seanl82

Which flavour Rotrex you running Rams? Have you done any GB work yet to aid traction too? Very nice install by the way, look forward to seeing the Dyno Plots!

Cheers Kip, yeah I saw your thread for using it the Furniture Clinic stuff and using Matt effect. Did you need the Large, or Extra Large Kit for the full interior including Door Cards, and what type of spray gun did you use if not the one for the cans? Also did you send a sample for colour matching? Good tip for the plastics too! I'll see how I get on, as I'd rather re-trim them - dependant on finding a reasonably priced colour matched covering, but that's a very good alternative. I know the boot cover plastic is painted, as mine has some scuffs that have gone through, so that's good to know that I can paint it. :thumbleft:

Yes we're known as Pinkies too! And thanks! :grin:

Emphasis on the Engineering then mate. TBF, the Weapons bit is quite broad in the Engineering Branch. It incorporates Weapons (obviously), Sensors (Radar/Sonar etc), CIS (computers), and Comms/Electronic Warfare - which is what I deal with. Maintaining and fixing Transmitter/Receivers, Encryption systems, Integrated systems and networks, Exchanges, CCTV, Infra Red, etc etc........ Sounds more exciting than it is though mate.

:nono: Bugger off Sean, I'm not an armourer! I'm a Petty Officer Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineer). Or PO ET(WE) for short. RN not Army mate. Senior Service and all that! :salute::grin:

Rob, did you mean the C4 for exterior plastics? Its obviously quite expensive (£25 for 15ml) and is best used for exterior not interior, and won't go very far on your interior! If your gonna use BH Surfex like I have on my leather, make sure you condition it afterwards, as its quite a harsh chemical even at a high dilution ratio, so will dry the leather out.

Indeed Jim! I feel your pain brother! Well didn't get as much done as I would have liked today. Decided to start on the wiring, but when I got there, I realised I'd left the cable for the laptop at home, and battery is knackered so only lasted 2 minutes. Reason I need the laptop is that I only have the Bentley on CD for the wiring diagrams. This was the state of it all behind the dash! As you can see, like the rest of the car, its a hell of a mess! I'm an Weapons Engineering Technician by trade, but even this made me mutter a few profanities! I don't envy me!!! I've just tidied it all up for now and put everything back in for the time being. Will visit it at a later date when I have a bit of enthusiasm for it, as Friday a'noons aren't the best time to dive into this type of work! Bad news for getting parts for next month too. Got a phone call from the Letting Agent that manages our house in Plymouth that we rent out today, and the Boilers playing up. Got someone round to have a look, and apparently its the diverter valve. All in all its gonna cost me £400! Bang goes the budget for next month now! Will just have to get the essentials I think. Gonna start again probably Monday or Tuesday. Will begin putting everything back in I think, before tackling the bodywork.

Actually you'd be surprised how poor the finish is on brand new cars! BMW I've noticed are especially bad..........

http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=429641 Post number 14 onwards. :bonk:

It does indeed! As you've said as well, every BH product I've used I've been impressed with.

The SRP will last as long as the HD wax will tbh mate. Its sealed underneath by the wax layer. Dont get me wrong, SRP is a very good product and puts alot of the top end manufacturers to shame. Glazes/paint cleansers all do the same thing, just to varying degrees and each one offers better something. Pretty much all offer light cutting, micro fillers, and gloss enhancing. SRP is best at filling. As mentioned the black hole gets good reviews, Prima Amigo is very good, or Britemax BlackMax will probably be good for your colour too. May be worth getting a product thats a compound/polish on its own to correct a little better before applying the glaze though. Something like Megs ultimate compound is very good by hand, followed by one of the above, then seal/wax. Im on my phone so cant offer links though sorry. Cleanyourcar, i4detailing, elitecarcare are all good sites for products. Your pretty limited to products from halfords unless your lucky enough to have a detailing shop near you though unless buying online. As mentioned above, Chemical guys Jetseal 109 is immense! I use it on alloys and SS exhausts, but its very good on paint too.

Headlining was done the same as the rest tbh, except less water. Just the APC in a bottle sprayed all over, dipped a soft bristle interior brush in warm water and flicked off the excess, and scrubbed! Rubbed over afterwards with a couple of dry microfibres to absorb any excess water and remove surface dirt. All the lads at work were amazed at how well it came up! Honestly I wish I took a before pic as it was disgusting! You cant even see the difference between where the hidden parts under the trim were now. I'm really really happy with how it came out mate. :smug:

Depends what polish your using, and how your using it tbh. If your just using something like SRP, its not so much a polish as a glaze. It contains fillers, which will hide most of the swirls/marring/holograms from the respray, which it will more than likely have if not done by a very very respectable detailing/repair shop. SRP is good at adding colour, but not the gloss you'd get from proper correction. What you need to get that depth is full correction by machine, followed possibly by a glaze that accentuates the pearl effect in your paint, then wax/sealant on top.

Indeed it is Jim! And thanks for the kind words. It'll get there eventually! :thumbleft: Thanks also Delf, I'm lucky in that there is a heated workshop to do it all at work. No excuses for me!

Interior cleaning is now finished. I'm gonna get the bolsters repaired professionally, and then re-colour the whole interior myself with the Furniture Clinic kit. There's only really the drivers seat, passenger rear seat base (has a big stain on it) and the hump that need doing badly, but worth doing the rest whilst I'm at it. This'll be in a couple of months though, I want to get everything done mechanically first which will start next month. In the meantime, the majority of the leather has come up well, so I'm reasonably happy for now. Just a go over with the Surfex again 5:1 and a leather cleaning brush, a wipe over with clean warm water, left to dry, and then conditioned with Gliptone Conditioner. Pics................................ First off passenger one has been done, it was just as dirty as the drivers, although not ripped and not quite as worn. Drivers side after. Door cards on the left are in fantastic condition now. And finally headlining. I wish I had a before, as this was in an absolutely shocking state! Mint now though! I've ripped out the worst ICE install I've ever come across as well! Various lengths of random bits of wire, twisted together and not insulated, so just shorting out all over the place! I'm just gonna fit the wiring to the standard speaker positions for now, get the interior back in, then decide what I want to keep and what's being binned! Next week will begin exterior detailing. That'll get me to a point where I know exactly what is needed with regard to paint in the future. Updates to come next week with the exterior.

Yeah you can, but make sure you buff it off or it'll smear when wet. Don't know how long it'll last though tbh as I've never used it on exterior plastics. (I'm assuming you mean the Gummi Pflege?)

If you want a semi permanent solution, you need a nano sealant. Its not cheap though! These are the two best on the market. http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/gtechniq-c4-permanent-trim-restorer/prod_851.html http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/exterior-trim-plastic-care/carpro-dlux-sealant-kit/prod_1103.html Other than these, peanut butter or boiled linseed oil has been quoted many times, but it won't last very long tbh. AutoFinesse Revive is very good, and leaves a natural finish that will last reasonably well.:thumbleft: Also Gummi Pfledge for door seals etc. Very cheap on ebay too!

What makes it worse is the handbrake doesn't even hold properly! I'm gonna take it all out and get a new cable. Think the calipers could do with sorting. Certainly the guide pin boots as the calipers have been painted yellow, and the boots have paint all over them! There is a lot of work required on this one, although thankfully apart from the paintwork which I'll assess properly in the coming weeks, nothing too expensive.

Looks great! Can't wait to get started on detailing mine! Gonna take a while to sort the interior first though! :(

I'm 30, just bought my second on Saturday, first being a 1990 KR I bought about 18 months ago (see sig), now the VR. Bought the first after pining for one for a while! I didn't get into the whole enthusiast scene until late on, and bought a mk3 Golf on a whim. I sorted it from being a stinker to a very respectable car thanks to the forums. I then went to a meet and had a Corrado follow me there. I couldn't keep my eyes off the rear view mirror! Fell in love with it there and then and I've been smitten since!

Great job Pete! Mine is in a similar state, although mechanically pretty good. I'll be in it for the long haul too I think, and my paintwork sounds in a similar state to how yours was! It looks like a layer of dust is on the car, but its not dust! Feels like 600 grit sand paper when you run your hand over it! Good work. :thumbleft:

Yeah I'm a bit of a pic whore at the moment! More to come the next couple of weeks but it'll probably slow down after that a little bit. I'm trying to get as much cracked as I can, as I'm on Easter leave from next Thursday for two weeks, but the missus is due with our second on the 6th April, so I'll have my hands full from there for a while! Begin my course on May 16th as well and its pretty hardcore with exam after exam for the next 18 months or so! Anyway, this afternoon I got busy stripping out the rest of the interior, and started cleaning it up. I'm gonna give the carpet another go over with the wet n dry but I'm pretty happy with how its coming along! I noticed whilst pulling the carpet out though, that there are a load of weld splatter burns around the sides of the tunnel. You'll see in the pics, but some knob head has welded round the handbrake lever and cable, and obviously couldn't be arsed to cover things up! Anyway, I pre-soaked the carpet with Bilt Hamber Surfex (APC/Degreaser) at 3:1 through a spray bottle, then went round it with the spray bottle again and an interior upholstery brush scrubbing like mad! This removed the majority of major marks on its own! I was really pleased with how this worked, the Surfex is awsome stuff! It obviously didn't remove the dirt though, so after that I went round with a George Wet n Dry with just warm water sucking it all up. The weld splatter burn marks Thanks to this! Before Everything together in the workshop Carpets after the first go over Interior plastics are all done as well with a bucket of diluted Surfex at an unknown ratio (good glug from a 5 litre tub then half filled with water), and I'm really please with the outcome. The below pic shows where they have been butchered to fit the speakers, with the one on the left having been cleaned and the one on the right how the rest of the plastics looked! :gag:. I've spoken to a couple of suppliers and have some samples of leatherette on the way. I'm going to try and colour match the original, to refinish them once the holes have been supported and filled in. :cheers: More to come in the next couple of days hopefully. :thumbleft:

Have you had an insurance quote? I know everyones saying about it, but its probably a good idea to find out! Good luck to you and hope you CAN make it work mate. Even at 30 in a good area with 7 years driving and no claims, it was pretty high without going classic insurance, which unfortunately may not be available for you at your age. Looks a very good example though, (unlike mine atm!) so good luck! :thumbleft:

I wouldn't tbh. Doubt very much it'll fit unless you get a custom adaptor, which will just bring the steering wheel too far forward imo. I don't like it personally, there's retro, then there's 80's crap.

Yeah I'm gonna look into it, but need to give it a good detail first to get a true indication of where it is. Checking it out today and I think I wrote it off a bit early before. Stripped out some of the interior today. Can't wait to get started cleaning it all up! Again I think I may have written it off too early. I honestly think it can be bought up to a pretty good standard with a bit of effort. I think the rear card inserts/B pillar trim that has been hacked to death can be made as good as new. It's just leatherette at the end of the day. A bit of support and leveling of the main plastic, then a retrim in the leatherette and I'll think it'll come up really well. I'm gonna hunt out a supplier that can colour match the original so at least it'll look standard. Good new too is that the ABS controller is in place, so just need to get VCDS on it and see what it throws up..............now where did I put that lead?.................... There are about half a dozen OE plugs that have been removed behind the lower glove panel, so need to find out where they're all from. Anyway, some pics from today! And under the rear seats from the owner before last I think! Goes to show how long its been (at least) since its had a good clean! More to come this week.v:o