Sanding the cat? Jaguar XK8 Roadster
Recently acquired by it’s new owner, Simon, this stunning Pacific Blue 2004 Jaguar XK8 Convertible had rarely been driven, having only covered some 15000 miles since new. However, in this time nearly every panel had received a number of superficial but very obvious scratches. The huge bonnet and front wings were particular badly affected. Exactly how they came about is unclear, some looked like damage from a hedge but as the car was supplied with a high quality water proof cover the first owner used to fit and remove himself, it is likely a good number of scratches were imparted then. The car was booked in for a full correction detail with a view to addressing these marks and tidying the rest of the car that was already in pretty good condition.
Upon arrival the car was clean having only covered a handful of miles since being washed upon arrival with Simon.
Before getting any water on the car, the fabric roof was vacuumed to remove any debris. The car was then washed, lower half of both sides treated with a solvent to remove fairly heavy tar contamination, then the whole car clayed to ensure a perfect clean surface to work with.
Now clean and dry, it was time to get a really good look at what I was dealing with. General swirling was evident all over, particularly bad on bonnet and bootlid. The scratches were numerous and some were obviously too deep to be fully removed. After taking thorough paint depth readings all over the car using a Positector 200 ultrasonic gauge, I suggested to Simon that wetsanding the worst scratches would give the best, and safest, improvements. There were also a couple of stone chips that had been filled in prior to arrival and allowed to harden so that I could also flat back and polish them.
I always find this colour quite difficult to photograph defects in, the hazy sunshine wasn’t helping at that point either. Still, out with the polishing equipment so that I could carry out a test patch. The paint inspection indicated the whole car was original paint, this suggests that it should all respond similarly to polishing (although this isn’t always the case!). The paint was actually quite hard, and a cutting compound was selected as the best product for the job, to be followed up afterwards with a lighter finishing polish.
Using a very fine grade of sandpaper that had been pre-soaked in a water/detergent solution, I carefully flatted the area around the scratches, checking the area every couple of passes with the paint depth gauge to monitor progress. Once happy that I had either smoothed out the scratch, or removed as much clearcoat as I felt safe to do so (even if it meant leaving some visible scratch), I machine polished the area to remove the sanding marks.
Unfortunately I don’t have a close up finished picture of that area, but below is another part of the wing that was treated in exactly the same way. Simon did see this and it caused a bit of panic I think! I understand it can be a bit traumatic seeing someone previously unknown to you taking sandpaper to your car, but once I had polished the area I called him back out to give reassurance!
The after pictures in these shots were taken immediately after using a heavy compound, so they are not shown in their best condition. A heavy abrasive will often leave its own swirls and marring, hence the need for another pass with a light polish to perfect the finish.
Once the final polish has been done, the paint is left with a beautiful glossy finish and a perfectly reflective surface – the metallic flake is clearly visible (more so for some paints than others).
With all the polishing finished (some 8 hours after starting), the paint was cleansed with Swissvax Cleaner Fluid before being treated to a coat of wax, in this case, Best Of Show. Known for its lustrous deep wet look, it complimented the Pacific Blue perfectly. Wheels were treated to Autobahn wheel wax, tyres to Pneu dressing, grill and exhaust tips polished too. Glass was cleaned and for the final exterior touch the fabric hood was treated with a protector so that it will repel water rather than absorbing it.
Turning my attention to the interior, a good vacuum came first followed by Swissvax Leather Cleaner to all appropriate surfaces. Some light soiling was easily removed, leaving the sumptuous cream leather looking brand new.
Finally, under the bonnet all traces of dust and debris were removed before dressing the rubber and plastic components, leaving them looking factory fresh.
Here are the finished pictures, some taken at the end of the detail, nearly 13 hours after the start. The roof down shots were kindly taken by Simon the following morning.
The heat of the day had been extremely draining but the hard work was worth it for the final result. Simon was delighted with the finish, now happy this is how his car should look.
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!”
