# Lotus Exige Scura #27 of 35 produced!



## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Hi kids! So this is the first Lotus that I've done (got another scheduled for some time in June) and come to find out it's a very rare one indeed. There were only 35 of these ever produced and this one is #27... who's the lucky boy?!  Doing exotics always makes one all tingly inside, but when it's a limited edition one like this, I get an extra little butt tingle ... Anyway, this is one bad MF (and I don't mean microfiber)... 0-60 in a mere 4.1 seconds!! Snap! This thing is so ninja it's unbelievable... I need one. Badly.

So the car wasn't really that dirty, as it's only got 200k on the clock but it had some nasty scratches on the finish and also needed some protection on it before it's taken out into the elements... the protection was a very peculiar process...


















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Paint flecks from the waterlogged garage walls




























Rims before Wolf's nano wheel cleaner










Brushed in with a detailing brush and rinsed... (different rim, but you get the point )










Some pretty nasty scratches and I'm pretty sure I know where they came from... I'll show you later.




























I've read that Aquartz can also be used as a textile sealant, so I applied the first layer of it a little heavily to ensure that it soaked into the fabric a bit. After a couple hours drying time I applied another layer by "misting" the ragtop, then let it sit for a bit and then wiped it in with a sponge applicator. Results to come...










A little "worked in" stripe










Everything was carefully taped up because this paint is super sensitive. It specifically states in the owner's manual to use salt-free shampoos, etc. so I didn't want to have any polish with lots of solvents in it landing on the paint and making it spotty!










Jeez what a mess!!










Whaaaaat! Leopard skin throw pillows for $6 at Lidl? Aw hell yeah, daddy's goin' shoppin' tomorrow! 



















Mess all gone . Polished out with Wolf's WP-1N "The Jeweler" and finishing pad and lots of passes... Being that this is fiberglass I didn't want to go too aggressive so I just took is slow and easy...




























There are still a couple of deep scratches that will just have to remain as permanent residents, but they look much better now.










Front spoiler swirls. I had to remove the license plate holder to get to these










After










Wing before










Wing after



















So I did some homework on this car and its finish the night before and it has specific instructions on what and what not to use. No wax. Instead, they give you a little care package of what to use on the finish...

Ninja say whaaaaaat?










Yep, they say to use Armor All on the matte finish! Anyway, after getting a feel for the paint I understood why they said to use Armor All. The paint is pretty soft and therefore porous so it will inevitably fade much faster than let's say a bumper. They actually said that within the first year or so, expect quite a bit of change. The UV protection from Armor All will certainly help slow that process down. Because this paint is porous, it was almost like applying leather conditioner to unprotected leather; you could see the dressing soak into parts of the paint better than other parts. This made the application process a bit slow... Once I wiped it on (overlapping several times to ensure even coverage), I had to let it sit for a while to be absorbed, but not for too long because it would dry and leave streaks! Once _almost_ dried, I had to buff it out with a MF until the streaks were gone. It was a PITA.

And an even BIGGER whaaaaaat for this!! A 3M scrubby pad to "remove tar and other bonded contaminants"  :scared:. Which explains where the huge scuffs in the paint came from...










Engine cleaned and dressed with Wolf's nano-dressing "Trim Coat"










Cool air duct here that leads to >>










...here to help keep the car cool










Extra oil pump...



















Well it looks as if I've found a good use for the rest of my Aquartz 










Mr. Scura's brotha from a different motha, Truck Norris, making a cameo appearance, sporting his new kicks .














































#27 of 35... cool










All that beef and they still managed to cram a radio, an air conditioner and traction control in this little monster!









































































Daddy must have...










Thanks for reading and to all the Playboy subscribers, thanks for "reading"!

- Jesse O'Connor


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## Herefordquattro (May 31, 2010)

great write up, and what a pain in the butt to work on but nice results man:thumb::thumb:


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## HC1001 (May 27, 2007)

Nice work Jesse, loving the van fella..........:thumb:


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## Ingo (Oct 13, 2010)

looks really good!

but I was always under the impressions that armor all was not good at all! was I lied to ?


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

HC1001 said:


> Nice work Jesse, loving the van fella..........:thumb:


Thanks Howard! That's Truck Norris, the Detailasaurus! :thumb:


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## HC1001 (May 27, 2007)

Wolf's Chemicals said:


> That's Truck Norris, the Detailasaurus! :thumb:


I'm starting to worry about you fella........:lol:


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Superb Work Jesse :thumb:


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

I'm sure I've seen you doing work on a matt lotus a while ago. Was that done a while ago?


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Ah I remember this Lotus, I nearly wet myself when it came out.

Didn't they openly admit that there was a problem with the paint and it would have more problems through the years?

iirc it was one of the first matt black paint jobs in the whole car industry!


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## Brynjar (Dec 25, 2009)

Very nice work on this one Cleaned up very nice.. You should give SV Opaque pre-cleaner and wax a go for those matt surfaces. (also get the wax in small pot) 
Did the matt Dodge Charger from "Fast and furious" last weekend, and it cleaned up very nicely


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## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

Brynjar said:


> Did the matt Dodge Charger from "Fast and furious" last weekend, and it cleaned up very nicely


Can we see please can we ? Pleseee 

Very nice work on a special car.


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

JPC said:


> I'm sure I've seen you doing work on a matt lotus a while ago. Was that done a while ago?


Yeah it was done some time ago, but I've just become a DW sponsor so now I'm posting the entire detail :thumb:



gally said:


> Ah I remember this Lotus, I nearly wet myself when it came out.
> 
> Didn't they openly admit that there was a problem with the paint and it would have more problems through the years?
> 
> iirc it was one of the first matt black paint jobs in the whole car industry!


Yes it will most certainly have problems in the years to come and Lotus have already stated that it may fade and discolor. The paint is very soft and porous so it's sure to fade quickly!



Brynjar said:


> Very nice work on this one Cleaned up very nice.. You should give SV Opaque pre-cleaner and wax a go for those matt surfaces. (also get the wax in small pot)
> Did the matt Dodge Charger from "Fast and furious" last weekend, and it cleaned up very nicely


Thanks Brynjar! I do loves me Swissvaxes, but the paint on this car is hyper-sensitive, so I wouldn't dare put anything else on it ATM. It's a very soft paint and you can feel that just by rubbing your fingers across it. Although Opaque may be lower in solvents/"more friendly" to matte finishes this is one of the exceptions. Since this detail, the owner has had a bit of a scuff-up so we're going to be ordering paint for it, as well as surplus paint to test on a few scrap panels. Due to its porous surface I'm going to bet that a nano sealant will provide the best protection for it, but we'll see about that soon! Will post the findings!


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## Brynjar (Dec 25, 2009)

Wolf's Chemicals said:


> Thanks Brynjar! I do loves me Swissvaxes, but the paint on this car is hyper-sensitive, so I wouldn't dare put anything else on it ATM. It's a very soft paint and you can feel that just by rubbing your fingers across it. Although Opaque may be lower in solvents/"more friendly" to matte finishes this is one of the exceptions. Since this detail, the owner has had a bit of a scuff-up so we're going to be ordering paint for it, as well as surplus paint to test on a few scrap panels. Due to its porous surface I'm going to bet that a nano sealant will provide the best protection for it, but we'll see about that soon! Will post the findings!


It's not only more friendly to matte finishes, it's constructed to only work on matte finish The pre-cleaner removes finger marks, shiny spots and leave a matte finish. Opaque wax the same, but with protection like other SV waxes


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## Victor (Oct 10, 2010)

love the color


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## AlexTsinos (Oct 10, 2010)

awesome job and car


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Brynjar said:


> It's not only more friendly to matte finishes, it's constructed to only work on matte finish The pre-cleaner removes finger marks, shiny spots and leave a matte finish. Opaque wax the same, but with protection like other SV waxes


Yeah I know buddy, but like I said this is an exception to the "matte finish" cars. It's not normal paint. Also, if I use anything other than what the manufacturer suggests, it will void the warranty.


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## Waxamomo (Jun 18, 2008)

Fantastic job sir Jesse :thumb:

I don't know what all the fuss is about with the paintwork, looks good to me with 200k on the clock


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Waxamomo said:


> Fantastic job sir Jesse :thumb:
> 
> I don't know what all the fuss is about with the paintwork, looks good to me with 200k on the clock


Thanks Chris! That's actually 200 kilometers


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