# ASTRA: The Detail



## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

*ASTRA: THE DETAIL*

This is another mini DW meet and big weekend detail write. In an attempt to speed up the load time I've decided o splinter some of the tests and tool information into other posts with links to and from this post. Bear with me, I hope they will all make stand alone posts but with a shared reference and purpose. Might be easiest to read the whole thing and then if you're interested follow the links a second time around.

Let me know what you think too the layout I know the really long posts can be difficult to digest (and take an age to load!). 

Anyway on to the detail and a few aims that were set out for the weekend.

*THE AIMS*

What defects can and can't we remove and how do the defects affect the finish close up (Link to ASTRA: PIG)
Finish is a very perceptive thing can, we measure gloss levels (Link to ASTRA: GLOSSMETER)
How effective are the 'New' one polish systems (Link to ASTRA: ONE LIQUID SYSTEMS)
Test the new king of compounding (Link to ASTRA: MEGS M105)
Find the best polished surface obtainable on this paintwork (Link to ASTRA: FINISHING POLSIH TEST)
Find the most effective glaze for this paint type (Link to ASTRA: GLAZE TEST)
Does pre paint feeding aid defect correction? (Link to ASTRA: PRE FEED)
Try out a few other new products as mini tests as we go along

*THE DETAIL*
The car chosen for this onslaught is a ASTRA owned by a guy I work with. He only uses the car to and from work so he's car buying brief is simple "mechanically sound". This however leaves the appearance of the vehicle a little questionable and to be fair he never washes them EVER!!!! His current vehicle was a spectacular buy as it's been running soundly for the last 3 years, however the appearance has suffered a little.

The car on arrival, looking a little sorry for itself



















































The roof can be explained in the following link (Link to ASTRA: PRE FEED)











I brought the car home from work on Friday afternoon with the intention of getting it washed and clayed ready for the weekends big plan 

First up was the pre- soak
The car was sprayed with my usual pre soak Chemicals Citrus wash at a round 10:1 through a garden sprayer. In this case I sprayed the whole car (bonnet and roof included!)































Next up and onto the foam stages
First foam stage through the AB Daddy Lance was 500ml of SSF/MSII and 500ml of Megs APC and a litre of warm water. Foamed up lovely more like Gillette!





















While this was doing it's thing, the arches were rinsed using the AB Underbody lance which makes cleaning out the arches so easy. About a kilo of mud came out from under the car! 











The car was then pressure washed off, looking like a lot of the traffic film and muck had been removed

Second foam stage was just the usual 200ml of SSF/MSII in 1800ml of warm water left to dwell for 5 mins and the car then pressure washed off.











Onto the first Wash
The Stage 1 Schmitt was brought out, along with a Megs bucket and grit guard, then a few squirts of Megs Old Spice was added to a full bucket of warm water. It felt like washing sandpaper with a sponge over the whole car and didn't remove a huge amount more muck than the foam stages already had. Not only oxidised, the muck had fused with the paintwork











The car was a mass of bonded contaminates and tar so first up I sprayed Auto Smart's Tardis on to the bonnet and full sides, normally only the lowers, with a thick layer which was left to soften it all up. 
I then preceded with Megs Last Touch at 1:1 and Sonus Green mild clay bar. This following the liberal Tardis application, was more than enough to remove the now pre-softened tar and contaminants and I felt would leave less marring. The sprayed last touch solution went black with all the muck being knocked off by the clay bar.











The car was then washed again using Megs Shampoo Plus and the Stage one Schmitt, which was washed out from the earlier wash but looking decidedly battered following the first wash and has now since been retired.

It battled well being the first I bought some time ago but ASTRA proved to be it's undoing 

RIP ScMitt One 2007 to 2008

It was about at this point I decided that the "three wheel trim" look was not the way forward and removed them and placed them in the boot (the owner had promised to buy new ones if I do a good job!). The car now looking much more stylish











The car was dried using a few Sonus Der Wunder drying towels and put away in the dehumidified and heated garage to show it some loving care. 

Saturday morning and the drive looked like I had burnt a car out the day before not washed it!











I would be lucky enough to be joined this weekend by L200 Steve and a few other DW members on Sunday too, to add a bit of professionalism to the affair.

*VEHICLE ASSESSMENT*
The car is single stage red paint which the PTG readings seemed to suggest was all original, although the passenger wing and door were probably off another vehicle or a later repair replacement as they looked noticeably less oxidised but of a similar thickness)
General thickness varied between 80 and 110 which for single stage was quite good. The gauges used were my CM8828 and Steve's Positector DFT.

Here's a few pictures under the light of the EP200 Mk1









































Having seen this car in the car park for many months before, I was aware of a large number of bird etchings which had eaten all the way through the red paint but not through the primer.





















About a week before the detail I pre filled these primer exposed areas with blobs of Halfords Vauxhall Flame Red (not a good colour match as it turns out). The blobs would be sanded off later











Back to detail day and the blobs were then sanded off using Mirka Royal 1500 discs (the air sanders were deemed a bit of over kill for a few small areas. We had a few that worked really well and other areas that were too thin to continue sanding the blobs off so had to leave a raised area (which was also a slightly different colour!) This was fail both by poor paint match and my over enthusiastic use of the blob and sand technique











A few finished examples shown here after the polishing stages (and a pre curser of what's to come on the paint finish)





















Steve had brought with him an Elcometer 121 Paint Inspection Gauge and we spent some time looking at the paint defect present under the microscope to learn a little about the condition of the paint work we were intending to restore. Further details of this can be found through the following link (Link to ASTRA: PIG)











We had at our disposal a vast array of different products in order to restore the finish, we had planned to achieve the best possible finish on this paint and in order to do this we arranged for a trial loan of a gloss meter to take personal perception away from the equation. Details of this and how it works can be found here (Link to ASTRA: GLOSSMETER) and figures from it will be appearing throughout the detail. 











*THE POLISHING STAGES*

The polishing stages on this car were intended to be a mix of some new style products and some old favourites to achieve the highest possible finish.

First up a try out of some of the "new" non diminishing one liquid systems (Link to ASTRA: ONE LIQUID SYSTEMS)

After testing these, Steve finished the rest of the car using a mix of Megs 83 and new Megs 105 by Metabo & W8006 polishing pad and G220 & W7006 cutting pad ((Link to ASTRA: MEGS M105) leaving the finish on the car at around 83GU on the gloss meter











The huge amount of pads used were soaked when finished with in warm water and CG Microfibre wash








































The car was put away after a hard day, looking significantly better than it had started, but still with a long way to go

The next morning Steve had a little test with a few favourite finishing polishes to find which one left the glossiest finish using the glossmeter (Link to ASTRA: FINISHING POLSIH TEST)
 
Whilst he worked along I decided to have a play with a new polish to me Chemical Guy's Final Polish by Rupes and a W8006 pad. 











I don't know what this polish smells of but I recognise it just can't put my finger on it , Steve didn't seam that interested in how it smelt, but I was bugging me none the less, still is to be fair. Any how away I went spreading a few blobs at speed 2 (800 rpm) and then working for 3 to 4 minutes at speed 5 (1300 rpm) finally slowing down as the product broke down to speed 2 again to refine the finish. 











The polish didn't feel as oily as some I've use which made it really nice to work with the residue cleanly wiping off with an MF. A gloss meter reading of 89.3 showed it had improved on the finish left by #83. Might have just been my polishing though.











Steve continued to work his way around the car with PO85 RD the group test winner and I moved on to testing a few glazes with the gloss meter to again improve on the finish. 

The full write up can be found here (Link to ASTRA: GLAZE TEST). I then preceded to fully glaze the sides and bonnet with a MF over foam applicator and buffed off with MF.

Bit of a contrast roof to bonnet at this stage!











*THE LSP STAGE*

First use of Megs NXT 2.0 for me, great product easy on and easy off, beads well and looks cracking Steve also commented on liking the smell of this one!. Applied using the red side of a German pad left to dry (finger swipe test to confirm buff off time) and then buffed of with a new MEGA plus CG Fluffer towel. 











This is a very thick napped towel and I will definitely be adding more of these to the Epoch towel collection as It's way soooooffft and thicccckkkk











The car now reading slightly less on the gloss gauge, the wax obviously adding a little of it's own hue











Beading was also impressive











At this stage we were lucky enough to have Neil_S join us for a little play with the roof which we had saved till last.

Following on from Steve and me's last outing (Link to: FIESTA) where we talked with Neil_S of the possible advantages of pre detailing a car or pre treating the paintwork so adding back some goodness in order to make the polishing process easier. This would explain why the roof looked like this on arrival











Information as to the outcomes of this stage can be found here (Link to ASTRA: PRE FEED)

Neil tried a little M105 by hand cutting in a few areas and also T Cut for the same thing. It's funny but he commented on how effective they both were at removing the oxidation!











Does this mean the end of boutique detailing products!!!

*THE FINAL DRESSING*

Neil worked his way around the car using Black Wow making some amazing changes to the greying bumpers. The difference shown on the greying bumpers was amazing and product usage surprisingly small. For this car there was no better trim restoring product





















Neil also worked Zaino AIO on the chrome grill trim with an MF which cleaned up the marked silver easily. This really seams to be a great cleaning product. 

I gave the glass a wipe over with Megs Glass cleaner concentrate and an MF, while Steve finished the roof off to the same standard as the rest of the car, muttering something about me never pre glazing again.

*AFTER SHOTS*





















The most interesting photo in the detail




















We rolled the car outside for some shots and I gave it the once over with some Megs M135 the new synthetic detailer the same as ultimate quick detailer which added even more slickness to the paint work.





























































Heads up for Brazo


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Still waiting........


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

A few final after thoughts to our epic weekend

I had another great testing weekend thanks to Steve, Neils and BigSyd, who also popped in.

Two things to sum it up for me

I have spent a few hours in the office since telling the owner what he needs to keep it looking good (he may not be fully converted but he is intending on washing and waxing it now)

And he came up to me yesterday to say, whilst he was filling at the petrol station under the lights some guy came over and said "Bloody hell that's in great nick, what do you use to keep it so shiny"

Over to Steve

Epoch kept me informed of progression for the weeks running up to this detail, many emails and many PM's about the products that we were to be trialling on the Astra. Even before we'd started to polish, I was impressed by how much investigation Jon had carried out to get the product list reading like it did.

I've learnt so much from this weekend, and am so glad that Jon has chosen to share our investigations with all on this forum. I really think that we've tried more new product this weekend than I did through the last six months of 2007.

I'd got a bit set in my ways, chosen the polish that I wanted to use as first choice product on every detail and stuck with this as I didn't think that I would or could find better products. This weekend of detailing has confirmed a few of my existing thoughts, whilst also opening my eyes to a couple of new and exciting products.

The one step polish products were all great to use, and the swapping over of pads to create the finish / correction that you want seems to make good sense. If only we'd have had a little more time, then I was keen to trial them by G220 to see if we could get them to work using just foam pads alone. Something for a future detail at Epoch's methinks.

Meg's #105 - I really need a bottle of this stuff with my name written on. I've always tried to shy away from the Menzerna Powergloss, as it never seemed to suit my style of polishing. I can't believe how easy this product became to use after only a couple of quick uses.

The Gloss Meter - This was an area that I was keen to investigate, and big credit to Epoch for sourcing one for this detail. Same as with one or two of the products that we used, limited time preventing as full an investigation as I would have liked, but I do think that this is an area that I will be investing in at some point in the near future.

To be fair I could go on and on with paragraph after paragraph regarding the things that we learnt this weekend, but I think that most will be able to pick up from the posts Epoch has made that we got the most important bit of the detail right - I don't think that I've enjoyed a detail as much as this one, and the customer was blown away by his shiny motor.

Mission accomplished.

One last picture of the happy owner


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2008)

Now thats a turn around.

The time and effort, both in sourcing and working the products.

Bow down.

:speechles


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## Buzzsaw (Nov 4, 2007)

Thanks for such an interesting and detailed write up - the finish is amazing


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## ryanuk (Jun 22, 2007)

wow!!!!!!!!!!! that is some turn around!

great work guys!


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## stupidmonkfish (Sep 4, 2006)

Now thats what i call a "detail" , these threads are so much better than supercar details for me, what a great turnaround and what a great effort you chaps put in.

The gloss meter is interesting, how much are they?? and it was interesting that the Megs nxt reduced gloss, you always assume that each layer of product would increase not reduce.

Top effort, cracking finish and a very lucky owner.


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## Brisa (Aug 9, 2006)

Brilliant, kept me up rather late though all these ASTRA threads lol. 

I too have noticed in my little garage test panel setup on a white single stage VAG panel that both Jetseal 109 and CG's Factory Sealent and a selection of waxes all retracted somewhat from the prefect crisp white that the polishing stage left. Leaving it a little more off white, only visible when really looking though.


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## sczscoob (Nov 15, 2006)

Love it!!!:doublesho :thumb: These are the Details worth doing and reading about! Well done:thumb:


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## Mouse (Oct 31, 2006)

Amazing, I love it when cars like this get done


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Excellent write up and turn around there. Fab finish also - well done!


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

That is a most impressive detail and a superb detail. The format works well - I just have to catch up with all the sub-sections now. However, this is a great read and very informative. The transformation on the car is remarkable - who says "you can't polish a turd" ?
:thumb:


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

stunning detail and great results. I cant believe how much work went into it


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

A quick video of us polishing the Astra - Youtube video


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

A little video Neil_S sent me too - Youtube video


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Great wright up, mate

So dose the 2.0 live up to all the Megs Hype?


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Chaps Credit to you all ... Top turnaround and im sure the owner was more than happy !


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

james b said:


> Great wright up, mate
> 
> So dose the 2.0 live up to all the Megs Hype?


It's only a week old but the car still looks SO out of place in the carpark i.e. Shiny. I'll report back as i will be sorting some stuff out for the owner so will still see it regularly

For me the telling bit was the gloss level post wax fell back to around the gloss achieved with Megs #83.

So #83 produces a NXT 2.0 gloss level finish :thumb:

It will be interesting to see if the uber expensive stuff lets more gloss through.

But that's another detail!


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## 1000lakes (May 12, 2007)

Just finished reading all the sections, it took time but was worth it.
Excellent write up with lots of information. :thumb:


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

:thumb: It never ceases to amaze me the amount of detail (excuse the pun) you guys go to, always makes for a fascinating read & the end results simply speak for themselves.

I think a you could make a good book with all the information you have gleaned!


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> :thumb: It never ceases to amaze me the amount of detail (excuse the pun) you guys go to, always makes for a fascinating read & the end results simply speak for themselves.
> 
> I think a you could make a good book with all the information you have gleaned!


Or a DVD


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## Tiauguinho (May 1, 2007)

Holy crap, that is one hell of a turnaround!


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

does the owner want to sell the car at all 

fantastic work i shall be keeping a eye out for a car to practice on soon just like this 

also where are those blue towels from?


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Kev_mk3 said:


> also where are those blue towels from?


david g from Carwashnwax


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## NKS (Feb 22, 2007)

This has got to be the best write-up and test of any detial on DW so far! 

Well done chaps and thanks for sharing with us :thumb:


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

Epoch said:


> david g from Carwashnwax


thanks buddy :thumb:


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

Epoch said:


> Or a DVD


Book would be better for reading in the smallest room, Mrs would def. think i was weird if i took a DVD player in there :lol:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Now that's what you call a 'Detail'.....

Amazing after results.


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Thats an amazing correction, shine and depth is fantastic :thumb:


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## Silva1 (Sep 16, 2007)

like new 

brilliant turnaround !!


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Blimey, looks better than my Audi, think I should get an old Astra as my next car! :lol:


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## Affection to Detail (Jul 6, 2006)

stupidmonkfish said:


> Now thats what i call a "detail" , these threads are so much better than supercar details for me, what a great turnaround and what a great effort you chaps put in.
> 
> The gloss meter is interesting, how much are they?? and it was interesting that the Megs nxt reduced gloss, you always assume that each layer of product would increase not reduce.
> 
> Top effort, cracking finish and a very lucky owner.


If you're lucky you can get the one in the test for about £800 depending where you go. There are of course cheaper one from China, would be good to do a side by side test unless Steve is making one of those as well


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## Breeze_Blue (Aug 20, 2006)

I'm gobsmacked by that, the poor car looked almost on it's last legs before you guys took loving care of it, once again you guys never stop raising the bar well done, trully amazing :thumb:


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## scragend (Oct 29, 2005)

Absolutely awesome transformation :thumb:


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## BIG BAVARIAN (May 7, 2006)

well written and executed jon and steve ,this must be a dw first in terms of the value of the vehicle, is less than the value of the labour and products,thanks for a great read :thumb:


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## stewie (Dec 20, 2005)

Stunning that. Now going to read it all again!


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Awesome work chaps! :thumb: Intersting results also


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

Fantastic work guys, excellent write-ups and stunning afters!


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Any chance of borrowing the gloss meter for another weekend and doing tests on a range of lsp's?


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Well Pimp My Ride....lol....Just needs some 18" chrome spinners now...

Nice work and a great write up.....:thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> Any chance of borrowing the gloss meter for another weekend and doing tests on a range of lsp's?


I intend to try but i doubt it!

I want the one that does curves next

we shall see


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

vxrmarc said:


> Well Pimp My Ride....lol....Just needs some 18" chrome spinners now...
> 
> Nice work and a great write up.....:thumb:


Cheers Marc

I still like it on the black rims, we did talk of painting them on Sunday but thought it looked meaner with the flaking rusty bits :lol:

I didn't even dress the tyres so they fit with the wheels rat look


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## jonnie5 (Jul 21, 2007)

That is one of the best turnaround on the site I have ever seen. Great respect to you 2 guys. You've added more than £500 to the price now lol


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

been reading this and all the associated reviews/posts over the last couple of days, while bing sick as a dog in bed.... Really great posts, that are a superb example of what DW is all about IMHO - trying new stuff out, learning and sharing and having a load of fun at the same time  And they took my mind off feeling crap for quite a while as well :lol:

Glad you like NXT 2.0 and it wasnt just me thinking it gave a great finish  UQD over it seems to just give it that little extra something as well.

Been reading a lot about these 'one' polishes and glad to hear a balanced and objective review of their performance. Even more keen now to get hands-on with a rotary and try something out....


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks guy's

Damon the NXT 2.0 was a great to work with, although i've never used NXT 1 before.

As mentioned the gloss level dropped back a lot after application but in truth for a product that will cost about £10 or so can't fault it. 

I'll be interested to see how long it lasts 

Wish i'd tried some of the more expensive waxes out on some bits to see if they allow more gloss to remain!

Next time


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Awesome thread! You guys did a great job, really top marks!

That car looks pretty straight too, i hate working on cars that have had accident damage before, a straight body always makes the job little more satisfying. Looks like she rolled out of the production line.

5 stars from me! :thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks Mr Singh

The passenger side wing and door really were a different shade before but the same thickness, bit wierd but they looked orgnal fit so i don'ty know

came up fine in the end so no worries


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## mitch 106 gti (Oct 21, 2007)

Looks better than when new! :thumb:


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## Bulla2000 (Jun 5, 2007)

Just amazing and very nice to read. Thanks and well done!


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Hugely impressive.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Dave KG said:


> Hugely impressive.


Thanks Dave


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## Sportspack Mark (May 24, 2007)

that is truely amazing, didnt think there was a red car under that!

well done!


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## AW8 (Dec 11, 2006)

Found this having read epochs comments on NXT2.0 elsewhere.

Absolutley fantastic work and probably the one of the best detail write ups I have ever seen.

I am a Megs fan & recent owner of a G220. learning all the time but keen to be able to push the machines capabilities if needed. I fight BMW clearcoat with multi passes of #83, so the stateside #105 is of much interest, (as is the NXT2.0).

Genuine & sincere thanks to Epoch and L200 Steve for taking the time and effort to share your knowlege & experiences.


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## Os8472 (Mar 9, 2008)

Dude, thats an amazing transformation, top work fella


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## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

Epoch said:


> *ASTRA: THE DETAIL*
> 
> This is another mini DW meet and big weekend detail write. In an attempt to speed up the load time I've decided o splinter some of the tests and tool information into other posts with links to and from this post. Bear with me, I hope they will all make stand alone posts but with a shared reference and purpose. Might be easiest to read the whole thing and then if you're interested follow the links a second time around.
> 
> ...


smashing job:thumb::thumb:


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## sc0tty83 (May 27, 2008)

Thats The Most Fantastic Transformation I Have Ever Seen


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## 1996a6v6 (Feb 8, 2008)

Excellent, with a set of wheel trims it will look superb, great thread :thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

1996a6v6 said:


> Excellent, with a set of wheel trims it will look superb, great thread :thumb:


Thanks i actually liked the black rim look bit the owner has since added some snazzy wheel trims

I'll try to get an update shot at somepoint (whilst i still work here anyway)


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

i can safely say you tripled the value of the car in this detail.


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## thethinamerican (Aug 19, 2008)

What an amazing car I'm saddened to hear it was totaled


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