# Abarth Grande Punto



## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Hi Chaps,

My apologies for the lack of Write Ups lately, been to busy to be bothered with sitting and doing a write up after detailing! :lol:

Today, booked was a (Fiat) Abarth Grande Punto, only 5 days old. Due for a New Car Protection Detail.

*The Process:*

Interior

- Hoovered throughout
- Plastics cleaned using APC 10:1
- Plastics dressed using CG Natural Look Dressing
- Glass Cleaned with CG Steak Free Glass Cleaner
- CG New Car Scent applied to Floor Mats and Headlining

Wheels, Tyres and Arches

- Wheels Cleaned using APC 10:1, Swissvax, Envy and EZ-Detail brushes
- Wheels also treated to AG Intensive Tar Remover
- Tyres Cleaned using APC 10:1, Swissvax brushes
- Wheel Arches cleaned using APC 10:1/Hyper Wash, Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt/Soft Brush

- Wheels treated to CG Blitz Spray Sealant
- Tyres dressed with TW Platinum Tyre Gel
- Arches dressed with Meguiars Hyper Dressing 4:1

Exterior

- Door Shuts, panel gaps, grilles etc cleaned using APC 10:1, soft bristled brush
- Lower Half of vehicle treated to Citrus Wash
- Engine Bay cleaned with Citrus Wash
- High Pressure Rinse
- Foamed using a mix of Snowfoam/Hyper Wash via HD Foam Lance
- High Pressure Rinse
- Wash, 2BM, Z sponges and Hyper Wash
- Low Pressure Rinse
- Dry using Aquatouch Drying Towels

- Paintwork treated to Dodo Juice Lime Prime, applied via Microfibre Applicator Pad, by hand
- Paintwork Waxed using Dodo Juice Hard Candy, applied via Sonus Applicator Pad (Black Side).

- Glass Cleaned with CG Streak Free
- Exterior plastics cleaned with APC + Meguiars Triple Duty Detail Brush, and left un-dressed for factory finish
- Exhaust Tips polished with Autosol

*Pics:*

Before

Only 5 days old, so just a little road grime/dirt, along with plenty of Polish residue in Plastics/Panel Gaps from the dealers attempts at preparing the car.



















During



































































































































































And After, Enjoy 






























































































































































































And my fave:










Client was not fussed about number plates, my apologies for the quality of the pics, they are a bit pants.

Thanks for Reading,

Gaz :thumb:


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## Silva1 (Sep 16, 2007)

Looks brilliant Gaz :thumb:

Keep them coming


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

Nice work Gaz.

I never knew that these were availible to order yet.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

S-X-I said:


> Nice work Gaz.
> 
> I never knew that these were availible to order yet.


I believe this is the first on the road in the UK according to the owner.


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Really nice look to the paint. Not a fan of the tyre dressing though.


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## andybl (Oct 5, 2006)

Very nice Gaz , Saw a truck load of these going into Fiat Uk down the road today .

Pity the performance is below other models it competes with.Especialy as it looks the nuts 


Very nice job :thumb:


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## Kasomi (Nov 15, 2007)

Nice. I used to work for Fiat and seen the press pics for it. Looks mint in the flesh!

Well done matey!

Paulie


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

paddy328 said:


> Not a fan of the tyre dressing though.


Whats wrong with it? I think its better than Megs Endurance, CG New Look, along with a host of others i've tried. Durability and looks, it lasts over 6 weeks.


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Yet again another great detail from yourself Gaz, nice to see you made the effort. Car looks a bit NAFF though :wave:


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## philworrall (Nov 17, 2006)

Was that a sponge I saw you using? :buffer:

Phil W


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

BTW - Nice to see some1 on the forum who can clean an exhaust properly pmsl :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## _daveR (Jun 3, 2008)

philworrall said:


> Was that a sponge I saw you using? :buffer:
> 
> Phil W


+1...

I thought sponges were the ultimate no-no?


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## Silva1 (Sep 16, 2007)

Its a zym0l sponge


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## _daveR (Jun 3, 2008)

Silva1 said:


> Its a zym0l sponge


And that makes it OK then?!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Lovely work Gaz, :thumb:


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## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

Nice car and nice work Gaz. Anyone else reminded of the Mk2 Golf GTI with the arch extensions and sills in plastic?
Oh, and I guess the owner will be suffering a lot from the "So you must be Mr. Blobby" jokes judging by the numberplate!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Silva1 said:


> Its a zym0l sponge


Silicone free and very very soft compared to the average 99p of the shelf sponge.
Pushes the dirt or grit away as opposed to absorbing it, I use them as do many others and prefer them over the wool mitts and not because of the name.
Never had issues with swirling or marring since using, I personally find that mitts absorb the grit into the fibres and if you comb them through it's surprising what comes out, the Z sponge is quite easy to see anything lodged on it.

Some love them, some don't.


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Nice one Rob.
I'll have to take a look


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

I think its just a bit too shiney for me. Swissvax pneu is really the only one i use.


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## 1996a6v6 (Feb 8, 2008)

Excellent work, love the abarth, superb :thumb:


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

transtek said:


> Nice car and nice work Gaz. *Anyone else reminded of the Mk2 Golf GTI with the arch extensions and sills in plastic?*Oh, and I guess the owner will be suffering a lot from the "So you must be Mr. Blobby" jokes judging by the numberplate!


A little bit, yeah, but more of my Mk.2 XR2 in this respect (although mine are bigger - they did things 'louder' in the 80's LOL!).

Great job, Gaz :thumb: - I like this car and the red/black combo works well on it imo.


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## TriBorG (Feb 14, 2007)

Gaz great detail just a quick question why the need for the tar remover on the wheels ? after such a short time on the road was there tar on them ? I guess there must have been. 

Well Done 

Gary


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

looks excellent gaz, very nice car


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Looking good there Gaz, smart looking wee car that :thumb:


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2008)

Nice work as usual Gaz, Pics are fine mate love that last shot


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

TriBorG said:


> Gaz great detail just a quick question why the need for the tar remover on the wheels ? after such a short time on the road was there tar on them ? I guess there must have been.
> 
> Well Done
> 
> Gary


Tar wasn't really the problem, they had some sort of sticky residue, which I can only presume is Transport Wax of some sort. Tar Remover was the first thing I used and it bought it straight off.


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Lovely work Gaz :thumb:

Great looking car too, shame the performance is a bit on the low side


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## spectrum (Mar 6, 2007)

nice work Gaz. the pipes look like they had a machined type finish? or was that my eyes!


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That looks gorgeous, well done matey! :thumb:


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## Mr OCD (Apr 18, 2006)

Lovely work Gaz... its been a while since seen any of your work but your really coming on in leaps and bounds 

I do agree with the comments about the tyre dressing though fella...


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

In what way? I'm sure if i'd have put CG New Look, or Megs Endurance rather than what I did put, nobody would have looked/thought twice.


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## Mr OCD (Apr 18, 2006)

Gaz W said:


> In what way? I'm sure if i'd have put CG New Look, or Megs Endurance rather than what I did put, nobody would have looked/thought twice.


Not at all mate... my personal opinion is that the tyres dont have a look that is natural / satin based finish - your aiming for tyres that look like brand new with a protective coating... they look to glossy / wet / tacky imho...

But I dont like tyre gels anyway...  - Stick with Swissvax Pneu you were using before... 

Constructive critisism...


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Nice job chap

I happen to think the tyres look absolutely fine, shiny/wet look over matt finish anyday for me..otherwise what's the point:thumb:


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Nice job, actually a pretty nice car too.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Mr OCD said:


> Not at all mate... my personal opinion is that the tyres dont have a look that is natural / satin based finish - your aiming for tyres that look like brand new with a protective coating... they look to glossy / wet / tacky imho...


Ah, so would that be why the Porsche shown in your sig, along with most of your cars on your website gallery have Glossy Tyres?

Stop talking out of your **** please.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

cracking work Gaz, shame you're wasting your summer holiday doing something constructive rather than shoplifting!:thumb:

Oh and i like tyres with a nice gloss, if we went by the OEM is best look all the time then why do we not leave the paint unprotected as that's OEM!


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## rockape (Feb 18, 2007)

nice work from another happy z sponge user :thumb:


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2008)

Gaz W said:


> Ah, so would that be why the Porsche shown in your sig, along with most of your cars on your website gallery have Glossy Tyres?
> 
> Stop talking out of your **** please.


great job but the tyres look to shiney for me i like a matt look for tyres so thats why i use z***l on mine

and just my opinion but the tyres in the sig arent that shiney 
and your response is over the top!


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Was funny though!


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh god, look what ive started. Didnt mean for the thread to veer away from the great job gaz did and focus on the tyres. I just prefer a matt finish as opposed to shiny, greasy looking tyres.


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2008)

me to mate :thumb:


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## Dave Spalding (Apr 16, 2008)

Tyres look fine to me mate. As long as the customer was pleased thats all that matters really. Personally i like a shine to the tyres as long as they are not too high a profile. :thumb:


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## _daveR (Jun 3, 2008)

Gaz W said:


> Ah, so would that be why the Porsche shown in your sig, along with most of your cars on your website gallery have Glossy Tyres?
> 
> Stop talking out of your **** please.


Nice attitude!  Not covered manners and differing opinions at school yet?


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## pcc (Oct 11, 2006)

Nice work Gaz. Funny how a few folk always have some kind of problem with your work and always feel the need to tell you. You dont see the same people telling Clark not to use Blackfire tyre gel on the Polished Bliss details as it looks too shiny to them. Tyres look fine and like most tyre gels i'd imagine the shine settles after a period of time.


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## Mr OCD (Apr 18, 2006)

Gaz W said:


> Ah, so would that be why the Porsche shown in your sig, along with most of your cars on your website gallery have Glossy Tyres?
> 
> Stop talking out of your **** please.


Come on Gaz... As I said constructive critisism ... it was an honest opinion and something I am entitled too. But there is no need for attitude from you or anyone else. Especially a DW Supporter!

FYI all tyres on my cars are done with Swissvax Pneu / AS Highstyle non silicone which gives a satin shine. They look glossier in the pictures imho than they are on the car.

I'm not trying to **** you off mate ... just noticed in a lot of your previous details you used 'Pneu' and I always admired the finish on the tyres :thumb:

Anyway if your happy then ******** to what I think...


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## Jazzy Jase (Jul 10, 2008)

That looks gorgeous.

I'm getting a new Grande Punto Sporting in September and was thinking of having it detailed before I collect it.

Just in the process of getting a few quotes. I don't suppose you'll travel as far as Slough?


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## TeZ (Oct 28, 2007)

Looks like a chavy corsa from behind


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## marc4452 (Nov 22, 2007)

looks good especially in red - top work on the detail! :thumb:


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

pcc said:


> Nice work Gaz. *Funny how a few folk always have some kind of problem with your work and always feel the need to tell you. You dont see the same people telling Clark not to use Blackfire tyre gel on the Polished Bliss details as it looks too shiny to them*. Tyres look fine and like most tyre gels i'd imagine the shine settles after a period of time.


Exactly, mate totally agree. It seems that some people seem to consider Gaz an easy target and any response from him can be dismissed with some kind of swipe at his age. Having said that though, Gaz don't get baited as much and respond with rude comments even if they are covered with *****


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## 3dr (Mar 1, 2008)

where can i get some of that "steak free glass cleaner"?  :lol: car looks spot on mate, and i for one love glossy tyres, and to the man in the street it makes all the difference, they love it!


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Actually Gaz I like the tyre dressing. It looks to be on par to Meg's offering :thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

car looks amazingly glossy in the after shots Gaz - very impressive work :thumb:

cant make up my mind on the styling of the car though


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

stunning!


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

3dr said:


> where can i get some of that "steak free glass cleaner"?  :lol:


Whats so funny? Thats actually the name of the product.


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Whats funny gaz is your avatar! That is funny.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Gaz W said:


> Whats so funny? Thats actually the name of the product.


You sure it isn't *streak*


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Skyliner34 said:


> Actually Gaz I like the tyre dressing. It looks to be on par to Meg's offering :thumb:


Look alright to me to and not over glossy, main thing is the clients happy and if he wasn't they are easily toned down with a MF.:thumb:


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Gleammachine said:


> Look alright to me to and not over glossy, main thing is the clients happy and if he wasn't they are easily toned down with a MF.:thumb:


Spot on :thumb:


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## Robbieben (Feb 19, 2006)

Great work Gaz, looks great :thumb:


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## Timmo (Mar 21, 2006)

not a bad effort laddy but considering its a couple of months old at most, hardly hard graft!! but about time you did a car!! 
who cares about the tyre gel! if your happy with it then use it! should it matter wether all the other back patters approve or not?? use what you get on with matey! as gleam machine, you can always wipe it over with an mf to take the gloss off,


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

Nice one, cheers Gaz. You know i was interested in this one! You've made a cracking job there mate. What did you think to the car?

Mick


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Gaz W said:


> Tar wasn't really the problem, they had some sort of sticky residue, which I can only presume is Transport Wax of some sort. Tar Remover was the first thing I used and it bought it straight off.


most wheels arrive with something like a disk of sellotape on them, it peels straight off and looks clean (normally) but the residues still there. never seen our guys use T&G remover on them, even after me telling them to!

most "man in the street" custies seem to like shiny tyres.... i think it suits the finish on this one


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

What a load of drivvle in these posts. Who cares...

Top work Gaz, car looks superb, just the way a new car should be delivered.

A very wise customer, saving themself a fortune over "Supaguard" etc!


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Nice work Gareth, looks very sparkly


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## Exotica (Feb 27, 2006)

Great work, i would have had it in white though.


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## Modmedia (Jul 25, 2008)

N8KOW said:


> Yet again another great detail from yourself Gaz, nice to see you made the effort. *Car looks a bit NAFF though* :wave:


Agreed. Good Detail.

As for the comment in bold...... Well.... :devil:


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## CupraRcleanR (Sep 2, 2007)

i like that car. Looks cool. Nice wheels setting it off too. Nice job Mr Gaz


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

Stunning work on the Punto:thumb: the depth in the paint from polishing and waxing looks perfect


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## Arun (Dec 25, 2007)

Come on, let's not see a dissagreement over how shiny the tyre dressing is. All the naysayer's remarks about DW users being geeks would be true if something like that were to happen , and it looks awful from a member's point of view reading those kind of posts!!


Seriously, though..good work on the new Abarth, looks stunning in red (I miss my old red car!!) :thumb:


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## Tiberius (Jul 21, 2008)

Cars from Italy must be Red :thumb: very impressive.


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## RBclio (Aug 15, 2008)

nice mate looks great


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## mass (Aug 16, 2007)

N8KOW said:


> Whats funny gaz is your avatar! That is funny.


:lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## SURFERROSA (Feb 7, 2007)

Stunning colour in the finish Gaz. Very nice indeed. Interior tops as usual.


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

awesome:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## Neil_M (Apr 5, 2007)

Gaz, fantastic job. Really does make me think again about going for a red car. Love the tyres too!!



andybl said:


> Very nice Gaz , Saw a truck load of these going into Fiat Uk down the road today .
> 
> Pity the performance is below other models it competes with.Especialy as it looks the nuts
> 
> Very nice job :thumb:





Skyliner34 said:


> Great looking car too, shame the performance is a bit on the low side


Not really guys its a marketing thing. Its a warm hatch like the Fiesta ST / Corsa SRI as standard, the SS kit and the Asseto (sp) kits are there to develop it to compete with the Cooper S, VXR Corsa.


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

nice work car looks stunning well done


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