# Suzuki Ignis Sport (Daily Driver) Arden Blue Astra GSI (Weekend Toy)



## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Thought I would share this one with you all, I sold my Golf Edition 30 a few weeks ago...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=365263

So for the first time ever I now own 2 cars.

*My daily driver which is a 2004 Suzuki Ignis Sport in Silver, A few pics after a detail...*











*My main project, My weekend toy which is an Arden Blue Astra GSI...*

I bought the car last Wednesday and took it straight off the road until last night, I spent a full 3 days on the car getting it up to a level of condition I am happy with.

First day was spent carrying out a full interior removal as I wanted to strip the car out.

The Second day was spent giving the car a full service using genuine parts, Getting the car on axle stands, Giving the wheel arches a deep clean, Giving the wheels a deep clean, Giving the Brake Calipers and hubs a repaint/detail.

The Third day I focussed on the exterior and paintwork on the car, Even though this car was one of the better examples I was offered by far it was evident even when I viewed the car that it was in need of a good detail and since driving it back on Wednesday it has been annoying me while I have been doing other jobs on the car and kept looking at it getting dirtier sat on the drive LOL. My OCD coming out there.

I wanted to give the car a bit of a detail but knew that the Weather, Time and in fact Daylight where against me. Today was all about getting the car prepared and ready for the machine polishing stage. I did however focus on some light scratch removal on the corner of the front bumper with success!

Usual Bonelorry style cleaning wise, I left out the wheel arches and wheels as they where fully detailed the day before which gave me more time to focus on preparing the paint today. I will at some point soon probably give the car a Single stage machine polish using a White Hex pad or possibly an Orange Hex pad and Megs 205 finishing compound, This will hopefully give a reasonable level of correction without spending too much time on the polishing stage, As with the Golf I will mask off a test area on the car and experiment with different combos and see which one will give the best level of correction in the quickest time. Should get a layer of wax on the car then also.

*The process I used is as follows...*

*:* Car placed on Axle stands and wheels removed
*:* Deep cleaned the wheel arches, APC to high concentrate, Left to dwell then scrubbed and rinsed thoroughly 
*:* Deep cleaned the Alloys using Bilberry
*:* Dressed all the plastic wheel arch liners
*:* Degreased the calipers and brake disc bells
*:* Painted the brake calipers with Arden Blue Caliper Paint
*:* Painted the brake disc bells Hammerite Smooth Black

*Then the following day onto the exterior...*

*:* Rinsed the car
*:* Cleaned the fuel filler flap. All door, Bonnet and boot-lid shuts, Front Scuttle and Rubber door drains using detailing brush and APC to high concentrate.
*:* Rinsed car again.
*:* Washed the car using 2 bucket method one panel at a time with a Lambswool mitt and Meguires ultimate shampoo.
*:* Rinsed the car again.
*:* Clayed the whole car using Megs mild clay and Megs Detailer spray as lubricant. _(Never seen so many contaminants come off one of my cars before, Desperately needed doing)_ 
*:* Rinsed the car again.
*:* Dried the whole car with Elite XL drying towel, Dried the wheels, Door shuts and engine bay with Microfibre towel.
*:* Cleaned the glass inside and out using Autoglym Fast Glass.
*:* Tar removal using Autoglym Intensive Tar remover.
*:* Touched up some of the stone chips using a Genuine Arden Blue pen, Mainly on the lower front splitter and leading edge of the bonnet.
*:* Dressed any plastic trim, Honeycomb grilles, Front scuttle and Wiper arms with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber car buffing of any excess with a Microfibre cloth.
*:* Dressed the tyres using Megs endurance tyre gel.
*:* Polished the tailpipe with Autosol.
*:* Finished the car off with a spritz of Sonax Turbo Quick detailer spray and a Chemical boys ultra plush finishing/buffing towel

*A few snaps taken over the Two days...*

*Car jacked up, Placed on axle stands and all wheels removed ready for deep cleaning...*



*Before OSF wheel arch...*



*After deep clean OSF wheel arch, Brake caliper and disc bell painted/detailed...*



*Before NSR wheel arch, Not the best picture but you get the idea...*



*After deep clean NSR wheel arch and rear exhaust silencer cleaned...*



*OSR, Deep cleaned and caliper & disc bell painted...*



*Anthracite Speedline Turini VS Billberry...*



*All four wheels cleaned, All centre caps lined up with valves, Also repaired some of the minor kerb marks on the wheels with an Anthracite colour pen. Not perfect but much better...*



*Some pictures after the Mini Detail yesterday, Very happy with the cars overall appearance now it has come on a long way and was worth the 3 days effort...*


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Astras looking decent

Nice to see one that's not chavved up


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

I had a GSI brand new back in 2003. I really enjoyed it and kept it for 5 years. It's still going today.

The wheels don't work for me.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

I liked the wheels, they'd suit better with a nice set of eibachs on tho


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## Bean592 (Feb 10, 2014)

Used to own a GSi a few years back, loved that car and owned it for over 3 years. Finally sold it to my brother and regretted it as the Linia Rossa Convertable Turbo I replaced it with just didn't live up to the same expectations. Fortunately my Scooby STi has re-established that smile 

Looks like you've got a good one and not many left, keep it that way and it will still look just as good in another 10 years time


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Kerr said:


> I had a GSI brand new back in 2003. I really enjoyed it and kept it for 5 years. It's still going today.
> 
> The wheels don't work for me.


I can see you point, As the car is a weekend/fast road I originally wanted to buy some Compomotives or Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's.

I was not a massive fan of at first until a saw them in the flesh, I then tried to look at what they cost and they are circa £1000 with tyres and used ones are non existent. Speedline Turini's are a very rare, Strong and lightweight wheel especially in Vauxhall fitment.

They will probably be staying on the car.



Kimo said:


> I liked the wheels, they'd suit better with a nice set of eibachs on tho


I did not write the spec of the car but it has quite a few modifications.

It has Eibach Pro -30mm lowering Springs currently fitted, However the car is fully stripped out and weighs considerably less now so the rear of the car sits higher.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Didn't notice it was stripped out, that'll explain it then


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Bean592 said:


> Used to own a GSi a few years back, loved that car and owned it for over 3 years. Finally sold it to my brother and regretted it as the Linia Rossa Convertable Turbo I replaced it with just didn't live up to the same expectations. Fortunately my Scooby STi has re-established that smile
> 
> Looks like you've got a good one and not many left, keep it that way and it will still look just as good in another 10 years time


It is a good one, However I have plans for the car which will upset the purists.

The Z20LET engine I hate with a passion, I will be building and carrying out a Saab 2.3 Conversion and fitting a host of other goodies to the car. End result should be a 350-400bhp car that will be very reliable and still not cost the earth to build.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Rest of pictures are loading now

I see your on the epic rain sports too 

If you have trouble finding any parts feel free to pop me a message


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## Bean592 (Feb 10, 2014)

bonelorry said:


> It is a good one, However I have plans for the car which will upset the purists.
> 
> The Z20LET engine I hate with a passion, I will be building and carrying out a Saab 2.3 Conversion and fitting a host of other goodies to the car. End result should be a 350-400bhp car that will be very reliable and still not cost the earth to build.


Yes I agree, the ZLET engine wasn't the best that Vauxhall made, but my choice would be a full LEH conversion but it's your car and if the Saab engine is better for you who am I to argue, lol!

I'll be keeping my eye on this on as I have feeling it's going to be a good one


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

LEH ftw for piston cooling!


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Bean592 said:


> Yes I agree, the ZLET engine wasn't the best that Vauxhall made, but my choice would be a full LEH conversion but it's your car and if the Saab engine is better for you who am I to argue, lol!
> 
> I'll be keeping my eye on this on as I have feeling it's going to be a good one





B17BLG said:


> LEH ftw for piston cooling!


Yes I have seen that quite a few people transplant Z20LEH engines in the MK4 GSI's with good results. However am not a fan of any Vauxhall engine since the C20XE though! Not a huge fan of the brand and generally anything they have built in the last 20 years really.

I do however love the look of the MK4 Astra GSI especially in Arden Blue just not the engine! I started out with Cavalier SRI's, Turbo's etc but all the MK3 plat-formed cars are rotten nowadays plus they suffer with bulkhead issues. The MK4 Chassis is much better and can be made into a capable fast road car with the right chassis upgrades!

Saab's and Saab tuning I have been involved with since 2008, My build will be overseen by a good friend whos Saab knowledge and mapping skills are second to non. His toy is a Trionic 7 2.3 370BHP MK3 Cavalier SRI which is a really quick car and usable too due to his mapping skills and right turbo choice.

I have had 2 x breathed on Saabs both mapped by him and without a doubt a big torque build using a 2.3 Saab engine and the right turbo will make it a lot of fun and it will be very reliable too

Did I mention a B234 Saab engine will do 500bhp on standard internals? 

Not that I am going to those levels of power but it would be a massive step in the wrong direction to even consider fitting any Z20LE* into my car. :thumb:


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## rojer386 (Mar 15, 2008)

Not a Vauxhall fan by any means but I do like that. Good effort mate.


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## thedonji (Oct 7, 2011)

Really good work like the blue


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

Pictures aren't working.......  gutted. Hopefully you get your bandwidth back so I can see them. Cracking cars both of them 🏻


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## hobbs182 (Jul 10, 2013)

Gsi ftw 🙌
Did I see this on migweb last week? Or AOC?



Kimo said:


> Astras looking decent
> 
> Nice to see one that's not chavved up


What m8


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

hobbs182 said:


> Gsi ftw 🙌
> Did I see this on migweb last week? Or AOC?
> 
> What m8


Thanks :thumb:

Had a few pics on Migweb but I am not a regular poster on there and have not been for about 8 years so decided to delete the thread.

Nobody commented anyway.


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## hobbs182 (Jul 10, 2013)

bonelorry said:


> Thanks :thumb:
> 
> Had a few pics on Migweb but I am not a regular poster on there and have not been for about 8 years so decided to delete the thread.
> 
> Nobody commented anyway.


Ah right knew I saw it somewhere
Should have left it mate, does take a bit of time for comments to roll in
Tbh I reckon they prefer the c20s on there though lol

Look forward to more pics


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

hobbs182 said:


> Gsi ftw 🙌
> Did I see this on migweb last week? Or AOC?
> 
> What m8


Yea like yours m98


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## hobbs182 (Jul 10, 2013)

Kimo said:


> Yea like yours m98


Subtle mine bruv


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## Darrell Hx (Jul 1, 2010)

Your pictures arent showing up, i read the thread he other day (pictures worked). Thought i'd let you know.

Both very very nice car's!


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## TimGTi (Jul 11, 2008)

Piccys?


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Sorry guys, Looks like for some reason the Bandwidth limit has been exceeded and will be reset mid November and the images will re-appear then.

Never had this problem before with Photobucket and have uploaded and linked a similar amount if not more pictures over a short space of time to Photobucket in the past so why now I am having a problem? Who knows?

I am not paying the fee for additional Bandwidth so might look into setting up an account with FlickR.


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

So it turns out I already had a flickr account so the show can go on with the pictures LOL, The Photobucket images earlier in the thread will re-appear soon but for now I will use my flickr account to upload any pictures.

Well as I mentioned a few posts ago I intended to give the car a Single Stage machine polish to get rid of some of the swirls and lighter marks on the paintwork, Last weekend the car was detailed but basically to the point where it was ready for the paint correction. I.E It was washed, Clayed and Tar removed etc.

Well to cut a long story short I ended up doing a Two Stage machine polish, A few very small areas on the car where a little more severe than what I first thought and the lightest Polish/Pad combo just didn't touch it so I opted to do the whole car with the Megs 105 compound & Orange Hex Pad combo first and then moved onto the Megs 205 refining polishing and White Hex pad combo which is the same as what I did on the Golf Edition 30.

The Two Stage was the best option in the end and worked well on the Vauxhall paint, I saw good levels of correction using the Megs105/Orange pad combo very quickly so managed to get the whole car done today and finished just before the sun went down.

Big improvement on the cars overall appearance, Still a few areas I am not happy with. Mainly the front bumper which has been painted and the finish and match is not up to my standards, I do have to remind myself that the car is 12 years old and is a stripped out weekend toy but even so my OCD kicks in and it annoys me. Its not major but I feel it is the area that lets the car down the most, It is still in very very good condition for its age and since I bought it a few weeks ago is a totally different level condition wise.

*Process used for anyone interested, Apologies as it is a long one...*

*:* Rinsed the car, Wheel arches and Wheels thoroughly.
*:* Cleaned the fuel filler flap. All door, Bonnet and boot-lid shuts, Front Scuttle and Rubber door window seals using Valetpro detailing brush and APC to high concentrate.
*:* Rinsed car again.
*:* Washed the car using 2 bucket method one panel at a time with a Eurow Lambswool mitt and Meguires ultimate shampoo.
*:* Rinsed car again.
*:* Wheels where removed last week and deep cleaned using Billberry and as the car has not been used much where still spotless so today they where given a quick wash only.
*:* Wheel arches where deep cleaned last week while the wheels where removed so where just rinsed today.
*:* Car was Clayed and De-tarred last week.
*:* Dried the whole car with Elite XL drying towel, Dried the wheels, Door shuts and engine bay with Microfibre towel.

*Then onto the polishing, I used a DAS-6 Pro Dual Action machine polisher with Orange & White Hex-Logic 5.5" Pads for 95% of the car and for the smaller areas smaller 4" Hex pads for spotting. Usual polish combo the 2 stage Meguiars 105 Ultra cut compound & 205 finishing polish combo.*

*:* Masked off all black bits, Rubber seals, Roof aerial and boot badges with 3M Blue masking tape. Also masked any overlapping panels or edges. 
*:* I also masked off a test area on the rear 3 quarter and started with the lightest pad and lightest polish/compound to assess the correction and worked my way up through the combinations. As mentioned earlier in the post there where a few small areas on the car which required a more aggressive polish/pad combo so I just went for the 205/Orange pad first. 
*:* Starting with the roof and working my way down, One panel at a time with the D/A. Firstly using the 5.5" Orange Hex pad and Megs 105 to remove the worst swirls/defects. Started with a low speed to spread the polish and reduce splatter, Once spread increased speed to number 5 on the D/A and made 4-5 passes on the first 1st hit and wiped off, I was happy with the correction at this stage so moved onto the next panel.
*:* Again following the same process as above but onto the refining stage, This was done using the Megs 205 and 5.5" White Hex pad.
*:* I then fitted the smaller spotting pad and with the Megs 105 and 4" Orange Hex pad made a few passes over the headlights, The NSF headlight lens had some UV damage to and had gone a little cloudy. After a few passes on a medium speed 95% of it was removed. Look much better!

*Once happy with everything and the finish, All the masking tape was removed, The car was then rinsed, Re-Washed, Dried and ready for waxing.*

*:* Waxed the car using Collinites No:845 liquid insulator wax, The bottle was placed in warm water to help separate the wax and turn it into liquid, Then given a good shake before application. Using a soft applicator to apply, Left 30 mins to cure and Elite buffing towel to remove.
*:* Dressed any plastic trim, Honeycomb grilles, Front scuttle and Wiper arms with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber car buffing of any excess with a Microfibre cloth.
*:* Dressed the tyres using Megs endurance tyre gel.
*:* Dressed the wheel arch liners with Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care
*:* Polished the tailpipe's with Autosol.
*:* Finished the car off with a spritz of Sonax Turbo detailer spray and a Chemical boys ultra plush finishing/buffing towel.

*A few mobile phone snaps from today...*

*105 & 205 Combo, DAS-6 Pro...*



*Polishing stage, 105 with Orange Hex pad...*



*One of the areas I was not happy with, NSR bumper corner. Tried the lightest Polish/pad combo and this was the best result...*



*This was when I decided to do a 2 stage correction on the whole car, Tried again with the 105 & Orange pad combo, Marks virtually removed...*



*The second worst area again on the rear bumper was some etching light scratches is the paint, Needed some attention...*



*Starting to really enjoy and see the benefits of using a D/A now, Virtually fully corrected...*



*Quick reflection shot after the refining stage...*



*All waxed up and ready for Winter using my old favourite, New number plates also fitted as the private reg has gone back to the previous owner...*


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## Darrell Hx (Jul 1, 2010)

Ah least you got round to the photo problem lol thought id let you know.

The das6 and megs compounds really bring up the paintwork, i have the same kit. My Corolla is basically the same colour as your Gsi aswell


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## Rían P (Jun 2, 2014)

Arden blue is such a beautiful colour. Any more photos of the astra? I've never seen an arden blue mk4 before.
You've done some job there :buffer:


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Rían P said:


> Arden blue is such a beautiful colour. Any more photos of the astra? I've never seen an arden blue mk4 before.
> You've done some job there :buffer:


Thanks

Loads of photos earlier in this thread when Photobucket pull out their fingers!

Arden Blue was only available on the GSI model in the MK4 range. :thumb:


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## Rían P (Jun 2, 2014)

bonelorry said:


> Thanks
> 
> Loads of photos earlier in this thread when Photobucket pull out their fingers!
> 
> Arden Blue was only available on the GSI model in the MK4 range. :thumb:


Shame that as it is a nice colour.
Now that I think about it, is it only VXR's now that use arden blue? Well not anymore but, did?


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Rían P said:


> Shame that as it is a nice colour.
> Now that I think about it, is it only VXR's now that use arden blue? Well not anymore but, did?


Arden has been around for 20 odd years

Was around on Pov spec corsa b's and all sorts but in later years changed to being more of a gsi/vxr standard colour

Got far too common though the Astra gsis do suit it


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Replaced the roof aerial

*Old one the gasket was split...*



*New gasket, New Aerial base and new Whip/Bee sting antenna...*


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## hobbs182 (Jul 10, 2013)

Kimo said:


> Got far too common though the Astra gsis do suit it


Cheers boss


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## Ben108 (Jul 26, 2014)

Looking great!

Have you got links for the new aerial rubber and bee sting please?


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Ben108 said:


> Looking great!
> 
> Have you got links for the new aerial rubber and bee sting please?


There are quite a few variants of Aerial type and base but if yours is the same type as mine....

*The Base Gasket*

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Astra-Cor...150054?hash=item5d288ae626:g:mBcAAOxywFhTcTuL

*The Bee Sting, Obviously this is a longer O.E type but you can also get shorter ones too*

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190728820481?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Hope that helps :thumb:


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