autogloss valeting

Well, I wasn't going to post this, but seen as it was such as mess and a nightmare to do, I thought what the hell The car was basically grey in the sun due to swirls and micro sratches: Some close ups of the damage: So snowfoamed and washed then clayed and dried: The paint was so soft and sticky on this car, i just couldnt use a harsh compound, so elbow grease and lots of it was required. 2 passes of 3m medium compund on a yellow pad: Here is a half and half : Before: After: Before: After: A strip done down the middle of the door to show the real effects: Spoiler before: Spolier after: Car was then glazed with poorboys black hole, and again finished with chemical guys butter wet wax (a fantastic product - smells like sherbert as well!!): Before: After: Cheers Mike

Gold FTW! ;) Cheers Mike

***silly question - have you just bought the car? Check that you have the dig lcd display on the bottom right of the dash. Also have you moved it from "D" (auto) to "m" on the selector stick? Reason I'm asking is someone i advised on was very nearl caught out buying and AS200 (6 cylinder 150hp version) which never came with tiptronic - just auto - all the dealer did was put a tiptronic steering wheel on! Has it got this? ***

When you move the slector stick from Auto to M - does M engage on your dash, and do you have a gear number on the LCD display at the bottom right of your dash display?(eg D, 2,3,4?) If not then its the auto ecu not actually switching control to the switches on the wheel. Remove your centre console and just check everything looks ok under there? Has this been working before whilst you owned the car? Cheers Mike

Sounds like the actual motor is sticking. Basically the lobe is pushing the starter cog onto the flywheel, but then it is sticking. When this happens try tapping the starter gently with a hammer. This should free it up. If this is something you cant live with, then off to the scrappies and £100 of your hard eanred and get a fresh one HTH cheers Mike

Most kits i have seen take this into account,so that your rear springs only lower by X amount, and the front lower by y amount (x being say 20mm, Y being 30 mmm) HTH Cheers mike

Massive thanks to Craig @ LED Depot for supplying and fitting these. Awesome job Ran out of time so centre console will be attempted by me at JAE lol New zorst goes on tomorrow Cheers Mike

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some sound advice ! - will drop the ol floral then lol cheers for your help Mike

Hi Thanks for the comments russell. Feedback most welcome. I agree about the rear, there are some more in progress to sort the back out as we speak.Another large URL graphics and a touch more floral type stuff!

Right, well here she is.....................all finished................................what a bloody nightmare!!! A few bubles i need to heat out once everythings settled down. Next up....................................bodykit and exhaust.......................exhaust is here a;ready to put on this weekend Hope you like Next day Calipers done , and a quick engine bay clean, nothing major though, as its the wifes birthday so time is short lol! So engine bay before 5 mins of work Then onto the calipers. Decided to use Halfords purely down to the fact no one had blue hammerite in stock. I was hoping the colour would be a close match for the blue decals on my car. Well a gust of wind later answered my question. a plastic tub was blown off the shelf by the wind and knocked the can of paint off............ this was the results................. all 250ml over the floor. Well - at least I was confident the colour was perfect!!! - so off to halfords again lol Overall - a very good paint tbh - which shocked me being a halfords product. - not too thick, not too thin. Very good coverage - one coat blued them, second coat made them nice and solid looking. Have also done the hubs silver. i have painted right onto the disk as well so the annoying little bit between the hub and the disk that isnt touched by the pads is painted as well. The overpaint will just scrub off after a couple minutes of using the brakes........as will the blue i some how managed to get onto the discs as well lol Car is sitting a bit high now until springs settle back down again - just need to find the time to wash her now ! So here's the results. Then off for a drive some hard braking finshes them off nicely, and makes everything perfect and round !! Cheers Mike

A motor trade policy is tailored to your exact needs. i have on due to my detailing busniess. this covers me for any car i own (as many as i want no extra fee) upto a vaule of £5k. It covers me to drive customers cars fully comp the value upto £45k. You do, again need to justify this, so you either need to have a registered business, or be a contractor registtered as a limited company etc. You cant really just set up a motor trade policy because its cheaper. Again come crunch time, they will investigate. HTH Cheers Miker

lol no worties matey, i was only messing around, Seems a very friendly place anyway!! it normally only looks good as we're given sheds to tart up!!!! Amazing the state some people allow their cards to get into!! So any of you guys going to JAE this year? Cheers Mike

I normally try find the best in anyone..................... but what a pen15(please forgive my spanish) no wait............they're useful what a peice of rotting pondlife scum scraped from the in between the teeth of a rotting sheeps skull stuck down there in th e mud.............. think that make hims sufficiently low........ .............. no wait.............................. id rather lick the teeth on said skull that look at another one of his poorly written, racist, biggoted,arrogant, self opnionated bull**** posts. Love the forum guys................even if i didnt receive the warmest of welcomes lol!! Cheers Mike

Did you get a quote for supply only? I cant see springs been anymore than £200 all in, so thats £420.50 / 4 = £105/corner for fitting which is £86.00 ex vat. Thats sounds like a main dealer hourly charge, so they ae charging you 4 hours, which again sounds about the right time. They will also charge you for disposing of the old springs. Get them to supply only, and then any normal garage will fit them for £150 HTH Cheers Mike

Sorry to hijack, but I too am after on so if anyone would like to PM me please thanks Mike

Hi there Would be worth asking what exactly they are doing for that? main dealer prices etc, i would think that would get your interior cleaned and smelling nice and a quick hand polish and wax. HTH Cheers Mike

Hi guys not a Lexus, but just as an example of what cane to bring paint back from the dead. Well - what a weekend. Spent 2 full days in Darlington correcting a black celica's paintwork for Lee. She had a full mop a few weeks ago, but was unhappy with the amount of peel on the car. The car has been resprayed at some point, with a good coat of paint. Unfortunately the paint wasn't finished properly, leaving the whole car severely orange peeled, and bumpy. So - with the help of Graham, (Lees dad) we set about Snowfoam and rinse Full body flat with 1500 wet and dry Rinse down Full body flat with 3000 wet and dry Snowfoam and rinse down. Machine polsih with 3m Fast cut on green pads Rinse down Machine polish with 3M Ultrafina on yellow waffle pads Final Snowfoam and rinse down Machine polish with Poorboys black hole. Sealed with AG Extra gloss protection Waxed with AG HD wax. This was a mare of a job, as it was too hot most of the day to work the compounds properly. there are a couple of minor holograms on the door, but i have explained these will just need to be polished out on a cooler day. Although I think the results speak for themselves. I was certainly not unhappy with the way she came back up. Massive thanks to Graham for all his help (pretty much half the car), otherwise it would have taken me 4 days!!! Also a big shout to Lee, Craig and Gayle for keeping me fed and watered! Half and half Finsihed Thanks Mike

Hi folks A new Toyota Altezza owner here saying hi (hope I'm allowed on here even though I'm technically not lexus) My name is Mike and i'm based in Harroagte, North Yorkshire. She is a 1998 RS200 Tiptronic. She was a bit of a state when i got here. Fortunately I own my own detailing company so she has been given a few hours of loving. A Snowfoam Handwash with microfibre Claybar Re-rinsed Towelled dry 1 stage machine polish with 3m Ultrafina (medium compound) Headlights done with a 3 stage machine polish as trhey were very dulled and had algae growing in them! Another snowfoam and rinse 2 coats of Autoglym High Def Wax Here are the results, hope you like her. Anyone going to JAE this year? Thanks Mike