# Polished Bliss®: Land Rover Defender...



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Bit of a change to the normal cars we get in here but it was one I'd looked forward to doing as it was a bit different 

One of our regular clients had just purchased it for trekking through muddy fields etc so whilst perfection wasn't exactly the aim of this detail we decided it would be good to get a decent level of paint preparation and protection in order to make it easier for me to clean in future.

This is how it looked after I'd collected it:























































Normally this is where I'd begin with the wash pictures but Alan was inside doing a car and needed the camera so we'll skip that part. The usual process was carried out and if anyone has any questions then fire away.

So with the car inside and dry I dressed the tyres first in order to let the dressing dry over the duration of the detail.

Product of choice was 3M which was sprayed onto the tyre walls:










This was then worked into the tyres with a Swissvax Pneu Brush.

The paintwork was a bit hit or miss, certain panels were completely flawless whilst others were bad for marring, random scratches and buffer trails.

The arch extensions were quite bad for a brand new car:










Menzerna 85RE and a 3M finishing pad @ 1500rpm's:










After:










Happy enough with that, I carried on round the car attending to the bits that needed machine work:

Bird bomb on the bonnet:
































































This area needed a slightly stronger combination:










Menzerna 3.02 & Lake Country Polishing Pad @1800rpm's:










Followed by 85RE and 3M Finishing Pad @1500rpm's:










Much better:










Last job was the tops of the roof which had some light marring:










Once that was done I went round the car with Swissvax Cleaner Fluid by hand:



















Then applied Crystal Rock:




























Wheels were sealed with Blackfire Metal Sealant, including the spare:










Exhaust polished with Brilliant metal polishes:

Before:










After:










Exterior glass polished and protected with Werkstat Prime Strong:










The dealership hadn't done the best job of cleaning the inside of the glass...



















5 minutes with Swissvax glass cleaner soon solved that:

Before:










After:










Checking for smears with the Sun Gun:










The rubber mats were removed and pressure washed outside:



















While they were drying I dusted out all the vents and crevices with a Swissvax interior brush:










Then hoovered:










I then sprayed the footwells and lower plastics with APC and agitated with a wheel brush:



















Then wiped down all the other plastics with APC and a MF towel:










The mats were then put back in place before I used Werkstat Prime to protect the door shuts etc:










Engine bay was then wiped down after being dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant:










Then I removed the wheel sealant and gave the paint a final wipe down to give the following results:




































































































Total work time: 12 hours.

And just as a little teaser - here's what I'll be starting work on next week, the Clients latest purchase....










Should keep me out of trouble for a few days 

Thanks for looking!

Clark


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## Baracuda (Apr 28, 2008)

I beleive this is a world premiere, a defender with SV CR 

Thank you for sharing, i really enjoyed reading.


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Great work as always, nice to see something different :thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

As per my twitter reply- Uber Cool !!!

Excellent work mate.:thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Dont think i've ever seen a clean defender! Looks fab! Can't wait for the F1 write up!


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Great work as per... but those Defenders just don't look 'right' being clean...

Much prefer them all mucky!!

:driver:

:thumb:


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

_One of our regular clients had just purchased it for trekking through muddy fields etc so whilst perfection wasn't exactly the aim of this detail we decided it would be good to get a decent level of paint preparation and protection in order to make it easier for me to clean in future._

Looks pretty much like perfection to me. Super detail and great to see something a little different.:thumb:


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## Mini 360 (Jul 17, 2009)

Clark @ PB said:


> Should keep me out of trouble for a few days
> 
> Thanks for looking!
> 
> Clark


Something different right enough! Think I know who the client is now but shall keep it to myself :thumb:


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## Joeya (Jul 6, 2010)

Love it, always a good write up!


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## prokopas (Apr 29, 2010)

Nice job


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

Class job. I cant wait to see the formula car write up.


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## nickmak (May 29, 2010)

Great job on the Defender! Can't wait for the next write up! :thumb:


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## ercapoccia (Nov 14, 2008)

Great job!!!


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Car looks fantastic :thumb: how do you rate the Crystal Rock?


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## Amos (Feb 28, 2007)

Nice Job, I have just bought one myself...!

Can I ask, did the paint come off the inside of the arch extensions..? It has started with mine, and wanted to know if it happened to them all....!

Thanks


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Great work there


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Lovely detail Clark!!!!!


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## col8482 (Jul 11, 2010)

Excellent work again clark.


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## EthanCrawford (Jan 7, 2010)

The landy is looking great clark nice write up as well :thumb: 

Can wait to see the next write up.


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## John-Cupra_TDI (Apr 13, 2009)

Nice work, looks awesome:thumb:


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Great work as always, looks stunning.


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## buddy2shoes (Aug 11, 2010)

A Land Rover really shouldn't look that good!! Excellent turn out, seems a shame to let it loose on the mucky stuff!!


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Probably the luckiest defender on the earth having that treatment and such a boutique lsp. Cleanest defender around.


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## Dwayne (Jul 27, 2010)

Brilliant,

Love these kind of details, bet the customer was very surprised.

Flawless finnish once again:thumb:


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## detailersdomain (Sep 13, 2006)

great job


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

One of my all time fave motors, in the best colour also.
Lovely job.


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## B&B Autostyle (Apr 4, 2010)

Not too many Landies get that sort of love! Top work as usual and great images.


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## n_d_fox (Apr 18, 2007)

Theres just something about a defender isnt there !?

Love it


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

Wowzers!


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Great work Clark, usual outstanding end result:thumb: What applicator pad are you using with the crystal rock & prime strong?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

slrestoration said:


> Great work Clark, usual outstanding end result:thumb: What applicator pad are you using with the crystal rock & prime strong?


A secret super duper one we've been sent to test


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Mmmmmmmm.............. very nice guys


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## Leodhasach (Sep 15, 2008)

Now that's quite something, well done :thumb:


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## mdk1 (Jun 19, 2006)

Lovely Defender, My Landy's were neather that clean.


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## killash (May 3, 2010)

Looks great, quite rural where I live so never actually seem on clean  looks very nice but wrong somehow... should be covered in mud and dents...


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Nice one Clark! Don't forget to bring clean boxers for the "vroom, vroom"!


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## nick3814 (Dec 31, 2010)

Excellent work, love the before and after of the exhaust, magic :thumb:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

gotta love those old defenders, nice work too.


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## MattJ VXR (Aug 11, 2008)

Looks fantastic. I wouldn't take it off-roading after that!


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Great job!:thumb:


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## kenny-c (Oct 5, 2009)

Clark @ PB said:


> Exhaust polished with Brilliant metal polishes:
> 
> Before:
> 
> ...


Any further details of how you got such as good result on the exhaust :buffer:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

kenny-c said:


> Any further details of how you got such as good result on the exhaust :buffer:


Autosmart Tardis first to remove all the tar spots, then Brilliant Aluminium and Stainless Steel metal polish was used to shine it up - simple as that


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## 3976 (Nov 20, 2006)

The remark "should be driven, not detailed" should apply here... but doesn't take away from the superb results.

The Client clearly has taste in cars as well. Gorgeous colour of Lander!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

After seeing it on Friday again I can assure you it is now covered in mud from head to toe (or roof to wheels?) and looking how it should  :lol:


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

I want a Defender Now lol... that has come up really well!! 

Great work again PB


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## Glider (Jan 10, 2006)

Think I'd rather have one of these than a supercar, am I mad, great work PB team


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## K.M (Dec 19, 2013)

An old threat I know but just out of curiosity, what did you use on the front bumper bar?


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## MR.Q (Apr 19, 2010)

WOW!!!! what a superb finish lads :doublesho

I have a 1997 disco and cant seem to remove the hazing and scratched from mine. I think the clear coat may have gone as the hazing is terrible. I have used a DA on it (megs 105 and then 205 followed by glaze and then AF Soul as LSP) but not even a week later it was hazing worse than before. I have been advised that I need to use a good cleaner wax and then normal wax as this is all the water based paint needs. Any helpful tips or ideas????

Much appreciated in advance


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