# Mk4 Mondeo



## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

So this weekend I thought that I would try and do a full decon and paint correction on my Mondeo Mk4.

I had a few new products that I wanted to try out as well. First off I started with a quick jet wash at the local supermarket, followed by a 2BM wash with Dodo Juice Supernatural.



A new shampoo to me, it foams nicely in the bucket, but the suds don't stay on the car as well as the Born to be Mild that I am used to, and of course I missed a pleasant fragrance to accompany the wash. I think that the cleaning power is on par with BTBM, but I think that it left less residue on the paintwork, but like I said, I miss the suds and the smell.

Next was another new product to me, Iron X.



I washed the wheels first, and then used the Iron X, some bleeding, but not as much as I was expecting to be honest. I have read that the colour change is more to do with a visible indicator that is present in greater, or lesser concentrations in other similar products, rather than actual proof of how much iron is being removed. I also used it on the paintwork, but didn't see any bleeding, perhaps its because I have a dark car and it didn't show as well as on a white car for instance, or perhaps I didn't have much contamination, or perhaps the product doesn't work! All in all, I don't think that I will be buying another bottle of Iron X or similar after this bottle runs out. The bottle says "cherry scent" but I would warn people not to eat any cherries that smell like Iron X!!!

Next stage of the decon was a de-tar with Tardis





I have used Tardis before and have always found it quite an efficient product at melting through the tar, and making it a lot easier and quicker when it comes to claying the car. Im pretty sure that my 5L will last me a decent amount of time.

So next stage was onto the clay. I have tried Dodo Juice yellow clay, unbranded yellow clay and BH clay, and have always had problems with anything other than the Dodo Juice yellow clay, so thats what I went for again this time.



I paired it with Dodo Juice Born Slippy which I have always been happy with. I usually go for the concentrated version, but the last time I needed some I could only get the ready-to-go version instead. Next time I will be trying to get the much better value concentrated version to use in the left over empty bottle.



I kept on folding it, and used 2/3rds of 1 bar of clay for the whole car. After the Iron X and Tardis there wasn't too much left on the paint.

So after all of that decon and multiple rinsing, it was finally time for some correction. The paint work wasn't too swirly, but not as good as I wanted it. In the end I ended up hitting it 3 times with Menzerna FG500 on a polishing pad, followed another hit with Menzerna FF3000 on a finishing pad, both with a rotary.



I thought that this had done the trick, and then decided to try out another new product to me, Prima Amigo. A few people had recommended it in the Favourite Glaze? thread I started a week ago. Well it is a very different product to the Poorboy's Black Hole glaze that I am used to. Black Hole is a pasty textured purple substance that I can believe is jam packed full of cleansers and fillers, Amigo on the other hand is a clear liquid, just like water, that I just didn't feel as though was doing very much. Admittedly I was applying the Amigo just by hand, when I had usually applied Black Hole by rotary, but I just didn't "feel" as though it was adding as much as Black Hole would have done. I think that the remainder of the bottle of Amigo might be heading to the swaps section soon. The one saving grace of Amigo was that it does smell pretty good, I would say a cross between vanilla and Play-Doh.



After the Amigo I decided to seal it in with Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection, my standard go-to sealant that I have always found to be quick and easy to apply, and then buff off (as long as you don't apply it too thick). The EGP made the paint work so slippery that it was hard to even photograph the bottles on the car without them sliding off!



I decided to photograph at the various stages to see how much of the shine is from the correction, how much from the glaze, and how much from the LSP, but I think that this is impossible in the uncontrolled outdoor environment. I will have to leave that to the pros with their indoor set-ups with controllable lighting environments.

Because I didn't know how many stages of paint correction I would need to do, I just did the bonnet to begin with and then aimed to do the rest the following day. The next day I did the same on the drivers door and driver's side rear door, but upon inspecting the bonnet again the next day, there were still some swirl marks and RDS that hadn't been removed with 3 hits of my most aggressive pad and polish compound, so instead of doing the whole car knowing that I wasn't going to achieve the result that I wanted I decided to seal it up and leave it for another day.

As the rain had paid me a short visit (and also from the repeated rinses during the decon stages), there were some water marks on the car that I wanted to get rid of, rather than sealing in with the EGP. I tried taking them out with Megs Ultimate Quik Detailer (my favourite), but found that it wasn't having the effect that I needed, I wanted something with a little more bite and thought that the cleansers in Black Hole would be useful so used some of that to great effect. Then in a little lightbulb moment, I remembered a product that I haven't used in years, but still had sitting on my shelf, AG Super Resin Polish. After a good shake it was just as good as it was when I brought it. I know old classics like SRP can be easily overlooked by newer, shiner products on the market, but there is a reason why its a classic, and why its still being sold, it is a great product. I just applied by hand with a yellow foam applicator, so obviously it wasn't going remove every swirl mark by either polish or filler, but when I have applied using the same method in the past (before I had a machine polisher), I have found the effects to be accumulative over multiple applications. So the SRP did a great job, and it finally clicked for me the role of pre-wax cleansers, products such as Lime Prime.

So now I need to figure out a polish and pad combo good enough to fully remove all the swirls in my paintwork (any suggestions?). I tried to photograph it, but I found swirls quite elusive.

Anyway, thanks for the read, I hope you enjoyed it


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

This model mondeo is supposed to be better than the new one, if you take any notice of the motoring press, more pics would be good though, keep up the good work.


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## Hereisphilly (Nov 17, 2014)

Did you shake amigo before use?

If you had you've got something wrong with your bottle as the consistency of amigo is very similar to black hole

Thick, dark grey / purple and feels very thick / slick when in use

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

Reflection shot, with a little help from the cat!


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

My prima amigo is thick and gray in colour mate. 
I would use megs m105 and m205 to correct more stubborn areas.

Great job none the less.😀

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

rob267 said:


> My prima amigo is thick and gray in colour mate.
> I would use megs m105 and m205 to correct more stubborn areas.
> 
> Great job none the less.😀
> ...


Hmm, what is everyone else's Prima Amigo like? I gave it a good shake.


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)




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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nice write up and lovely reflection shots, oh and a lovely cat. :buffer:


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

Wow 3 hits with FG500, be careful there mate it can be aggressive. 
Your Amigo is not right something wrong with it should be thick and grey. 
Nice work tho. 


Gonz.


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## paulb1976 (Nov 2, 2012)

amigo is quite thick and grey similar to pb blackhole tbh.


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

paulb1976 said:


> amigo is quite thick and grey similar to pb blackhole tbh.


I will have to go back to it and give it an extreme shake tomorrow, perhaps mine had been sitting in the warehouse for too long. If it doesn't work I might have to send it back.


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

great gonzo said:


> Wow 3 hits with FG500, be careful there mate it can be aggressive.
> Your Amigo is not right something wrong with it should be thick and grey.
> Nice work tho.
> 
> Gonz.


But I was still not able to fully remove the swirl marks with it, I was thinking of perhaps trying a more aggressive pad and/or polish combination?

The camera hasn't really picked up the swirl marks, but they can be seen in real life.


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

rob267 said:


> My prima amigo is thick and gray in colour mate.
> I would use megs m105 and m205 to correct more stubborn areas.
> 
> Great job none the less.😀
> ...


I have had a look at the bottle and I think that it had separated a bit, I have now given it a very thorough shake, so hopefully it will work out better next time!


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## Squadrone Rosso (Aug 11, 2009)

My Amigo is thick & grey in texture.


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## Blue (Sep 15, 2008)

Is it possible that the swirls are under the clear coat? They must be horrendously deep if three hits haven't got rid of them!


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