Swissvax Divine for another Lotus Carlton (Type 104)
Acquired by the current owner last year, this well mechanically well maintained car had been owned from new by just one person. Time had taken its toll on the outside though, so Shine On were contacted following referrals from the last Lotus Carlton owner, and other members of the Lotus community, to help inject some life back into this beautiful car. After carrying out a full correction detail, including interior and engine treatments it was to be finished with the best quality wax available, Swissvax Divine. To this end, the car was booked in for two days.
Due to a lack of available cover, the weather was a big factor in this detail and it had to be rescheduled several times. When we finally settled on a couple of days, they were at least dry, but sadly decent sunlight was in short supply and it was bitterly cold!
Upon arrival the car look very flat and dull, although pretty clean. Immediately obvious to the touch was a massive amount of tar contamination.
Chatting with the owner and looking around the car with a torch to inspect the paint revealed dense heavy swirls all over and lots of random deep scratches, including one particular mark that was particularly obvious and annoying.
First up was a good wash, including sills, door shuts and engine bay. It took over an hour with a body solvent to remove the tar contamination from the lower half of the doors and sills, and of course the wheels. Once 99% clear of tar the whole car was then treated with Polyclay to remove bonded contaminants from the rest of the paint. This left it all feeling very smooth, and made sure it was now ready to machine polish.
Documentation in the car’s history suggested the front had been painted, something supported by a relatively stone-chip free bonnet and front bumper, an area they can suffer in quite badly. Paint depth readings confirmed this, while moving around the car taking readings elsewhere seemed to indicate it was otherwise totally original.
Happy with this I carried on around the car. Even in the dull light conditions, the improvement in depth and clarity of the paint was immediately obvious. Each work area needed a couple of passes with a cutting compound, and then burnished to perfection with a fine finishing polish enhancing the gloss.
That was the end of day one. The car completely cleansed, and around half the correction work carried out, the sun even made an appearance from behind the clouds just before setting.
Day Two.
With the weather much the same, it was good to be able to give the car a quick wipe down with quick detailer before cracking on with the corrective polishing. First though, the alloys were first treated with Cleaner Fluid before being given a coat of Swissvax Autobahn wheel wax to protect them. This was then left to cure for the rest of the day.
Another 50/50 picture, athough it wasn’t set up on purpose! The cloudiness in the picture to the left is because it had not been refined with a finishing polish at that point.
The lower half of the doors is part of the plastic body kit, so although it was just as badly swirled and scratched, it needed a gentle approach due to the fact a build up of heat can damage the paint and panel a lot quicker than with a metal panel, which dissipates the heat quicker. This was after 3 attempts with the cutting compound and I wasn’t happy to continue further. It showed a massive improvement, although there are some deep marks still partly visible.
With the correction work finished, Swissvax Cleaner Fluid was applied by machine to the paintwork then buffed off by hand in order to prepare it for the wax.
As said earlier, Swissvax Divine is the highest quality wax in the range. With an amazing 61% Carnuba content, it not only gives an unrivalled depth, gloss and wetness to the paint, but it also offers amazing durability. This means the car will only need a careful wash to bring it back to a spectacular condition for many, many months. The first layer was applied by hand, and left to cure while I attended to the interior.
Inside was given a thorough vacuum, including all the little corners and egdes cleared with a Swissvax detail brush, all surfaces were wiped down with a diluted solution of all purpose cleaner and windows were cleaned inside and out with glass polish.
By now the first layer of wax was ready to buff off. Divine isn’t quite so user friendly as the other waxes in the range, but still not exactly a chore and the results are worth the effort. Impressed with the finish, another layer of wax was then applied. This time was used to dress tyres and plastic/rubber components in the engine bay with Swissvax Pneu, dust down panel gaps for polish dust and buff the cured wax off the alloys. Lastly, the paintwork was buffed to a brilliant shine.
Testimonials
“I would definitely recommend anyone to use Shine On regardless of marque, Paul is a genuinely nice bloke who has the rare attributes of actually loving his job and doing it to the best of his ability (bordering on OCD). I personally plan to use this service at least every 8months to keep the cars looking at their best.
And to top it all off…..even my wife commented on how and I quote ‘amazing’ it looked, that testimony alone is worth its weight in gold!
Andy (M3 and Battle Bus!)”
