Misson 1: The Run a Round

[+Doc+]

For a while I have been thinking about getting a run-a-round to go to work in, not only will it save the P1 from door dings, crashes, MDF dust etc but it should (fingers crossed) save me on fuel in the long run. So when I spotted this 'beast' for sale at our local garage I took the plunge! Having a good cleaning regime under my belt i saw the beauty lurking under the years of neglect 1999 Mondeo, 1.8 Diesel, 108k, 1 owner from new....a farmer....lol, FSH to 2005. Not bad for £500 with an MOT and half the farmers field,trees, ****e to boot After picking it up on the Thursday I already had plans to attack it at the weekend, I had a Silverline sander in a box ready to test out and plenty of cleaning products to try out. When I collected it I realised the task ahead was a little bit more than I thought at first viewing..... The 'Beast' first pulled up on the drive Hmm what is that baked onto the roof?!?! it was like the Triffids on the back window The front wasnt much better either! I dont think the boot had ever seen cleaning The interior shuts were covered in sand and mud Over zelous grease gun Pig stains? Too many wellies Farmer Giles getting frisky? The interior was disgusting, every nook and cranny was a thick layer of course sand that smelt really bad. The vents were covered, I was begging to think this car had a previous life in the Sahara The car was also riddled with scratches, fallout, haze, swirls, etching, bla bla bla you name it, it had it :s The engine was nice and clean though........lol Mud anyone So the task in front of me was big....too big maybe? Read on First step was to jet wash, more water than I had used on ten P1 washes, under over, inside out, the drive resembled a mud pit when I had finished. The state of the paintwork was evident after the first jet wash, is this sheeting? So Day 1: shuts, Interior, Engine. Detail brush and Autoglym engine cleaner should do the trick for the shuts. Engine Cleaner and a hard bristle brush for the engine with good old Hafords engine detailer for finishing with a touch of Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care. The results of the engine after washing down: Not bad at all! Next onto the interior, Products used: Autglym tar remover, Autoglym interior shampoo, Vanish, Fairy liquid, APC, Micrfibres, Scrubbing brushes, Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care Another detail brush helped me with the vents, How much dirt can you lift from seat and plastic? Much better, with a few old Scoobie mats So day 1 was over, time for a beer. 5 hours Day two started and it was time to clean the exterior. Products used: Autoglym shampoo, wheel brush, detailing brush, lambswool mit, Megs mit, Autoglym tar remover, Yellow clay, home made Clay lube mix. This was the result from the doors After washing and claying it was time to mask off and crack open the Silverline sander, with an orange lake country pad and plenty of Menz intensive polish ready it was all systems go....until the Silverline decided not to spin properly After putting pressure on the sander the spin stopped completely and just vibrated! My dreams of full correction were shattered. I had come this far and had a few hours to spare so I decided to crack on at half steam and go for a semi correction and protection detail in the hope either my orbital would start working properly or I would simply upgrade in the future. After one hit with Menx this was the reult: Not bad but could do better, so I tried a few varients to see if anything would help. Poorboys SSR2 with a yellow pad didnt do anything, Autoglym SRP with a finishing pad worked very well actually as the pad was light and the orbital could spin at a higher velocity, consequently i went all over the car in this fashion then topped it off with a full Jefss acrylic kit using the orbital to start and the QD to remove. the combination of Jeffs and Ag seems to work well on the tired paint, although the correction was not as I had wanted the SRp cut and filled well and the Jeffs gave a really deep shine to the surprisingly flaky Ford paint. So after 6 hours of buffing here are the results: Conclusion: I need a new orbital Thanks for looking

[sparkytrix]

nice! had ur work cut out with that one! good improvement though

[Polished Bliss]

Nice work so far, it's always satisfying to transform a tired old runaround into a respectable looking car - I have to once a year when I detail Angela's car for her lol! (but don't tell her that)