The Big Lotus Elan Detailing Thread

[DavieBow]

Hi Guys ,
i thought i'd start a thread with regards to detailing our cars as there isnt a designated area on here .

First of all as i'm now starting to work on mine , so i can show it off

But also to let you guys know that i am a professional detailer (20 years experience on sports and exotic cars) so hopefully you'll see over the next few months from what i do on my Elan what can (and cant) be achieved with a bit of time and patience .

Finally to offer you guys some help and advice on techniques , products etc so for those of you that like a fettle, hopefully enabling you to bring your old girl back to her best . So if you have any questions , please post them and i'll do my best to help

Hope this is ok to post and i don't offend anyone (mods feel free to take the thread down if i'm braking any rules) ....

so here goes ...

I've had my calypso red Elan for all of about 3 weeks now (57K with FSH )and love it ....its quite simply a car i wanted since i was a kid and i'm not disappointed in any way after waiting the best part of 25 years to own one ......However , she is looking a little tired , so lets get her back to her former glory.

First thing first , i just gave her a damn good wash making sure to clean all the shuts and crevices in the process ....see pics

A good snow foam to remove the debris followed by a thorough wash

Then into all the nooks and crannies with some degreaser and detail brush

[DavieBow]

And here she is ...one clean car ready for Paint correction

All clean and ready for the next stage

[Rambo]

Looking good Davie.

If ever you need more practice, I have a couple lying around for you to hone your skills

[davidcgriffiths]

advice always welcome so keep it coming

Hi Guys ,
i thought i'd start a thread with regards to detailing our cars as there isnt a designated area on here .

First of all as i'm now starting to work on mine , so i can show it off

But also to let you guys know that i am a professional detailer (20 years experience on sports and exotic cars) so hopefully you'll see over the next few months from what i do on my Elan what can (and cant) be achieved with a bit of time and patience .

Finally to offer you guys some help and advice on techniques , products etc so for those of you that like a fettle, hopefully enabling you to bring your old girl back to her best . So if you have any questions , please post them and i'll do my best to help

Hope this is ok to post and i don't offend anyone (mods feel free to take the thread down if i'm braking any rules) ....

so here goes ...

I've had my calypso red Elan for all of about 3 weeks now (57K with FSH )and love it ....its quite simply a car i wanted since i was a kid and i'm not disappointed in any way after waiting the best part of 25 years to own one ......However , she is looking a little tired , so lets get her back to her former glory.

First thing first , i just gave her a damn good wash making sure to clean all the shuts and crevices in the process ....see pics

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[CalElan]

Cool thread - interested to see how it comes along and what products to use.

[DavieBow]

Right then , time to tackle the paint ...this is gonna take me a fair few days so i'll just post some pics up as i go ....

On to the Paint correction process.... 25 years of car washes /poor hand wash technique have left the car with the usual scratches and swirl marks that you'd expect to see on a car of this age , these combine to dull the paintwork of its natural vibrant colour and shine , so the next process is to remove these permanently (where possible) and safely ..

Paint correction is really a modern day term for machine polishing or "mopping" the car ...except that we use modern techniques and technology and generally take a little longer than the 30-40 minutes that your local valeters take ...... this is going to take you (or me) on average 3 - 4 days if you want your car as close to perfect as it can be .

Everything that i can use can be bought easily online and with a bit of advice and tuition you guys can get results not to far away from what we achieve as professionals ....for the record as well , i'm not tied to any brand etc , i prefer to work completely independent , this way we are free to use and recommend the best of each product / machine etc available at any given time for any particular job .

I do use a rotary machine polisher and would strictly advise that any amateurs don't use one of these as they are a dangerous tool in the wrong hands ...instead get yourselves a good quality DA (dual action) polisher as the only way you can damage your car with one of those is if you throw it at it

So onto the first stage , we call it the correction stage as this is where we do our best to remove as many of the scratches , swirl marks and imperfections as is safely possible .

We use an aggressive compound with a hard machine pad for this process , basically bringing together 2 factions , heat (to soften the paint) and abrasive to effectively sand it back , just as you would with a skirting board before you paint it .........The flatter the surface , the more the light will reflect off it , the better the shine and the more vibrant the base colour will be .

i use a halogen site lamp to highlight all the imperfections in the paintwork then work away until i have removed as much as possible in a safe manor .....basically if you can get it near perfect under the halogens it'll be near perfect in natural sunlight and under street lamps.

i've taken some before and after photo's to show what can be achieved .....

Drivers Front Wing Before Paint Correction

Drivers Wing After Correction

Bonnet before

Bonnet after

Bonnet Before Paint Correction

Bonnet After Correction

Headlamp before

Headlamp after

Passenger wing before

Passenger wing after

[DavieBow]

I will be back in my unit doing some more work on her tomorrow hopefully so will post up the results

[DavieBow]

Looking good Davie.

If ever you need more practice, I have a couple lying around for you to hone your skills

i think after nearly 20 years i'm well practiced ....just grateful for the opportunity to actually do some work on my own cars for a change

[tigerdog]

Great thread! Detailing seems to be an area where every amateur has strong opinions and very few professionals share meaningful experience. We're lucky to have you here!

[CalElan]

could you explain:
- What you're masking off to protect - is it just the edges where the paint is thinner, or are you trying to keep compound from going in the gaps?
- Is it regular masking tape, or something more pro?
- one panel at a time?

Thanks for your time - I'm enthusiastic to learn more!

[DavieBow]

Thanks for the kind words guys ,
I've always been happy to help and share advice , I built a massive Ferrari and Supercar client base by doing just that ....also one of the reasons I don't go on the detailing forums is because there's too many conflicting opinions on there and as a company we've always made our own minds up on what we think is best for our clients cars and we've only ever detailed our clients cars using the same methods as we do on our own .

[DavieBow]

could you explain:
- What you're masking off to protect - is it just the edges where the paint is thinner, or are you trying to keep compound from going in the gaps?
- Is it regular masking tape, or something more pro?
- one panel at a time?

Thanks for your time - I'm enthusiastic to learn more!

We always put safety first , you are right as in the paint is at its thinnest on the edges so we mask them off , we just use standard Bodyshop masking tape , 60p a roll , no need to waste your money on the posh blue stuff at £3 a roll , it serves the same purpose at the end of the day .

You'll notice on one of the correction pics that I put a line of tape down the middle of the bonnet also ...this was just for effect so I could photograph a before and after line which you can see on one of the photos that follow it .
I also got some good video which really highlights the before/after ....but have no idea how to post it

Oh and yes , one panel at a time

[Saltire]

I do use a rotary machine polisher and would strictly advise that any amateurs don't use one of these as they are a dangerous tool in the wrong hands ...instead get yourselves a good quality DA (dual action) polisher as the only way you can damage your car with one of those is if you throw it at it.

Dave, any suggestions on DAP makes and models please?

[DavieBow]

I do use a rotary machine polisher and would strictly advise that any amateurs don't use one of these as they are a dangerous tool in the wrong hands ...instead get yourselves a good quality DA (dual action) polisher as the only way you can damage your car with one of those is if you throw it at it.

Dave, any suggestions on DAP makes and models please?

We use these 2 at work

I prefer this one
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... _1452.html

My right hand man uses this one
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... _1567.html

They are both equally effective for correcting the paint although we do both use a rotary for that purpose , a rotary will always do the job of paint correction much quicker than a DA but the risk element is way higher , hence why we recommend a rotary for professional use only , whereas the DA's really come into their own for finishing and glossing up the paint and for applying waxes and sealants, which is what we use them for.

These 2 DA's i recommend have very good engines with a lot of torque but they also have a wide throw on them so they don't generate anywhere near as much heat as a rotary (a rotary spins on a fixed axis), thus making them a much safer tool for a newbie.

[TrevorB]

Hi Guys ,
i thought i'd start a thread with regards to detailing our cars as there isnt a designated area on here .

Hi Davie
Just seen this thread and very pleased to see it. I show my car during the season and do all my own 'detailing'ish!
I would say I'm an enthusiastic amateur.
Once I get my act together in the New Year and start preparing 'Merlot' again for 2017 I shall know doubt have many
questions and advice to get her ready.

I certainly will be following this thread with much interest.



Trevor

[Saltire]

I do use a rotary machine polisher and would strictly advise that any amateurs don't use one of these as they are a dangerous tool in the wrong hands ...instead get yourselves a good quality DA (dual action) polisher as the only way you can damage your car with one of those is if you throw it at it.

Dave, any suggestions on DAP makes and models please?

We use these 2 at work

I prefer this one
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... _1452.html

My right hand man uses this one
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... _1567.html

They are both equally effective for correcting the paint although we do both use a rotary for that purpose , a rotary will always do the job of paint correction much quicker than a DA but the risk element is way higher , hence why we recommend a rotary for professional use only , whereas the DA's really come into their own for finishing and glossing up the paint and for applying waxes and sealants, which is what we use them for.

These 2 DA's i recommend have very good engines with a lot of torque but they also have a wide throw on them so they don't generate anywhere near as much heat as a rotary (a rotary spins on a fixed axis), thus making them a much safer tool for a newbie.

Thanks, Davie. I'd seen the Meguiars one, but it was a bit more than I wanted to pay for an occasional tool. "Your" one looks a lot more affordable, and I'll investigate further. That looks a good detailing site too. Thanks

[DavieBow]

Hi Guys ,
i thought i'd start a thread with regards to detailing our cars as there isnt a designated area on here .

Hi Davie
Just seen this thread and very pleased to see it. I show my car during the season and do all my own 'detailing'ish!
I would say I'm an enthusiastic amateur.
Once I get my act together in the New Year and start preparing 'Merlot' again for 2017 I shall know doubt have many
questions and advice to get her ready.

I certainly will be following this thread with much interest.



Trevor

No Problem Trevor , glad to help

[DavieBow]

So I managed to squeeze another day in on the old girl today and made some more progress over the top panels on the car .

You can see from the photo's that its quite heavily scratched and the end results after the correction are pretty spectacular , however if you zoom in on the photo's you'll see that some of the panels are not absolutely perfect, there's still a few imperfections remaining .......These are scratches that are simply too deep or too wide to remove safely , you would simply burn through the paint before you got these out .... So as per my original post these pictures show you that sometimes it's impossible to get absolute perfection .....so if you can't , don't worry about it , you can only work with what you've got .

First up ..the rear spoiler before correction

After Correction

You can see in the after photo that its not quite perfect , this gives you a better understanding to why we use the halogen lights , because they show up absolutely everything .....not to worry though , i'd rather leave a car with a few scratches in it than burn through the paint but when you turn off the lights and go back to natural light , in all fairness unless you are looking closely for them , you cant see what's left anyway

The spoiler back to a natural high gloss finish

[DavieBow]

Once i'd corrected the paint on the top part of the spolier , i then removed it to gain full access to the boot lid and cleaned up the hidden bits .

Spoiler removed...will come back to that later

Time to clean up the hidden brackets

[DavieBow]

A few more before and after photo's

Hood cover before correction

After correction

Before

After

Passenger rear quarter before correction

After

Drivers rear quarter before correction

After