# My upgrade to an Alfa 159 Ti



## jdquinn (May 19, 2010)

Hi Guys,

I changed the car on this threadhttp://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=283411 a couple of months ago for this car. I bought it in fairly poor condition as can be seen from the pictures. It needed a lot of service work, suspension work and a little paintwork before I could detail it. I spent the first 3 Saturdays of ownership sorting the mechanicals etc and then the next 3 polishing and detailing. I did get it as a bit of a bargain but due to the amount of hours I've put in I wish I'd went for something in better condition to start off with. Now its just about finished I'm starting to really enjoy the car, I'm loving the auto box and the softish suspension, its fantastic for commuting in the boring daily drive and also for posing in around town. I really miss the sporty character, the direct steering and the 50:50 weight distribution that made the 3 series so good to drive and in someways I wish I didn't sell, but only once or twice a year I got the chance to exploit the 3 series handling so I'm more than happy with the change for a daily car. Sometime in the future I'll look out for an E46 M3 as a weekend car which will scratch that itch. Anyway with that said onto the detail:

First up I took the wheels off and spent 2 hours per wheel stripping back the old tar and grime, a clay followed by a coat of filler polish followed by 2 quick coats of collinite 916. From this:






To this:




Then I tackled the bodywork. Which went from this:





















I did a detailed wash, detar, clay, 2 sets of fast cut+ via rotary, 1 set of ultrafina via rotary, meguires polish by hand, 1 coat of collinite 916. The exhausts were done with wire wool on the inside and turtle wax metal polish on the outside and the Tyres were dressed. I didn't get a chance to get the external plastics coated yet but that will do for another day. I did another detailed wash followed by extra cleaning in the shuts etc to remove the other guys (mine) wax. Which left this:




































And some reflection shots, I used the flash to show up the flake pop which isn't as satisfying as it was on the BMW due to it being a simple silver flake.:















Moving on to the interior which was like this when I collected the car:
















I gave the full interior a vacuum followed by a hand wash using a mixture of washing soda and flash apc. I fed the leather with turtle wax leather conditioner, treated the plastics and rubbers to AG vinyl & rubber. The interior & exterior windows were cleaned with AG glass polish followed by AG fast glass. A final wipe down with a clean microfibre left the following pictured during sunset:

























And thats it. I still have to detail the engine bay, sort out stone chips, remove old stone guards which look terrible and replace with new ones and fit mudguards to reduce damage to the paintwork. Until then I'll leave you with a before and after. Thanks for looking.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Looks great, nice work


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

congratz on the new car!

i like these Ti's very much! great job on the work you did on it!


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Fantastic looking car. I reckon it's possibly the best looking car in its class. Out of production now aren't they?


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

nice car


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## Derek Mc (Jun 27, 2006)

Excellent piece of work there, amazing transformation inside and out


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## Justa (Oct 23, 2008)

Lovely cars - makes a 3 series look very dull !


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Looks very nice..


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## AdamC (Jan 31, 2013)

Wow great job. Love these, nearly went for one of these instead of the BMW.


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## jdquinn (May 19, 2010)

Teddy said:


> Fantastic looking car. I reckon it's possibly the best looking car in its class. Out of production now aren't they?


Hi, yes they are out of production, don't know why 'cause they have nothing to replace it with and they still look modern. In my eyes its not really a genuine rival to a BMW 3 series due to being quite cramped everywhere in the cabin and the suspension just doesn't have the same control. The cabin materials are quite good however and the seats are really comfortable. There is more interior space in my wifes 4 door astra G hatchback! Thanks for the comments everyone so far.


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## Testor VTS (May 29, 2009)

Great job on one of the most beautiful cars out there! It really has a character, unlike all the KIA shaped new cars which came out lately!

Whenever I see a 159 I always turn around I watch them go buy as they are sooo lovely! Eventhough the first examples are getting older they still look very modern and stylish!


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

bloody hell that is stunning! alfa do know how to make a 4 door car look incredible


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## Yoghurtman (Dec 9, 2008)

Still look such a great car. Great work too :thumb:


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Top work


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## nickvw (Jun 24, 2007)

Stunning car the 159 and a top job you have done ! A 159ti is on my shortlist for my next car along with many others but the alfa just looks sooo good !!


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## bilout48 (Apr 10, 2008)

nice job ;-)


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## VW STEVE. (Mar 18, 2012)

Top Job mate:thumb:. Love the extra gauges on the dash,wish VW still did them on the GTI's.


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## Bezste (Mar 4, 2011)

Very, very nice! :thumb:


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Looking superb, nice work. Only going to get better with time too.

Very much a BMW who? now for me.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Absolutely stunning car that, great spec too. I love the classic Alfa colour combo of the black paint/tan leather!

I had a 156 in a similar spec (2.0 Twin Spark Selespeed) but mine had black leather. Even considering all its (very many) flaws I loved the car and the way it drove/handled/looked and the anguish when it did break down was more heartbreak!

I had to get rid eventually and after the 159 and Brera/Spider I feel they have slightly lost their way (not a big fan of the MiTo/Guilietta)

Car looks much better in the afters, hope you enjoy it!

Jon


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## madeinsheffield (Sep 24, 2013)

You've inspired me, I've also got a 2.4ti too. Really pleased with it after nearly a year. Everybody always says how good it looks.

Only had one niggle (power steering reservoir only £28) along with maintenance.

I need to spend some real time to get it looking as good as yours, good work.


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## Bezste (Mar 4, 2011)

Great looking car and looks even better now. Can't beat a clean Alfa for turning heads.


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