# Mk1 Golf Cab - 19 Years To Correct



## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Ok, so some of you might have seen my thread in the Detailing Chat section with 2 "teaser" pictures. My mates have a Mk1 Golf Cab in to get it through it's MOT. They asked if I could detail it, just becase the guy is a nice lad. Seeing as it's such a nice car, I jumped at it. Mike (one of the guys fixing the car), had to call the owner to say they would need it over the weekend, but couldn't keep the secret from him. Needless to say, the owner sounded over the moon. Just wish I could see his face when He picks it up.

*So, a bit of history around the Golf. *

_"The convertible version, named the Golf Cabriolet (or Typ 155) in Europe and Canada ("Rabbit Convertible" in America originally and renamed in 1985 to "Cabriolet"), was sold from 1980 to 1993 (a convertible version of the Mk2 Golf was not made, so the Mk1 Cabrio with slight modification was produced until the introduction of the Mk3 Cabrio). It had a reinforced body, transverse roll bar, and a high level of trim, and kept the pre-1980 style of rear lamp clusters. The Mk1 Cabriolet is of unibody construction built entirely at the factory of Karmann, from stamping to final assembly; Volkswagen supplied the engine, suspension, interior, etc. for Karmann to install. The vinyl or cloth tops were heavily insulated and manually - or beginning in 1991, electrically - operated, with a heated glass rear window." - Source: Wikipedia_

The owner picked up this car a week or so ago from Peterbrough, for a bargin of £500. Yes it needs passing through an MOT, and that is at an estimated cost of £600. So, still not too bad. It's a J reg (1991), left hand drive, with almost 300,000km on the clock (around 186,000miles).

Enough chit chat, let's get on to the detail. A lot of pictures, so go and grab a coffee/tea/pint. Let's see how we got from this.....










...to this










I decided to spend a day or two on this, starting with a night shift. So I finished work at 8, and popped straight around to my mates unit which is 5 minutes around the corner.

We started working at 9pm, with a lot of messing about sourcing a water supply. We found one in the end, however, it mean Miky get getting a face full of water. Needless to say, we had a laugh, and got there in the end.

Here are some before pictures. Sorry about the quality, it was getting dark.






















































































































Couldn't get a water supply there, so rolled back inside, around the corner and near the toilets, and magaed to use water there. The hose kept popping off, but only Mike got wet, so all is good . Anyway, we managed to foam and wash etc etc, here we go





































Before the foaming, the wheels and tyres had been washed using AutoBrite Very Cherry, a stiff brush for the tyres, and a Gerbil Sheepskin Wheel & Rim Brush (from Chemical Guys) for the wheels.

Then the car was given 3 coats of snow foam (I made enough for 2 coats, then realised we didn't need to foam the roof :lol, and rinsed between each. Following that, it was washed using the 2 bucket method (cold water I might add ), with grit guards and a lambswool mitt. Decided to use the Serious Performance Gloss Shampoo again for this detail.

Once it was washed and rinsed off, we went for some supplies:

this is Mike









Spent about £20 at Asda, as you can see, 1 of each Lucozade for us both, Blueberry Muffins, Caramel Bites, Chocolate Fudge Bites, Chocolate Cornflake Cakes. Also a sandwhich and pasta pot for moi (Mike had just been for a curry), a chocolate milkshake for me, and banana for Mike, oh, and let's not forget cheesestrings 

So, with energy supplies now in stock, back to work. At this point, Mike decided to take apart his mountain bike, as from here, there wasn't much detailing he could help with.

So, let's take a look at that roof



















Mike told me that the car has been stood for the past year or so courtesy of the previous owner. So, hit it with some G101 and various brushes I had with me.





































Rinsed off, still a slight green look about it



















How's it goin Mike?










Next up claying, just the one picture. The car was clayed with Yellow Fine Poly Clay and Dodo Juice Born Slippy. This is after the bonnet and front bumper










The green paint is from the front left (our drivers side, or passenger side on this car) of the bumper. Either the clearcoat had failed, or someone has tried a touch up. Same "problem" smack bang in the middle of the rear bumper too.

So, let's tape it up



















By now, it's approximately 1am

Let's check the damage


















































































Decided to try some 3M polish I have had lying around for about a year and never used (worn away label on one of them). After some searching, I found out that the unmarked one is 3M 09639 Finesse-it Material Polish. The other bottle had a good label on it which said Hand Glaze, so no problems knowing what that was for.

So, I decided to try a Menzerna Orange (Polishing) Pad, with the 3M Finesse-It Polish. I was suprised as to how well this worked! I was expecting the need to use either the Menz Compound Pad or Hex-Logic Compound pad with either Mex 3.02 or S100.

Here's the result of this combination









































































Around this point it was about half 1 after "testing", Mike went and jumped in the back on the L200 and went to sleep  LIGHTWEIGHT

Front "passenger" wing























































Nice reflection I caught after










So, finished the wing, upper part of the door, and just started on the lower half of the door, when Mike asked if I fancied calling it a night, and coming back tomorrow. The time was about 3:30am, but I had applied polish to the area I was about to working. So finished that bit, threw all the stuff in the unit, and by the time we left it was past 4am!

As you can imagine, I got home, got in bed for 5am, and at 5:30 was still awake (damn energy drinks ). Managed to drop off though, and woke at 7:30 when Chris (other guy who owns the unit), text me telling me what time he'd be there. So less than 2hours kip!

Arrived back at the unit around half 10, and made a start at 11am

Let's "set up" again










Chris on the phone ordering me some more Halogen bulbs as the ones on my tripod decided to pop.










Let's continue polishing then. Here's the boot




























Check the flake



















Rear bumper. Here you can see what I mean by either clear coat fail, or a touch up job. Obviously, car was taken here spending as little time as possible on this area.



















That's enough of the polishing pictures.

I then went over the whole car again using a Rubbish Boys Red Waffle Pad and the 3M Hand Glaze to refine the paint, and give that bit of extra gloss.

Onto the wheels, the only thing letting the car down. Decided to use my most recent purchase on these, the Britemax twins



















Worst wheel of them all, "drivers" front










50/50










Done (as best as I can)










Ideally they either need a Machince Polish, or a full on refurb

Oh, did I mention the weather?



















Thankfully we was indoors, but I want nice after pictures.

Anyway, once the wheels were done, it was time to look at that roof again. This time I hit it with something a little stronger, some Sufex HD and a selection of brushes. Then rinsed, foamed the car again, washed etc the same as before, and then dried using plush drying towels, and Dodo Juice Time to Dry.

Once all dried etc, it was time to wax and dress the car. As you can imagine, I'm getting bored of writing now, so I'll list the products used, and you can work out their purpose and what they was used on :lol:
Colly 476s
Megs Tyre Endurance Gel
AutoSmart Hight Style
Mark V Window Cleaner
Poor Boys Wheel Sealant

So, the rain stopped long enough to get some outdoor finishing pictures








































































































































And some final pictures back inside the unit



















































































(Click To Enlarge)

Time Spent:
"Day 1" - 9pm - 4am
"Day 2" - 11am - 6pm
*TOTAL - 14hours*

Thanks for looking, C&C as always

Mat

:thumb:


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

Very impressive. Looked blue for most of it, and then green by the time you'd finished! :thumb:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

indeed.... I thought it was blue when I looked at it last week.... Had to ask Chris and Mike what colour it actually was LMAO


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## L.J. (Nov 9, 2008)

Amazing job! Freshest 50/50's i've seen lately.

really like those cars  Why was it failing the mot?


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

all 4 springs snapped.... Shockers ****ed, front discs and pads, CV joints and something else I think....

Had a list full of advisories too


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## Dipesh (Oct 12, 2007)

Looking good mate! Great transformation.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

cheers fella


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## Aimez (Apr 25, 2009)

Brilliant as ever Mat, do these people pay you for all them hours?!


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## MattOz (May 15, 2007)

Great job Mat. Looks like a different car, which is always the sign of a top detail!


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## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

Very nice flake revealed. Good work.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Aimez said:


> Brilliant as ever Mat, do these people pay you for all them hours?!


I had asked for some beer tokens to cover cost of products used etc, however, once they worked out the repairs would be £600, the guy said he couldn't afford the "luxury" of a detail.

However, I wanted to clean this, so did it for free. That's the kind of guy I am  Just hope he spreads the word etc. There was a guy who came to the unit and showed interest, so I gave him my number.... Guess it's all about getting my name out there if I'm to ever go pro in years to come



MattOz said:


> Great job Mat. Looks like a different car, which is always the sign of a top detail!


Cheers boss



Bass-Evolution said:


> Very nice flake revealed. Good work.


Cheers mate


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

stunning mat love these cars :argie:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

cheers fella

I hate hatchback that have been turned into convertables (soft or hard top). However, the Mk1 Golf is the ONLY good one! I've seen corsa rag tops, punto rag tops etc, and all look poo, then there's the 206cc, micra etc, again, pants.....

Mk1 Golf Cab looks good with roof up, and even better with it down


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## Aimez (Apr 25, 2009)

You spend so much on products thou! I spend a fair bit, I enjoy cleaning others cars but then I realise I have used my nice stuff I bought and wish I would be paid for it.


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## sargent (Aug 25, 2009)

Brilliant work, well done guys!


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Plural? Only I did the work LMAO....

Mike did clean the wheels tho whilst I did the tyres


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## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

Looking good Mat, did you protect the hood?


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

unfortunately not. don't have anything for hoods. if he had some funds, I would have purchased the required products


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## Fin2982 (Feb 20, 2009)

Stunning colour, stunning car and a great turn around.
Remember one of the lads on a forum somewere using a set of wool pads to clean up a set of chromeish wheels, I'll see if I can find it for you

Wish I had my mk1 cabby still now


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

wow, great work there matty


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Looks like a good transformstion.

With the hood, i would have ensured that it was fully clean before even starting to wash the bodywork due to the amount of muck that comes out it.


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## Aimez (Apr 25, 2009)

Any tips for cleaning soft tops, my Dad has one I cleaned it last weekend just used shampoo.


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## FrazzleTC (Jul 4, 2009)

That's a fantastic transformation and it now looks a lovely wee car.


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## squeakyclean32 (Mar 13, 2010)

What an improvement :thumb:...nice write up too :thumb:


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## srmtor (Jul 12, 2008)

Fantastic work,


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Fin2982 said:


> Stunning colour, stunning car and a great turn around.
> Remember one of the lads on a forum somewere using a set of wool pads to clean up a set of chromeish wheels, I'll see if I can find it for you
> 
> Wish I had my mk1 cabby still now


Cheer fella



magpieV6 said:


> wow, great work there matty


Cheers wifey :thumb:



mattsbmw said:


> Looks like a good transformstion.
> 
> With the hood, i would have ensured that it was fully clean before even starting to wash the bodywork due to the amount of muck that comes out it.


Yeah, TBH, my mind was all over the place, what with the fuss of finding water etc. After I washed the hood, I thoroughly rinsed the body again, and washed where required.



Aimez said:


> Any tips for cleaning soft tops, my Dad has one I cleaned it last weekend just used shampoo.


Just some G101 and brushes. Although you can buy proper rag top cleaning kits etc from halfords, or traders on here



FrazzleTC said:


> That's a fantastic transformation and it now looks a lovely wee car.


Cheers mate



squeakyclean32 said:


> What an improvement :thumb:...nice write up too :thumb:


Cheers fella :thumb:


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## deano_uk (Apr 29, 2007)

Nice work, the flake really pops after the polish.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

deano_uk said:


> Nice work, the flake really pops after the polish.


cheers fella


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Looks really good mat, a real transformation, looks completely different now. Hope he spreads your name so you can get some business out of it lol


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

ant_s said:


> Looks really good mat, a real transformation, looks completely different now. Hope he spreads your name so you can get some business out of it lol


cheers fella.

yeah, I hope he does too.....


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## Doktorko (May 12, 2010)

A perfect return to the original color and luster ... Superb work ..


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## G51 NAV (Jan 14, 2007)

Beautiful, and thank you for the very detailed and useful write-up
Why don't they make cars like that anymore


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Very very nice!


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## drka-drka (Nov 1, 2007)

Awsome work mate on a nice little car


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## Peter B (Dec 22, 2009)

Nice car.. At my misses workplace there is standing 2 US models without numberplates.. A shame.. Find some Porsche caps for the alloy's..


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Looks alot more fresh now mate.

Robbie


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

love it.


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

That looks like my mates old car ! Spitting image nice turn around. Where did he buy it ?


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Doktorko said:


> A perfect return to the original color and luster ... Superb work ..





G51 NAV said:


> Beautiful, and thank you for the very detailed and useful write-up
> Why don't they make cars like that anymore





ahaydock said:


> Very very nice!





drka-drka said:


> Awsome work mate on a nice little car





Peter B said:


> Nice car.. At my misses workplace there is standing 2 US models without numberplates.. A shame.. Find some Porsche caps for the alloy's..





*MAGIC* said:


> Looks alot more fresh now mate.
> 
> Robbie





horned yo said:


> love it.


Cheers guys :thumb:



JJ_ said:


> That looks like my mates old car ! Spitting image nice turn around. Where did he buy it ?


He boght it from a guy in Peterborough IIRC


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Well, I did this almost 3 months ago, and the owner has just rang me to say how chuffed he was! Never heard anyone so excited on the phone! And he's had 3 months to get used to it LMAO!


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## myles (Jul 6, 2006)

Sweeeet ride! I had a black one (Clipper) as my first car. In good nick as well, until someone sideswiped it and wrote it off! 

Looking lovely, making me yearn for another!


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## nivr6 (May 20, 2010)

good job


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