# Polished Bliss: Astra VXR



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Just a Protection Detail for this one yesterday, so i'll just post the process and pics for simplicity :thumb:

Car on arrival:




























*Wash*:

- Pre-rinsed at high pressure @40 degrees.
- Arches cleaned with Meguiars SDG.
- Wheels and tyres with Menzerna 7.5 Gel.
- Rinsed again @40 degrees
- Washed 2BM & Meguiars Shampoo Plus.
- Autosmart Tardis
- Rinsed
- Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay to all paint and glass
- Meguiars Safe Degreaser on front end to remove bugs that clay didnt remove.
- Dried with Waffle Weave and Leaf blower.

*Polish/protect*:

- Blackfire GEP & PC @Speed 4 with Megs Polishing Pad.
- Blackfire Wet Diamond Paint Sealant
- Blackfire Midnight Sun Wax.
- Wipe down with Last Touch.
- Glass - Megs Glass Cleaner Concentrate
- Tyres - Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
- Wheels - PB Wheel Sealant
- Exhaust - Megs NXT Metal Polish.

Interior done as always but no pics as it was like new inside before 

*Afters:*

















































































































































thanks for looking and for any comments


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## The Doctor (Sep 11, 2007)

Flawless finish as always :thumb:


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

That's looking bloody lovely! 

I really like the VXR, and don't see many in black, great job Clark. .


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Looks great clark cracking relections as always


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Cracking reflections and photography to boot :thumb:


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

awesome!!!

i must get myself somewhere indoors to work!!!


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

nice work as usual m8 hows the floor standing up to the work in the unit!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Ronnie said:


> nice work as usual m8 hows the floor standing up to the work in the unit!


its been absolutely fine mate, there's a couple of scuff marks when an M3 lit up its back tyres whilst Rich was reversing it into the unit lol, other than that it looks brand new after a quick mop :thumb:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Looks fantastic - another cracking detail :thumb:


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

That looks flawless :thumb:


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## andycole (Jun 8, 2006)

Looks great matey!!!
Cheers
AC:thumb:


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Beautiful finish & as always excellent photography. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: 

How was the paint anyways?


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## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

fantastic as always :thumb::thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

tdekany said:


> Beautiful finish & as always excellent photography. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
> 
> How was the paint anyways?


In what respect?


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Any swirls?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Plenty! mostly all from the visit to the dealers recently, hence why i used GEP to fill most of them


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## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

Nice work in a nice workspace :thumb: :buffer: :doublesho


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## carensuk (Aug 31, 2007)

Looking  fella:thumb: nice to see the VXRS being kept nice


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Clark said:


> Plenty! mostly all from the visit to the dealers recently, hence why i used GEP to fill most of them


Wow! I must try that polish. I've never seen anything that really hides swirls.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Its ages since i've used GEP but i forgot how much it hides marring/swirls etc - especially with a polishing pad.

There are various products that hide swirls mate, GEP, Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze, Megs #7, HD Cleanse, 3M Glaze etc etc


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Beautiful work again Clark and that includes the photography, you are something of an inspiration fella:thumb:


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## Fursecul (Sep 12, 2006)

Very very nice work,awesome finish every time :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> Beautiful work again Clark and that includes the photography, you are something of an inspiration fella:thumb:


Thank you very much mate, nice of you to think so


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

I Think your a **** though


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Grizzle said:


> I Think your a **** though


What i think of you cant be posted on here due to the swear filter


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Oh go on. Use phonetics!


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Looks lush :thumb:


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## stewie (Dec 20, 2005)

Looks superb. If I can get my black SXi project looking half as good as that I'll be happy!


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## rockape (Feb 18, 2007)

just stunning:speechles :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Huuuuuuuuum for some reason i really like that 

Spot on as always mate


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

james b said:


> Huuuuuuuuum for some reason i really like that
> 
> Spot on as always mate


dunno, i think its a bit gay 

Just kidding


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Hi Clark, nice little tidy up, but i'm afraid more questions from me!

Might just be the way you typed it but

On this one you have rinse, arches, wheels, rinse, 2tmb, tardis, rinse, SDG & clay (or something like that from memory).

Has the warm washer stopped you guys doing a foam bath first? and do you usually wash again after the tardis clay stage?

Might be getting too picky but interested in the warm wash approach etc

Cheers Jon


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Epoch said:


> Hi Clark, nice little tidy up, but i'm afraid more questions from me!
> 
> Might just be the way you typed it but
> 
> ...


More questions the better 

The warm water from the Karcher has pretty much eliminated the need for foaming due to the extra cleaning ability the 30-40 degree wash offers, anything that is left from the pre-rinse is usually what the pre-foam with the other Karcher couldnt shift anyways, however we are getting another lance for this new one as the foam comes in handy for washing non-swirly cars and maximizing lubrication 

With the Clay/tardis stage, the tardis comes off with just a blast from the pressure washer and again, the hot water removes everything left from the clay stage, hope that helps


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## phil440 (Aug 19, 2007)

warm water is the way forward Ive only had the pleasure 2-3 times but it make a massive difference cold water is hard work and painful this time of year!!! i can only just feel my finger touching the keyboard and finally they have gone back to a normal skin color


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Clark said:


> More questions the better
> 
> The warm water from the Karcher has pretty much eliminated the need for foaming due to the extra cleaning ability the 30-40 degree wash offers, anything that is left from the pre-rinse is usually what the pre-foam with the other Karcher couldnt shift anyways, however we are getting another lance for this new one as the foam comes in handy for washing non-swirly cars and maximizing lubrication
> 
> With the Clay/tardis stage, the tardis comes off with just a blast from the pressure washer and again, the hot water removes everything left from the clay stage, hope that helps


Cheers Clark, I've always had warm water in my buckets (mainly due to my likeing for Z Clear) but got the opportunity to use a heated Karcher at the Vauxhall plant with Dave_KG and Engine_Swap and was mighty impressed how much better things cleaned then.

I had decided to have a sink in my garage build and guess i may be adding a water heater now too!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Epoch said:


> Cheers Clark, I've always had warm water in my buckets (mainly due to my likeing for Z Clear) but got the opportunity to use a heated Karcher at the Vauxhall plant with Dave_KG and Engine_Swap and was mighty impressed how much better things cleaned then.
> 
> I had decided to have a sink in my garage build and guess i may be adding a water heater now too!


Would definitely be a good idea mate :thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

very nice!


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## Mr Mike (Oct 2, 2007)

Looking awesome:doublesho , so glad i didnt pop out to see you on Saturday at the unit, can you imagine how gutted i would have felt seeing that one there looking like that and mine as it is with its wonderfull scratch?

Managed a wash on Saturday so looking better and at least i dont have that clean bit on the boot with the scratch lol

Defo have to get me a UDM when they arrive in the uk and get some tips from ye


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Dont worry we'll get your scratch sorted out :thumb:


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## Mr Mike (Oct 2, 2007)

Clark said:


> Dont worry we'll get your scratch sorted out :thumb:


Looking forward to seeing a detailing pro do his thing :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Clark said:


> Dont worry we'll get your scratch sorted out :thumb:


I bet he says that to all the girls :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Darren (Aug 2, 2007)

looks very nice


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## JEFF (Feb 21, 2007)

Great work as usual:thumb:


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Well Mr Mike your gonna be one happy bunny when clarks finished with ya vxr .....

I have a slight passion for these cars and this looks awesome in black....

Top work as usual on a top top car


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Suprisingly flat paint work 
Good job


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## Mr Mike (Oct 2, 2007)

vxrmarc said:


> Well Mr Mike your gonna be one happy bunny when clarks finished with ya vxr .....
> 
> I have a slight passion for these cars and this looks awesome in black....
> 
> Top work as usual on a top top car


I wish that had been mine on the pics but mine is looking far from that at the mo, Clark has nicely offered to have a go at removing my scratch on Saturday coming so fingers crossed he can make it vanish. I wish I could get him to do what he did to the one above but I cant afford that sort o cash at this time o year lol

Roll on the uk UDM, might require a few lessons from Clark first tho


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## flatfour (Mar 22, 2007)

is the new midnight sun wax better than the ivory one?


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Very nice Clark:thumb:


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## leeshez (Dec 26, 2005)

Stunning


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Mr Singh said:


> Suprisingly flat paint work
> Good job


I have to admit that Vauxhall seem to be better than most for paint quality recently, certainly alot less OP than the likes of BMW etc....



Mr Mike said:


> I wish that had been mine on the pics but mine is looking far from that at the mo, Clark has nicely offered to have a go at removing my scratch on Saturday coming so fingers crossed he can make it vanish. I wish I could get him to do what he did to the one above but I cant afford that sort o cash at this time o year lol
> 
> Roll on the uk UDM, might require a few lessons from Clark first tho


I'm sure i could manage to give you a few pointers :thumb:



flatfour said:


> is the new midnight sun wax better than the ivory one?


In a word, yes. It produces a considerably wetter finish and durability promises to be even better too


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## flatfour (Mar 22, 2007)

cheers clark. may order some soon!


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

phew - for 'just a protection detail' it looks amazing clark. pic 3 is my fave - the gloss on the wheel inner!

top shelf again guys!


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

excellent work:thumb:


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## T1Col (Aug 19, 2006)

Thats stunning.... !


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## pogo (Oct 21, 2007)

superb mate just superb


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## perm (Oct 26, 2005)

quick questions....
what time did you allow between the blackfires products ?
ie was all the prodcuts applied on the same day ?

Thanks

Perm


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## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

Decent work as per.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Mmm...Gorgous! :thumb:


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## nutztoys (Nov 21, 2007)

Looks absolutely great Clark.

Being a novice I have a question. 

I have read almost all our write-ups, and you normaly remove the swirwls. Her you use GEP to hide the marring/swirwls.
Why do you choose to hide them and not remove them?

Bgds Dan


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Can't believe I missed a Clark write up :wall:

Stunning as usual :thumb:


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## Predator_VTR (Apr 8, 2007)

wow that is awesome :thumb:


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## jimny33 (Feb 1, 2007)

i've been lookin for inspiration for my astra and that is amazing!


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## cocker92 (Mar 31, 2007)

that looks excellent. i have two questions

would you use those blackfire products on silver cars too and is this the correct link for the sealant you mentioned? http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000002.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2epolishedbliss%2eco%2euk%2facatalog%2f&WD=blackfire&SHOP=%20&PN=blackfire%2dwet%2ddiamond%2dall%2dfinish%2dpaint%2dprotection%2dprotect%2ehtml%23aPB195#aPB195


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## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

I must admit Clark you dont half get a good finish on cars, always looks like a reflective chrome affect.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

****er92 said:


> that looks excellent. i have two questions
> 
> would you use those blackfire products on silver cars too and is this the correct link for the sealant you mentioned? http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000002.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2epolishedbliss%2eco%2euk%2facatalog%2f&WD=blackfire&SHOP=%20&PN=blackfire%2dwet%2ddiamond%2dall%2dfinish%2dpaint%2dprotection%2dprotect%2ehtml%23aPB195#aPB195


PM replied to mate, that link doesnt work for me...



Scud said:


> I must admit Clark you dont half get a good finish on cars, always looks like a reflective chrome affect.


Thanks mate


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## Kap01 (Aug 12, 2007)

Great job! These things are bloody fast! I had a run for my money anyway..


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