Focus RS prepared with Swissvax for the summer season
We were contacted by the owner of this amazing Focus RS to detail his car following a trip to the body shop, in order to prepare it for the numerous shows being attended this summer. Always keen to work on something a little different, we were only too pleased to help.
Firstly, door shuts and sills were sprayed with a citrus de-greaser so remove so excess dirt that had accumulated over time and been made worse following its recent body shop visit. Left to soak for a few minutes, a soft brush was then used to gently agitate the solution before finally rinsing clean and drying with a microfibre towel.
Next, the whole car was given a wash using a lambswool washmitt, before being clayed to remove some tar spots and a little overspray contamination in certain areas. With this done, it was rinsed and dried.
A walk around the car in the sunshine revealed a few obvious random scratches that the owner wanted reducing as much as possible, together with some mild swirling all over the car and the usual lack of refinement on the new paint work. Unfortunately, there were actually some areas of new paint that had been wetsanded after the painting process but not polished out. While this looked quite drastic, it would be a straight forward issue to deal with.
In the photographs below, the newly painted areas clearly showed holograms and swirls after being roughly polished, but not correctly refined, and indeed, a corner of the panel which shows where it had not been polished at all.
A thorough inspection of the car using a digital paint depth gauge showed there to be no nasty surprises waiting for us, so a test patch was done to see what can be achieved. Due to the new painted areas, test patches were carried out on both new and original paint to assess their reaction to the polishing process.
Below are a couple of 50/50 pictures taken after the first test, showing an immediate and significant improvement. On the new paint, which seemed to be a little harder than the original, swirls are still clearly visible so further polishing was necessary to properly refine the finish to an acceptable level.
Once happy with the standard of finish being achieved, work continued around the car. Threats of bad weather did mean we had to move the car to another house (also a very kind Focus RS owner) so that we could take shelter in the garage should the forecast rain appear. Despite some very heavy grey clouds at times it never happened, and we actually enjoyed beautiful warm sunshine for the majority of it.
I even got caught in the act of polishing by the owner!
Swissvax had been chosen to finish the car to really show off its highlights. So, polishing completed, the whole car was first prepared using Swissvax Cleaner Fluid, leaving the paint slick looking and free from any residual polishing oils. This was then followed by Best Of Show wax, applied to the whole car and left to cure for approximately 30 minutes in the sun, ideal conditions. In the meantime, the newly refurbished wheels were first treated with Cleaner Fluid, then with Autobahn wheel wax to maximise the shine and give some essential protection.
Whilst both these products cured, the glass was cleaned using Crystal, rubber door seals were conditioned with Seal, tyres and trim dressed with Pneu to give a factory silk sheen look. The exhaust was cleaned with some metal polish, but being made of Titanium means that it won’t shine like a stainless steel item.
Finally, the now cured waxes were buffed to a high shine, panel gaps cleared of any polish residue, and some pictures taken.
On this occasion, we were not asked to do any work to the interior or engine bay, they are immaculately kept by Paul the owner. However, with the engine in particular being such a show piece, it would have been a shame not to display the amazing hard work he has put into this!
Thank you to Paul (the owner) for his hospitality, and a massive thank you to Tom, the owner of the other Focus in the pictures who’s driveway we used, needlessly disturbing his one lie in a week so that we could use his garage in case of rain.
Testimonials
“I know its your job and your paid for it but thanks again for bringing the car up to the standard that I really wanted. This was the first time I’ve ever had anything detailed but it wont be the last thats for sure!”
