# Ford Focus RS Tuition Detail (White)



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

The first of two white Ford Focus RSs that Gordon and I have worked on as part of a tuition detail where the owner is also involved in the detail to learn about the processes and get the satisfaction of being involved along the way  Plus an excuse for us to meet folk and share our enthusiasm for detailing rather than turning into a "black box" of car in "dirty", car out "shiny" which it seems to be becoming these days...

Following our standard wash routine, it became clear that this Focus RS was suffering from a problem that seems quite common to these cars from very new - iron filling contamination, an example of which can be seen in the photo below:










Numerous methods do exist for the removal of these... claying is not suitable as it simply shaves off the top and leaves the filling to simply erode, rust and return. Fallout removers from Autosmart and Finish Kare to name but two exist but we have veen recently using Aquartz Iron Cut as an east spray and wipe solution to this problem (easy if you can stand the smell!!)...










You can see the iron filling "bleeding" after application...










and it can then simply be gently wiped away...










Examples of iron cut doing its thing on other panels...




























Once fully decomtaminated, the paintwork could then be prepared by machine polishing... this was clearly a well looked after car, as the defects in the paint were minimal. Starting on the bonnet, you can see very little defects, only a slight "milkyness" in the reflection of the Sun Gun bulb:























































The Sun Gun does not show all though, and very close inspection of the finish revealed the odd little deeper "*****" in the finish... (note that to achieve the image of this mark required manually focussing the camera on the paint surface rather than the autofocus which simply focussed in the strip light reflection...):



















Removal of the general light marring and refinement of the finish was simply achieved with a finishing polish - in this case, Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish on a 3M black glazing pad. These deeper marks were dealt with using Menzerna Intensive Polish on a Chemical Guys Green Hexlogic spot pad, the paint being quite soft as assessed by the removal rates, meant that only a moderate cutting polish was rerquired. After removal of the mark (focussing on the paint surface to show the genuine level of correction achieved):










The Ultra Finishing Polish was used using a "Double Zenith" technique - the non-diminishing abraisives respond to pressure rather than breaking down themselves so the following technique was used to work the polish:


Spread the polish at 600rpm over a small working area of around one square foot
Begin working the polish at 1200rpm, light pressure applied and steady machine movements
Work the polish at 1500rpm, moderate pressure getting lighter towards the end of the set, steady machine movements
Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure and slower machine movements
Jewel at 900rpm, supporting the weight of the rotary for very light pressure and slow machine movements

The end results on the bonnet, using the Sun Gun to assess ther machine finish quality...














































Moving on gto the rest of the car, the above process was used to achieve correction and prepare the paintwork for the later protection stage... Ricky, the owner, was keen to get stuck in and worked alongside us like a true pro on the rotary. Following are the pics of thre car throughout the correction stages - you may wonder why I include so many, but its tradition for me to photograph the car in detail to show the correction achieved _over the whole car_ rather than just selected areas - so enjoy (or skip to gthe after shots at the end )...

Front wing before shots:




























and after...





































Driver's door before:





































and after...























































Driver's side rear 3/4 before:














































and after...














































Passenger side wing before:




























and after...




























Passenger door before:





































and after:














































Passenger side rear 3/4 before:














































and after...
































































A couple of photo pointers here... the further away shots are used to show the difference in the clarity between the finish before and after, while the closer shots are used to show the defects under the Sun Gun on white (they don't really show up in the further back shots, they are hidden) and the closer afters to show the removal of the defects.

Following the completion of the paint correction, we fell into our usual routine: cup of coffee, fish supper, then time to protect our hard work! Wheels sealed, tyres protected, trim dressed, glass cleaned and paintwork waxed, check round the car and then roll out for the after shots:































































































































I'm starting to like the shape of these cars - the curved show off your finish nicely. Next post will be deja vu - another white RS


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## bilout48 (Apr 10, 2008)

Bravo que du beau boulot! nice


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## F1 CJE UK (Jul 25, 2010)

looks good, very interesting read. Thanks


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

I really enjoyed the tuition day with Dave and Gordon,learned a lot and the time and effort that the guys put in (with a little help from me) was an eye opener,a really enjoyable day especially as its your car your working on,highly recommend one of these tuitions,Thanks again guys.


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Good read and great results, bet the owner was chuffed!


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## scoob666 (Mar 15, 2009)

thats one hell of a reflection for white in the finished shots :thumb:


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

very nice dave, what did you use for wax?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

alan_mcc said:


> very nice dave, what did you use for wax?


Zymol Glasur I believe - one of my personal favourite waxes for a variety of reasons and my favourite out of the Zymol range.


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> Zymol Glasur I believe - one of my personal favourite waxes for a variety of reasons and my favourite out of the Zymol range.


Any reason for using a wax over a sealant? Personal preference?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

alan_mcc said:


> Any reason for using a wax over a sealant? Personal preference?


Personal preference... I like the generally speaking tighter water beading from a wax, but it all boils down to personal preference.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Rick74 said:


> I really enjoyed the tuition day with Dave and Gordon,learned a lot and the time and effort that the guys put in (with a little help from me) was an eye opener,a really enjoyable day especially as its your car your working on,highly recommend one of these tuitions,Thanks again guys.


Hats off to you M8. You are by far one of the best enthusiastic members that I have had the pleasure of working beside. A true trooper and really willing to learn and devote your time to your car. nothing fazed you on the day, and everything taken in your stride. Even when we where left to complete the car. :lol:

It is a credit to you and your devotion to it. I have no doubt we will meet again soon.
Gordon.


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

Thanks Gordon,like i said learned a lot and had a laugh.The cars a lot easier to maintain now aswell.


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## dohc-vtec (Mar 19, 2010)

Does iron cut and that Sonax wheel cleaner the one that is green then goes purple do they both do the same thing pretty much?


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## rds1985 (Mar 7, 2009)

blue........white...........blue...............white....:wall:


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

rds1985 said:


> blue........white...........blue...............white....:wall:


WHITE :thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

Nice job dave KG


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Excellent as always Dave.

Just a real credit to the forum and detailers in general.

I imagine you would give away secrets to your trade for no monetry reason other than sharing the wealth of something you're passionate about and I admire that greatly.

I'm not knocking other detailers but I see you treat it as 51% 49% business and if you can help just 1 person improve the look or even the wash technique on their car you'll be a happy man.

Look forward to reading more of your posts for a long time to come. 

Hopefully your passion keeps going and doesn't waiver.


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## bjarvis2785 (Oct 4, 2008)

love you're write up dave, the little snippets of info bundled in is a great help to new people like me.

Love these cars, and it looks fantastic after the hard work... never really paid attention to them in white, but that one looks lovely!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

gally said:


> Excellent as always Dave.
> 
> Just a real credit to the forum and detailers in general.
> 
> ...


Thank you  Detailing started out as a hobby for me, a long time ago on Detailing World when it was in its infancy and before a lot of the now "professionals" existed - a time when it was a case of sharing info for the fun of it rather than trying to make it a black box. It will always be my take on detailing, but a shame perhaps that I wont have much time to dedicate to forums or such like soon when my teaching course begins as that will be getting the lion's share of my time. I'll still be around, but alas, I doubt I'll miss what the forum has now become largely speaking. Its nice to see some of the enthusiasm still there though :thumb:


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## Maxym (Apr 27, 2007)

Nice post, nice car, nice result. :thumb:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> Thank you  Detailing started out as a hobby for me, a long time ago on Detailing World when it was in its infancy and before a lot of the now "professionals" existed - a time when it was a case of sharing info for the fun of it rather than trying to make it a black box. It will always be my take on detailing, but a shame perhaps that I wont have much time to dedicate to forums or such like soon when my teaching course begins as that will be getting the lion's share of my time. I'll still be around, but alas, I doubt I'll miss what the forum has now become largely speaking. Its nice to see some of the enthusiasm still there though :thumb:


Thanks for taking the time to reply Dave.

I'm always intrigued to speak to people who are passionate about their chosen field, you can see them get excited and their voice changes when they start going on and on about that field, it's wonderful to watch and hear.

I get that feeling with every post of yours I read.

I must say I miss old DW where you just said it like it was and no matter how small or silly the question was, you would be there, whether it be 3 days later with an indepth answer. We always have the search button to see your old threads! 

I'm kind of glad you don't post as many write ups or answers as you used to makes people appreciate them more (or they should do) No doubt your time is taken up a lot these days but thanks for still making an effort to post in lots of detail and help everyone from the top to thebottom of the ladder out.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Lovely results guys , superb detail as usual and i love the rs,s they are so much fun and great architecture to work on.
Im gonna have to bite the bullet now and get some iron cut , ive held off long enough


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## dohc-vtec (Mar 19, 2010)

Does iron cut and that Sonax wheel cleaner the one that is green then goes purple do they both do the same thing pretty much?


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Great detail and write as always :thumb:


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## Yun_says (Apr 8, 2010)

Looks stunning as usual superb work from the guys at defined details, credit to Ricky aswell for keep the RS in mint condition


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## Yun_says (Apr 8, 2010)

vxrmarc said:


> Lovely results guys , superb detail as usual and i love the rs,s they are so much fun and great architecture to work on.
> Im gonna have to bite the bullet now and get some iron cut , ive held off long enough


You've got to see the iron cut on my car :doublesho


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## dohc-vtec (Mar 19, 2010)

Once again, does iron cut and that Sonax wheel cleaner the one that is green then goes purple do they both do the same thing pretty much?


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## rds1985 (Mar 7, 2009)

dohc-vtec said:


> Once again, does iron cut and that Sonax wheel cleaner the one that is green then goes purple do they both do the same thing pretty much?


I get the impression they are very similar but perhaps sonax is more aggresive? certainly wouldn't put it on my paint work. But maybe they are like identical?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

dohc-vtec said:


> Once again, does iron cut and that Sonax wheel cleaner the one that is green then goes purple do they both do the same thing pretty much?


Having not used to Sonax Wheel Cleaner, I cannot comment - what is the chemical makeup of the Sonax, for comparison? Excuse the delayed reply, I dont have much online time these days so its not always possible to jump to instatly reply to all questions.


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## rds1985 (Mar 7, 2009)

Looking forward to the next white one now Dave!


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## DAZ MCGUINNESS (Apr 8, 2010)

great work nice looking RS too rick i remember it from the meet a few months back also i was amazed at that iorn cut as david g bmw looked really clean untill it was applied 
:thumb:


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

DAZ MCGUINNESS said:


> great work nice looking RS too rick i remember it from the meet a few months back also i was amazed at that iorn cut as david g bmw looked really clean untill it was applied
> :thumb:


Cheers m8,the iron cut was something else,runs just appeared on what i thought was a clean panel,really good stuff.smells awful.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Rick74 said:


> Cheers m8,the iron cut was something else,runs just appeared on what i thought was a clean panel,really good stuff.smells awful.


You should see what appeared on Yun's RS - must be an RS thing, I reckon you all do power slides down railway lines


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

Dave KG said:


> You should see what appeared on Yun's RS - must be an RS thing, I reckon you all do power slides down railway lines


Lol,Yun had mentioned that it was covered in them so ill read his write up with interest as well.


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## S11nny (Feb 28, 2008)

Nice work and Car  

Once the iron cut is applied what would you do next ? clay ? after claying ?


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice work!:thumb:


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