# Polished Bliss: Chrome Orange Elise R (over 60 pics!)



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Right, first of all, apologies for the eleventy million pics in this thread, i got a bit snappy happy during this detail (over 200 were taken) and couldnt really edit them all down to a sensible number  

Now onto the car, in this rather nice chrome orange colour (well it looked nice under the dirt).....










This is the latest customer to sign up to one of our Monthly Vintage Maintainance contracts and he drove up from Edinburgh and left the car with us over Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.

Although the car was only a couple of months old, it had what looked like a couple of years worth of dirt and grime stuck to it:





































So, onto the *Wash Process*:

Firstly, the arches/shuts etc were soaked in APC and the car was then foamed with a Safe Degreaser through the Foam Gun and left to dwell for 5 mins:










The car was then rinsed at high pressure, (taking care around the edges of the armour-fend which was applied to the front end and rear arches) foamed again and then washed with the 2 bucket method and lambswool mitts. The wheels were badly covered in brake dust and obviously had no protection from new as they were almost starting to pitt already - a non acidic tyre and wheel gel were used for the faces but the inner rims needed an acidic cleaner cut 4:1 to remove every last bit of dirt.

Once the car was rinsed i could see a large amount of tar and rubber that was stuck to the majority of the bottom half of the car - this was sprayed with Tar and Glue remover and left for a few minutes and then wiped off with a Mf.

The pic below shows the T&G remover in action, i couldnt be without this product as it saves a huge amount of time:










I could just manage to fit my hand in with a MF mitt to remove the tar from the inner arches too:










The Paintwork and glass was then Clayed with Zymöl Lehm Clay and the car was given a final rinse off before being dried with the leaf blower (i keep forgetting to get a picture of this in action, will try to remember next time )

*Total Wash Time: 2 hours*

*Polishing Stage*:

The car was then rolled (literally! i found it too much of a pain to get in and out to drive it so i pushed the car back and forward for the duration of the detail, just aswell its such a light car ) inside and taped up.

Under the halogens you can just about see the defects i was faced with:










The entire car was covered in rotary holograms too: 










As the cars bodywork is entirely composite material i decided to use the good old PC for this detail, mainly because i wanted to keep heat to a mimimum and i figured it would actually be quicker due to the complex lines and curves of the car. The defects werent too bad either so i was confident the PC would provide enough punch for the job 

I first tried out the finishing polishes but these didnt provide quite enough defect removal for my liking so i went for the usual cerami-clear compound on an orange LC Pad, spread at speed 2 then worked at speed 6 untill fully broken down.

*Rear quarter before*:










*Rear quarter after*:










*Drivers door before*:










*Door after*:










*50/50 shot on the bootlid*:










*Passenger door before*:










*door after*:










All the smaller/complicated areas such as the rear bumper/engine cover etc were done with a 4" LC pad.

*Total Polish Time: 5 hours*

*LSP*:

As mentioned at the start of the post, this customer had signed up for a monthly Vintage maintainance plan, so LSP of choice was obviously Zymöl Vintage - this time applied by applicator pad after the HD Cleanse step, this made it a doddle to apply and buff off with next to no smears visible before the final buff several hours later 

*Interior*:

While the Wax was curing i set about the interior, which like the exterior was a little bit grubby:





































I firstly removed the carpets and gave them a quick brush/hoover, then cleaned the grubby bits with APC and extracted with Charles (our wet and dry machine ):










I then thoroughly hoovered and dusted down the interior before cleaning with a mild APC solution. The metal "grills" on the floor were cleaned with a mild metal polish after i'd removed all the dirt and mud from them and the Glass was cleaned with HD Cleanse inside and out.

I then dressed the trim with Zymöl Vinyl.....










....Fed the leather with Zymöl Treat.....










....And applied HD Cleanse to all the painted sections including the door shuts etc...










*Interior afters:*























































Next thing on the list was to apply Zymöl Carbon to all the exterior trim and rubbers:










This not only helps protect them but leaves a nice finish too:

*before*:










*after*:










The exhausts were pretty dirty, i actually thought they were meant to be black to start with!:










These were cleaned with a heavy cut metal compound on a german applicator pad and then followed up with a fine metal polish:










Despite being cleaned with the safe de-greaser during the wash stage, the rear diffuser was still dirty:










I cleaned this with neat APC on a MF and then dressed with an All Season Dressing which was buffed off 30 mins later:










Once that was all done, the car was given a final dust down with a Zymöl duster and wiped down with Field Glaze.

The fabric hood was "de-fluffed" with some masking tape, simple yet effective :thumb: :










Last job was to re-apply the front number plate as it was squint when the car arrived, then the final pics were taken....they're shown in no particular order! enjoy :thumb:


























































































































































*Total Work Time: 12 hours-ish*

Although it was a small car there were ALOT of details to pay attention too, but both myself and the owner were chuffed with the results 

Great car, Great colour, Pain in the a$$ to get in and out of! 

Thanks for looking! :thumb:

Edited - realised i uploaded the same pics twice a couple of times so there's now less than 60 pics


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Awesome, Seriously Awesome


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Love the colour on the indoor after shots,

Really nice full detail Clark, I take it you liked this one after taking so many pictures


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## Danny (Feb 9, 2007)

that looks amazing, great turnaround :thumb:


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

top work and write up to suit


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Epoch said:


> Love the colour on the indoor after shots,
> 
> Really nice full detail Clark, I take it you liked this one after taking so many pictures


Well i decided to try and do all my write up's from now on in a kind of "picture story" but after taking a couple of hours to edit them down and do the flaming thing i dunno if i'll bother next time! :lol:


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## Refined Reflections (May 12, 2006)

Great work as always :thumb:


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

Great detail and write up, yet again shows the quality of the Polished Bliss team.

That car now looks stunning!


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

I love that colour! But wow how dirty was it before? Superb turn around


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## 190Evoluzione (Jun 27, 2007)

Oh my word what a huge amount of work & pics!
You must be pooped, TFI friday!
Love the Elise, it's just a gem. Amazing colour too, and glad it's clearly been hooned around a track (looking at the wheels & tar/rubber marks)


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## Richy888 (Mar 18, 2007)

Stunning is truely an understatement to your work :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

190Evoluzione said:


> Oh my word what a huge amount of work & pics!
> You must be pooped, TFI friday!
> Love the Elise, it's just a gem. Amazing colour too, and glad it's clearly been hooned around a track (looking at the wheels & tar/rubber marks)


apparantly the owner only recently passed his test!


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## Breeze_Blue (Aug 20, 2006)

What a lovely turn round great work as normal, i have to agree Great car, Great colour and would love to own 1 one day!!! Wow now thats what i call a first car.


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## cdti_sri (Jul 17, 2006)

Excellent work n stunning finish! Though you could of deswirled the door lock!!! pfft :lol:


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Thoroughly enjoyed that write up mate :thumb:


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## Lespaul (May 23, 2006)

Fab car, even better after your work :thumb: 

I can see one ending up in my garage one day to replace the Westy  

Darren


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

cracking read chap:thumb:


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Clark said:


> Well i decided to try and do all my write up's from now on in a kind of "picture story" but after taking a couple of hours to edit them down and do the flaming thing i dunno if i'll bother next time! :lol:


Trust me mate, you want to keep doing all your write ups like this. What an awesome read, made me put Harry Potter 7 down:thumb:

A really cracking detail mate, thank you.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

L200 Steve said:


> Trust me mate, you want to keep doing all your write ups like this. What an awesome read, made me put Harry Potter 7 down:thumb:
> 
> A really cracking detail mate, thank you.


lol, cheers mate! Its finding the time to do the write up's at the minute thats the hard bit!


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## andyf (Dec 29, 2006)

Great write up clark and fantastic detail. I remember my brother trying to keep up with one of these in his bike, he said it handle like it was on rails.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

andyf said:


> Great write up clark and fantastic detail. I remember my brother trying to keep up with one of these in his bike, he said it handle like it was on rails.


funnily enough, we had a customer come in past to book his car in and he said the same thing, commenting on just how well the elise was keeping up with him on the back roads, and he likes to ride his bikes fast!


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

I always enjoy your posts, Clark - your work is awesome! :thumb:

The Lotus looks stunning now! No wonder the PB team are so busy!


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## bigsyd (Jul 2, 2006)

STUNNING M8 , can you tell me plz what Tar and Glue remover you was using


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Terrific car, colour, detail, and write up. I've loved these cars ever since I saw a few at knockhill and would love to own one but it wouldn't be very practical.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

bigsyd said:


> STUNNING M8 , can you tell me plz what Tar and Glue remover you was using


PM on its way....


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

An absolutely cracking detail and a great write up. Enjoyed all the pics and gald you didn't edit them out. The attention to detail and finish are awesome


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## Justtourin1 (May 18, 2007)

Superb, well done, i'm sure the owner was well chuffed.


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## Renmure (Jan 18, 2007)

Looks fab... as usual!!

The owner is a poster on the Scottish elises forum and to be honest I have been waiting to read this one since I knew you were doing it. I have been a bit concerned about the idea of machine polishing the elise/exige because of what its made of but, I take it that there is nothing to worry about as long as the you know what you are doing. (which I obviously dont so wouldnt be attempting it myself)


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Renmure said:


> Looks fab... as usual!!
> 
> The owner is a poster on the Scottish elises forum and to be honest I have been waiting to read this one since I knew you were doing it. I have been a bit concerned about the idea of machine polishing the elise/exige because of what its made of but, I take it that there is nothing to worry about as long as the you know what you are doing. (which I obviously dont so wouldnt be attempting it myself)


I did notice the scottish elise name on the number plates.... 

If i had to then i would have Rotary'd the bodywork, as long as you keep the heat down then all should be fine 

Obviously a Paint Gauge that works on Composite panels is handy too :thumb:


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

A double helping of Lotuses tonight (or is it Loti?) Cracking detail and write up


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> A double helping of Lotuses tonight (or is it Loti?) Cracking detail and write up


or Lotuseseses?


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## Wozza (Mar 3, 2007)

Fantastic, great work on a great car, love the colour :thumb: How effective would you say the Carbon is compared to dedicated trim dressings ?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Wozza said:


> Fantastic, great work on a great car, love the colour :thumb: How effective would you say the Carbon is compared to dedicated trim dressings ?


Its better, as it doesnt run or streak after time (water beads off it like it does on the paint), whether it rains or not. Vintage would be more durable but Carbon is oilier so works better on trim :thumb:


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Lovely work and attention to detail, was going to say I didn't like the colour, but freshly detailed it looks alot lot better.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

as always, amazing


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

loving the attention youve given that car, looks brilliant. also the write up is spot on, really informative.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Neil_S said:


> Lovely work and attention to detail, was going to say I didn't like the colour, but freshly detailed it looks alot lot better.


yep, i was the same - it looks very flat and dull when dirty but when clean or if you look close and see the flake it really is a stunning colour and you can kinda see why they call it "chrome" orange


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## Wmffra (Oct 30, 2005)

Amazing work as usual Clark, always enjoy your write-ups :thumb:


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## astra-bertone (Mar 16, 2007)

as i said in the pm, great work mate, thanks for the advice about carbon


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

ibizasport16v said:


> as i said in the pm, great work mate, thanks for the advice about carbon


no probs mate 

Cheers guys! :thumb:


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

Amazing, great colour, great car, great detail. My local Audi dealer has a white Exige in stock, i want it badly but i'd settle on giving it a detail


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## nsanity (May 7, 2007)

Amazing finish mate, and lovely car


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## dino (Oct 26, 2005)

Stunning! 

A friend of mine has just upgraded from an elise to Exige S....such amazing cars!


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

:doublesho Absolutely unbelievable work there and beautiful colour too!!:thumb: .

You`re a real credit to this forum and inspiration to this forum!!:thumb: :thumb:


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## pcc (Oct 11, 2006)

Excellent work and writeup Clark. Thoroughly enjoyed that


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## ukimportz (Mar 23, 2007)

great write up & an awesome turn-around.


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Totally mint.

Wish I had a snoop here before I came out today 

Will have a better natter when we all have some more time!


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## Ducky (Mar 19, 2007)

Top stuff there, first class and excellent write up! :thumb:


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## 360modena (Jun 24, 2007)

What's the product "APC" ???


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Woohoo, finally got all the pics to work.

Great detail there and a really nice colour too, the owners a mucky fella though 



360modena said:


> What's the product "APC" ???


All Purpose Cleaner :thumb:


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

brilliant mate. i really enjoyed reading that.


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## Serious Performance (Oct 26, 2005)

Very nice indeed :thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

superb final finish - that colour looks amazing when its been prep'd and waxed like that. 

Would love a monthly Vintage programme but it would be a long way to drive!


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

Excellent write up, I really enjoyed that - thanks!

And... of course the car, is looking absolutely beautiful.


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## lomax (Feb 5, 2007)

That looks lush and so glossy


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

wd40 said:


> :doublesho Absolutely unbelievable work there and beautiful colour too!!:thumb: .
> 
> You`re a real credit to this forum and inspiration to this forum!!:thumb: :thumb:


Very kind of you to say so , thanks :thumb:


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## wfenix (May 13, 2007)

superb work clark really is a nice job there fella


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Love the finish :thumb:


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

nice work. how come you used carbon on the plastics though if it was a vintage detail?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Lovelyu wet gloss on the orange paint and quality correction work. :thumb:


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## DieselMDX (Apr 18, 2007)

did I read that post correctly? Did u use a applicator with vintage? If so why?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

jedi-knight83 said:


> nice work. how come you used carbon on the plastics though if it was a vintage detail?


Carbon works better on the plastics as its oilier 



DieselMDX said:


> did I read that post correctly? Did u use a applicator with vintage? If so why?


Easier to buff off as you can apply it thinner, takes half the time as it does to do it by hand


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## Andy C (Jul 7, 2007)

Great work, it's like a different car!


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## stewarty.c (Mar 8, 2006)

top detail there clark. (as per usual) lol


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## ash_xt (Apr 22, 2007)

as usual great work there


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## Slick 77 (Jun 19, 2007)

nice write up and awesome pictures :thumb:


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## DieselMDX (Apr 18, 2007)

Clark said:


> Carbon works better on the plastics as its oilier
> 
> Easier to buff off as you can apply it thinner, takes half the time as it does to do it by hand


thank you Clark!


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## n_d_fox (Apr 18, 2007)

I'm puzzled sometimes as to how the owner of such a beautiful car can let it get into that sort of state !? I know the Elise is built for track use as well as A and B road hooning around but Jesus !

As ever stunning work and awesome afters... i hope you dont me half inching a couple for desktop wall paper ??

Out of interest... you mentioned you couldnt be without the bug and tar remover... what is it?


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

What a detail, both vehicle and your write up are top notch. I personally enjoyed your write up and I like the format you wrote it in. The pictures were really nice all of them I enjoyed all of them, such a great turn around on that vehicle. Um...got any more pictures?  just teasing.

The color looks incredable what a difference you made on that vehicle WOW!! I'm speachless 

Thank you for sharing


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

n_d_fox said:


> I'm puzzled sometimes as to how the owner of such a beautiful car can let it get into that sort of state !? I know the Elise is built for track use as well as A and B road hooning around but Jesus !
> 
> As ever stunning work and awesome afters... i hope you dont me half inching a couple for desktop wall paper ??
> 
> Out of interest... you mentioned you couldnt be without the bug and tar remover... what is it?


PM on its way mate 



Nica said:


> What a detail, both vehicle and your write up are top notch. I personally enjoyed your write up and I like the format you wrote it in. The pictures were really nice all of them I enjoyed all of them, such a great turn around on that vehicle. Um...got any more pictures?  just teasing.
> 
> The color looks incredable what a difference you made on that vehicle WOW!! I'm speachless
> 
> Thank you for sharing


Thanks very much mate, much appreciated :thumb:


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## GregR (Jul 30, 2006)

190Evoluzione said:


> Oh my word what a huge amount of work & pics!
> You must be pooped, TFI friday!
> Love the Elise, it's just a gem. Amazing colour too, and glad it's clearly been hooned around a track (looking at the wheels & tar/rubber marks)


Closest this thing has got to a track is when the handbrake failed (still a matter of debate on our forums ) and it rolled down the hill at Knockhill's carpark


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## wookey (Jul 13, 2007)

fantastic job and an excellent write up :thumb:


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## PhatPhil (Feb 1, 2007)

Colour looks amazing. Great turn around


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## Maxym (Apr 27, 2007)

Mmmm. Lovely. :thumb: Want one - but not with black wheels... :doublesho


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

excellent work, lovely finish


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## blair (Jul 31, 2007)

Speachless..............


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## scott508 (Aug 23, 2007)

stunning work...


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## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

After 77 replies there'snot much new to add, agreat bit of detailing and a joy to read. Thanks :thumb: :buffer: :doublesho


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

GregR said:


> Closest this thing has got to a track is when the handbrake failed (still a matter of debate on our forums ) and it rolled down the hill at Knockhill's carpark


So does this mean i'm going to have my work cut out again?


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## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

Very nice love the colour............Clark how do you get into the body by the rear lights ? or what do you use.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

superb that, nice colour too ;-)


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## Schnorbitz (Aug 18, 2007)

Good write-up and pics, great job!


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## EliseR (Aug 31, 2007)

Hi,

I'm the owner of this lurvly orange car, and I have been taking much better care of her since Polished Bliss worked their magic....

Apart from the Hot Hatch track day where I nearly got sided by a Scooby with what seemed to be 3,000 BHP....oh and the Alpha track day, where my car decided to take a wonder and ditch itself under a chain link fence....

Oh, and the 3am wander to the east coast with a mental guy from East Lothian through god knows what mud covered mountain...afterwhich the only hint of orange was the dried blood from the poor owl which got it.

Polished Bliss, can't wait to see you in a week or so :thumb: 

Gary.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Oh crap, sounds like another challenging session coming up!


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## tut (Aug 31, 2007)

Clark

Mine could do with some TLC, but I doubt if even you could work your magic on it.

It actually looked like Gary's at one time.

tut


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

:doublesho :lol:


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## vpricey (May 8, 2006)

Nice finish, that orange really sparcles under the light!!  

Shows what can still be done with the trusty PC!! :buffer:


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## Calgarydetail (Aug 27, 2007)

wow looks great, very nice work


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## Rasher (Mar 6, 2006)

cracking job Clark


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## Jakedoodles (Jan 16, 2006)

Top job fella. Didn't notice this until now!


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## dirk (Jun 2, 2007)

car looks awesome fella


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## EliseR (Aug 31, 2007)

Thanks for all the hard work on Monday guys, car is looking great - getting really slick :thumb: 

See you in a few weeks.

Gary.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

EliseR said:


> Thanks for all the hard work on Monday guys, car is looking great - getting really slick :thumb:
> 
> See you in a few weeks.
> 
> Gary.


Aye, it couldnt have been much dirtier! took nearly 3 1/2 hours to wash and dry it again! :lol:


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## Sheffielder (Jun 16, 2006)

Stunning!


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Beautiful work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumb: :thumb: :buffer: :buffer:


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## bud man (Mar 30, 2007)

cracking work :thumb:


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