we discussed what she wanted from the detail and looked at what was achievable. As said, the car does get properly driven so whilst she didn't want a trailer queen car, it needs to look good. At this point I explained that whilst totally unexpected she was in for a treat with a free upgrade to Royale - it didn't mean a lot to her until I explained some of its vital statistics!

Here it is as the start, pretty clean, generally quite dull but in good condition save for a few cracks in the fibreglass.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05784Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05785Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05786Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05787Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05788Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05789Small.jpg

And a few with the light.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05790Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05791Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05792Small.jpg

The car was washed in the usual manner, then clayed with Sonus Green before being washed again, rinsed dried and taped up. Already the weather was worsening, a light drizzle of rain falling. The awning was fine at this point, only gentle puffs of wind blowing the rain in sideways, but no big deal. I had it tied to my car at one end, staked into the ground down one side and a couple of buckets of water hanging from it on the other.

Not having polished a TVR before I carefully set about finding a suitable product for the job. Eventually I found a good combo, the paint not being as hard as I had expected. This was quite a relief what with it being fibreglass, although so much experience with Lotus cars means this isn't really a problem.

Starting at the boot lid, this is the kind of correction I was achieving.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05794Small.jpg

Please with this, I worked around the car.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05799Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05800Small.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05801Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05802Small.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05803Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05804Small.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05805Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05806Small.jpg

At this point, the weather took a turn for the worse in a fairly big way with the wind picking up very quickly. Not raining at that precise moment, I decided it was no longer safe to have the awning up so I moved the car and packed it away (not particularly easy on my own!). Unfortunately, shortly after it hammered down with rain for just over an hour, delaying things somewhat. In an effort to not let work completely grind to a halt, I rearranged my friend's garage a little, moving his motorbikes so that I could get the front end of the car into the dry to finish it. This worked wonderfully, and I soon had it polished and HD Cleansed.

Then onto the bit I'd been waiting for all day - Royale. I'd like to tell you it smelt nice, but sadly I have little to no sense of smell, so nothing to report there. What I can say is that its possible one of the nicest easiest waxes I've used. Applying by pad the tiniest amount went a ridiculously long way, the wax seeming almost watery on the pad and paint. Once cured and buffed off, it looked simply fabulous. The paint looked a mile deep, like you could just jump in and swim around. Over the moon with this, and the rain having now stopped, I backed the car out again to continue.

Sadly, the delays meant the customer was now arriving back and needed to get home to let her dog out. The car is stored away from the house in a barn so we decided it would be best for me to follow her back to the barn and finish the work there. Far from ideal because it meant I had to wash it again when we got there, but thats what needed to happen so I just got on with it. When I finished, the rest of the car was HD Cleansed, Royale'd, left for approx 45 minutes while I attended to the glass, wheels (sealed with Jetseal) and exhaust pipes, then I went over the whole thing with Field Glaze. Applying with a pad means the layer of wax is much thinner, so therefore the outgassing and associated 'holograms' are not as bad.

By now, it was just after 21:30, so I took a couple of pictures in the ban before backing it out into the yard where the customer wanted to take some shots in the failing light.

It looked great, like the paint was molten and the pictures just don't do it justice. The owner's friend is a pro photographer who wants to do some shots, so when they are done I will add them here.

In the meantime, this is what I got.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05807Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05808Small.jpg
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http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05815Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05819Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05822Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05823Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05824Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05831Small.jpg

Thanks for reading, and thanks once again to Miracle Detail for a very special opportunity :thumb:

[ryanuk]

nice work

[mr v6]

The noise those things make are just unique.:thumb:

[wd40]

Excellent !!!
Love the tvr`s and i bet it sounded pretty wicked too !!!:thumb:

[Shine On]

Chasing it through the Cambridgeshire countryside was just something else. On a flowing open piece of road, well spaced traffic to pick off one by one, I had me head half out the window (whilst ringing the neck of my 325i to keep up), I was treated to a regular 'BWWWWAAAAAAARRRRRR' then 'pop pop pop crackle bang' form the exhaust on overrun, then 'BWWWWWAAAAAARRRR' as the next car was despatched. My car isn't exactly slow, but I was flat out and still going backwards!

[Miracle]

Thanks Reg, it was a pleasure to help you out with some Royale, as soon its going in the bin! lol...

Excellent write up and detail!

[Shine On]

Thanks Reg, it was a pleasure to help you out with some Royale, as soon its going in the bin! lol...

Excellent write up and detail!

Don't say that, you've already got 13yearoldnightmare trying to be your stalker, next thing you'll find him catching a train down so he can sniff through your bins!

[Miracle]

Don't say that, you've already got 13yearoldnightmare trying to be your stalker, next thing you'll find him catching a train down so he can sniff through your bins!

:lol:

[Thomas-182]

nice job, that looks great, very cool car.

[Mark M]

Correction work looks spot on.

Shame the finished pics are poor quality, as it must look stunning in the flesh.

I have done a protection job on a T350c and followed it home, the noise is unreal :D

[Refined Reflections]

Great work Paul (Reg) and also to you Paul (Miracle) for being so generous and as helpful as always :thumb:

As for binning the Royale, I can't wait to see what its replaced with :D

[Miracle]

Great work Paul (Reg) and also to you Paul (Miracle) for being so generous and as helpful as always :thumb:

As for binning the Royale, I can't wait to see what its replaced with :D

Thanks Gary :thumb:

A product that's in testing procedures as we speak! Its a very interesting test so far.

[Gaz W]

Paul.

If you ever feel you have to much Royale, or are considering binning it, There is still space in my fridge ;)

Superb Work Chaps, Lovely Car :thumb:

[GlynRS2]

Great correction work, the finish must have looked awesome in the flesh - it looks good enough in those low light finished photos :thumb:

[190Evoluzione]

Nice job dude, i will always have a soft spot for the
Griffith and Cerbera - the newer stuff's just plain ugly.
Was at art college in Blackpool (ealry 90's) when the Griffith 500 was
released, they used to test them on the roads near us.
What a noise, the ground shook.

[Envy Valeting]

Really nice work there, and the car afters stunning (shame about the light).
Very kind help Paul (D), good stuff.

[Alex L]

Looks great Reg, fantastic defect removal and the TVRs definetly have great curves :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Neil_S]

Paul.

If you ever feel you have to much Royale, or are considering binning it, There is still space in my fridge ;)

Superb Work Chaps, Lovely Car :thumb:

No shame :lol:

[Neil_S]

Great work on a lovely car, those curves really do show off the finish too.

[Wonderdetail]

Paul - you could probably cut the Royale into small samples and make enough money for your next wax purchase! I'm sure half of this forum would bite your hand off!

[Phisp]

Paul - you could probably cut the Royale into small samples and make enough money for your next wax purchase! I'm sure half of this forum would bite your hand off!

Just what I was thinking!


Excellent detail - the car looks truely fantastic :thumb:

[paddy328]

Great correction and night shots there paul (reg). Fair play to you paul for letting him have some of the royale. It seems a waste, Even if you dont want to use the royale any more, seeing as its free. Why dont you sell the tub and the certificate and make a few quid out of it.

Im sure there would be a few people on here that would give you a couple of grand for it.

[morebeanz]

Excellent! Another cerb gets the real deal (and I know the owner too!)...

[Shine On]

Nicky is lovely isn't she? It was a real pleasure to meet her.

[Brazo]

Nice job Paul!

I share your pain with the wind/awning situation!

[ash_xt]

wow.. that looks a great turnaround :)

[BIG BAVARIAN]

stunning, love the wheel upgrade :thumb: :thumb:

[Wheelie_Clean]

Paul - you could probably cut the Royale into small samples and make enough money for your next wax purchase! I'm sure half of this forum would bite your hand off!

Kind of pimp my Royale:p

[Skyliner34]

Superb. love the flake :thumb:

[Chris_VRS]

suit u sir!:thumb: ...outstanding:cool:

[King Eric]

$hit the bed loving your work

Your churning out some serious details as usual Reggie baby. Future is bright my boy :) I can see it now.....

[d6dph]

Very very nice, Also great to see a car like that which gets driven as it deserves to be.

325I would have kept up tho :lol:

[Phil H]

excellent detail and excellent write up!

[Finerdetails]

great work mate

[Shine On]

Very very nice, Also great to see a car like that which gets driven as it deserves to be.

325I would have kept up tho :lol:

A fully loaded 325i Touring, on dodgy tyres, on a wet road chasing a very healthy 400bhp+ cerbera that knows the area? I'm afraid it never had a chance! :lol: The noise was simply awesome though.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

[V8burble]

The sad thing is she wasn't even trying :lol:

Having said that, I burnt off a Griffith last week on a roundabout to roundabout dash... He may have had 100+ BHP more, but it was damp and he struggled to keep it pointing remotely in the right direction. Don't you just love Quattro :evil:

Nice work on the beast. Would love to see some Pro pics of it if you can get hold of them :thumb:

Top work :thumb: :buffer: :doublesho