# DetailMyCar - Vauxhall Astra SRi, Lots of pics & detail



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Vauxhall Astra SRi Enhancement Detail.

I was asked to do this at short notice which suited me perfectly due to a last minute cancellation.

The car was dropped off and not really looking too dirty in fairness, not from a distance anyway but was in good overall condition.

Here's how it started














































Products at the ready










Plus a few brushes









First step was to Snow Foam, using Autojoy Pink Foam which gives a pretty thick foam via my Karcher





































1/3rd used after the whole car










While foam was dwelling I went around the car with some Meg's APC and a detailing brush attending to all the badges, vents etc









































































AS Smart wheels was then used on all wheels










Valet Pro brush



















EZ Detail brushes





































Insides




























Merino wool mitt used with 2 x AB Buckets





































After washing and rinsing off Tardis was used on the whole car










Tar breaking down




























After rinsing off and partially drying the car was sprayed with IronX


















































































All rinsed off and looking better










Now it was dried off, the swirls were showing under lights



















Polishing wise I used Scholl S17+ on a White Hex Logic Pad with my 3M Rotary then refined with Scholl S40 on a 3M Yellow pad



















Looking better even after just S17+










50/50





































Looking better after being refined





































Swirls before





































After



























More befores


















After




























Eraser was then used on the bonnet



















Front wing polished




























Swirls and general scratches showing on the door














































All gone









































































On to the rear 1/4

Before



























After

















































































Just after finally finishing polishing & refining the rain came so snow foamed and rinsed the car anyway to remove the dust




























Got it into the garage to dry off, sprayed with Last Touch first



















Having used FK on another Red Astra (VXR) there was only one choice for protection and the customer wanted something durable so went for it again










Curing










Buffing off










Roof 









Done









The sun was now back out so got the car back outside to polish the Exhaust using Surf City Absolutely Aluminium, some 00 Gauge Wirewool and an old Costco MF Cloth










Looking better


















I think I may have discovered a new favourite Tyre dressing.........

Gliptone Tyre & Trim Jelly









Not a huge amount used









Tyre before applying









Done!


















The car and wheels were then treated to a full wipedown with Zaino Z8



















All done!













































































































Complimentary Air Freshener, Decals and a few business cards thrown in


















Pics taken with my SLR































































































































Thanks again to anyone reading, excuse the large amount of pics but thought I could include more detail in a few areas.

One very happy customer which is always fantastic, Red like this is such a great colour to work with!


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## Scott_VXR (May 22, 2011)

Nice work mate...wish I could be bothered to do a detailed write up like yours.
Thanks for sharing


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## Pookini (Jan 19, 2011)

Wow.
I knew it was going to be an amazing outcome but the very first picture of the afters made my jaw hit the floor!
Absolutely stunning and flawless finish!
Stunning. 

Well done to you!


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Thanks guys, I was really happy with how it came out, such a good colour to work with


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## Michael_McL (Aug 25, 2011)

Good job, beautiful shine off it


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

:doublesho That's redder than red , that's incredible


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## ford nut (Dec 12, 2011)

Lovely finish on that one Nick.... certainly has changed the look of the car in terms of colour...:thumb:


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## adlem (Jul 6, 2008)

Good job Nick :thumb:


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

fk really suits it. top job.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Wow stunning finish..


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Wow! This is the reason I love red cars when detailed properly. Top job :thumb:


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## jibba (Dec 10, 2011)

top job there fella how all red cars should look :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Looks much better after a good clean, polish and protect. Well done.


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## davidc1987 (Feb 28, 2012)

makes my red cliosport look pants.. will have to add a few of these products to my collection


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job there mate.


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Dave KG said:


> Looks much better after a good clean, polish and protect. Well done.


Very nice of you to say Dave, solid Red like this is well worth spending the time on, and i am loving the Scholl polishes too at the moment.


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

Just had a look at this and it is worthy of a resurrect 

I must admit I'm not a big fan of these Sport Hatches, but in the red and those wheels it looks alright and the red looks nice and deep in the finished pictures, it probably looks bette than it did when it was handed over to the owner by the dealer.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Looks superb mate, red been fully restored!

EDIT: I didn't even realise it was a resurrected thread at first, but yeah, well worth it!


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

MLAM said:


> Just had a look at this and it is worthy of a resurrect
> 
> I must admit I'm not a big fan of these Sport Hatches, but in the red and those wheels it looks alright and the red looks nice and deep in the finished pictures, it probably looks bette than it did when it was handed over to the owner by the dealer.


Haha thanks for the resurrection! It did come up really nice, Red is a pretty rewarding colour when the sun is out like that too.


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

Good turnaround


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Thats a hell of a shine you got there my man great work.


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

What's your thoughts on tyre jelly v.s megs endurance ?


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Nally said:


> What's your thoughts on tyre jelly v.s megs endurance ?


It's pretty similar tbh, it's a tad thinner so a little spreads easier so you can get less of a glossy look if you like as you can just spread it really thin.

Both are good products though, if anything the Gliptone one smells nicer too though if that's possible


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## Mumbles (Nov 7, 2011)

Reall nice results and what a shine! :thumb:


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## corsa_carl (Dec 1, 2011)

Absolutely amazing work on the astra  .... top class job, do you mind me asking what the snow foam is you used? and where can i purchase it from?


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

corsa_carl said:


> Absolutely amazing work on the astra  .... top class job, do you mind me asking what the snow foam is you used? and where can i purchase it from?


Thanks Carl, the stuff I use most of the time is just Black diamond foam, sold by Autojoy - http://www.autojoy.co.uk/washing-autojoy-snow-foam-litre-p-653.html

It's £9 for 5L or £40 for 25L I think and works as well as most to be honest.


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## giveus-alook (Oct 12, 2011)

Great job, how long did it take,,? All day


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Top work as always mate. Very impressed must be said. Good turnaround.. looked so tired before!


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

giveus-alook said:


> Great job, how long did it take,,? All day





xJay1337 said:


> Top work as always mate. Very impressed must be said. Good turnaround.. looked so tired before!


Thanks guys, not sure where the bump came from but good to know the older write-ups still get some coverage :thumb:

Yep that was all done over a day, luckily the car was fairly clean to start with at least but it was a non stop 10-12 hour job.


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## Toyota-Ant (Sep 9, 2012)

That is an excellent finish! The fk looks very good on the red!


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## Clyde (Feb 15, 2012)

stunning finish


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

great work as always :thumb:


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## mustang-owner (May 8, 2011)

Hi Nick,

I’ve been cleaning my own cars for over 30 years, “sort-of” detailing for over 20 years, and I’m just about to embark on the next phase…..a bit of newbie DA machine polishing.

Your detailed write up of step-by-step, start to finish with a product-used guide does you almost as much justice as the finished job.

I’ll echo the sentiments of others…….Very well done sir, and if I get anywhere near this finish on my metallic silver Audi A2 I’ll be most pleased.

Simply stunning and thanks for sharing.

Jeff


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

mustang-owner said:


> Hi Nick,
> 
> I've been cleaning my own cars for over 30 years, "sort-of" detailing for over 20 years, and I'm just about to embark on the next phase…..a bit of newbie DA machine polishing.
> 
> ...


Wow thanks Jeff, very kind words and glad it was of help to you! If I can be of any help just give me a nudge


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

looking mighty. great job!!!


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

That is a very well presented post with related products before and after, a great example of the detailing concept, technique and result. 

Thank-you, a nice shine on that red now !

John Tht,


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Top work


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