# Polished Bliss: Megane R26.



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Just a protection detail for this write up, but i had my work cut out on it due to it arriving in a pretty manky state:



















Wheels hadnt been cleaned for a good while!.....










So, i got going as the owner was picking the car up at half 4-ish and i knew the wheels would take a while to get spot on. I started them first, giving the arches a good blast out too with the Karcher while i got the loose dirt off the wheels to begin with. I sprayed the arches and tyres with Meguiars Super Degreaser and agitated with a brush, then cleaned the wheels with Meguiars Wheel Brightener (4:1). This got all the dirt off eventually but there was alot of tar spots so Autosmarts Tardis was used after the WB. I spent around an hour and a half on the wheels alone!

The car was then foamed with a strong solution of Meguiars APC and left for 5mins:










It was then foamed again, then rinsed at high pressure before being washed with the 2BM and Meguiars Shampoo Plus. Autosmarts Tardis followed up for the lower halfs. Meguiars Super Degreaser was used on the front end as there were ALOT of dead bugs still stuck to the paint after the wash, this car obviously gets driven as its meant to with little washing in between! 

I then clayed all paint and glass with Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay and neat Last Touch so as to avoid marring the paint (no polishing on this detail remember), there was alot of dirt pulled off the paint although it still wouldnt budge all the bug stains from the front, so i decided to use a chemical cleaner once the car was inside.

I dried off the car with a Waffle Weave towel, then gave it a final blast with the leaf blower to get all the panel gaps and recesses free of water, it would have taken an age to dry with the leaf blower as usual as the water was sticking to the car due to no protection left on the paint at all.

Once inside, i set about removing the bug stains from the front end, using Jeffs Werkstatt Prime Strong:










This was worked with firm pressure with the polishing side of a german applicator pad:










This resulted in a 95% improvement, however there were some etching into the paint that would need a fairly aggressive polish or even wet sanding to fully remove, this was explained to the owner when he collected the car and he was happy as he said some of the etching had been there since he got it 

A nice change of LSP for this detail too, as the owner wanted the Blackfire treatment, first up was the Wet Diamond Sealant:










This was applied with the red side of a German applicator and left to cure:










While it was curing i sealed the wheels with Poorboys Wheel Sealant:










Next up was Blackfire's new wax - Midnight Sun:










Early impressions of this wax are very good, the finish isnt a million miles away from the likes of Vintage although it lacks the vibrancy that Vintage gives in direct sunlight, durability should be pretty good too :thumb:

The wax was applied to the whole car and left for a bit while i did the last few jobs.

Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel was used for the tyres:



















And Meguiars All Season Dressing was applied to the arch liners (no need for jacking the car up this time as the arches are huge!):










Exhausts were polished with Meguiars NXT Metal Polish:

*Before*:










*After*:










Glass was done with Meguiars Class Cleaner Concentrate.

The interior was also done but no pics as i couldnt be bothered due to lack of time and to be honest it wasnt even that bad 

Afters, i now have a tri-pod for the camera so pics are slightly sharper now :thumb: 









































































7 1/2 hours work in total for this one 

We're now fast approaching an 8 month waiting list so there's plenty more write up's to come, as always - thanks for looking :thumb:


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Stunning. Looks Superb. :thumb:


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## somouk (Jun 14, 2006)

Someone must be doing something right with an 8 month waiting list!

The car looks stunning, especially as it was only a protection detail!

Mart


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Gaz W said:


> Stunning. Looks Superb. :thumb:


do you just copy and paste that reply to all write ups?


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## talisman (Nov 20, 2006)

think you must have a "super wet effect filter lens" !!!!on your camera.....fantastic finish....


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## talisman (Nov 20, 2006)

Gaz W said:


> Stunning. Looks Superb. :thumb:


LOL....Better than looks s**t i suppose..:lol:


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## neil b (Aug 30, 2006)

Good work mate :thumb: ,8 months waiting list hence why i detail my car myself now cant wait that long to get a slot


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## mobitune (Oct 14, 2007)

Would it be cheeky to ask how much the like of that job cost the customer? Just to get some idea 

Pete


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## alan burnett (Aug 21, 2007)

good work


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

mobitune said:


> Would it be cheeky to ask how much the like of that job cost the customer? Just to get some idea
> 
> Pete


£195 for a protection detail mate, £295 if its with Vintage :thumb:


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

Gaz W said:


> Stunning. Looks Superb. :thumb:


How the hell could you have read that and looked at all the pictures in one minute.

Anyway the detail...

The car looks stunning in the after.

Its great that your getting so much work, bring on more write ups!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

S-X-I said:


> How the hell could you have read that and looked at all the pictures in one minute.


Simple, he obviously doesnt!


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

The 4th & 5th finished pics look fantastic


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## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

brilliant finished :thumb: :thumb: very nice indeed


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## maesal (Nov 24, 2005)

Always a pleasure reading from you !!


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## A20 LEE (Feb 20, 2007)

looks really good, when will you have Blackfire Midnight Sun in stock for sale? More or less expensive than Ivory? Good to hear there will be a steady supply of Clark details to keep us all going over winter!:thumb:


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## Cliff (Mar 4, 2007)

That looks fantastic, great photo's :thumb:


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## bigsyd (Jul 2, 2006)

yet again a beautiful job Clark, and thanks for the info on the price. i had often wondered how much a pro detail would cost, and is worth every penny :thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Very nice mate as usual,

Would you say the tripod is a worthy investment?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

A20 LEE said:


> looks really good, when will you have Blackfire Midnight Sun in stock for sale? More or less expensive than Ivory? Good to hear there will be a steady supply of Clark details to keep us all going over winter!:thumb:


Its in stock now, and i think its the same price as the Ivory 



Gleammachine said:


> Very nice mate as usual,
> 
> Would you say the tripod is a worthy investment?


Definitely, wish i got one alot earlier :thumb:


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

Lovely work again, pic of the finished wheel just looks so wet!

Pics does look a bit sharper:thumb:


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## Deanoecosse (Mar 15, 2007)

The Blackfire looks stunning Clark. To be honest it looks the same sort of finish that you get with your usual Vintage details although I dare say there may be a slight difference in the flesh.

Regarding Gaz's usual nanosecond response to your details, maybe you post up a complete mess of a car, get a few pics of something with shocking buffer trails, hologramming etc and see if you get the default: "_Stunning, looks great"_ from him!


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## typefern (Apr 7, 2006)

Nice work as usual Clark.

How does the Ivory Blackfire compare to the Blackfire Midnight Sun wax.

Real fan of the Ivory

John:thumb:


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

Wow, what a corker. The pictures look super nice, lovely looking finish.

I really like the R26 too :thumb:

another Excellent read Clark


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## AndyH (Jun 28, 2006)

Excellent work as per usual 

I was hoping for a Werksatt LSP to see what it would be like on my brothers car (exactly the same) but the Blackfire certainly looks top notch!


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## astra-bertone (Mar 16, 2007)

id love to take a month off work and just sit and watch you whilst at work Clark and see these transformations in the flesh


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## blair (Jul 31, 2007)

Simply stunning. I want that sort of finish on my black car.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

The car is a total credit to you once again:thumb: 

The lighting in the bay seems to be just perfect for revealing the stunning finish with the camera.


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## Fursecul (Sep 12, 2006)

OMG it looks fantastic :thumb:


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

mmmmm looks like black chrome lovely, never tried the blackfire range.


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

That looks shhweeeeet ! Top job again, crackin' finish :thumb:


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## final abode (Apr 18, 2007)

whats the difference between the ivory and midnight sun?


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

awesome work as always! 8 months! gotta be chuffed with that!


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## RobDom (Oct 26, 2005)

Looks amazing, very wet finish, superb.


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Excellent work Clark, although my regular rant again.. isnt that alot of OP for a stock paint? especially for a special edition!

8 month waiting list.. Wow!! :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

top work mate you do catch a good pic of the results .......... whos sulking in the corner 6th pic up lol  was it a hard day hahaha


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Likewise - I've never tried the Blackfire range myself but I know MuddyDetail swears by the Ivory Carnauba wax and I must try and get some. Just have to finish off some of my older waxes though. 

Note to myself : Must keep wallet locked up for a little longer.


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## Glider (Jan 10, 2006)

Like the finish.

Can you tell me how you applied the wax and how you buffed it off ta.


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

you really do show how good your work is in pictures. something i cant do for sh!t, so makes my work look sh!t :lol: 

superb as ever

(i just got some of them german applicators from PB, and they are pretty darn good, just a tad too big if anything)


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## talisman (Nov 20, 2006)

Mr Singh said:


> Excellent work Clark, although my regular rant again.. isnt that alot of OP for a stock paint? especially for a special edition!
> 
> 8 month waiting list.. Wow!! :thumb:


must be slow this afternoon!!! what does op for stock paint mean???, spent 5 minutes thinking still lost!!!..


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

talisman said:


> must be slow this afternoon!!! what does op for stock paint mean???, spent 5 minutes thinking still lost!!!..


OP = Orange Peel. :thumb:


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## talisman (Nov 20, 2006)

ayrshireteggy said:


> OP = Orange Peel. :thumb:


lol......thought of everything but that!!!, i,m fairly good with cars honest...


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

typefern said:


> Nice work as usual Clark.
> 
> How does the Ivory Blackfire compare to the Blackfire Midnight Sun wax.
> 
> ...


In my eyes the Midnight Sun is considerably wetter 



pink_elephant said:


> id love to take a month off work and just sit and watch you whilst at work Clark and see these transformations in the flesh


you'd have to bring me my dinner every day if you did that 



Wheelie_Clean said:


> The car is a total credit to you once again:thumb:
> 
> The lighting in the bay seems to be just perfect for revealing the stunning finish with the camera.


The lighting is very good, Rich just had some more lights installed a couple of weeks ago when we got the heater wired up and they've made a big difference :thumb:



Mr Singh said:


> Excellent work Clark, although my regular rant again.. isnt that alot of OP for a stock paint? especially for a special edition!
> 
> 8 month waiting list.. Wow!! :thumb:


Yeah it was quite bad, although we booked in a new Mazda Cx7 yesterday and the OP on that was nuts! I'm half way through a Merc AMG just now aswell and it is in dire need of some wet and dry too!



Glider said:


> Like the finish.
> 
> Can you tell me how you applied the wax and how you buffed it off ta.


Red side of a german applicator pad, nice and thin, left on the whole car for around 20 mins and then buffed off with a Poorboys DMT 

Thanks for all the comments folks, seems like we're doing alot of black cars just now so it's given us opportunity to get some good pics


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## astra-bertone (Mar 16, 2007)

Clark said:


> you'd have to bring me my dinner every day if you did that


no bother what do you like :thumb:


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## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

Looking at them finished pics Clark i cant seem much difference between the BF and the Vintage in terms of reflection and it looks wetter too.

Going to have a look at a V detail.

Nice job too by the way.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Think i've lost track of how many times i've said this but you really have to see Vintage in the metal and preferably on a sunny day to really see why it is such a good wax, if it wasnt then i wouldnt have it on my car :thumb:


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## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

Clark said:


> Think i've lost track of how many times i've said this but you really have to see Vintage in the metal and preferably on a sunny day to really see why it is such a good wax, if it wasnt then i wouldnt have it on my car :thumb:


Dont get so touchy about it, im stating my opinion on the pictures you have posted of the car in the unit...... you may see a difference in person but its different with pics and i didnt say Vintage werent a good wax.

Sorry i affended the Vintages feelings by the way. :lol:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Scud said:


> Dont get so touchy about it, im stating my opinion on the pictures you have posted of the car in the unit...... you may see a difference in person but its different with pics and i didnt say Vintage werent a good wax.
> 
> Sorry i affended the Vintages feelings by the way. :lol:


I wasnt getting touchy about it you fanny, i was just stating my opinion too, makes no difference to me what waxes you like/dislike :lol:


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

When it comes to OP. Just get some good old sandpaper out, dont worry it will polish out 

Seriously.. The snapback discs for the porter cable ought to be very easy to work.. (2000grit) with a spray of lube now and then..

Firstly, you have to find a customer willing to let you near there car with sandpaper!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Mr Singh said:


> When it comes to OP. Just get some good old sandpaper out, dont worry it will polish out
> 
> Seriously.. The snapback discs for the porter cable ought to be very easy to work.. (2000grit) with a spray of lube now and then..
> 
> Firstly, you have to find a customer willing to let you near there car with sandpaper!


so far i can think of 2 cars that we will probably be sanding my machine next year, and neither of them belong to us :thumb:


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## nighty (Jan 28, 2007)

great results considering the mess the car was in to start with.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Great results Clark and shows that an amazing finish can be achieved even with out your usual paint correction. That new wax looks pretty good too but know what you mean about the ***** glow!


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## vpricey (May 8, 2006)

Another cracker there Clark:thumb:

Looks like I might have to invest in some of that Midnight Sun, seems like another good un!!


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

OP - orange peel effect in the paint, indicating poor spraying. :thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

I've been too busy to even announce this new wax (!), but all is explained on this link...

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pb205protect.html

...and as it's replacing the older Ivory version, the Ivory is now on sale with £10 off the usual price - see here...

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pb204protect.html

When it's gone it's gone!


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

As always Clark very informative write up and the pictures are great :thumb:

On side note every time I read your posts I keep adding stuff on the list to purhcase from Rich...way to go champ .

Just wondering, what camera are you using. The pictures look great and the vehicle looks like it has some nice depth to it..considering it has a sealant.

Oh the shape of the vehicle seems interesting, did it give you any problems when polishing?

Thank you for sharing and 8 months waiting list that's incredable, well done guys...considering getting help yet? I'm always available


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## fil_b (Oct 24, 2007)

sorry a nooooobi question

y do you sometimes you an applicator pad over the machine??

what the diff with the german app pad??

thanks

feeb


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

looks suprb and OMG, another product i would love to try... I've looked at the BF range several times in details on here and it always looks super wet, so if this is even better :wall:

Edit: just read the product description on your sie and am a little confused? Is this a wax that blends nuba and synthetic sealants? Does it need to go over anything specific or will any cleanser etc serve well as a base eg jeffs Prime Acrylic, Lime prime etc?
Thanks


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## Filecatcher (Feb 21, 2007)

Paint looks very wet Clark!
I got the sealant to from Polished Bliss. It's very slik to apply and buff off.
Is it possible to take a picture ( of future projects ) of a before and after the wax?
I'm thinking to invest in that too.


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## pogo (Oct 21, 2007)

fantastic job there mate very impressive


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Nica said:


> As always Clark very informative write up and the pictures are great :thumb:
> 
> On side note every time I read your posts I keep adding stuff on the list to purhcase from Rich...way to go champ .
> 
> ...


The camera is just a basic Nikon Camera, nothing fancy at all!

The car wasnt polished as it was just a protection detail, however i think it would have been a fairly easy one to do if it had been machined with the rotary 



fil_b said:


> sorry a nooooobi question
> 
> y do you sometimes you an applicator pad over the machine??
> 
> ...


that first part didnt make any sense to me?



Bigpikle said:


> looks suprb and OMG, another product i would love to try... I've looked at the BF range several times in details on here and it always looks super wet, so if this is even better :wall:
> 
> Edit: just read the product description on your sie and am a little confused? Is this a wax that blends nuba and synthetic sealants? Does it need to go over anything specific or will any cleanser etc serve well as a base eg jeffs Prime Acrylic, Lime prime etc?
> Thanks


The wax will go over pretty much anything mate, Blackfire just incorporated synthetic polymers (or along that lines, Rich is the scientist not me!) so it would bond to the Wet Diamond Sealant 



Filecatcher said:


> Paint looks very wet Clark!
> I got the sealant to from Polished Bliss. It's very slik to apply and buff off.
> Is it possible to take a picture ( of future projects ) of a before and after the wax?
> I'm thinking to invest in that too.


I'll try and remember for next time, although i'm not too sure if you would see a difference in photos


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

Clark said:


> The car wasnt polished as it was just a protection detail, however i think it would have been a fairly easy one to do if it had been machined with the rotary


Just went back and read the detail again and my mistake, you are correct you did not polish this one...for some reason I thought you did polish it :wall: sorry  . Still looks great though :thumb:

Just a basic Nikon huh, well the I always enjoy the pictures :wave:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

That is very impressive. The finish from the Midnight Sun does look very good indeed and does appear to be a step up from the Wet Diamond Ivory Carnuba Paste Wax in terms of finish :thumb:


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## Detail-works (Aug 30, 2006)

Looks good considering you didn't polish; as regards to the wheel sealant; is it a worthwhile investment? I have black wheels and they get dusty quite quick. All I have been adding to them after cleaning at the moment is a spray over with ultimate detailer and they aren't that hard to clean at the end of the week so what would I gain with a sealant?


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

That looks well glossy. Top job :thumb:


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## Maxym (Apr 27, 2007)

That really does look superb. :thumb: The Blackfire range looks good stuff.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Detail-works said:


> Looks good considering you didn't polish; as regards to the wheel sealant; is it a worthwhile investment? I have black wheels and they get dusty quite quick. All I have been adding to them after cleaning at the moment is a spray over with ultimate detailer and they aren't that hard to clean at the end of the week so what would I gain with a sealant?


If you find they're easy enough to clean already you probs wont notice any difference there, although the sealant will add a little to the looks


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Awesome results for just a protection detail, cannot get over how wet the paint looks.:thumb:

Have been using the Blackfire combo for the last six months and i am well impressed, will be getting some of the Midnight Sun after the Ivory runs out!

Have you got anymore pics of the scooby four pics down.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

scooby73 said:


> Have you got anymore pics of the scooby four pics down.


Not really, as it had nothing to do with us mate, just someone visiting the sign makers over the way


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