# Skoda Fabia VRS Tuition Detail



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

The subject of saturday's tuition detail was a rather tidy looking Skoda Fabia VRS belonging to Paul, a DW member 

The car on arrival showed typical road grime, and some flies from its drive up, and underneath the dirt you could start to make out a bit of flatness to the paintwork...



















Bird bomb as well, which as we'll see a little later had unfortunately etched the finish...










9am, just had a cuppa and a chat, time to get started 

And what better place to start than with the wheels and arches which were in need of a bit of a clean...



















Wheels were cleaned using a selection of brushes and Bilberry Wheel Cleaner, while the arches were cleaned using Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner. Tyres also cleaned with APC...



















Paul getting stuck into the wheel cleaning...










Autosmart Tardis doing its job on the tar...










Wheels and arches cleaned...



















Onto the bodywork, the car was first foamed using Supa Snow Foam through the foam lance to eliminate loose grit on the paintwork... no point making more work for yourself with a poor wash technique, and good to demonstrate correct wash technique as part of the tuition detail... Foamy 



















Then washed using two bucket method and rinsed ready for claying...










The car was then clayed using Meguiars Mirror Glaze Blue (Mild) Clay and Last Touch as a lube... Note, the clay is not at my finger tips but rather it is in the palm of my hand so as not to inflict any local pressure through the clay bar that can lead to marring...



















Dried off and rolled up the unit ready for polishing... Now we can see the true finish of the car and it was looking good with a clean...










Alas, the bird bomb etched...










The paint finish was also looking a little flat...




























General swirling and some marring from previous claying some time ago was evident in the paint finish which was taking away from the gloss a little... Using the Sun Gun, we can see these swirls and marring...





































Experimenting with polishes, we came to the conclusion that the paint was not all that hard (despite being VAG - best never to assume ). Correction was carried out using Menzerna Intensive Polish (PO85RD3.02) on a Meguiars W8006 Yellow polishing pad, and refining was done with Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish on a Meguiars W9006 tan finishing pad. Application technique was as follows for both:

*Menzerna Intensive Polish*

A correction only technique was used here as there was no need to refine the finish when a dedicated finishing polish was to be used anyway - so spread the polish, get it working and then work at speed to correct...


Spread at 600rpm, light pressure
Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure for a couple of passes to get residue evenly spread
Work at 1500 - 1800rpm until residue clear and defects removed

A second hit was used in a couple of places where there were deeper scratches... more on that a little later 

*Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish*

A Double Zenith technique used here to refine and burnish the paint to a deep gloss finish and high clarity  This varies both speeds and pressures together to work the unigrit abrasives to the best of their abilities...


Spread at 600rpm, light pressure
Begin working at 1200rpm until residue evenly spread, light to medium pressure
Work at 1500rpm with increasing pressure, levelling at medium pressure tuntil residue clear
Reduce speed to 1200rpm and begin reducing pressure
Finish at 900rpm, light pressure to burnish the paint finish

The results of the above polishing on the paint finish under the Sun Gun... (still requires an IPA wipe here though, to ensure all residues removed and no filling has taken place...)










Gloss restored to the finish...










Having assessed the finish, it was now time to machine polish the car... so as normal for tuition details, the car was divided in two, I went down the passenger side and Paul went down the driver's side, with me on hand to answer any questions or trial different techniques 

Before shots passenger side...























































Befores on driver's side (good luck, Paul !)










Someone had keyed the word "B**ch" into the side door...


















(note how the Sun Gun is less effective at RDS)

More befores...




























Passenger side had some nice RDS too, from a dog...










After shots of the front of the car, with swirls removed and gloss and clarity restored to the finish...
































































Up on the roof, the strip lights did an excellent job at highlighting the RDS...



















Easily corrected as above with IP and #205 though, no need for anything aggressive...










Back to the passenger side, and now the results of the correction and refining process...
































































Gloss restored... (under styling line still to be completed - left for the purposes of a DA machine demo here )



















Dog scratches removed...



















While Paul was continuing down the driver's side, I tackled the tail gate, which shared the same swirls...




























The car was debadged, recently i think 










Afters:














































Down onto the bumper...



















Deep marks from loading the boot were still promenant after polishing first time round...



















Two further hits delivered a notable improvement but deeper marks catching the nail had to remain so as to preserve a good degree of the paint thickness...



















Finish was good though (again, note how poor the Sun Gun is at highlighting RDS!):










The rest of the bumper came up very nicely...




























Paul did a sterling job correcting and refining the driver's side...




























Couple of hits of IP saw the end of the writing on the passenger door too 



















After machine polishing, it was around 9pm, and to allow for some outdoor shots, we decided to photograph the car just at the end of the machine polishing stage... given the wax will make sod all difference to the finish irrespective of which one is used, these pics represent the paint finish achieved by the detail very well, though clearly things like tyres, glass, rubbers and tailpipes are not yet done... Amazing how long a full detail will take :

















































































































































Back inside, and the car was cleansed with Lusso Oro and waxed with BoS. Glass was cleaned with Clearkote Vanilla Moose, tyres with Meguiars Endurance, rubbers and arches with Meguiars All Seasons Dressing, exhaust tip with Briliant Metal Restorer then Premium Metal Polish... The end results are inside the unit I'm afraid, as the end time was going midnight! End shots here shot using a tripod to keep the camera steady...
































































Another tuition detail, another fantastic day - I have to say I am really enjoying these days, and do relish working with folks who are keen about detailing and keen to give it a go themselves  Many thanks to Paul for making the trip up :thumb:

(Note: All pictures taken using a Nikon D90 camera, resized maintaining aspect ratio using Paint Shop Pro, and number plates blank. No other editing has been performed).


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Very nice Dave.
And well done Paul :thumb:
Great correction achieved by both.
Paul your cars looking Fab.

I like the change in working times. Taken out door shots prior to LSP.
Midnight you had an early one Dave. :lol:
Gordon.


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

awesome finish!

well done guys!

the finish is mile deep now


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## montyman1987 (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme work once again dave


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

That's amazing Dave, if only I lived closer, I'd love to do this with you.

Superb looking Fabia too. Love the black grille surround.


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

stunning work dave as norm i am looking at one of thease just wondering is it a 5 speed or 6 speed gear box?

tom


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

Amazing results


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## StuaR32t (Jun 6, 2009)

tom_k said:


> stunning work dave as norm i am looking at one of thease just wondering is it a 5 speed or 6 speed gear box?
> 
> tom


Vrs is a 6 speed box, had one myself, absolute hoot! the pull from 20 in second gear will always put a smile on my face

Nice job lads, cracking little motor!:thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

tom_k said:


> stunning work dave as norm i am looking at one of thease just wondering is it a 5 speed or 6 speed gear box?
> 
> tom


Its a six speed box


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Black Magic (paint colour) does look good on the VRS, although the silver on mine is much more forgiving (as it is in general I guess). Nice tip on the holding the clay, and the process you went though for it all, cheers for that Dave.

I'm not too sure on the black grill surround though, the chrome one gives the black body a bit of blink I think?


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## Carr20VT (Jan 11, 2006)

Wow amazing wish i lived closer :thumb:


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

nice correction, looking brilliant. Good photos too, really think its a nice looking car.


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## alx_chung (Aug 13, 2006)

Job well done again!! 
Alex


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Excellent job :thumb:


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## jonnie5 (Jul 21, 2007)

Brilliant efforts there. Keep up the great work Dave. VAG Black Magic Pearl paint is cracking when its finished well.


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

Was the polishing done with a rotary Dave?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

nicks16v said:


> Was the polishing done with a rotary Dave?


Most was carried out by rotary, though below the styling lines on the doors were done by DA to allow for a demonstration of the DA as well - thats an important part of tuition details, allowing folk to try different machines and approaches


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## missyR (Oct 6, 2008)

Awesome as always Dave!! Crackin lookin wee car too


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## paul2505 (Jan 24, 2009)

Hi all, :wave:

Well I was the guy that Dave was tutoring you can see a showroom thread of mine here...http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=123766 as you can see on that thread I havent done any machine correction up until now and I wanted to learn it.

I am hoping to develop my detailing skills hopefully to a point where I can take up detailing professionally and I concluded that Dave was the Ideal person to get me off to a great start. :thumb:

All I can say is what a fantastic day I had. Yes it was a long day but I am more than used to long working hours with my Job as an LGV driver so it didnt really affect me. The only thing I wasn't looking forward to was the 4 and a half hour drive home afterwards knowing the car would need another wash once I'd got home. :detailer:

I learnt so much in the day about all aspects of detailing including the dreaded sticky paint in which my car suffered from, that I now have the confidence to go on and detail almost any car out there should I be asked to.

My only problem now is Dave introduced me to some really nice products so my wallet is going to get ever lighter :lol:

Also Dave... Did you get a bulldog clip for the unit's keys? 



caledonia said:


> Very nice Dave.
> And well done Paul :thumb:
> Great correction achieved by both.
> Paul your cars looking Fab.
> ...


Thanks for the nice comments Gordon, I too love those outdoor shots and would you believe it was 9pm when we took those.

I have seen your late nights with Dave so I knew he was a slave driver 



badly_dubbed said:


> awesome finish!
> 
> well done guys!
> 
> the finish is mile deep now


Thanks Mate, that means alot top me coming from you, I love your car because of how deep and glossy your car looks :argie:



RussZS said:


> That's amazing Dave, if only I lived closer, I'd love to do this with you.
> 
> Superb looking Fabia too. Love the black grille surround.


Where you from Russ? I travelled from West Yorkshire up to Dundee especially for Dave's tutorage because I knew what he could teach me.

Thanks for the nice comments on the Fabia, just a shame we are letting her go next week for a new chapter, But I did fall back in love with her on the drive home. I'll be kinda sad to see her go. 



StuaR32t said:


> Vrs is a 6 speed box, had one myself, absolute hoot! the pull from 20 in second gear will always put a smile on my face
> 
> Nice job lads, cracking little motor!:thumb:


Yep it is a 6 speed box and this little car is a hoot as it has been re-mapped by Jabbasport with a RR readout at the time of 195bhp so even in 6th the pull is amazing



Carr20VT said:


> Wow amazing wish i lived closer :thumb:


Carr get yourself booked in mate, make a weekend of it you certainly wont regret it.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Glad someone else mentioned the keys. 
Look on the bright side extended lunch and good company to boot. :thumb:
Glad you had a good day Paul.
And I do believe it was 9pm when the pictures where taken.
Gordon.


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## paul2505 (Jan 24, 2009)

caledonia said:


> Glad someone else mentioned the keys.


Haha By all accounts its not the first time he's done that either. It wasnt a problem to be honest we got to have a nice chat outside in the sun.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Nice work there Dave and Paul, nice to see you taking things seriously Paul, know we have spoken a lot but your motor looks in great condition........:thumb:

How did you get on with a Rotary then? OK? Your using a DA aren't you?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Baker21 said:


> Nice work there Dave and Paul, nice to see you taking things seriously Paul, know we have spoken a lot but your motor looks in great condition........:thumb:
> 
> How did you get on with a Rotary then? OK? Your using a DA aren't you?


Paul was using the rotary for most of this detail, and he was getting on very well with it  ... Finishing down hologram free with IP on what was actually softish paint is great for someone just starting with the machine :thumb:


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## paul2505 (Jan 24, 2009)

Si, As Dave said I was using a Makita rotary for most of the day and got on well with it, I also used the DA but wasn't as keen on it mainly because of the vibrations. How you get on without vibration white finger I don't know. :lol: Si I have facebooked you and Dave you have PM.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

paul2505 said:


> Si, As Dave said I was using a Makita rotary for most of the day and got on well with it, I also used the DA but wasn't as keen on it mainly because of the vibrations. How you get on without vibration white finger I don't know. :lol: Si I have facebooked you and Dave you have PM.


Not a problem for me mate, you just get on with it.........

You have PM on Brisky........:thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

paul2505 said:


> Si, As Dave said I was using a Makita rotary for most of the day and got on well with it, I also used the DA but wasn't as keen on it mainly because of the vibrations. How you get on without vibration white finger I don't know. :lol: Si I have facebooked you and Dave you have PM.


Got the PM mate, replied :thumb:


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## BRUN (May 13, 2006)

thanks a lot for posting this thread

Dave if you see this paint as soft, either mine was done with different paint, being an older car maybe ?, or my swirls are more serious, or my technique isnt up to it, probably the latter lol, you have pm !


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## Planet Admin (Jul 11, 2009)

Hi mate, good job, good reflections, thos wheels and wheel arches looked filthy, but there looking good now, i like the VRS's in blue myself, but black shows the reflections good, great finish:thumb:


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