# Midlands Car Care - Mk1 Ford Focus RS Enhancement Detail - Swissvax Crystal Rock!



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

When I first passed my driving test back in 2003, the Mk1 Ford Focus RS was my dream car - it was such a stunning colour and had amazing presence on the road. As the years went by and they held their value I found myself buying other cars. As I moved into Detailing I always hoped the day would come when I would get my hands on one - that finally happened last Thursday - this detail was a real pleasure for me to complete.

Sean the owner, a huge RS fan, contacted me about restoring some life into his RS (his second example) as it was looking a little tired and the paintwork was very swirly in direct sunlight. It is being used for some prototype products soon so he wanted it looking its best ready for photos in future.

The RS was dropped off early on Thursday and left with us until Saturday.

Some before shots:


DSC06949 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06950 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06952 by RussZS, on Flickr

We started by tackling the wheel areas:


DSC06954 by RussZS, on Flickr

AutoSmart Smart Wheels mixed at 10:1 with water was used through a foaming spray head:


DSC06956 by RussZS, on Flickr

The angled Wheel Woolie was used to safely clean behind the spokes:


DSC06958 by RussZS, on Flickr

Then the medium Wheel Woolie was used to agitate the Smart Wheels at the back of the wheels:


DSC06961 by RussZS, on Flickr

The smallest Valet Pro brushes were then used to clean the face of the wheels:


DSC06963 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06965 by RussZS, on Flickr

and tyres were degreased with G101 to ensure the new tyre dressing will bond correctly:


DSC06966 by RussZS, on Flickr

The largest Wheel Woolie was then used to safely clean the arch area with G101:


DSC06968 by RussZS, on Flickr

IronX was then used to remove any additional brake dust pitting which may have been present on the wheels - very little was removed - this RS was very clean and a credit to its owner Sean!


DSC06969 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06972 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next, the RS was foamed with Valet Pro using an Autobrite lance:


DSC06974 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06975 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06976 by RussZS, on Flickr

The foam solution was then used to clean the more intricate area which a wash mitt may struggle to reach:


DSC06978 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06979 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06982 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06983 by RussZS, on Flickr

After rinsing the foam solution away, Auto Finesse Lather was used with a CarPro Wash Mitt to safely clean the car's bodywork:


DSC06987 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06988 by RussZS, on Flickr

After rinsing, the paintwork was treated to both IronX and Tardis to deal with any fallout or tar spots on the paintwork, but yet again very little was present. Next we moved the RS inside out of the wind to begin the claying process to ensure the paintwork was fully decontaminated ahead of machine polishing:


DSC06989 by RussZS, on Flickr

Again very little! Impressive stuff.

Next an Uber Drying Towel was used to safely dry the RS:


DSC06990 by RussZS, on Flickr

At this stage the car was clean and decontaminated and ready for machine polishing. Ahead of polishing the paintwork was assessed for any signs of resprayed areas and the paints thickness was measured to allow us to build up a mental picture of the paintwork therefore allowing an informed approach towards the corrective work:


DSC06992 by RussZS, on Flickr

The paintwork was heavily swirled, which isn't uncommon for these RS's:


DSC07002 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07003 by RussZS, on Flickr

After testing various polishers, polishes and pads, we managed to find a suitable combination to give a great level of correction leaving only very light marring for the refining stage.

Some pics from the corrective stages:


DSC06995 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC06996 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07007 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07008 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07009 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07033 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07037 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07041 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07044 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07052 by RussZS, on Flickr

The rear (US spec) clusters were also machined to restore some clarity to them:


DSC07062 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07063 by RussZS, on Flickr

After the cutting phase was complete, the car was foamed (at midnight!) and rinsed off to remove any polishing dust, ahead of refining:


DSC07067 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07085 by RussZS, on Flickr

After refining we finished with Swissvax Crystal Rock:


DSC07076 by RussZS, on Flickr

Finally, some after pics:


DSC07087 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07089 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07103 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07107 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07108 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07109 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07111 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07112 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07116 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07117 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07119 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07121 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07125 by RussZS, on Flickr

As always, thank you for reading. Thanks to Sean to trusting us with his RS and for the great feedback we've had so far.

Next up we have a GT86 in for New Car Protection with CQuartz Finest, and a very special Mk5 Golf GTI!


DSC07127 by RussZS, on Flickr

Russ.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Great correction as always , very nice MK 1 do you do as many sealants as waxes yet Russ ? Very nice with Swissvax


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Derekh929 said:


> Great correction as always , very nice MK 1 do you do as many sealants as waxes yet Russ ? Very nice with Swissvax


Thanks Derek 

Yep I use Zaino Z2 a lot along with CQuartz UK and Finest - depends on the car, colour and customers requirements really.

We do a lot of new car preps with Zaino which I don't tend to post on here.


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Lovely work Russ , it's a stunning car indeed:argie:


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## ravi811 (Jul 19, 2012)

fantastic work as usual russ


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## BlackPanther (Oct 23, 2010)

Looking great as usual Russ :thumb:

How you find the Valet Pro foam?


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## Jdudley90 (Mar 13, 2011)

Stunning car always wanted one of these. What tyre dressing have you used?


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## Gunner63 (Mar 31, 2012)

Absolutly stunning!!! i have a mk1 Rs aswell fancy doing another?? lol


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## Buckweed (Aug 27, 2012)

Wow..what fab 50/50 shots :thumb:


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Nice work as always russ. Lovely finish. 

What's up with that hideous car in the background :doublesho hope it's not yours lol (if so I retract that statement )


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## moono16v (Oct 12, 2010)

Very nice!!! Must say - I thought that myself Matt!! Not the best looking car ever in the background!!!


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## JoshB197 (Nov 18, 2012)

This does not help me one bit aha, I'm trying to talk myself out of buying one of these.
Great work car looks spot on.


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

Fantastic work Russ.


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## CSMatt (Mar 30, 2013)

As a newbie is always great to read these threads and I'm always amazed at the results you guys get. The car is very smart indeed


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## slammed172 (Aug 17, 2008)

Stunning work and car !


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

Those 50/50's have to be in the top 3 Ive seen of 50/50's of just how much of a shine is robbed through improper technique etc. Great job Russ the the owner must have been over the moon 
Daz


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

JoshB197 said:


> This does not help me one bit aha, I'm trying to talk myself out of buying one of these.
> Great work car looks spot on.


.I feel the same when jgy6000 and black magic detail post there e39 m5's all the rational reasoning i've used goes straight out of the window and I'm back to square _1 one day though_

Daz


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## ted11 (Jul 8, 2011)

Stunning, I want one of these so bad.


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## andye (Apr 15, 2007)

wow, absolutely stunning :thumb:


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

Great presentation of every stage, a wonderful result with an outstanding shine.

Thank-you, John Tht.


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## rsdan1984 (Jul 31, 2009)

Hi, I've been following this on Facebook and RSOC, it's a stunning car and you've done a cracking job  As a fellow FRS owner who machine polishes my own car I'm keen to know a little bit more about the correctional process. What polish and pad combo was used? I'm still learning about hard vs soft paint and am of the opinion the FRS paint is quite hard as I have to go fairly aggressive to get the swirls out of mine. Is that correct or is that down to my technique? TIA.


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Perfect results


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## unique detail (Jan 26, 2012)

Nice work Russ...cracking 50/50s aswell.:thumb:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Great work russ.


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## GreenyR (Oct 26, 2011)

Love this!!!! Fantastic work.


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## deegan1979 (Mar 6, 2012)

amazing 50/50's there russ.
wish i could achieve such stunning results.
can i be cheeky and ask what polishes suited the rs paint? assuming u did it all by rotary


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Amazing finish:thumb:


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Stunning


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## Charge Chris (Dec 16, 2009)

Great results!


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## D.Taylor R26 (Feb 5, 2012)

great work. always been a big fan of these.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all, kind words very much appreciated! 

Ill answer the specific questions tonight even I get home. 

Russ.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Good job Russ :thumb:


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## shudaman (Sep 12, 2010)

looks fantastic, some of the best 50/50 shots ive seen
being a rs owner i no how hard it is to keep swirls at bay with our softish paint!


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

Incredible work al always Russ!

some great 50/50 shots


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## Wjhutts (Feb 11, 2013)

Tidy looking car


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## Raceno7 (May 2, 2011)

As said before, those 50/50 shots are awesome Russ :argie:

I owned one of these cars for about 4 years, fantastic cars.


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Cracking work.

Some awesome 50/50's. Amazing the colour change achieved with a bit of polish.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all 

Russ.


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## DC3011 (Mar 23, 2009)

What pad and polish combination did you end up using? Need to do mine in the next few weeks and would be handy to have a starting point!


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Great job as usual , keep it on .


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## Detailing JunKy (May 2, 2013)

Some awesome 50/50 shots there Russ great finish to the car looks great


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## Megs Lad (Nov 27, 2012)

50/50 shots are epic


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all


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## Bladerunner012 (May 8, 2013)

This is a fantastic job and a fantastic example of the car.

Adding what people have said, any clue on the pad and compound combination to get such a brilliant finish such as this?


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## n14hta (Mar 13, 2013)

amazing!


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thank you


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Fantastic 50/50 shots Russ, more to the point a fantastic transformation.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

davo3587 said:


> Fantastic 50/50 shots Russ, more to the point a fantastic transformation.


Thank you 

This was a VERY satisfying car to work on. I've a few more coming my way soon


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Fantastic I had a RS very soft paint I thought


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

As usual brilliant work Russ , love that colour :thumb:
What polisher did you use ? 

Mario


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Eurogloss said:


> As usual brilliant work Russ , love that colour :thumb:
> What polisher did you use ?
> 
> Mario


Hi Mario,

It was Flex 3401 on this one I think!

I hope you're well buddy!


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