# Midlands Car Care - The ONLY MG ZT-T 190SE in Moody Blue in the WORLD! Crystal Rock!



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Steve, the founder of the MG Rover forum recently contacted me to discuss some corrective work on one of his vehicles. The car in question turned out to be one of the rarest MG's in the world - a V6 ZT-T in Moody Blue! It also turned out to be one of the most challenging details I had ever done - this paint is ROCK HARD!! :buffer::wall:

Some befores:


DSC05798 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05799 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05800 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05801 by RussZS, on Flickr

We started off with the wheel areas, giving them a high pressure rinse to remove any loose dirt, debris and brake dust:


DSC05803 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next AS Smart Wheels was used liberally to begin to break down the dirt and dust on the alloys:


DSC05806 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05807 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05808 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05814 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05816 by RussZS, on Flickr

G101 used on the tyre walls to ensure the new tyre dressing would bond correctly:


DSC05811 by RussZS, on Flickr

After rinsing, IronX and Tardis were used to safely remove any remaining deposits on the wheels:


DSC05818 by RussZS, on Flickr

After this we degreased the entire car with BriteMax GrimeOut mixed 10:1 with water, to begin to break down the dirt on the paintwork to safely remove it with a high pressure rinse:


DSC05820 by RussZS, on Flickr

After rinsing the car, we used Britemax CleanMax and a CarPro Mitt to safely remove the remaining traffic film present on the car:


DSC05824 by RussZS, on Flickr

At this stage we were ready to begin decontaminating the paintwork, which is a three stage process of using Tardis to remove any tar, IronX to remove any fallout then Clay to pick up any additional contamination:


DSC05825 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05827 by RussZS, on Flickr

After drying, we were ready to begin machine polishing the hand painted paintwork. Ahead of polishing we checked the paints thickness with our depth gauge to build up a picture of the paints state and try and assess any areas which may have been polished or painted previously:


DSC05898 by RussZS, on Flickr

We then began to systematically test progressively strong combinations until we were comfortable with the level of correction achieved. This turned out to be THE hardest paint I had ever come across on a car, making some of the harder Audi's and Mercedes seemingly soft by comparison. The original intention was to complete this in around 1.5 days, but it turned into a personal battle and ended up taking much, much longer!!

Some corrective shots - some deeper defects still remain, but a huge improvement:


DSC05828 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05862 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05867 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05880 by RussZS, on Flickr

As we were pushed for time on this one towards the end of the week, I have fewer photos than I would have liked I'm afraid.

CarPro DLUX was used to restore the trim:


DSC05950 by RussZS, on Flickr

Quite the improvement!


DSC05951 by RussZS, on Flickr

We finished with Swissvax Crystal Rock!


DSC05955 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05960 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05964 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05967 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05971 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05976 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05979 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05989 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC05992 by RussZS, on Flickr

I told Steve that I didn't want to see another monogram MG for a good while - he's just bought an Aurora ZS... :wall::devil::lol:

Thanks for reading.

Russ.


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## Richard. (May 3, 2011)

Great work Russ!

It needs a Clarkson style pause.

The only Moody Blue ZTT....in the world.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Absolutely stunning work as always, and what a great colour :thumb:


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## unique detail (Jan 26, 2012)

Nice work Russ cracking 50/50s mate.

Andy


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## BlackPanther (Oct 23, 2010)

Sure looked moody when it arrived......now looks amazing Russ

did it come from factory with that paint?


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Richard. said:


> Great work Russ!
> 
> It needs a Clarkson style pause.
> 
> The only Moody Blue ZTT....in the world.


Thank you - I see what you did there 



Trip tdi said:


> Absolutely stunning work as always, and what a great colour :thumb:


Thanks Trip, hope you're well buddy! 



unique detail said:


> Nice work Russ cracking 50/50s mate.
> 
> Andy


Thanks Andy 



BlackPanther said:


> Sure looked moody when it arrived......now looks amazing Russ
> 
> did it come from factory with that paint?


Yep this is one of the special monogram paints which featured on some of the MG models. The paint is ROCK HARD, never seen anything like it. Steve now has another monogram (Aurora) MG ZS (like a red/orange flip) which is coming our way soon I believe. Might be one for the denim pads!


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Great work, and what a good looking car!


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## gatman (Jun 13, 2012)

Cracking job, that colour looks amazing


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic work Russ, what did you use for correction?


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

Interesting colour! 

never seen this before! looking forward to see the other MG


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## StuartyD (Dec 20, 2012)

Fantastic work Russ :thumb:


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## Type.R (Feb 4, 2012)

nice colour that, awesome work too :thumb:


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## mikeydee (May 4, 2010)

quality work as expected.


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Just wow man! That my number 3 best looks from MCC. #2 Edition 30, #1 Liquid Yellow Vee. Fantastic work as usual!


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Great effort fella:thumb:

Looks great in that colour


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all


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## Wazhalo31 (Feb 16, 2013)

Great looking Car. U worked ur magic on that one. 

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

perfect like always


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## ChrisST (Jul 19, 2009)

Fantastic work as always Russ. :thumb:

Can't wait to see the Aurora one when it's done..fantastic colour.
MG Rover did some superb colours, I've still not seen a car in Dark Fantasy but it looks stunning in pictures.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Fantastic Russ, really enjoyed that one! Love the colour!

What turned out to be the winning combination then?

Jon

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## gibbo555 (May 3, 2011)

Great job Russ on a great colour, I am a member of the forum myself, the paint on my Trophy Blue ZT is pretty hard as well :buffer:


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Amazing work on MG, looks very nice :thumb:.


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## BoostJunky86 (Oct 25, 2012)

As always Russ, job well done!! Looks great!!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job mate, it looks stunning :thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all


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## MGSteve2 (Apr 9, 2013)

Richard. said:


> Great work Russ!
> 
> It needs a Clarkson style pause.
> 
> The only Moody Blue ZTT....in the world.


Nearly , there's only two, mine and a V8.



MidlandsCarCare said:


> Yep this is one of the special monogram paints which featured on some of the MG models. The paint is ROCK HARD, never seen anything like it. Steve now has another monogram (Aurora) MG ZS (like a red/orange flip) which is coming our way soon I believe. Might be one for the denim pads!











That's it at the moment (it had a light rear end prang just before I bought it, but I'm going to get the bumper & front end resprayed before it goes to Russ)



ChrisST said:


> I've still not seen a car in Dark Fantasy but it looks stunning in pictures.


Other than Aurora, that's my favourite colour, it is stunning.








Not the best pic, but you get the idea. Blue to purple to bronze travel.

Its even rarer on a ZS, I believe there's only one of them in existence. There are a few Aurora ZSs around, although only 2 saloons as far as we know.

Anyway, the work Russ did on the ZTT was stunning, quite a long slog getting there, but definitely worth the wait


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

stunning once again Russ


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all and thanks for the kind words Steve.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Now looks amazing:thumb:


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## maxtherotti (Mar 2, 2009)

I think i need to bring you my identical ztt 190 se but in much easier x power grey to do :thumb: looks epic 

May i ask what site steve owns??

Cheers Rob


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## andystevens (Dec 12, 2011)

BlackPanther said:


> Sure looked moody when it arrived......now looks amazing Russ
> 
> did it come from factory with that paint?


Yes MG Rover did a very good selection of paint & interior finish options known as the Monogram Programme.
I had a Monogram Aurora ZT-T190SE that is currently in North Wales.

R.E that Aurora ZS....I wondered where that ended up if it is the one that was on Ebay recently as I very nearly bought it.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

Amazing Work, have a real soft spot for MGs as had 2 Monogram ZR's myself

Is that the Shinearama PDG? If so how do you find it?


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## Kash-Jnr (Mar 24, 2013)

A really huge improvement.


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## MGSteve2 (Apr 9, 2013)

andystevens said:


> R.E that Aurora ZS....I wondered where that ended up if it is the one that was on Ebay recently as I very nearly bought it.


It was! I had actually put a deposit down on it the night before it had the rear end bump. Changed my mind when I saw the pics and then changed my mind again when I saw how good the repair had been. There's a few signs that you'd see if you looked hard, but otherwise its perfect.



maxtherotti said:


> May i ask what site steve owns??


Seeing as I've linked to DW's thread on facebook and I'm about to post a link on .org, I doubt they'll mind a link. its http://forums.mg-rover.org


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## Sam MG ZS (Apr 9, 2013)

MGSteve2 said:


> Nearly , there's only two, mine and a V8.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm sure I've seen this ZS before, did this come up on eBay recently and was the actual car used for MG's press photo's?


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## ImDesigner (Jan 19, 2012)

What a stunner. I really, really like that colour and I'm honestly never less than completely impressed by your work, Russ. Good effort!


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Quality as usual russ,sweet colour.


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

The paint really responded well to some polishing. The colour came alive in the finished shots.

Cracking work, well done on this one.


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## Giobart (Mar 23, 2011)

Very nice Job Russ!


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

Great turnaround and really nice colour :thumb:


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## SystemClenz (Oct 31, 2008)

Not sure I like the car but still, great work as ever :thumb:


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Very nice work Russ :thumb: Every Monogram MG should have paint like that to show how stunning the colours are.

I wish mine was a Monogram colour!


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## andystevens (Dec 12, 2011)

When I viewed it in Canterbury by the then owner who lived in Deal, Kent he had some Aurora paint in a bottle he said. I think the guy who pipped me to the post was only in it for the proffit  It hadn't been bumped at the time I saw it though he did say the day before he was in Asda/Tesco & the rear bumper aquired a scuff.

Just to let you know the sunroof wasn't on the car from new but it is a genuine MGR unit.

I believe there are 4 Aurora ZS's (or should I say were!). There were less than 20 Aurora Monogram cars ever made ( I did have the figure but I forgot but I believe it was either 13 or 17).


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## shinyobsessive (Feb 14, 2013)

I'm an Mgr fan and they did some cracking colours...

Top job on that ZT!

:newbie:


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

Once again, Fantastic work Russ you certainly put some time into making your customers happy!

Excellent finish on a superb colour.


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## scoobyboy1 (Aug 28, 2006)

Sorry this is my first post, But have been lurking on here for quite a while and only just registered. Been looking at some of your work Russ for sometime, and very impressed, Then I realised that you was at junction 10 of the M6 and thought no way thats near my house!! 
Then Looking through some of your old posts I realised I know that guy from somewhere, Then I realised i went to school with you, and the wet sanding thread you did confirmed it when I saw your certificate with your name on.:thumb: 

Anyway keep up the good work!!! Always look forward to your detailing threads.

p.s its John Jones who you went to school with!!!!!:thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

scoobyboy1 said:


> Sorry this is my first post, But have been lurking on here for quite a while and only just registered. Been looking at some of your work Russ for sometime, and very impressed, Then I realised that you was at junction 10 of the M6 and thought no way thats near my house!!
> Then Looking through some of your old posts I realised I know that guy from somewhere, Then I realised i went to school with you, and the wet sanding thread you did confirmed it when I saw your certificate with your name on.:thumb:
> 
> Anyway keep up the good work!!! Always look forward to your detailing threads.
> ...


No way!! How you doing mate? Cheers for the kind words, really appreciate then!

What are you driving these days? I noticed you had a few nice cars over the years like that Mk1 FRS.

Thanks to everyone else for the kind words and feedback!

Russ.


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## scoobyboy1 (Aug 28, 2006)

MidlandsCarCare said:


> No way!! How you doing mate? Cheers for the kind words, really appreciate then!
> 
> What are you driving these days? I noticed you had a few nice cars over the years like that Mk1 FRS.
> 
> ...


On the look out for a new car at the moment, Dont like driving anything decent in the winter cause of the crap we have on the roads, prefer to get something for the summer and keep it minty mint, but really cant decide at the moment, I get bored to easy with cars managed to go through 5 cars in 1 year!!!:doublesho


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

I really like these cars,love the colour too.


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## MGSteve2 (Apr 9, 2013)

Sam MG ZS said:


> I'm sure I've seen this ZS before, did this come up on eBay recently and was the actual car used for MG's press photo's?


Sorry for the delay, only just noticed your post.

It was the eBay one, but it wasn't used for the press photos - that was a normal Firefrost red car. This one wasn't built until late Oct 2004, a few months after the 04MY was launched.


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## MGSteve2 (Apr 9, 2013)

andystevens said:


> When I viewed it in Canterbury by the then owner who lived in Deal, Kent he had some Aurora paint in a bottle he said. I think the guy who pipped me to the post was only in it for the proffit  It hadn't been bumped at the time I saw it though he did say the day before he was in Asda/Tesco & the rear bumper aquired a scuff.
> 
> Just to let you know the sunroof wasn't on the car from new but it is a genuine MGR unit.
> 
> I believe there are 4 Aurora ZS's (or should I say were!). There were less than 20 Aurora Monogram cars ever made ( I did have the figure but I forgot but I believe it was either 13 or 17).


I'm not too sure the guy I got it from was in it for the money to be honest, he seemed to be genuine when he said his wife didn't like it & that's the reason it was sold so quickly.

Never saw the can of paint, but more than likely I wouldn't have touched it anyway! I managed to get 2.5l of original Aurora paint sourced from Longbridge when the first owner of one of my Aurora ZTs bought it in 2005, so its Solvent based and from around the same time as my car was built, so should be a damn good match 

Better than the water based version of it which is pretty good, but not perfect. One thing you need with these paints is a perfect match.


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