2008 Exige Paint Correction

[SURFERROSA]

This is my first post on this Forum but have heard lots about it from Clark in Falkirk. He lives 2 mins from me and I met him while I was doing paint correction on his neighbours' Cayman, Boxster and 335d M-Sport
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... hp?t=51756
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... hp?t=69762
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... hp?t=72521.

Initially I was set to look after Clark's Elise, but he went and got an Exige to replace it, in Ardent Red. He told me that he was sure that his Elise was swirled straight from the Edinburgh dealership (you know who it is).

The Exige was no different. It turns out that there were some pretty severe swirls on this one that were quite deep, particularly around the rear end on the main body below the spoiler. Needless to say some of them had to remain, but they were in a more inconspicuous area TBH.

Clark asked if I could post up the detail on his car as he is too busy at the moment to go through all the photos and post up properly. I hope you don't mind me posting this up as a Forum newbie (I'm an Audi guy myself). I hadn't really got to like any of the Lotus cars particularly over the last few years, but I really developed an intense liking for this car and was very pleased at the outcome. The work was carried out over 2 days and I have to thank Clark and his family for being superb hosts.

I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed carrying out the work.

Thanks. JOHN



































You get the general picture. So, here’s some of the afters photos.





























Once finished, the whole car was given a wipe down with Tetrosyl panel wipe. This dealt with most polish residues but did not clear up some other heavily bonded stains.

To rectify this, the car was machined with a 3M blue finishing pad with JEFFS Prime Strong Acrylic (600-800rpm). This really worked well and gave an amazing finish and I was starting to see the 2 day’s hard work coming to fruition. It also left an acrylic layer ready for Zaino Z2-Pro application. I left Clark with enough Zaino Z2-Pro for another 2-3 coats. He does take car of his track car and all he has to do now is continue his safe 2-bucket washing.

Wheels given Z2 and external trim got 303 Aerospace protectant.

Thanks for reading. Comments and questions welcome.

[lotustype116]

Very nice

[renmure]

Looks fantastic John.
It still looked fab when I saw it on friday

Jim

[ExigeKen]

Hey John fabulous work mate

[Andy G]

Hi John

Great effort!

what would you recommend product wise for keeping my atom in tip top shape? (the frame and rear wing/tray bits are a pita)

A lot of contaminents seem to attach themselves to the car, and its a mare to keep clean.

Also for removing the swirls (on the panels) whats the best process for this?

at the moment, it sees Carnuba wax and gets washed before its tucked away to try and stop it looking like a shed!

I've an old S1 hopefully getting back on the road this week with a resprayed front end. Any thoughts on treatments for it?

cheers

Andy ( a car detailing novice in the extreme)

[SURFERROSA]

Thanks for the kind comments fellas.

Jim, I'm glad Clark had it good looking for last Friday. Nice cars you've got too - I've followed the detailing on a couple of them on DW, very nice indeed.

Andy G - The Atom is a very footery bit of machine and material to get to grips with.

Basic procedures should be along the lines of:

• wash
  cleanse (clay if required; removal of more stubborn deposits, particles and others)
  defect removal (abrasive polishing) or masking (AG Super Resin Polish, like Dezzy done on his car)
  material pre-wax or pre-sealant cleanse
  wax/sealant protection layering

You could make good use of chemical sprayers to get the chemicals into all the nooks and crannies.
Agitation of the various areas by mitt (larger areas) and a selection of brushes for the more intricate areas.
A good rinse to follow
A safe drying technique is recommended at the end. Pat-dry the painted areas and use good plush MF cloths to dry other areas including wheels.

Bearing in mind how low the car is, and taking into account its track activity you will need a good supply of tar and glue remover.

I can elaborate with gallon-size chemicals if you wish - please let me know.

As for the S1 coming back from the re-spray, it is the norm for the remedial area to be swirled with compounding scratches from the heavy polish particles being forced into the finish but not broken down properly (the time factor). It does depend on the paint shop though. It is very straightforward to remove these by dual action or rotary polisher to get it looking at its best again. As for the final paint look, as always it's all about surface preparation at the end of the day. That can be time consuming but is well worth it. I've been through a couple of the Zymol waxes, Collinite 476, Dodo Juice supernatural. All nice in their own way, especially Zymol Glasur (£100 a tub though).
As for sealant protection, this is generally more durable. I'm a big fan of Jeffs Werkstatt Acrylic system and a big Zaino convert now. It's difficult to see past the Zaino at the moment, particularly on the whites I've done recently. And of course the red Exige. If the car has been properly prepared, topping up the protection with Zaino Z2 for example is at a cost of £15 for about 15 or so applications.

I hope this has been helpful to you.

Regards to you all,

JOHN

[Gareth]

I like a clean car but in my old age I just can't arsed putting in the effort anymore.
Good work though.

[Paolo]

Great work John.

Did I see this on DW already??

[SURFERROSA]

Thanks Paolo.

Yes it was on DW 3weeks ago.

Good to see you looking after YOUR car so well!!

[Paolo]

Thanks Paolo.

Yes it was on DW 3weeks ago.

Good to see you looking after YOUR car so well!!

Definitely one of the best Exige details I've seen. Brilliant job.

I'm sure there will be many more SE Loti heading for your rotary shortly!!

[Rag_It]

A lot of contaminants seem to attach themselves to the car, and its a mare to keep clean.

cheers

Andy ( a car detailing novice in the extreme)

By contaminants, do you mean specifically ' How do i remove Ski Jacket that i burnt onto the exhaust manifold?!!!'

D