# Polished Bliss: A nice easy one.....NOT!



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Well it wouldnt be a normal week at work without having at least one properly swirled car to detail  , and this one was on a bloody Range Rover!




























As the last RR i did wasnt half as bad as this and still took 25 hours to complete, we booked this in for 3 days as in our eyes there is just no way to cut down the work time without comprimising the quality of the final result 

so, *Day 1*:

Day 1 began with the wash process, but as my camera batteries were charging at this point there are no pics, so i'll list the products and process for this stage:

- Thorough Pre-rinse, 50 Degrees @high pressure.
- Wheels cleaned with *Neat* Wheel Brightner x 3 (still couldnt get the inner rims of the fronts 100% spot on) and then Tardis.
- Arches/tyres soaked with Megs Superdegreaser and scrubbed with a brush.
- Engine bay soaked with Superdegreaser and rinsed @40 degrees.
- Shuts cleaned with APC cut 4:1
- Car washed 2 bucket method and Megs Shampoo Plus.
- Autosmart Tardis applied to lower halfs and wiped off.
- Clayed with Meguiars Aggressive Clay.
- Dried with Waffle Weave and Leaf Blower.

Now inside, the car was taped up and i then assessed the paintwork. The car has been used as a work horse up untill now, and it wasnt difficult to see the results of this under the halogens :doublesho





































Luckily, the paint was showing healthy levels all round, although this was probably due to never being polished in its life :lol:










It took me a while to settle on a polish and pad combination for this one and the paint was rock hard, up there with Audi paintwork, which was unusual as RR paint tends to be in the middle. Menz 3.02 and Meguiars#83 didnt have a huge effect on the defects so i eventually settled on one of 3M's new polishes - Fast Cut Plus (with a drop of Ultrafina, thanks to [email protected] for that tip :thumb, with a 3M Compounding Pad:










Even with this aggressive combination @1800 rpm's it was taking 2 hits on every panel to achieve the desired results, so in theory i was going to have polished 2 range rovers by the end of the de-swirling session 

Here's a couple of progress pics:

*Middle of bonnet corrected*:










*front door corrected, rear one untouched (obviously!)*:










*Lower half*:










I got around one half of the car corrected and then called it a day.

*Day 2*:

Correction work resumed on the other side and roof with the rotary, then once finished i got out the Megs Machine to do the tighter areas and bumpers, using a 4" spot pad and Fast Cut Plus:










Like the larger areas, everything was needing at least 2 hits.

*Before*:










*After*:










*Before*:










*After*:




























The lights were the last pieces to be corrected, this time with 3.02:

*Before*:










*After*:










It was now around 7:30pm but i wanted to have all the polishing finished so i could concentrate on the LSP/Interior etc on the final day, so i proceeded to refine the finish with 3M Ultrafina and a Finishing Pad @1800rpms:










Bumpers etc were done with a 4" polishing pad and Menz 85rd 

9pm and end of Day 2.

*3rd and final day*:

This was an easier day for me, all be it i was still slightly pushed for time.

Next job was to quickly dust down the car:










Then I applied the Vintage and left to cure:



















While this was left, i wiped down the engine bay after i'd dressed it with Aerospace 303 Protectant:




























The arches were dressed with Meguiars All Season Dressing:










As were the tyres, and the wheels were sealed with PB Wheel Sealant:










The last thing to do was the interior, which i spent a good while on and was so focused on getting finished on time i completely forgot to take any pics, so apologies for that 

The vintage was then buffed off and i did my final checks before taking a few after pics 


























































































































































Total work time: Just over 30 hours.

Was pretty pleased with this one, however i hope i dont see another Range Rover for a good while (well, after the other 2 we have booked in  :lol: )

Thanks for taking the time to look as always :thumb:


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Beautiful finish yet again ! :thumb:

How aggressive is that 3M compounding pad ?


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## FlyingfocRS (Aug 15, 2007)

Stunning result as always.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

mark j said:


> Beautiful finish yet again ! :thumb:
> 
> How aggressive is that 3M compounding pad ?


A good bit more than a Meguiars Burgundy one


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Great correction work, the paint was a mess to start with.

The car looks stunning in the after pics, great reflections!


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

As ever, a stunning turnaround there :thumb:


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Clark said:


> A good bit more than a Meguiars Burgundy one


Cheers, Clark :thumb:


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## Kadir (Jun 14, 2007)

Cracking stuff. Another enjoyable read from Clark at PB.. :thumb:


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

Always a pleasure to read your posts Clark, vehicle looks great and as always great write up :thumb:

Question, Fast Cut Plus how strong is it? Why did you mix it with Ultrafina? Just wondering that's all.

Thank you for sharing.


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Looks great, and i must say i cringe every time one is booked in :lol:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Upto your usual extremely high standards !!!

Enjoyable read as always.


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## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

looks amazing Clark, impressive as always :thumb::thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

WoooooW they are a big old bus to work on but that is the best iv ever seen a RR looking, top work mate


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

awesome stuff how aggressive would you say the 3M Fast Cut Plus is in comparison to Menz Power Gloss?


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## Lespaul (May 23, 2006)

Exellent finish and write up as always :thumb: 

Darren


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## ryanuk (Jun 22, 2007)

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that is stunning clark! top work!


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## BILL (May 12, 2006)

Fantastic work Clark :doublesho 

your work never fails to impress me :thumb:


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## jonnie5 (Jul 21, 2007)

Fantastic. IMO although pics only tell half the story you work is second to none


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

bloody good work


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## surgemaster (Jul 5, 2006)

great job again on the rr Clark but as you said it was workhorse so kinda guess they would always be like that
ie in crap condition


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## ClarkeG (Jun 17, 2006)

Fantastic work Clark, such a difference from start to finsih.

Clarke


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## Mr Mike (Oct 2, 2007)

Can see now why you said it was such hard work, shocking transformation yet again. Aye your some boy with the :buffer:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Cheers guys! 



Nica said:


> Always a pleasure to read your posts Clark, vehicle looks great and as always great write up :thumb:
> 
> Question, Fast Cut Plus how strong is it? Why did you mix it with Ultrafina? Just wondering that's all.
> 
> Thank you for sharing.


Its up there with Menz Power Gloss territory, although i'm not sure if its just quite as strong and it finishes down better than PG  I did a 50/50 mix with Ultrafina to try and keep the dusting down a bit and keep the pad nice and moist


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

always a pleasure to read about your work. Stunning!!!


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Excellent work Clark :thumb:

With regards to the FCP, did it induce micromarring like Powergloss, or did it finish down clear, but just lacking gloss?

In otherwords, is it effectively just a stronger version of Menz IP?


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

top work as always clark:thumb:


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## IanG (Nov 21, 2007)

Always a pleasure to read and see what you can do to make a car shine :thumb:


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

extremely dedicated work. After three days I bet you were glad to see the back of that car, I know I would be!


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## Warduke (Sep 21, 2007)

Wow big car...big job...great results top turn around....:thumb:


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

Clark said:


> Cheers guys!
> 
> Its up there with Menz Power Gloss territory, although i'm not sure if its just quite as strong and it finishes down better than PG  I did a 50/50 mix with Ultrafina to try and keep the dusting down a bit and keep the pad nice and moist


Thank you for the response Clark, very much appreciated :thumb:


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## haxbyscoobs (Dec 1, 2006)

That looks superb the finish is just so lush
and the reflections too drool over


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

superb,looks brand new again


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Very Nice :thumb:

Intrueged as to why you are dressing arches that aren't clean


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## JayDee (Jan 12, 2008)

Sh1t hot as always mate.


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

What a big ol bus that is top stuff as always clarky


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Gaz W said:


> Very Nice :thumb:
> 
> Intrueged as to why you are dressing arches that aren't clean


Easy to pick holes in other folks work, a tiny wee bit of dirt wow.


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

Excellent job as always. Stunning finish. :thumb: :buffer:


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

A pleasure to read/drool Clark, thanks for sharing.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

It certainly put up a fight, but succumbed in the end - superb results :thumb:


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

fantastic detail yet again mate. The clarity and depth acheived is only matched by the level of correction. Again another proper and thorough detail that is up there at the top of the pile. the engine shots look great too mate.

another large dollop of inspirational work for the forum!

matt


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Great job :thumb: miles better


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Gavb said:


> Easy to pick holes in other folks work, a tiny wee bit of dirt wow.


tongue...ass


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> tongue...ass


wtf


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

a bit of criticisim and ur all defensive i could see if it was you that done the work come on get your head out your ass it was a perfectly valid point!


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> a bit of criticisim and ur all defensive i could see if it was you that done the work come on get your head out your ass it was a perfectly valid point!


Aye thought as much. TBH i just enjoy clarks write ups and seen his work in the flesh if that means my heads up my **** fine by me. :wall: :wall:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

I've seen his work too hold on i cant see my head must be up my ass too the boy had a valid point anyway lets not turn into a pair of arguing homos lol


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Ok fair enough no point falling out, unlike those in your avatar eh


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

hey hey heeeyy!!!!.... lol


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

great work.

no HD cleanse again this time?


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Awesome work Clark!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

jedi-knight83 said:


> great work.
> 
> no HD cleanse again this time?


No point mate, if the paint is as good as its going to get after polishing then HDC is a wasted step in our eyes and actually reduces the durability of the wax from what we can see in testing  we havent used HDC after correction for months now.



V12MSM said:


> Excellent work Clark :thumb:
> 
> With regards to the FCP, did it induce micromarring like Powergloss, or did it finish down clear, but just lacking gloss?
> 
> In otherwords, is it effectively just a stronger version of Menz IP?


Pretty much Mark, it finished down LSP ready but obviously didnt give great clarity compared to the finishing polishes :thumb:



Gaz W said:


> Very Nice :thumb:
> 
> Intrueged as to why you are dressing arches that aren't clean


Arches were perfectly clean Gaz, if you're referring to what looks like dirt near the arch lip then thats excess ASD from the pad, there were tar spots on the arch liners but there's no point wasting time on them when the roads are in such a state up here,still - if thats all you can pick holes in then i must be getting just about as good as you at this detailing malarky :thumb:



Grizzle said:


> tongue...ass


No offence Graham, but if you're not gonna say anything usefull or constructive then dont bother at all. I know you struggle to post anything constructive or sensible on here but i'd apreciate it if you refrained from posting your **** in my threads  :thumb:

Cheers to everyone else for any comments!


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Clark said:


> No offence Graham, but if you're not gonna say anything usefull or constructive then dont bother at all. I know you struggle to post anything constructive or sensible on here but i'd apreciate it if you refrained from posting your **** in my threads  :thumb:


haha sod off for one turn on your phone and two you were caught out look at the applicator its as dirty as glesga whore

"I know you struggle to post anything constructive or sensible on here"

Thats rich coming from you all everybody does on ur posts is sook up your ass what because me an gaz aint were all the bad guys away and grow up boy.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Grizzle said:


> haha sod off for one turn on your phone and two you were caught out look at the applicator its as dirty as glesga whore
> 
> "I know you struggle to post anything constructive or sensible on here"
> 
> Thats rich coming from you all everybody does on ur posts is sook up your ass what because me an gaz aint were all the bad guys away and grow up boy.


Love you too 

And my phone is turned on, i just replied to your txt, hopefully you can read it despite your green eyes :thumb:

My problem isnt with Gaz, its with you


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Clark said:


> Love you too


and i love you.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Clark said:


> Arches were perfectly clean Gaz, if you're referring to what looks like dirt near the arch lip then thats excess ASD from the pad, there were tar spots on the arch liners but there's no point wasting time on them when the roads are in such a state up here,still - if thats all you can pick holes in then i must be getting just about as good as you at this detailing malarky :thumb:


Its all very well them not being clean, but then denying it, well that's just wrong.










Aswell as quite clearly being able to see that the arches still have a considerable layer of dirt on them.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Well, if i'm not allowed to have a wee bit of dirt come off the liners then i'm sorry. Guess i should find a new profession then 


(and that bit you circled is the foam/bubbles from the ASD that came out the pad, i.e- what i said in my post above! )



Apologies, i have shamed myself  :lol:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Popcorn anyone?


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

its a shame that this thread is turning sour. a flippant comment and there is a potential of a thread posted can be spolied.

re the **** kissing comments - i can only assume that the praise given are from people like myself who can relate to the effort and determination put in to get to the end results. In my book its called *respect*. I spoke to clark the evening of day one and he was having an absolute nightmare with it, so to see the turnaround is for me fantastic.

I'm sure that clark would have thought twice about posting a 'dirty' wheel arch pic had it infact been dirt, or made a comment about it at the time of posting etc.

Just my thoughts thats all, not attacking or slating anyone so please don't take my comments any other way

best regards

matt


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## JayDee (Jan 12, 2008)

Gavb said:


> Popcorn anyone?


:lol: :lol:


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## King Eric (Feb 27, 2006)

Clark just ignore him. While Grizzly Bear is a wind up merchant (and to be fair, he's brave enough to speak to you face to face about any said comments or over the phone-like we both did once) Whereas Gaz won't actually say it to your face if he means it.

Now Gaz, if your trying to be clever-stop it. It does not work when surrounded by adults. If you meant it as a joke, add a smiley or a wink!

If your trying to get one up on the whole 'pro detailer thing' again stop it. Its horses for courses but in my eyes (and in my humble opinion) Polished Bliss is on a different planet to what your doing with detailing. Now, thats not to discredit what you are DOING nowadays or trying to belittle you....but imagine if I, Grizzle, Clark and all the others made snide little comments about the mistakes you have made since we have 'known' you. You play on here with the big boys, you need to be prepared to get it served right back at you. With % whacked on top.

You have made some mistakes in your time on here you would not want highlighted to the rest of the forum. Would you? Unless you would like me to kick it off with something to try to make you look stupid? No exactly....

Anyway


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

lol! 

At the end of the day, even if it WAS a dirty wheel arch, i'm more than happy if thats all anyone can find at fault with my work, the customer was delighted and thats the most important thing. As for Gaz trying to get one up on me, perhaps this is true but in my eyes he has alot to learn and if he wants me to post more "critical" comments on his show it offs (which i must say are few and far between) then i shall gladly let rip.


Thats the end of it in my eyes, and i'd apreciate it that if anyone else is going to comment then please keep it on topic, thank you please


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

Clark said:


> - Wheels cleaned with *Neat* Wheel Brightner x 3 (still couldnt get the inner rims of the fronts 100% spot on) and then Tardis.
> 
> ...and the paint was rock hard, up there with Audi paintwork, which was unusual as RR paint tends to be in the middle. Menz 3.02 and Meguiars#83 didnt have a huge effect on the defects so i eventually settled on one of 3M's new polishes - Fast Cut Plus (with a drop of Ultrafina, thanks to [email protected] for that tip :thumb, with a 3M Compounding Pad:


Your work is consistently at a very high level, Clark, but it is explanations like the above that help me - as a novice - to have a better understanding of detailing.

Thanks for taking the time to post your work! :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

ayrshireteggy said:


> Your work is consistently at a very high level, Clark, but it is explanations like the above that help me - as a novice - to have a better understanding of detailing.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to post your work! :thumb:


Happy to help  thats what makes it worth the couple of hours to do a write up, if it helps a couple of people then its worth it


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Dam this turend up side down, that was a IMO sick detail of a bloody HUGE motor, why ***** about a IMO tiny bit of dirt in a arch ( i will addmit to missing a bit every now and then on a wash and its not that hard to sort) Look at the up close after paint shots, thats IMO what counts and and i see so many on here post up pics of paint in direct light then one 50/50 shot then all of a sudden you get after shots from 5ft ........... Clark is defo in the top 5 detailers in the UK, comon its not exactly a big mistake, is it?


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Just read this though, and it's rather bemusing... an explosion over what may or may not have been a little dirt left on an arch liner... despite some of the best correction work I have seen the lad yet do!


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## Buzzsaw (Nov 4, 2007)

Fantastic write up as usual with results to match


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

Great job mate! Very impressive. Would have liked to see a full car shot of that 1! :thumb:


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## marshallR (Jan 23, 2008)

Wow! looks amazing! A great job at paint correction


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

WX51 TXR said:


> Just read this though, and it's rather bemusing... an explosion over what may or may not have been a little dirt left on an arch liner... despite some of the best correction work I have seen the lad yet do!


maybe but he would be quick to have a dig at others.

As said take it on the chin like man and not cry like woman! :wall:


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

ayrshireteggy said:


> Your work is consistently at a very high level, Clark, but it is explanations like the above that help me - as a novice - to have a better understanding of detailing.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to post your work! :thumb:


:thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Grizzle said:


> maybe but he would be quick to have a dig at others.
> 
> As said take it on the chin like man and not cry like woman! :wall:


Would he really? That's not how Clark comes across on the forum to me, and as his employer I have an active interest. I'm not sure what your problem is Graham, but feel free to give me a call if you feel you have a grievance that requires sorting. Keeping it to yourself and making negative comment after negative comment contributes nothing to the forum and as far as I can tell isn't necessary?


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

WX51 TXR said:


> Would he really? That's not how Clark comes across on the forum to me, and as his employer I have an active interest. I'm not sure what your problem is Graham, but feel free to give me a call if you feel you have a grievance that requires sorting. Keeping it to yourself and making negative comment after negative comment contributes nothing to the forum and as far as I can tell isn't necessary?


Dont have a problem with you or PB and i wont be calling anyone.

All i'm saying is Gaz made a perfectly valid post about the arches and everyone was quick to defend Clark when Gaz was blatantly true.

Anyway i'm sure we have better things to concentrate on well i know i do stickers are a right pain!!

Regards

Graham :thumb:


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Excellent work once again.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: 

How long does one coat of ***** last in your experience?

Also, do you guys have set prices? I mean having a car for 3 days? Wow.

Thanks!


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

seriously impressive stuff :thumb:


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## NN1 (Nov 11, 2006)

fantastic results there, looks really nice i like your unit id love to have the oppurtunity to spend 3 days on a car.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

tdekany said:


> Excellent work once again.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
> 
> How long does one coat of ***** last in your experience?
> 
> ...


Yep, we have a set pricing structure. This works well for both us and our customers, as we have enough experience now to know on average how many hours are going to be required per detail, and our customers have the peace of mind of a fixed price regardless of how long we actually take.

In the past we used to do full details over 1-2 days, rarely taking 3. These days, our standards are so much higher that 2 days is the minimum, with a lot of cars running to 3 full days or more. A lot of people may question the need for this, believing that the jobs could be done much more quickly, but critical to us is doing the best possible job every single time. Yes we could get each car done in 2 days flat, but this would be a compromise, as the final finish wouldn't be as good. Raising the bar from ~95% correction to ~99% is very time intensive, but this is what we want to do, so we allow the extra time and charge accordingly. Our customers seem to favour this approach, as they like to know they will get the very best we can do, rather than the best we can do in a fixed time period. I reckon a lot of pro detailers would benefit if they took this approach, as it makes the job more enjoyable and doesn't seem to have any negative effect on the financial side of things.


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## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

Stunning bit of work as usual from PB :thumb: 

Hang on what's that in that wheel arch :lol: wtf

Super finish :doublesho


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## leistrum (Feb 10, 2007)

As usual the contrast between the befores and afters in your work are staggering!


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## swordjo (Sep 17, 2006)

Looks great Clark, just a pity about some of the comments. Atleast you can take them and don't ask for the thread to be removed like certain people on here.


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Holy cow... Its amazing what a few bubbles of trim rite can do to a thread!!! come on guys. Im glad that everyone else on here details to a higher level than Clark because the Studio posts will be amazing!!!! I always love it when the green eyed monster rears its head!! The job was flippin amazing can we not leave it like that!! o u really think after spending that time sizing pics and doing a write up Clark would be a numpty to add a "dirty" pic come on.. I'm sure I am not the only one who has left out a few unflattering pics when doing a write up!!..

As said b4 cracking work m8.. When u want that refresher course on proper detailing give me a call!!!:thumb: :thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

great turnaround bud. not seen many in that colour before.

:thumb:


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