ST170 Tidy Up *UPDATED 09/04/10*

[rs_si]

Hi Folks I've been spending a bit of time tidying up my ST170, so I thought I would take some pics to show you my efforts. The last time I posted on this forum was in 2006 when I had my RS Turbo. A new job however caused me to part with my RS and replace it with an ST170. Here is are some pictures of when I first got it: With only 17K on the clock is was an ideal investment for a good daily driver. Naturally being a Ford enthusiast I kept it clean. Here I was using Autoglym 'Superglym' and Extra Gloss Protection: 4 years and 40,000 miles later despite best efforts to keep it looking new, it looked nothing like it did and in desprite need of some TLC The first job was to fix the damaged front splitter which I stupidly caught on a grass verge about 18 months ago! Job done and a new front number plate added too! After 4 years of cleaning the wheels with an acid based cleaner they had lost all their shine and started to corrode. A refurb was therefore in order so I put the car on stands and took the wheels to www.wheelworksuk.co.uk Whilst on stands I thought I take the opportunity to give the arches a good clean 3 days later the wheels were done! I had them fully stripped and repainted and purchased a set of new centre caps from Ford. Before putting the wheels on I thought I'd get some form of protection on them, so I used Autoglym's wheel sealant for the time being. Last few touches were a new set of 'Aero style' windscreen wipers all round and a new rear number plate. The reversing light was full of water so I sorted that out. I've also got a set of tailored car mats on order but they are taking ages in being delivered. So... the car's looking better already. The second part of my plan is of course of full detail as soon as the weather allows. I checked my shed in preparation and thought I didn't quite have enough cleaning stuff so I placed a little order with polished bliss so all is ready. Looking forward to getting stuck into a good valet and will post the resulting pictures as soon as I can..... Cheers for looking Si

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[andyt]

are them wipers off flebay mate? wont last 10 mins if they are nice job on the car though

[rs_si]

They are a set of cheapies of Ebay. Why won't they last?

[Deerhunter]

nice job mate the wheels had a good job done on them.

[Gav Diamond]

Great start mate keep us updated

[scortpower]

how much it set you back for the bottom splitter. i have caught mine and cant seem to get it back on properly

[rs_si]

The splitter was Ł40 from Ford. It was a nightmare to fit though, because the cold weather meant you couldn't manipulate it into place.

Thank you all for your comments. Hope to do the full valet ASAP but it's meant to be heavy rain down here all week...

[TOMMY_RS]

looking nice mate, good start

[scortpower]

not a bad price. think mine has just come unclipped but i tryed to get it back into place and it wasnt happening.
looking mint thou mate, need to wash mine

[Deerhunter]

hi mate do you ever go to the west sussex meet at patching nr arundel i used to live in worthing for 8 years a while back and was at most meets .My Daughter lives in Shoreham so i get down there a bit.

[H7 CYA]

Looking better!

[rs_si]

Originally Posted by scortpower

not a bad price. think mine has just come unclipped but i tryed to get it back into place and it wasnt happening.
looking mint thou mate, need to wash mine

You might find you'll need to take the whole thing off and try clipping it back on in one go. I couldn't fit my new one any other way.

[rs_si]

Originally Posted by Deerhunter

hi mate do you ever go to the west sussex meet at patching nr arundel i used to live in worthing for 8 years a while back and was at most meets .My Daughter lives in Shoreham so i get down there a bit.

No I've never been over that way. Since I sold my RS Turbo I've not really been to any meets.

[rs_si]

Finally been able to give the car a full valet.

I decided it was too much to do what I had planned in one day, so yesterday afternoon I made a start on getting the interior sorted.

I gathered the items I'd be using, including my new tailor made mats which eventually arrived.



I then emptied the car.



The leather interior was due a feed. It soaked the leather conditioner up like a sponge!

Before:


After:





Lastly to save time for today I cleaned and detailed the engine bay and alloys









I used a Autoglym Powermax 3 on the engine and then pressure washed it and dressed the plastics. For the wheels I just used soapy water and two bucket method.


*** Day Two ***

Unfortunately todays weather wasn't quite as good as yesterday's. With the wheels and engine bay already sorted I could start straight away with foaming the car and leaving it to soak for 5 minutes.




I jetted the foam off and then cleaned the car using the two bucket method and my new lambswool mit.




Next stage was my clay bar kit. Was the first time I'd used a clay bar. Here's what the two bars looked like at the end






Here's the two major areas of concern I wanted to sort out with a two stage mop






I used Autoglym 03B on a medium pad and 02B on a light pad








I then finished off with a coat of Blackfire Polish
























Next time I clean it I'll be putting a good layer of wax on it. Wanted to do it today but the air was starting to get damp so had to leave it. Also the pictures would have been a lot better if the sun was out. Overall though I'm really happy with the result of my little project, the car feels new again!

Thanks for looking

[JamesXP]

Very bufty

[Stevie-Boy]

That's fuckin lovely mate, i am trying to find time to get mine done.It needs a good clay and i invested in some Valentine's wax to try on it.

[cossiejsy]

Thats stunning mate and what excellent job you have done also what is this blackfire polish

[rs_si]

Thanks for you comments.

Blackfire polish is one I saw recommended on polished bliss. The quality was noticable straight away.

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...-products.html

[cossiejsy]

cheers for that mate

[TOMMY_RS]

looks very nice does that mate

[Sp3no]

Looks lovely matey, like new
My ST170 is the same colour. After a correction i cleanse with Limeprime then a glaze of Poorboys blackhole, wax with Dodo juice Supernatural and then seal with Zaino Z8. That combination you will be very happy with. Been meaning to try blackfire, the finish looks spot on

[rs_si]

Sounds good Sp3no. I'm interested in trying some nice wax's and sealants next.

The weather was nice today and I hadn't used the car since the valet so I did what I had orginally planned and put a nice layer of Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection on it.

[Gav Diamond]

Hi
Looking at these pictures above you have too big of a work area.
You should be splitting a panel of that size into about 6 smaller sections.

The lower picture is showing that the polish has not been worked enough and has not broken down properly hence why you have the buffer trails.

A good start non the less mate but think it would help you to have a read through the guides on Polished Bliss website or on Detailing World so as to hone your skills

Good luck with it mate

[rs_si]

Thanks for your advice. I wasn't too sure how long to spend working a particular area and thought I'd rather do too less than too much.

One problem I found was I kept getting small random patches of compound stick to the car and I'd have to remove them by hand. I also thought I got quite a lot of dust. Was I using too much product?

Next time I will invest in some new compound I think as I've had those Autoglym ones in my shed for years now.

[Brian]

Looks good


Brian

[Sp3no]

If your pad is drying out then give it a quick spray with QD to lengthen the working time for the polish. As said above you need to work in smaller areas maybe 2ftx2ft at the most. Typically your looking to work an area of this size for at least 5 mins untill the polish breaks down and goes clear.
You will get some dust but it should not be excessive. Wipe down the panels with panel wipe before applying product after polishing.
I used Menzerner polish which is regarded as one of the best, PO85RD 3.02 & PO85 RD should see you through most defects.

[rs_si]

Cheers Sp3no. I might give it another go in a few months. This was the first time I used my machine polisher in about 2 years so I'm a bit of a novice. I will try working smaller areas for longer then and get some new polish too.

[H7 CYA]

Huge transformation, great job. Im gonna have to invest in a machine polisher soon!!

[Paul_RS]

Great job! Lovely car too matey

[wolfie3291]

wow really looks nice! black comes up really well when cleaned and polished properly

[Sp3no]

Certainly does not look too novice matey, looks tip top keep it up. No one is born an expert. Im far from it, only been doing details for 18months but learnt allot from the guys at Detailworld.
My ST170 is up on ramps at the moment and will be for the next month as i have dropped the rear and sub frame off for a rebuild and clean!! I got it bad lol

[Gav Diamond]

Originally Posted by rs_si

Thanks for your advice. I wasn't too sure how long to spend working a particular area and thought I'd rather do too less than too much.

One problem I found was I kept getting small random patches of compound stick to the car and I'd have to remove them by hand. I also thought I got quite a lot of dust. Was I using too much product?

Next time I will invest in some new compound I think as I've had those Autoglym ones in my shed for years now.

Sorry for the late reply mate.

My comments were not made to put you down, more to try to help as thats what we are all here for

With regards to the small bits of compound sticking, make sure the shake the bottle enough as like you say they have sat for some time.
Also try to use smaller amounts and if you are getting alot of dusting try spraying a little quick detailer on as this will allow you to work the polish for longer as well.

It is all down to practice and you will find the more you do you will get better and learn how different products work.
I have tried loads of the different polishes out there and there are some people rave about but i just cant work out how to get the best from them, alot is trial and error and what works for one person may not work for another so just keep at it mate.

[rs_si]

No worries Gav, I appriciate the advice! I'm looking forward to having another go soon and will definately be doing a few things differently. I need to invest in some new polish as my Autoglym ones are very old. I want to try some better quality pads and purchase some quick detailing spray like you mentioned. Also I think instead of trying a two stage mop I will just go for a light cut put stay on the panels longer. I've got my eye on this at the mo.

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...05-polish.html

What do you reckon?

[Elwood]

Nice to see you've kept the car Si - looks in really good condition.

[Gav Diamond]

Si
I have not used the Megs 205 myself yet...(I do plan on gettting some) so cannot comment from my point of view.
However everything i have read from others opinions on using it is that it is a very good polish.

[rs_si]

Just placed another Polished Bliss order for Menzerna 203s and a Gloss It polishing pad. I also bought a detailing brush so I can clean the pad during the valet.

I plan to have another go at machine polishing my car early next week. I've been reading a few guides on the Polished Bliss site and www.detailingworld.co.uk so hopefully this time I'll achieve a better finish without any buffer trails!

[Gav Diamond]

Good luck with it mate, as said just take your time. Better to have half the car spot on and do the rest another day than to rush the job and spoil the finish.

[Sp3no]

You wont be disapointed with Menz stuff, this was my very first attempt at machine polishing, i used the detailworld guide also

[rs_si]

Looks flawless mate! My goodies arrived yesterday and the Gloss it polishing pad I bought feels alot better than the cheaper Menz pads I used last time.

Will post up pics of my second attempt soon!

[rs_si]

Got round to my second attempt today!

It's been 5 weeks since my first valet and it was quite clear I had left buffer trails in the paint. I haven't taken many pics as just wanted to concentrate on getting it right.

Armed with some new polished bliss goodies I set about correcting my mistakes!



Here is what the car looked like after a wash. I used a shampoo with no silicone so it would strip the old polish off the car.





After polishing










All finished!



I think it has a much better finish than before. You can see the clouds reflecting on the bonnet










Well happy with the result. It took me 6 hours in all. I used Menz 203s on my rotary machine. Then Blackfire polish by hand and sealed it with a bottle of Autoglym 'lifeshine' I had.

Want to get a decent wax and a nice tyre gel next, but i'm trying to use all my old autoglym stuff up first.

Hope you like!