Detailing World Forum banner

DetailMyCar - Ford Focus RS (Performance Blue)

20K views 33 replies 28 participants last post by  R9SH G 
#1 ·
DetailMyCar Presents - 2010 Ford Focus RS (Performance Blue)

My customer traded in a 2007 Lotus Elise against this rather tasty Focus RS, in what is (in my opinion) the best colour available - Certainly the one I'd choose to live with if I had one anyway.

He bought the car in November, and on day of purchase pointed out a few swirls to the Dealer and managed to get a bit of a deal on it for doing so with the intention of getting myself to give it a thorough going over early this year.

He bought the car over to me as agreed and I set about inspecting it, here's a few pics of how it arrived:



















First thing I always do is to snow foam it (Meguiars Hyper Wash), and while that's left to do its thing I use the time to fill up my two buckets (AB Buckets with Grit guards). Shampoo choice again was my own and currently I'm using Adam's wash Pads instead of a lambswool mitt. I don't mind the mitts but these wash pads really do absorb so much water, and more importantly they wash really well in the washing machine and come up like new each time but the last few Lambswool mitts started to break up in the wash.

I attended to badges and vents with some Meguiars APC and a detailing brush before rinsing the car off of all the foam, and set about cleaning the wheels first using Autosmart Smart Wheels (5:1) - Probably the most effective wheel cleaner I've used in the last few years, the more recent formula is even better too. It doesn't smell great but dilutes down really well to suit and always seems to break down even the toughest brake dust and dirt but occasionally you can also use a stronger dilution (up to 2:1 for me) if they're really bad. Brushes used were EZ Detail large and small, plus a swissvax style round brush to do the faces. Tyres and arches were sprayed with G101 and scrubbed with a mild brush. Wheels, arches and Tyres were all then rinsed off and it was on to washing.



Hand washed the car from top down and rinsed off again before getting Tarids out to remove any tar spots - typical found on the wheels, arches, lower halves and tailgate (especially on Hatchbacks). I usually work with Tardis one panel at a time, spray on and leave for a couple of mins before wiping away with a clean MF cloth (Usually the Costco ones to save on costs) but i usually bin them after use as they will stink out the washing machine otherwise. I then rinse the panel to make sure nothing is left on the surface before moving on to the next one.

Next stage was to Clay the car, currently using a lot of Zaino clay but usually switch between Zaino and 3M. The Zaino clay is a tad softer, easier to shape and seems to work pretty well - Generally i try to make sure the car is as clean as possible before claying anyway as it saves inflicting too much damage while claying - Often I see people dragging a clay bar over a fairly dirty surface, it might do a job but you are no doubt leaving more damage and that just makes it even harder for you to correct (and sometimes do damage that's not possible to correct)!

Finally the car was rinsed off after claying, then sprayed all over with Adam's Detail spray (I switch between this and Meguiars Last Touch, both are pretty similar products from my finidngs) but this was just to help the water bead off and leave a nice slick surface. I then towel dried the car with the large blue & red towels to get it ready for polishing.

I taped up the whole car and went around to get some pics of the general condition:









The car was in good general condition but it obviously hadn't been particularly well washed in it's first year or so, but nothing unexpected to be honest - Probably just the usual sunday morning bucket and sponge with some zip wax / Fairy in it followed by a Chamois.

Polishing wise I used my 3M Rotary, with a combination of Hex Logic (Orange, Green and White) pads, and on this car I used Menz polishes from PO85RD 3.02 for the bad areas, but mainly Power Finish (PO203S) & finishing with with PO106FA all over.

Wing before polishing:




Wing after polishing:




I was really pleased with the level of correction, especially when you could see it in the Sun after an IPA wipedown the car was looking like New and exactly how it should. See the pics below of the Rear 1/4 panel before and after polishing - There were swirls, and a few scratches but also a bit of staining from bird lime near the fuel cap which looked like it had been rubbed at to remove as there were some hazing / scratches in the lacquer all in the same direction. Luckily the trusty Menz polishes and Hex Logic pads made fairly easy work of these and removed all traces to leave a gorgeous swirl & hologram free finish - These after shots alone show why I love this colour so much.

Scratches & swirls above fuel cap:


Swirls before polishing on the rear 1/4








Rear 1/4 after polishing:












Bonnet before polishing:




Bonnet after polishing:










After polishing and refining the whole car, i removed all tape and gave it an IPA wipedown ready to lay down the protection which for today was FK1000P Sealant, I simply love this product for its durability, ease of use and most importantly the sharp wet looking almost electric finish it leaves. I managed to get 2 layers on, and after buffing off gave it a coating of Gtechniq C3 spray wax just to add even more protection and give some nice beading when the rain comes.

Final stages were:- Tyres dressed with Meg's Endurance gel, and for the Exhausts i used Surf City's Absolutely Aluminium Polish followed by their Diamond Edge Wheel / Metal dressing which is like an all in one polish and sealant for metals, I really like these two products for Exhausts and they're really simple to use! I used #00 Wirewool and a couple of MF cloths to get them back to new looking.

Exhaust before:


After:


Glass was all cleaned using AS 20/20 Crystal, with a short pile glass MF cloth it's an aerosol spray but foams up slightly and doesn't ever streak, nice and easy to use anyway!

Finally I went around the car with some Zaino Z8 just to remove any last bits of dust, finger prints but also leave that unmistakable Zaino shine! Really pleased with how this came out, and the owner was chuffed to bits even sending me a couple of pics of the car on his drive the following day

Unfortunately light was just fading as I'd finished so couldn't get any nice shots out in the Sun

































Sent by the owner the next day:



 
See less See more
56
#32 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the comments!

Unfortunately by the time it was finished the Sun was long gone but I agree with you, the last picture or 2 really show the colour properly and I was really pleased with it. Nice the owner decided to take some pictures too - Working on the rear 1/4 in bright sunlight was very rewarding, seeing exactly how it was going to look once finished I knew I would be pleased with the result.

This one:

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top