# Auto Finesse Spend a week on a Swedish.................. Beauty ?



## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Sorry for the lack of write ups of late, just been a bit to busy with one thing or another but we thought this one was worth a little show off so made the effort, more for the work put in and end result......... but also the car is rare........... Apparently.

I know nothing about these cars at all . but i know how to clean them up alright, :thumb:










Any closer to what it is yet?










That help?










Yep its a 22 year old Volvo 780 :tumbleweed: thats what happened in my head when i was told what it was, well iv never detailed a Volvo before but a good customer of ours has acquired this one, and loves it :argie: much to his misses amazement :lol:

Some more info the owner supplied on this car :

Volvo 780
B280E = 2.8 V6, 156bhp, 245Nm (no cat)
4-Speed auto (good old torque converter)
Built by Bertone in Turin, Italy on 24/02/1987, del 05/03/1987 in Sweden.
74000 mls (120K kms)
2 owners since new
All original and working

As for the model itself, the figures are very vague, even from Volvo!

8512 made of which approx 5500 shipped to the US.
952 Sold in Sweden…. approx 400 left.
These models were only sold in Italy, Belgium, Sweden, US and Canada. Other countries have imported them. No RHD's ever made.
Wood is real Birch (Scandinavian).

Only 2 in the UK…..

So lets get cracking, some before pics:
































































First job was to clean the engine, degrease the block and get it looking like new, mike covered up some bits we dont want water in or near:










Some G101 and a few brushes and wer on our way:























































So after that its time to get the wheels off and clean up 20 odd years of brake dust etc, for the arches its our grime busting fave G101 through the foam lance, on the wheels we used AS smart wheels, but the inners needed a drop of our "secret" wheel cleaner :































































































































We dried the arches and running gear, then Waxoild them, and preped and painted the calipers and disk hubs:



















So with all four corners done, its time to wash the body work, We pre treated all gaps, badges and shuts with some..... yep you guessed it G101, then foamed the entire vehicle with Ag power max 3, whilst that done its thing, all the hard to reach parts where agitated with detailing brushes, washed TBM with PM3 and LM mitts, dried off and back in the work shop:
































































So once inside all clean, the paint work need to be clayed, suffering from some quite bad bonded contamination we decided to use the Dodo Juice purposeful purple and Megs LT as lube:
































































So with 22 years of nasties removed from the paint work, we take a look with a PTG and the inspection laps to see whats needed and what can be done, some areas have had some recent work, and left a bit OP, others are original but wearing some battle scars:




























Rear Qt looking a bit tiered :




























Some DA marks on the roof:




























And the front wing:










So after lots and lots of testing, we had to settle for pretty much a different approach for every panel, the front wing was suffering from lots of OP, wer not going to get is glass smooth as there is no way we could do this to the rest of the car (Paint thickness would not allow) so my aim is to match it back up to the door using 2000 uni grit, then 2000 and 4000 abrilon pads, polished back up with 3M FCP and UF mix, polished with 3M Yellow top (fine compound) :


















































































Mike gets to work on those marks on the roof using a similar process :










After just a short while we have a fair old pad selection out, using different ones on different panels of the car:










Before:










After:










A bit of hand work required on the dry edges :










After:



















The bonnet paint was mid/hard, so it was 3M yellow top and a megs polishing pad:



















Boot:




























Some afters :buffer::




























Work on the dry and matt lowwers :










Whilst Mike checks him self out in that mirror he just created :thumb::










Once we have the correction and polishing stages done, we finish the paint down with the liquid shine red finishing polish on the red pad (cracking finishing polish if i do say so my self :buffer DA was the weapon of choice de to some soft areas:










Exhaust sanded (whist it was out) and polished:




























Chrome work all polish with autosol, via machine (where pos) and hand and pad on the tiny bits:




























Before:










After:










So once wer all polished out :buffer::buffer::buffer::buffer::buffer::doublesho we set about sealing it all in, The engine bay was also polished with Autosol and WW, inbetween getting frustrated with paint correction :devil:

FinishKare was the weapon of choice when it came to LSP's on this one, first up, Finish Kare #2180 Ultra Poly Wipe Sealant - Anti Static on a 3M finishing pad Via PC, this product has proven to be the key to getting the best out of the rest of the range:










Then on to the first of 3 coats (spaced accordingly) of Finish Kare #1000P Hi Temp Sealant:



















Toped with 3 coats (spaced accordingly) of Finish Kare #2685 Carnauba Polymer Paste Wax:










Trim Dressed with CG new look trim gel, using the Ag HD applicator, i dont like them for wax or LSP but we find there a great for applying trim dressing, then buffed up with a clean dry MF:





































Windows where cleaned in and out, then treated with the Carlack Glass Sealant:



















Tyres dressed with Megs endurance gel:










Rubber seals treated with Gummi pfledge:










Wheel centres with Autosol:










Mike set about the interior armed with more products than you can shake a stick at, G101, Glipton Twins, AG stain remover, magic sponge and all the detailing brushes you could find, cleaning from the roof lineing to the carpets and all inbetween, he even polished and waxed the wood by hand and used some of Dodos finest SN to seal it all in, (sorry i have no pics of him at work ) but here is how it turned out:


















































































So i guess all thats left is to show you how a brown Volvo can look after a staggering 76 man hours :doublesho
































































Some of the paint condition:














































Out in the sun 













































































































So there you have it a week, and a whole lot of :buffer::buffer: but for 22years old, she came up good i think.

I hope you enjoyed the write up, if you have any questions or comments please feel free.......

James B


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## INWARD123 (Oct 28, 2007)

Uber rare that one ! they only made about 7000 and 5000 of them went to the states, only ever seen one once and I have to say that was in a lot worst condition.

Lovely Job by the way James I glad he gave it to someone like you wioth skill rather than let it rot


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Top work James.



>


Got a bit of a bucket fetish going on there?


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

And comming up next we got a Zebra print X5





































Woooooow yer thats someone elses handy work at paint correction  we will show you how to get it right  :buffer::buffer:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

INWARD123 said:


> Uber rare that one ! they only made about 7000 and 5000 of them went to the states, only ever seen one once and I have to say that was in a lot worst condition.
> 
> Lovely Job by the way James I glad he gave it to someone like you wioth skill rather than let it rot


Thanks :thumb:

This is a European spec one so im told, thats why its ultra rare (i refuse to use the Uber word )


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Nice work, i can see why the owner likes it, there's something strangely attractive about that car.

Oh and how the **** does someone think that level of buffer trail is even remotely acceptable. A blind-folded Gorilla with a
silverline and a wool pad could have done a better job!


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Nice work James she came up well, glad you have got plenty of spare buckets in as well

That has to be some of the worse buffer trails on that X5 I have ever seen amazingly talented to create that many:lol:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

^^ tell me about it, thing is thats not after some paint work or something alike, the owner actually paid for paint correction to get rid of some light swirls, and he parted with cash for it, sadly it put him and his misses off the car (what was new to them) but a client of mine recommended me, he was a bit wary of letting any one else go near it for fear of it getting worse (like last time) but after a test section in front of him he was sold and went away with a smile again 

Before :










After:


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Nice one James that look a bit different:thumb:



james b said:


> ^^ tell me about it, thing is thats not after some paint work or something alike, the owner actually paid for paint correction to get rid of some light swirls, and he parted with cash for it, sadly it put him and his misses off the car (what was new to them) but a client of mine recommended me, he was a bit wary of letting any one else go near it for fear of it getting worse (like last time) but after a test section in front of him he was sold and went away with a smile again
> 
> Before :
> 
> ...


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

amazing work on the volvo


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## geert dr (Jul 13, 2007)

That's one beautiful Volvo coupe by Bertone ,always loved these !
Stunning turnaround :thumb:


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

Very nice, could you lend me a bucket?

Buffer trails on X5 are nuts! Was it a weekend warrior again


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## hallett (May 22, 2008)

very nice, love the interior on that :argie: just looks so comfortable, just think of the things you could do on that rear bench :doublesho :lol:

Daniel


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## baseballlover1 (Sep 25, 2007)

wow! Looks amazing!!!!

Wow you have a lot of buckets!!!


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

nice work guys


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## extreme-detail (Nov 7, 2005)

top work james 

i love this type of posts


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

top work


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Well what can I say-brill work there James.

Amazing how an old girl can come up.


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## Dipesh (Oct 12, 2007)

Loving that Volv!


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## davidrogers190 (Dec 17, 2007)

You certainly know how to clean a car up!


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## adam87 (Dec 11, 2008)

Great work on an odd car 

Looks cracking!

I'm also in need of a few buckets...


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## dazzlers82 (May 8, 2007)

great work guys an im really liking that volvo for some reason :thumb:


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## edthedrummer (May 30, 2007)

i'd rather read a write-up on a car like this any day of the week! Especially as it is written up very well indeed. Its a credit to the company, and i could see it making the business appeal to a wider audience too perhaps.


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## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

That car is fantastic!!! You made a really great job of it. I'm lost for words on the interior, its stunning! Look at the plushness of the carpet and how comfy those seats look and the wood trim is gorgeous!


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Car came out fantastic!!!!

Love your choice of LSPs 

Big FK1 fan.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Thanks for the comments so far guys, i hear what your saying about this kind of car/post, we do do lots ad lots of new or near new stuff, even some quite exotic cars, but a golf, and evo a BMW and so on, unless its a big big turnaround, i have very little you have not seen before to show you, thats why i made the effort on this one, the owner even said i bet theres not many brown Volvos been detailed LOL.

The interior on this is fantastic, the owner had done a pretty fine job of cleaning it up so far, and we just done bit more to get it just so, hes actually not happy with the carpet, (there is a repaired hole on the drivers side) and has found a genuine full carpet set (not mats actual carpets) hes also on the hunt for mats but there proving harder to find than the carpets them selfs. other than that the interior is box fresh, the leather is unreal how clean and perfect it is for its age its in stunning condition.

I have added some more info the owner sent me on the car to the main post.


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Looks amazing James - I could see you smoking about in that with your flat cap and driving gloves on


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

wow, that was an awesome write up mate

its nice to see such an old girl gettinng the same treatment as a modern supercar

excellent stuff


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## Nanolex (Jun 8, 2008)

Not too sure about the beauty but excellent work and great attention to the not-so-much loved bits & pieces!:thumb:


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## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

Excellent write up and excellent work :thumb: It's great to see an owner lavishing expenditure on a not-so-exotic modern classic!


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

great work and write up james. front of that volvo reminds me a bit of the old AM lagonda.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Wow, fantastic detail!! Looks like new :thumb:


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## Brian. (Sep 21, 2009)

Nice work, it will be remaining in good condition for a long time now after that hard work! Its a pretty cool volvo...and yes that is the first time i have ever said those words.


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

I never thought I'd see the day when you'd do a VOLVO :lol:

Great job James and team, impressive results on metal correction as well on the chrome bumpers and exhaust.

Nice zebra strips


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## InSPiRE (Jun 5, 2007)

amazing work!


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## Sveneng (Apr 20, 2008)

Absolutely stunning fnish you have achieved, I'm really impressed with that.


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Top work from the Auto Finesse Team & great writeup aswell

Baz


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## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

superb work fella. looks better than it did out of the factory!


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## Mike Hunt (Jan 31, 2008)

Fantastic work, the only other time I've seen one of these was in the museum in Gothenburg, when I worked at Volvo.


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## Caped Crusader (Sep 27, 2009)

It's great seeing an old car being brought back to this condition. 

The owner of the BMW must be well chuffed after seeing what you can do.


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## david_h (Sep 19, 2006)

James, stunning work.

Having seen the car when it was delivered, I cannot believe how well the colour has come out. Looks totally fresh now.

Hopefully the owner is over the moon.

top work as usual.


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## Rasher (Mar 6, 2006)

Superb job


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## [email protected] (Jan 28, 2009)

Very nice car, those big flat panels must make your job easier though, modern cars are all angels and bulges.

Can you go into a little more detail on the LSP stages please, when you say normal time you mean as stated on bottle? Seem to read so many threads with differing advice "curing" times and yes I am aware of the swipe test .

Finally what would you rate the life of the combo used on an everyday driver, I seem to get a good 3 months from colli 476s with some duragloss aqua wax top up after washing, would I also get a deeper shine, wetter look, better on light colour to dark et al (What are the characteristic of your combo visually)?

Many Thanks

PS What's with the bucket mountain  :driver:


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## flyfs6 (Nov 13, 2006)

Awesome work from the guys at Autofinesse.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Very nice car, those big flat panels must make your job easier though, modern cars are all angels and bulges.
> 
> Can you go into a little more detail on the LSP stages please, when you say normal time you mean as stated on bottle? Seem to read so many threads with differing advice "curing" times and yes I am aware of the swipe test .
> 
> ...


LSP Stages, when we say left proper time, we mean between coats, i seem to be ok layering up FK1000 with a 2-3 hour cure time, this would not have fully cured but it is enough to get coats on with out removing the one before it. We left it over night (finished work at 6 and started again at 7) in a heated unit, before applying the wax. and done the same with that.

This is not "my combo" we have over 50 waxes and sealants in our cupboard ranging from £10-£2000, we decided on this due to the fact the car was going to have to be left out side through winter and this should be ultra durable, id expect with proper washing on a car like this, given usage etc to be around 4-6 months.

Looks will pretty much all come from prep work, the wax/sealant will only enhance and protect what's under it. to me i personally see it get a bit more reflective and glass like as im layering the sealant, the wax gave a touch of a wetter deeper look, but the LSP are primarily there to protect the finish created in the correction stage and make it easy to keep clean, the FinishKare seem to tick all these boxes.

The main thing IMO what adds alot is the machine applying the Finish Kare #2180 Ultra Poly Wipe Sealant, it dose alot for the finish.

HTH

James B

PS the buckets are top secret


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## CleanYourCar (Jan 23, 2006)

Superb work James, you need to get that posted on retro-rides.org.

Nice to see Finish Kare Pink wax getting a good airing as well. 

Tim


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## LOLVO_DRIVER (Jun 13, 2009)

yes, that is a beauty, and a real rarity that car...


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## volvoRsport (Oct 4, 2009)

Awesome result on the Volvo :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Thanks guys :thumb:

Glad you all appreciate it, i was not to sure how this would go down to be fair, it flopped hard on a couple of other forums, i think people just did not realise the time and effort put in  :lol:



CleanYourCar said:


> Superb work James, you need to get that posted on retro-rides.org.
> 
> Nice to see Finish Kare Pink wax getting a good airing as well.
> 
> Tim


If your on there feel free to link it up for me  :thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

woaaaaaw how did i miss this, James that looks the business mate it really does, the attention to detail is just awesome, those Swedes hate an angular vehicle dont they lol.

Thanks for sharing

Gav


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

james b said:


> Thanks guys :thumb:
> 
> Glad you all appreciate it, i was not to sure how this would go down to be fair, it flopped hard on a couple of other forums, i think people just did not realise the time and effort put in  :lol:
> 
> If your on there feel free to link it up for me  :thumb:


Great work, the car looks amazing condition for its age although I can see why it would sink big time on other forums. Afterall not many people are going to get excited about an brown 80s square box volvo, or understand why someone would spend so much time and effort on this type of motor, the owner must really love the car!


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## leolebkuchen (Aug 29, 2009)

The volvo looks amazing James..Did the owner try to kiss you after that?


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

amazing :thumb: absolutly amazing :thumb:


thats all i can say :thumb:


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## Sparrow'90 (Jul 19, 2009)

O my god xD!... the car is stunnnninnng


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## supercharged (Feb 1, 2008)

simply amazing work!!!


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## jayr32 (Jan 10, 2010)

Don't usually comment on these kind of threads although I do enjoy reading them, but that is amazing! Time warp condition! I'd love to own it 

Great job, well done!

Jay.


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## ASH 54 (Sep 21, 2006)

great work, didn't think it would happen but I actually like that Volvo  Don't make interiors like that any more


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

That is amazing work, it looks better than new :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

A little update for anyone interested, the car came 2nd at the best kept volvo this weekend, the last job at 7PM friday for us was a top up on it before it went on Sat:


__
https://flic.kr/p/4699851475


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## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Amazing work, restoration quality at its best!


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2010)

james b said:


> A little update for anyone interested, the car came 2nd at the best kept volvo this weekend, the last job at 7PM friday for us was a top up on it before it went on Sat:
> 
> Well done Jimbo !! I am sure that was down to your excellant work as usual.
> 7pm thats late working for you lol !! :thumb:


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

James, many thanks indeed, a great thead and some beautiful work as always. 

Big respect from all us newbs :thumb:


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## rds1985 (Mar 7, 2009)

strangely, and extremely unexpectably the best write-up in ages!


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Best Car i've seen on here for a while and one of the best if not the best detail i've seen on detailing world.

Don't know why but that detail was so much better than reading about another exotic again


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## jde126hunter (Apr 26, 2010)

Lovely work on the Volvo, not the prettiest car but nice to see someone looking after something a little different!


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