# 8 hours cleaning the Corsa C!!!



## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

Well, I decided to clean out my old corsa c today in prep for swapping and MOT re-test. Bearing in mind it had been sat in a DAF truck yard untouched for over 3 months :doublesho needless to say it was a completely different shade of white, muck everywhere, just disgustingly neglected  I was ashamed with myself that I had let it go for so long! I don't have any before shots as I was keen to crack on and move it inside before the rain came! The products used were as followed (in order):
-AB Citrus Pearl.
-AB Very Cherry non-acid wheel cleaner.
-AB 'just the tonic' tar&glue remover.
-AB Purple rain (awesome stuff! 1st time using it ).
-Jaffa clean and Citrus wash for door shuts.
Then inside for:
-Meguiars ultimate compound.
-Meguiars NXT metal polish.
-Bubblegum VT protectant.
-AG glass polish.
-Chemical Guys Wheel guard.
-Chemical Guys XXX Paste wax.
-AB FAB
-AS Brisk (aerosol).

SO here's a few during shots mainly of Purple Rain and Jaffa:
















































































During the Jaffa stage, I decided to learn how to pressure wash the door shuts, it's surprisingly easy to get the hand of:thumb:

So it was then moved inside for the rest of the work and when I saw the paintwork under the bright halogen lights, I felt genuinely ashamed of how many swirls, RDS and marring there was, to be fair this is the first time I've detailed the corsa since being on here and I used to be a bucket, sponge and fairy liquid kinda guy (please forgive me DW'ers ) so I wasn't really surprised but I did my best by hand with UC. I started with polishing up the wheels, they are an absolute pain as you'll see by the style and nothing has ever been able to shift the caked on brake dust nor has anything been able to bring them back to a semi-gloss instead of the horrible matt colour they've been recently, but this is where Chemical Guys Wheel Guard impressed me!:

This is what they look like after a proper good scrub clean:








Still so ugly! This is what they've always looked like no matter how many products I've used! The beauty of Wheel Guard is that you need only dab the applicator to have enough product to cover a whole wheel nice and thick, and lets be fair, these are a pain in the backside to do! 
















Voila! You can see (or at least I could in the flesh) that it transformed the alloy and even brought some reflective properties! Also, if applied to thick, it stills comes off easy, no continuous buffing literally just one swipe to remove, which was a relief with these alloys!
I next tackled the engine bay using some Jaffa & Citrus Wash, before:
























During:








And after!
























A really good thing with Jaffa, is that it's totally different from any normal degreaser/APC as not only does it cut through heavy grease effortlessly, but it also leaves a protective layer and gives the plastics a nice satin look, which eliminates the need for extra dressings, it also works well diluted 1:1 so you can expect 1Litre out of 1 500ml bottle:thumb:

Ok so the car was then UC'd, XXX waxed, metal polished, glass polished etc etc and here's the results, I will be the first to admit it is far from perfect but didn't expect it to be considering the state of it and the fact I didn't have a machine:








































































So I'm happy but not 100% satisfied with it but It's the best I could do considering. I suppose you're wondering "what about the inside"? Well, I have pics but I am so ashamed of the condition I dare not show them to you, lets just say that a car not moving for 3 months in a cold, dirty truck yard brings some nasty (mildew-like) results .
Sorry for the short write up, but after 8 hours non-stop with no food has left me very very tired! Thanks for looking ​


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Well done mate. Like your Autobrite huh?


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

AaronGTi said:


> Well done mate. Like your Autobrite huh?


Cheers bud, it was only supposed to be a quick clean, but as most will agree, that never happens! I love Autobrite simply because: The service is honest and outstanding, the products are hassle-free and work, and it's priced bang on :thumb:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Good job there buddy.


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

DMH-01 said:


> Good job there buddy.


Cheers matey :thumb:


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## TheKeano (May 3, 2011)

Looks good! AB purple rain exactly the same as IronX or works better/worse?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

is there a huge dent in the passengers door?

not bad for working by hand mate..

I too am a fan of jaffa clean.. its brilliant on door shuts and engine bays.


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

TheKeano said:


> Looks good! AB purple rain exactly the same as IronX or works better/worse?


I've never tried Iron-x but some have said it has a slight edge over it, it certainly worked for me and helped get the brake dust shifted which no amount of acid or alkaline has done before! A few quid cheaper than Iron-X too :thumb:


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

CraigQQ said:


> is there a huge dent in the passengers door?
> 
> not bad for working by hand mate..
> 
> I too am a fan of jaffa clean.. its brilliant on door shuts and engine bays.


Yes, some ******* left it for me when I got back from shopping:wall: Jaffa is brilliant, and as said, I love how it leaves a protective coating, it really is one of those no fuss products


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## TheKeano (May 3, 2011)

JakeWhite said:


> I've never tried Iron-x but some have said it has a slight edge over it, it certainly worked for me and helped get the brake dust shifted which no amount of acid or alkaline has done before! A few quid cheaper than Iron-X too :thumb:


Cheers  yeah now xmas has gone plan to get some of this, tar remover and glaze for my next big clean


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

I need some jaffa in my life!


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi Jake,

When I saw your post, I thought to myself "here comes a display of the effects of all Jake's 'Autobrite 12 days of Christmas' purchases" and you didn't disappoint!

Cracking results, keep up the good work :thumb:

Regards,
Clive.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Hi Jake thanks for the post, 8 hours worth of cleaning is serious dedication my friend, very well done, and many thanks for taking the time to post, must of taken some time, as it's a long thread, but Thank-you.

I do like your corsa by the way.


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

AaronGTi said:


> I need some jaffa in my life!


I have small sample (around 200ml) in a spray bottle you can have for postage cost?


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

CliveP said:


> Hi Jake,
> 
> When I saw your post, I thought to myself "here comes a display of the effects of all Jake's 'Autobrite 12 days of Christmas' purchases" and you didn't disappoint!
> 
> ...


Cheers mate! Some cracking products, and I was very surprised at how much difference the bigger bucket+grit guard makes


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

Trip tdi said:


> Hi Jake thanks for the post, 8 hours worth of cleaning is serious dedication my friend, very well done, and many thanks for taking the time to post, must of taken some time, as it's a long thread, but Thank-you.
> 
> I do like your corsa by the way.


Thanks buddy:thumb: It's a bit battered and bruised but it was my 1st car so I did expect it. Will be sad to see it go though


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

JakeWhite said:


> Cheers mate! Some cracking products, and I was very surprised at how much difference the bigger bucket+grit guard makes


Jake, ps - when you go to AB with the others you're planning to meet there let me know, if I can get over there on the day in question I will :thumb:

Regards,
Clive.


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

CliveP said:


> Jake, ps - when you go to AB with the others you're planning to meet there let me know, if I can get over there on the day in question I will :thumb:
> 
> Regards,
> Clive.


I will do mate, I think there's a few of us wanting to do an AB meet:thumb:


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## diddymonster (Oct 10, 2010)

Recognise your motor from round Plymouth, what do you drive now? car looks ten times better aswell!! Cant moan with the AB products at all!


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

diddymonster said:


> Recognise your motor from round Plymouth, what do you drive now? car looks ten times better aswell!! Cant moan with the AB products at all!


I'm swapping this one for a Mazda 323f buddy. Do you drive around plymouth? In what car?:driver:


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Very nicely done , made a big difference:thumb:


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

bigslippy said:


> Very nicely done , made a big difference:thumb:


Cheers buddy :thumb: although I can't believe how many defects I now notice compared to when I knew nothing about detailing! I will never let a car of mine get this bad ever again!


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

Cracking job Jake and I know where to come in August when the car is dirty


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

Shinyvec said:


> Cracking job Jake and I know where to come in August when the car is dirty


cheers mate  bring it down mate :lol::detailer:


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## diddymonster (Oct 10, 2010)

JakeWhite said:


> I'm swapping this one for a Mazda 323f buddy. Do you drive around plymouth? In what car?:driver:


Ideal, yea I drive a nighthawk black ep3 type r with a 5 digit numberplate that's cut down and graphite wheels, pop over and say hello if you see me around:thumb:


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

Will do matey! DO you go to guildhall/devils point? I will be in a red mazda 323f next time im out


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Looking damm fine there jake!

Purple rain looks awesome on those wheels! :thumb:

Regards Mark


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

autobrite-direct said:


> Looking damm fine there jake!
> 
> Purple rain looks awesome on those wheels! :thumb:
> 
> Regards Mark


It was amazing! Purple rain is the only thing that's been able to shift the brake dust on these so I'm 110% hooked on it!


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## diddymonster (Oct 10, 2010)

JakeWhite said:


> Will do matey! DO you go to guildhall/devils point? I will be in a red mazda 323f next time im out


No worries, yea tend to be around guildhall the most, usually with two mates that drive a black accord type r with yellow headlights or a black civic ek! I'll give you a wave if I see ya!


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## Dunkz2006 (Nov 18, 2009)

Small world Jake, my sisters other half bought this off you he has it in a garage at the mo slowly doing it up for a runaround :thumb:


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## s.bailey (Mar 2, 2012)

JakeWhite said:


> Yes, some ******* left it for me when I got back from shopping:wall: Jaffa is brilliant, and as said, I love how it leaves a protective coating, it really is one of those no fuss products


And the crease on the front near side panel, and the front bumper scuffage.......

Looks good other than the defects though, and by no means am i slaggin your motor, mines 8 months old and so far i've picked up a house brick of a stone chip on the bonnet, and some f*cker(s) have scuffed the front AND back bumpers in the NCP carpark i use daily for work! I've been lucky that it's polished out with Megs 105/205 so far!


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

your car!!!:doublesho it bleeds!!!!!!:doublesho good stuff iron X innit!!:thumb:

and amazing how your engine prep made the camera focus as well!!:lol::lol:


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## JakeWhite (Oct 14, 2011)

ianrobbo1 said:


> your car!!!:doublesho it bleeds!!!!!!:doublesho good stuff iron X innit!!:thumb:
> 
> and amazing how your engine prep made the camera focus as well!!:lol::lol:


Wow massive revival! This was when my camera was awful (and my camera skills :lol looking back on this thread has made me want another corsa C. I currently have a 2.0 Accord Sport and it's not exactly the most economical car if you just want to nip in and out of town


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## bazz (May 15, 2007)

great job there fella


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

I enjoyed reading this thread Jake, plus the pictures show your work very well, excellent writeup and more importantly you have turned the Corsa around beautifully for the good , great work Jake as always :thumb:


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