# Tired Golf cabriolet restored to former glory, big write up!



## Paulo.dicanio (Mar 20, 2008)

This is a car I bought as a MOT failure. Most of the bushes needed replacing and garage quoted the previous owner a ridiculous amount to fix. After owning the car for about 8 years the lady who owned it decided it wasn't worth fixing and arranged to sell it to the scrappy for £60:doublesho
Knowing I had access to a ramp and plenty of spare time I couldn't let this happen and thus acquired myself a cheap project.:thumb:

Anyways this is the car how I bought it.



















http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y212/paulodicanio/carcorrection086
.jpg




























Although the car was very much loved I don't think it has ever been pampered! Didn't look like it had been washed in a long long time!!
Anyways on with the detail. I apologise for some of the photography and general order of things as this was undertaken over several sessions over several weeks.
First up the wheels were given a soaking in Bilberry and pressure rinsed, then soaked again and attacked with various brushes. This was rinsed off once more and the arches were also given a good going over.


























I didn't spend too long just yet oon the wheels as they would be coming off later anyway, just enough to get rid of the worst of the caked on horse poo. ( This car has spent most of time living in the sticks!)

Next up the whole car was given a soak in APC and a pressure rinse. Then it was out with the brushes and yet more APC into all the nooks and crannys and not to meantion the mouldy vinyl roof. THis ended up being very time consuming due to the amount moss mould and general crud everywhere!






































































































































The car was rinsed again and washed using the the two bucket method using Mark V Cherry shampoo and lamb wool mitt. I neglected to photo any of this as storm looked like it was a brewing.
After washing the car quickly dryed and moved inside. 









Then it was time to attend to some montrous tar spots with some Autosmart Tardis and then the whole car was clayed with Bilt Hamber clay.



















Now the car was clean and inside under some lighting I could have a proper look at the paintwork
About what I expected I suppose but some truly savage swirl marks along the side panels










Before I got onto the polishing there was one or two areas of paintwork I wanted to have a crack at with a rattle can. I decided they would otherwise spoil the end result. 
There was a small patch of rust above the rear light and the laquer had began peeling away from the painted section of the grille.
First up the rust patch was ground back and filled.








Then sanded flat and primed.










The paint was blown in and laqer over the top before eventually being wet sanded and compounded to "lose" the laqer line. Leaving me wit this










Not 100% perfect but practically unnoticeable I think. I was fairly happy with my amauterish SMART repair!

NExt up the grille was flatted and repainted.


















Now it was time to crack on with polishing:buffer:
After messing around with several combos on some test areas on the bonnet. I went for Menz Power Gloss on a 4" spot pad using a Dual action and refined with Menz 106 FA via a rotary. I know this seems like a slightly unsual way of doing things but at the time my Kestrel rotary was playing up and kept cutting out under load but it could just about handle 106 FA and 85RD. I thought my G220 with the PowerGloss made "relatively" easy work of the deeply swirled paintwork.


















This combo was used over the entire car, here are few work in progress snaps.

50/50 shot of the wing
























Bonnet and wing compounded and refined...








Wing and half door complete
















Completed side shot









Once the polishing had finally been finished, the car was given a hand application of Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite on a Megs foam pad. Then two coats of Dodo Juice Supernatural again applied by foam pad. I know its a bit of an overkill on a 13 year old VW golf but I had a little panel pot spare and I really wanted to make this car look as amazing as possible:thumb:
I am continually astounded by this product combo, makes the car look so wet I expect the surface to ripple if I stamp my feet.









Now time for the finishing touches.... 
First up the bumper plastics restored with a hot air gun, then Chemical Guys New Look Trim gel over the top.









The vinyl roof was treated with Aerospace 103 and buffed with a microfibre.









The rest of the plastics and tyres were treated with the newlook trim gel.

The wheels were removed and machine poilished with 106 FA, then a layer of CG EZ creme glaze over the top and sealed with PB wheel sealant. (apologies left my camera at home that day!!) ALthough the wheels were badly curbed I wanted to make the bestI could of them and genuinely surpised about how well they came up. 
Whilst the wheels were off I cleaned the arches and dressed with Aerospace.









Now with outside pretty much finished I turned my attention to the interior. Which again was minging!!! Plastic surfaces were cleaned with APC diluted 10/1 then dressed with PB natural look. The interior was vacuumed. The carpets were scrubbed with Vikan interior brushes and APC then rinssed with warm water and extracted with the trusty vax. Here's a few before and after..



























































Now everything complete it was time to roll her out into the sun but not before a quick layer of Dodo juice Red Mist

















THanks for reading I apologise for the essay and some dodgy pictures!
For anyone interested the bushes were replaced in amoungst all this happening. What an absolute  of a job. Included several hours of hammer beating and offensive language.









Anyways here are the finsihed pictures of my little project, enjoy......




































































































Thanks for looking, any comments, advice,questions welcome.


----------



## timster (May 10, 2009)

Looking good so far


----------



## Cardiff R33 (May 14, 2009)

great project car! And superb work so far


----------



## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

I love these types of threads. 

Top work mate - Looking good - Keep posting the updates (thread subscribed) :thumb:


----------



## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

top job so far:thumb::thumb:


----------



## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

looks great so far looks like it hadn't been washed in the eight years the previous owner owned it for:lol:


----------



## Paulo.dicanio (Mar 20, 2008)

OOps pressed submit thread instead of preview thread!


----------



## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

absolutey stunning
what a result you must be very proud
all we need is some sun 
tell you ill give £12 0 youve doubled your money:driver:


----------



## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

Fantastic work, that looks a different car, well done 

How is the hood mech, & is it electric?


----------



## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Looking soooooo much better now - Wow - what a transformation. :thumb: 

Having a MK3, I'm curious as to how effective the heat gun was on the black bumper vinyl trim..? I've not had the courage to try it as yet


----------



## MattOz (May 15, 2007)

That's what I'm talking about!  Great resurrection of a sorry looking car. Fantastic job.

Matt


----------



## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

what an improvement :thumb:


----------



## Paulo.dicanio (Mar 20, 2008)

Thanks for the comments...



MadOnVaux! said:


> Fantastic work, that looks a different car, well done
> 
> How is the hood mech, & is it electric?


The hood is electric but the pump has gone and most places wanting £200 + for replacement I decided that I can live with the 20 sec task of doing it manually for now:thumb:



yetizone said:


> Looking soooooo much better now - Wow - what a transformation. :thumb:
> 
> Having a MK3, I'm curious as to how effective the heat gun was on the black bumper vinyl trim..? I've not had the courage to try it as yet


I only used it on the front and rear bumpers but it was very effective. I wouldn't be too worried about doing it. Just finding the right technique to get the finish even. I found working in 6" section of bumper at a time, working side to side until area is covered then blending into the next section.


----------



## talisman (Nov 20, 2006)

yetizone said:


> Looking soooooo much better now - Wow - what a transformation. :thumb:
> 
> Having a MK3, I'm curious as to how effective the heat gun was on the black bumper vinyl trim..? I've not had the courage to try it as yet


yes some more info on this would be great, anyone tried this method?


----------



## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Nice turn around mate!


----------



## Jochen (May 21, 2007)

Amazing job there! :thumb::thumb:


----------



## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Amazing transformation mate, looks superb!! :thumb:


----------



## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

First class transformation... :thumb:


----------



## DubbedUP (Oct 2, 2007)

Outstanding and loving the username as well :lol:


----------



## catgroom (Apr 17, 2007)

*.*

Maaaate,thats an unusual ****tail of cleansing lotions

I was itching to fast forward to the end pics,but didnt,and when I did get there (ooer!),it was waaaay beyond what I expected.

I remember this car when it was nearly new,a lady near me (Camberley,Surrey,where Im originally from) owned it.

Nice to see it as I remember it.

Nothing like topless love:wave::thumb:

Steve


----------



## Mister-Jimbo (Nov 29, 2006)

worth at least 10 times what you paid for it I reckon! 

cracking work there, amazing turnaround :buffer: :thumb:


----------



## jonnyw59 (Jan 31, 2009)

awsome work.


----------



## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Paulo.dicanio said:


> Thanks for the comments...
> 
> I only used it on the front and rear bumpers but it was very effective. I wouldn't be too worried about doing it. Just finding the right technique to get the finish even. I found working in 6" section of bumper at a time, working side to side until area is covered then blending into the next section.


OK thanks for the info on the heat gun bumper treatment - I may try this when I have the time to concentrate and do it properly. As with everyone else's comments it really is a superb turn around. 

For reference, it would be really interesting to have an update as to what your future plans are regarding the vehicle and how much the whole project has cost in terms of parts etc to bring it back from the brink and make a roadworthy MOT'd car 

Just shows what can be done with a bit of know how. Inspiring stuff :thumb:


----------



## Andy_Green (Oct 27, 2005)

awesome turnaround, would love to have the space to be able to complete projects like what you've done, bit of mechanical work getting her running right and then time spent cleaning and you've got yourself a cracking car for the summer or even just to sell on and make a tidy profit.


----------



## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

Great turnaround chap - must have been very rewarding. :thumb:

Plan on selling it on? Let us know how you get on.


----------



## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

stunning! this is the ONLY good soft-top hatch around!


----------



## "SkY" (Apr 21, 2009)

wow,really big change


----------



## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

awesome stuff, looks a little cracker now


----------



## GeeBee (Apr 21, 2008)

What a change, a lot of work there, but well worth it, bargain at £60


----------



## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

WOW, what a great purchase and timely turnaround..........:thumb:

If you put some new wheels and suspension on it, that would be one nice looking Cabrio...........:thumb:

What are the future plans?


----------



## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

superb turnaround mate! its hard to believe that its the same vehicle.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Thats brilliant - what a transformation. Really enjoyable read, great results. Cool stuff! :thumb:


----------



## Trig (Jun 9, 2008)

That is great work. Please tell us you are going to sell it on for a very tidy profit


----------



## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Nice job, you created a nice little summer fun car, well done and enjoy!


----------



## Sveneng (Apr 20, 2008)

Really great work there. Have you MOTd it yet? As the others have said, keep us updated, thanks.


----------



## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

fantastic mate enjoyed that :thumb:

Baz


----------



## Paulo.dicanio (Mar 20, 2008)

Thanks for the positive comments everyone! These are the sort of cars I enjoy working because the rewards are always so worthwhile.
I haven't quite decided what I am doing with it yet but I guess it will be probably sold on. However I must admit I am quite taken by this machine (as is Mrs Dicanio!) so you never know. As someone else said, a nicer set of alloys and slightly lowered suspension and I think that would be a VERY sexy summer car.

I have worked out it will owe me just under £500 once it is fully sorted. That includes new bushes, shock absorbers, new exhaust, aerial, a new set of headlights, full service etc. Im on first name terms with guys at GSF parts 

So hopefully the new owner of this car will get a real cracker and it will be enjoyed for many more years to come! 

Cheers,
Paulo


----------



## Russ and his BM (Jan 1, 2008)

What an astounding piece of work - well done!


----------



## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

looks a different car now mate.


----------



## illeagalhunter (Jun 17, 2007)

Wow what a tranformation .


----------



## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

Lovely job mate :thumb:


----------



## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

Ever though about making a TV show based on your experience? Maybe with a slightly ignorant ****ney and a lanky one to do all the hard work?????




(TBH mate, your project is far better!!)


----------



## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

transtek said:


> a slightly ignorant ****ney and a lanky one to do all the hard work?????


:lol::lol::lol:


----------



## Paulo.dicanio (Mar 20, 2008)

transtek said:


> Ever though about making a TV show based on your experience? Maybe with a slightly ignorant ****ney and a lanky one to do all the hard work?????


:lol:

I do have my own version of Ed China who does a lot of the mechanical work as it goes. You could be onto something there! I could leave him do all the crap jobs while I nip off to to buy parts and interview bearded enthusiast owners!


----------



## geert dr (Jul 13, 2007)

Great job , looks superb now ! :thumb:


----------



## mattjonescardiff (Dec 12, 2006)

Excellent project, and should give you a nice return on your investment.


----------



## StuaR32t (Jun 6, 2009)

holly poop! 60 quid! so is that now fully road worthy? 
superduper!

THATS ACE!!:thumb:

Stu


----------



## cleslie (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow! Great turnaround.


----------

