# Polished Bliss: A Week at PB & a visit from the Porsche Club...



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

This was what we were up to last week at Polished Bliss HQ, the first couple of cars are just after pics but a full step by step detail follows right at the end but we'll come to that in a minute 

First up was an Audi RS4 on a contract, in for a minor correction to nip out any slight wash marring picked up over the last 12 months - to be fair there was next to no defects at all as this particular customer is extremely good with his wash/dry technique :thumb:

- Correction done with Menz 85RE and a 3M Polishing Pad @ 1500rpm's.
- LSP - Zym0l Vintage.









































































Next up was this 996 C4S, also on contract with us - this was in for its quarterly wax top up of Vintage having been corrected by myself previously:




























Another contract customer followed the 911. This was the first treatment on a stunning white R8, with correction planned at a later date I carried out a 1-day protection detail on the car:

- Carbon Inserts polished with Menz 85RE and a 3M finishing Pad @ 1500rpm's
- LSP: 5 coats of Werkstat Acrylic Jett.



































































































































































To finish the week(end) off we had a 5 month old 997 in for major correction.

There was a slight twist to this one - The Porsche Club had approached us earlier on in the year to organise a meet at our premises for approx 25 members. In return, we gave away a free 3 day correction detail (including a free application of Zym0l Vintage), which was then put up for auction by the club organiser with all the money raised going to a local charity.

With the winning bid for the detail of £650 and just over £1000 raised in total this was a great success - so many thanks to all members of the Porsche Club :thumb:

So, on with the detail!

As you can see, the car hadn't been washed for a few weeks 





































As always, I began with the pre-foam to loosen as much dirt and grime as possible. For this I used R222 (previously named P21S TAW) through the lance at 60 degrees:










This was repeated a further 2 times and left to dwell for 5 mins:










Then thoroughly rinsed off:










Wheels were next, sprayed with Meguiars WB (10:1) and agitated with the various brushes:



















They were then rinsed off and the arches/tyres were scrubbed with Meguiars Super Degreaser (4:1):










All shuts/exterior trim/badges etc were then sprayed with R222 and agitated before being rinsed off:





































I then washed the car with the 2 bucket method:










Another rinse was followed with the application of Autosmart Tardis to help get rid of the tar spots stuck to the paintwork and wheels:



















The tar was wiped off with a MF towel and I then put the car inside after a final rinse.

Clay stage next:

Meguiars Mild was used, with very little in the way of contamination coming off the paintwork. This was about as bad as it got from the rear end:










Once fully clayed, the car was dried off with a Deep Pile Luxury Drying Towel.

I then applied the first coat of Gloss-It tyre dressing:










Looks a bit messy to start with but this is the tyre 15 mins later completely untouched:










I then go over the tyres another couple of times with an applicator pad over the duration of the detail with a final buff off at the end :thumb:

The Porsche badge was removed to make polishing easier:










Paint readings were taken, everything nice and healthy on the metal panels:










Same for the plastics:










Now, being a 5 month old car you would expect there to be very little in the way of defects - however up until this point the wash routine had consisted of 1 bucket with a sponge and chamois. This was enough to inflict enough damage to warrant a 3 day correction as a 1 step polish wouldn't have been enough to remove all the deeper random scratches present (the high flake content of the paint doesn't really show up the deeper scratches too well on camera):























































Hologram from the production line left above the door handle on the N/S door:



















True to form, like all other 997's I've done to date, this car had really sticky paint so I immediately went to the Gloss-It polishes. These really are a life (and time!) saver when it comes to polishing sticky paints, whether it's with a DA or rotary polisher - they very rarely dust or spit out big lumps of polish and they don't weld themselves to the paint either. I've now pretty much mastered the art of polishing sticky paint with them and quite often find it's quicker with the DA machine (less heat build up) so this was what I used.

Swapping back from rotary to DA used to feel like I was admitting defeat but now I don't care as it gets the job done effectively and safely 

Extreme Cut with a drop of Evolution Polish with a Menzerna Polishing Pad were the weapons of choice:










Roof before:










During:










Roof after:










Before:










After:










There was quite a badly scratched area on the drivers door where some gritty bird "bombs" had been rubbed into the paint, here's a 50/50 shot during correction:










Fully corrected:



















One thing I particularly like about the long working time of the polishes is their ability to greatly reduce or completely remove pretty deep random scratches.

Here's an example of what was quite often left after 1 hit on a panel:










And after a 2nd hit:










Engine cover/spoiler fully corrected:



















Couple of pics of the defects on the back end:



















After correction:



















As plastic panels aren't affected by sticky paint problems I was able to go back to my much preferred rotary 

Top of rear bumper before:










During:










After 2 hits of 3M Fast Cut Plus & Ultrafina @ 1500rpm's:



















Before:



















After:



















Onto the front end:




























Another area where it looked like bird bombs had been rubbed into the paint:










Again, 2 hits were needed on this to gain the best possible result:




























Some areas of the bumpers weren't quite as severe as the rest so only needed a 1 step polish with a softer polishing pad and Menzerna 203S:





































Tail lights before:










After:










With all the correction work completed, I then refined the finish with Gloss-It Evolution Polish on a Menzerna Finishing Pad:










Marsha did her usual top job of polishing up the tail pipes:

Before:










After:










Out came the Lambswool duster to remove any traces of polishing dust left:










A wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection was then followed by the application of the Vintage wax:










A final Wipe down with Gloss-It QD was done along with all the other little details including the interior and the car was then ready for the Sunday, just a section of the bonnet remained untouched as this was to be corrected on the day to demonstrate how it was done 










Sunday afternoon approached and one or two rather nice Porsches started to arrive...









































































Inside, a few pics were quickly taken as the cheque was handed over to the representative of Aberdeen Foyer who were the chosen charity (www.aberdeenfoyer.com). Also pictured is the owner of the 911 (first on the left) and the Porsche Club Organiser (2nd from the right).










The afternoon itself was a great success, with a brief introduction about Polished Bliss...










... followed by various demonstrations, with the claying stage being shown here:










A bit of hand polishing:










Then some machine polishing:










Then all that remained at the end was to roll the car outside for all to see. The car itself had just under 35 hours of my own time (and 20 minutes of Marsha's!) put into it with 23 of those being machine polishing alone - this was certainly an eye opener to some who initially thought the car couldn't really be improved :thumb:












































































































































































Again, a big thank you to all the Porsche Club members who attended and a thank you to all that managed to get to the end of this post without falling asleep 

Got a few more nice write ups to do in the coming weeks and another "Ne Plus Ultra" is on the way also :thumb:

Clark


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## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

A great read Clark, thanks.

This is a great photo:










..I love it how she's having a peak.

Love the idea of giving something to the club - must have drummed up a fair bit of business.

Look forward to the next Ne Plus Ultra too! :thumb:


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## djpotpot (May 8, 2008)

As always, fabolous Work, you have a touch with Porsche :thumb: Extra 

You have a lot to do in my inspiration and my passion for detailing 

Thank you for this awesome Pictures and report.


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking write up Clark:thumb:, R8 looks stunning:argie:


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## Chrisgrieve (Mar 14, 2009)

Its always great to see when you post up another write up Clark, you go into so much detail, its great for everyone (especially us newbies) 

the finish on all of them cars are absolutely outstanding, and i love that R8, 

also great turn around on the Porsche Carrera, bet the owner was delighted, just have to hope he takes care of it now. 
:thumb::thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks Jim!



Jim W said:


> Look forward to the next Ne Plus Ultra too! :thumb:


You're not the only one, I'm counting the days and already planning things out for it to better the last one :lol:


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

great work and post.

Great work on the sticky paint and excellent use of the tool bax to tasilor your technique, tool and products to do the job correctly.


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Cracking work guys! Should be proud:thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Lovely work mate:thumb: do you find the gloss-it polishes perform better by DA opposed to rotary?


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## mikecc (Dec 10, 2007)

Great read!


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

Excellent work by the PB team again!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Gleammachine said:


> Lovely work mate:thumb: do you find the gloss-it polishes perform better by DA opposed to rotary?


Untill you're fully up to speed with them then I'd say yes mate. Once you get to grips with them, especially the extreme cut, then they are impressive on the rotary too though 

They work best on sticky paints by DA if you move the machine quite quickly, almost as if you were glazing the paint. If you're using the rotary then it helps to spritz the pad with Qd after every few passes or when the residue starts to disappear


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Nice work Clark, looked like a great day to:thumb:


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## SCOTIA (Jun 1, 2006)

Fantastic Clark,you have a great job mate, im very envious.Is the black porsche at the front a 911 GT2/GT3?


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## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

Always a pleasure to read your posts.


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## skipov (Oct 9, 2008)

amazing work there the end results speak volumes about the level of excellence you guys can achieve. thanks for the write up,very interesting.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

SCOTIA said:


> Fantastic Clark,you have a great job mate, im very envious.Is the black porsche at the front a 911 GT2/GT3?


GT3 with a full venture shield body wrap, as detailed previously:

See here - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=53993


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## ayrtonsenna (Jun 7, 2007)

Stunning work and equally impressive photo's and write up as usual Clark


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

I usually don't use this word very often..but it is PERFECT...wonderful  
wonderful post, you guys made my day!!

thanks a lot!!!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks guys, much appreciated


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Cracking work as usual ther Clark :thumb:


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## Strathmore (May 7, 2008)

Cracking results and a brilliant report as usual.

Saw the Grey RS4 in person when I was in to buy a foam lance and other goodies it looked fantastic.

Keep up the good work 

Cheers
Stephen


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## KleenChris (Apr 4, 2008)

Excellent work and nice write up too :thumb:

When is the next ne plus ultra write up??


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Great work on all and those Audi's look amazing - some top pics as well :thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Very enjoyable read buddy and some super pics as ever, a nice collection of german metal.


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## Mr Face Jr (Feb 20, 2009)

Looks very good! cant wait for the next one!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

KleenChris said:


> Excellent work and nice write up too :thumb:
> 
> When is the next ne plus ultra write up??


You'll just have to keep your eyes peeled!

It may appear on the Polished Bliss website before it gets posted here...


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## lego_man (Mar 29, 2007)

Stunning!!:thumb:


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Impressive as always fella

Did you get any/many new bookings from members who were there after seeing your work first hand?


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

What a fantastic write up.
The Porsche guys came up with a top idea, good on you for following the idea up..:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Chris_VRS said:


> Impressive as always fella
> 
> Did you get any/many new bookings from members who were there after seeing your work first hand?


There's 1 pretty much confirmed and 2 or 3 are definitely considering it, from the pics - the 996 C4S, 928 GTS, 997 GT3 and 993 Turbo (thats my dads one) have all been done already :lol:



neilb62 said:


> What a fantastic write up.
> The Porsche guys came up with a top idea, good on you for following the idea up..:thumb:


We've actually had similair events already with the Jaguar, MX-5 and BMW clubs - they work really well :thumb:


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## andyboygsi (Aug 30, 2007)

smashing write up dude and top work


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

Something different there! Enjoyed reading that :thumb: that 993 Turbo is awesome.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> Something different there! Enjoyed reading that :thumb: that 993 Turbo is awesome.


Full write up on the 993 at some point, although I think I'll try and convince dad that I should drive it out to the unit


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

Clark said:


> Full write up on the 993 at some point, although I think I'll try and convince dad that I should drive it out to the unit


Look forward to it :thumb:


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Wow, fantastic resuts as usual mate! :thumb: Bet that was fun day


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## Craigsax (Dec 13, 2006)

Great work again Clark especially the rs4


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Excellent work and write-up!:thumb:

Some awesome motors!


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## detailersdomain (Sep 13, 2006)

clark very nice!!!!! looked like a ton of fun.

we will be doing these clinics for our customers as well once our shop is up and running.


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Superb work and i only imagine the porsche club members when they saw the 997 after your detail :thumb:

ps: what camera do you use for taking pics??


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## TimG (Apr 2, 2008)

Sweet!! Awesome work as always at PB. Really enjoyed reading the writeup.:thumb::thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Somebody's been a busy boy!! Smashing write up and cracking end results. Hard work does pay off. 

Droooooooooooooooool

:thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

excellent - what a week!


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

nice work, it looks stunning


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

Inspirational giving something back for nothing.

Awesome.


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## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

great work and well done to everyone at PB and Porsche OC.

I seen the R8 in the unit when i popped in! Pretty good work  (BTW that mark didn't come out my bumper you were right! - AGAIN )

Ali


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## GPS (Jul 1, 2008)

Awesome work and a great read. Cheers :thumb:


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Fantastic correction work against, Clark.:thumb:

I've yet to try the Gloss-It range of products but I like the idea of the polishes producing minimal dust and being able to work on 'sticky' paints.


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## baseballlover1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Clark, well done. 

I have the local Porsche Club coming over to my place in September. Did you just show them claying, polishing by hand, polishing by DA? I need to start thinking about a plan for it. 

Im looking forward to your next few write ups. 

,Dan


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## karburn (Feb 1, 2008)

Great work on the winning car, but I really admire your civic spirit in donating your services for the charity auction. Well done. :thumb:


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## 'Buzzkill' (Jan 16, 2009)

Yet another great write up. The WR1 is looking very well to


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## Bluetacker (Feb 6, 2009)

Absolutely stunning work and attention to detail. Love the finish you achieved on that Porsche and the level of correction.


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## MrLOL (Feb 23, 2007)

that yellow 996 Turbo with the Porsche Aero Kit is lovely.


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## JohnWoods41 (Aug 20, 2008)

some cracking cars there Great work!!! love the aqua blue colour!!

never having polished sticky paint before, and assuming mine is probably the same
what happens? do the polishes dry up quicker? never really understood what makes it "sticky" ?


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

superb mate,great wrk as usuall


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

lovely work as usuall, When did you tint the windows clark look lovely:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

JohnWoods41 said:


> some cracking cars there Great work!!! love the aqua blue colour!!
> 
> never having polished sticky paint before, and assuming mine is probably the same
> what happens? do the polishes dry up quicker? never really understood what makes it "sticky" ?


The polishes will spread fine for the first few passes but then they start to clump up, dust badly and some really weld themselves to the paint and are a major pain to remove. If you're using the rotary then the panels can get very hot very quickly so you have to be careful 



shane_ctr said:


> lovely work as usuall, When did you tint the windows clark look lovely:thumb:


The car had the tints when i bought it from Oxford mate


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## SC4SC (May 8, 2008)

Great job Clarke, Rich and Marsha.
Nad:thumb:


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## RenesisEvo (Nov 25, 2006)

Fantastic as always, thanks for sharing.

The R8 - how long did you leave between coats of AJT? Is there an 'optimum' time in your opinion?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

RenesisEvo said:


> Fantastic as always, thanks for sharing.
> 
> The R8 - how long did you leave between coats of AJT? Is there an 'optimum' time in your opinion?


i usually leave around 20-30 mins


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## JohnWoods41 (Aug 20, 2008)

Clark said:


> The polishes will spread fine for the first few passes but then they start to clump up, dust badly and some really weld themselves to the paint and are a major pain to remove. If you're using the rotary then the panels can get very hot very quickly so you have to be careful


thanks

maybe invest in a DA as well do do this, does it differ if you are using a heavier cut, than a light cut say?


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

excellent read, stunning results


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

JohnWoods41 said:


> thanks
> 
> maybe invest in a DA as well do do this, does it differ if you are using a heavier cut, than a light cut say?


The only real differences are the dust levels. If you're cutting hard then dust and balls of polish can spit out from the pad all over the place whereas you'll only get mild levels of dust if you're doing a light cut stage with a finishing polish for example. It's really important to keep your pad clean too as they will gum up alot quicker compared to polishing "normal" clears


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## iceman98 (Mar 8, 2008)

great post clark, amazing work as always :thumb:


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Lovelly job on them all mate. It still amazes me how little people think you can do with paint given your site and many others showing similar improvements up and down the country, well doen and keep it up!

Nice to see the scooby getting an outing and showing the performance beetle club what it is really about:thumb:

Love some of the 86-87 era cabs in the photos


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## Ess_Three (Dec 19, 2007)

Great write up Clark.
Superb results as ever...thanks for hosting the day.


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## Ess_Three (Dec 19, 2007)

MrLOL said:


> that yellow 996 Turbo with the Porsche Aero Kit is lovely.


Thanks for the kind words...but it's only a C4S...not a turbo.

It's not looking bad considering it's not had any protection applied since last May. See here for more details:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=70586

Although, as usual, a visit to Polished Bliss saw me leave with a few bags of products and around £100 lighter of wallet...so I'd better get round to topping the protection up.


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## BENJY (Oct 26, 2005)

What an amayzing result on the porsche. I really like that RS4 in daytona grey too that colour looks great detailed!


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

had forgotten how great your write ups are mate - no read much recnetly

usual top shelf quality work and some amazing pictures too!


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## Select Detailing (Feb 19, 2009)

Fantastic write up with amazing results. WOW!


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## Ian D (Mar 16, 2006)

I think the club meets are a great idea, it gets more people to see what can be done to their pride and joy. And raised money for charity, as well as increasing revenue, and expanding client base.

Good work Clark, the blue really stands out now and suits the shape and lines.


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## rossdook (Aug 20, 2008)

Always enjoy reading your posts, and this one was no exception! I'm not really a Porker fan, but I love the colour and finish on that one - it's right up my street.

Looking forward to the NE Ultra Plus again - what is it this time?

Sod it - it's high time I got a job with you guys! PM me when you'd like me to start. lol

Just a quick question - what do you prefer to use for a wipe down after you've used the Vintage? And can you give me some details of how long you let it cure etc. Many thanks.

Give me a shout if you need someone to hold your brushes, pads etc when the NE Ultra Plus is on! Cheers.


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## MrLOL (Feb 23, 2007)

Ess_Three said:


> Thanks for the kind words...but it's only a C4S...not a turbo.
> 
> It's not looking bad considering it's not had any protection applied since last May. See here for more details:
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=70586
> ...


what are the runing costs like compared with the turbo ?

ive been looking at 996 Turbos, but the prospect of spending £5,000 per year on bills just to keep it on the road is putting me off.

One of the blokes on pistonheads who owns one, calculated the servicing costs were about 3k per year on their own


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## farz020589 (Oct 3, 2008)

great work


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## Ess_Three (Dec 19, 2007)

MrLOL said:


> what are the runing costs like compared with the turbo ?
> 
> ive been looking at 996 Turbos, but the prospect of spending £5,000 per year on bills just to keep it on the road is putting me off.
> 
> One of the blokes on pistonheads who owns one, calculated the servicing costs were about 3k per year on their own


Much cheaper than the turbo...
I'll PM you more info rather than posting here.


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

I don't know whats more impressive the detail or the photography


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

rossdook said:


> Always enjoy reading your posts, and this one was no exception! I'm not really a Porker fan, but I love the colour and finish on that one - it's right up my street.
> 
> Looking forward to the NE Ultra Plus again - what is it this time?
> 
> ...


I generally leave the Vintage for about 10 mins after applying to the whole car and I mainly use Gloss-It QD for wipe downs, sometimes Werkstat Carnauba/Acrylic glos too depending on what LSP i've been using


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