# 1972



## Spirit Detailing (Mar 29, 2007)

Here's one I did last weekend... its a 1972 Citroen DS. One of the most comfy and stylish cars ever made.... and some maintain its the sexiest!!

As the Bishop said to the Actress, make yourself comfortable coz this is going to be a long one!!

Here's the process:
3 stage paint neutralizing wash with tar removal and clay cleansing treatment.
Wheels, tyres & Hubcaps cleaned.
Paint polished.
Sealed,
Waxed,
LSP'd
Stainless Steel Hubcaps Polished
Stainless Steel trim polished.

Sounds simple? Yeah, right!!

Here's the car on Saturday morning in my driveway. Looks decent enough & must have been waxed recently enough due to the strong beading.









































































Plenty of scratches along the left side lower panels. I sanded a lot of these out, but they were too deep to be completely removed.



















The sun, long absent all morning, started to show its face and reveal the extent of the swirls on the paintwork.





































To begin the washing, I needed to get the hubcaps off... and that meant raising it up on its suspension. Why can't all cars be like this!!!! Makes it so much easier to work on the lower parts of the panels.










First wash is an Alkaline Neutraliser which removes traffic film, old wax, etc, leaving the paint fresh and smooth.


































Strong enough to clean the grime out of the petrol cap area and all the wheels as well.



















The next stage is an Acid neutraliser wash. This is a fairly viscous liquid and ideal as a lube for clay. It also cleans away any metallic particles that get into the paintwork like raildust.


































The final wash is a pH 7 Neutral wash to get rid of any previous residue. I also used this in the gaps like the top corners under the bonnet, which were pretty grimy with crap and old leaves!!










Here's the paint after the final rinse. Not a bead in sight, washed smooth and ready for drying.










Here's the paint. I have actually dried this with a Micro-Fibre towel. It has water mark damage and a lot of oxidation.










So out with my weapons of choice: Menzerna PO85RD3 on a 3M black polishing pad.

First few passes revealed a huge difference:



















Unfortunately, correcting the swirls shows all the scratches... so out with the sand paper!










Using Menz IP alone wasn't quite getting where I wanted to be with the swirls, so I tried something new. I mixed it with 3M Fast Cut Plus in the Finesse It III range. This made a much better impact, especially now that I had to remove the sand marks as well. However, I needed to keep working the polish so I added a small amount of Gloss-It Pad Prime and a spray of water so that the polish could be well broken down.









I mixed it in at speed 900 then moved up to 1500 RPM until the polish was done. Then I added a bead of IP and worked that in at speed 900 until that broke back down.










But of course this revealed all the scratches clearly!! ENTER THE SANDMAN!! 










http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w165/BrianXCars/Citroen%20DS%201972/0045.jpg[IMG]

Work continued using PO85RD and a 3M blue pad to jewel the paint up nicely.

[IMG]http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w165/BrianXCars/Citroen%20DS%201972/0046.jpg



















This would have been the Money Shot!! Only 24 hrs too early and only half the work done!!!










Anyway, it was close to 8pm and time to leave it for the night. The following morning was damp, so nothing to be done on the car for a while. I took the Hub Caps indoors and polished them with a 3M small compounding pad and again, Menz IP.

Here are the before and after shots 1 by 1. They don't look so different in the photos, but to the naked eye they came up well.


















































































Then outside to start with the paint sealant. I used Automotive International's Paint Sealant (same co. that do my clay and 3-stage wash)
This is a really shiny long-life protectant. Its best applied by hand and buffed off with a DA, so out with my trusty Porter Cable and the friggin' transformer!!  <sigh>



















Next, I polished the bumpers and trim. Here's a 50/50 of the bumper, using the small green 3M cutting pad and Autosol.










The seal around the window was black and I wasn't sure if was supposed to be that colour or if time had taken its toll on it.










APC wasn't cleaning it, but when I hit it with a little tar remover on a cloth, BINGO!










Wing Mirrors polished nicely as well.










The steel trim took a bit of work with autosol as well. I've had easier things to polish!!  Turned the polisher up to 1900RPM.





































With the steel done, its time for the second last step on the paint!!

Swissvax Mystery. Every time I open the jar, I have to smell it!! Vanilla-Coffee!!










Copious amounts for good even application!










To create a good bond with over the sealant, I also removed the haze of the Mystery with the PC and a soft blue pad. Worked a treat and came up like a mirror.

Glass was cleaned next with this stuff. Got it for €3.99 in Home Stores and its a great alcohol glass cleaner.










The last step on the paint came about as a result of a "What if" thought... I couldn't resist it and got my bottle of Gloss-It Concorso Gloss. Applied by hand and again removed with the PC & soft pad again. Forgot to take any pics of that, but lets go to the final shots.... loads of them.

Remember there was heavy cloud and bad light, but the gloss on that paint was fantastic!!!



































































































































































Almost the end. I put everything away, thinking I had done enough. Bloody knackered!! My lovely wife asks me if I did the headlamps? Christ! I'm not doing any more..... she gave me the evil eye... so out with the vacuum cleaner and ten mins later the inside of the lamps were cleaned of a few years of baked insects!










What do you think? Very hard work but I loved the result. Damn shame there was zero sunshine for the final pics but that's life!!

Thanks for sticking with it.
Brian


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## Spirit Detailing (Mar 29, 2007)

LOL Forgot to put the name of the car in the thread title...!! Moderator's help please??


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## Ratz (Sep 27, 2007)

What an amazing turnaround on a car that just oozes style. Must have been so rewarding. Thanks for sharing!


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## Wmffra (Oct 30, 2005)

Nice one :buffer:


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## alexf (May 23, 2009)

wow! :doublesho


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## FrazzleTC (Jul 4, 2009)

That's an amazing turnaround on an absolutely gorgeous car. That looks amazing, I'd love to own a DS someday!


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## gingerscotsman (May 21, 2007)

DS's are cool !! Thats a great job you have done on that old paint.


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## flying dutchman (Dec 27, 2007)

You 've made it a Goddess again!


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## eurodub (Mar 24, 2009)

Excellent Work....:thumb:


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

top work and write-up mate! really impressive results!!!


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Fantastic work


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

cracking work mate


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## Katana (Mar 31, 2007)

Excellent work, been waiting ages for someone on here to post a DS detail.
Wish i had enough money to own one.


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## Jody 4444 (Mar 12, 2009)

Great write up and top work mate :thumb:


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## cam73 (Oct 5, 2008)

Excellent job, I love the DS - if only Citroen made cars like that now.:thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

superb work - looks amazing and a beautiful car 

can you share more info on the decon kit please - a link or anything? It sounds very similar to the FK decon kit?


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

Great work on that, really brought it back to life :thumb: My aunt had a DS back in the seventies, and despite the fact she doesn't hang about when driving, it was like a flying carpet to ride in, so smooth and comfortable, fantastic cars they are.


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## Tiauguinho (May 1, 2007)

Good job Brian, very nice work on a gorgeous car, I enjoyed the dedication given to all the metal work!



BrianS said:


> LOL Forgot to put the name of the car in the thread title...!! Moderator's help please??


Now that is exactly how I know you, noob


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## Spirit Detailing (Mar 29, 2007)

Tiauguinho said:


> Good job Brian, very nice work on a gorgeous car, I enjoyed the dedication given to all the metal work!
> 
> Now that is exactly how I know you, noob


Noob Forever!! I love this interwebby laptop email invention. It lets everybody see what a dope you are!! Thanks for noticing Tiago!


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## Hudy82 (Aug 9, 2009)

Good job on a beautiful car it looks in really nice condition for its age:thumb:


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## Claireeyy (Jul 20, 2009)

Massive turnaround there looks awesome!


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## M.O.S (Dec 26, 2008)

Great work


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

A true icon and totally love these old Girls... Great job...:thumb:


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## toomanycitroens (Jan 14, 2011)

Beautiful Goddess.
Brilliant job mate, what a lovely old girl.


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

What a delight , fabulous work there ....the one thing we don't see or hear , is the owners face and comments at first sight of the car transformed....I know from my own experience that it makes the effort well worth while too:thumb:


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Interesting job. Nice car


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## GJH0702 (Oct 21, 2011)

Fantastic- you have protected life of a 'Classic' for a few more years, well done:thumb:


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## rockape (Feb 18, 2007)

aweome work there mate:thumb:


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## Th3Doctor (Feb 2, 2010)

Refreshing change from the endless Skodas/Seat/Audis that pile up on DW. Top work on a truly unique car. Well done my man


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## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

Great work on an iconic car :thumb:


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## Lopez (Feb 9, 2010)

I really tire of seeing detail jobs done on cars that are a few months old - nice to see someone renovating a genuine classic. Brilliant work!


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## Perfezione (Nov 23, 2006)

Lovely! My dad had a 1972 Ds in the early eighties. All the Ds's contemporaries owe something to this car. 

When it was launched in 1955 it rocked the motoring world, The first car with power disc brakes, crumple zones, power steering the list goes on. Ough, and you can drive it on three wheels thanks to that suspension.


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## kemslea (Feb 25, 2011)

Great work and write up.


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## slobodank (Nov 17, 2010)

:argie::argie::argie:


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## NissanMan (Aug 24, 2010)

Was that a rotary with a mini pad or a mini rotary with a mini pad? Great work btw, only yesterday I watched the DS being done on wheeler dealers!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

That looks stunning :argie:


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## james vti-s (Aug 9, 2011)

Spirit Detailing said:


>






Spirit Detailing said:


>


How did you get access


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

insane!


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## Luis (Sep 10, 2012)

Excellent Work... 
this car is very reminiscent of my infancy congratulations for the good work...


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## VdoubleU (Oct 15, 2012)

me and my dad weren't that bothered about the detailing in this one we just wanted the chance to have a good look over a ds!


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

awesome:argie:


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## Pedro92 (May 5, 2011)

Excellent !!!Merci pour cette vieille française....


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## FFV Jonathan (Jun 30, 2012)

Thats an awesome turn around.


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## Rayner (Aug 16, 2012)

Stylish? Sexy? Am I the only one whi think these cars look like frogs from the front? 

Great work on the frogmobile Brian :thumb:


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## Demetrios (May 8, 2011)

Now, that is something you don't get to see every day: a great looking French Goddess...after your thorough and careful work, you have completely uplifted her to the level She well deserves to be. Congrats for that !!! :thumb:

Next steps are engine bay and the interior...


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

How did I miss this first time round. I love DS' :argie:


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

Love these DS's, lovely looking cars.


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

:


Spirit Detailing said:


> LOL Forgot to put the name of the car in the thread title...!! Moderator's help please??


Lol Brian , Citroen DS 
Great work mate:thumb::thumb:

Mario


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