# Auto Detox: Lotus Elise Sports Racer



## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Hi there,

Thanks for taking the time to view a another detail by www.autodetox.co.uk

This time a job for an engineer who works for Bentley in Crewe

This quite rare Lotus Elise Sports Racer in nightfall blue was booked in for a 2 day enhancement detail including interior & engine bay

The car was dropped off Friday afternoon & not wanting to waste any time (although the job didn't start until Sat') I set to work on the wash stage, after making a hot drink for me & my camera man for the afternoon, you can still see the snow in the back ground of some shots ! We needed it

Wheel arches jet washed & cleaned with all purpose cleaner + vikan brush with a long handle.

Alloys next, they were given an initial rinse before product applied

Various wheel brushes used for cleaning with an acid free wheel cleaner

Here you can see a well used Swissvax wheel brush on the face



Thoroughly rinsed off



Bodywork was well rinsed & Auto Finesse avalanche applied via hand sprayer & left to dwell a short time



Rear + snow ! 



Thorough jet wash of product







While in the unit I removed a few pieces of trim, this little piece really allowed me to get right into the gap & clean properly

Cleaned with APC & Envy car care detail brush







APC applied to side grills





Another rinse & onto 2 bucket was with AF Lather & plush lambs wool wash mitt



Tar remover next applied, worked gently with a disposable cloth & rinsed thoroughly off





Clay time, removing any bonded bits & pieces left which the wash stage does not
Today AF clay



There was not a huge left on the paint to remove but well worth the time the clay stage

Dried with super plush drying towel & moved into the unit for reminder of work

Inspecting the paintwork under the 3M Sungun











I had already removed a few more pieces of trim & bodywork for better access

These were placed out of the way on my lovely carpet tiles 



The engine bay bay due to the location was cleaned by hand later in the detail as it sits right next to the open boot storage area, not really a place you want to by rinsing with the jet wash

Polishing, this was completed with the Flex VRG DA in 2 stages utilising the lake country 100mm backing plate system & LC 100mm spot pads which worked really well along side the LC 150mm light cut pads & Menzerna 3.02 for the initial stage, refining was Menzerna 85RE with 3M 150mm & LC 100mm finishing pads

A selection of polishing stage shots

50:50 look at that lovely blue paintwork coming through



Rear wing strip light shot, you can clearly see the clarity coming through already



Under the sungun



Polished on the left



Not polished on the right



There was a lot of dual action sanding marks in the white stripes



Looking much better



Roof under strip light, looking a little sad



Under the sungun



Looking much better





Working around the car the engine cover grills were removed for better access,

You can see on the left which has been cleaned & polished its much tidier & will look a lot better when the grills are replaced



Both done



50:50 drivers side rear



Left side polished



Right side unpolished



50:50



Before



After



After the paintwork was refined it was cleaned with ipa & Rejuvenate applied by hand before

Auto Finesse Desire was applied



While this cured I took care of the removed parts, these were cleaned & dressed with Nanolex trim ultra to freshen them up & give long lasting colour

On the work bench on a drying towel for a nice place to stay



With all the parts replaced I treated the door shuts to Tripple







The interior was teeny tiny & I didn't even attempt an interior process shot, 6 foot man + tiny Lotus :lol:

Thorough hoover, leather cleaned & treated to AF hide, metals polished etc

Done !



Wax buffed, alloys treated to Mint Rims, tyres dressed & glass cleaned.

After a AF Finale wipe down of the paintwork the lil Lotus looked like this































There you have it 25 hours of work went in this Lotus Elise Sports Racer over 2.5 days

Hope you like it ? The owner really did 

Regards
Barry
Auto Detox
www.autodetox.co.uk


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Stunning work as always sir


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic work Baz.


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## StuartyD (Dec 20, 2012)

Stunning :thumb:


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## lego_man (Mar 29, 2007)

Really like that! Great work!


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## Dift (May 22, 2011)

Looks brand new!


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## Buddrow (Feb 20, 2012)

Nice colour, great work.


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## Luis (Sep 10, 2012)

Stunning work


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

amazing!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Smart little car  Also, excellent work as always, good writeup and pictures


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Top work


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Very nice Barry, perfect example of the Flex's capablilities with milder combos :thumb:


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

Nice work, that's a nice blue under lights.


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## alxg (May 3, 2009)

Nice work Baz, and nice colour :thumb:

Nearly as special as the colour of the carpet tiles; admit it, you have these at Casa Davies don't you......:lol:


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## Dift (May 22, 2011)

Got my own elise to do on Friday... If it turns out half as good as this ill be chuffed to bits.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great work:thumb:


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

brilliant work and lovely car.

Looks like a very rewarding colour to work on


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

AaronGTi said:


> Stunning work as always sir


Cheers Aaron & first one to post well done :lol: :thumb:



Scrim-1- said:


> Fantastic work Baz.


Thanks Lee, hope :thumb:you well mate



StuartyD said:


> Stunning :thumb:


Thanks Stuarty



lego_man said:


> Really like that! Great work!


Thanks Legoman



Dift said:


> Looks brand new!


Came up well didn't she ! 



Buddrow said:


> Nice colour, great work.


Cheers Buddrow



Luis said:


> Stunning work


Thanks Luis



TopSport+ said:


> amazing!


Cheers !



Dave KG said:


> Smart little car  Also, excellent work as always, good writeup and pictures


Hiya Dave, very smart little car, although getting in & out is a bit of a mission ha ha



colarado red said:


> Top work


Thanks Mr Red



slrestoration said:


> Very nice Barry, perfect example of the Flex's capablilities with milder combos :thumb:


Hey Nick ! Yup as you well know there isn't always the need for a big hit on every detail, a little consideration of the paintwork goes a long way imho 



Dan J said:


> Nice work, that's a nice blue under lights.


Cheers, its a stunning colour



alxg said:


> Nice work Baz, and nice colour :thumb:
> 
> Nearly as special as the colour of the carpet tiles; admit it, you have these at Casa Davies don't you......:lol:


Howdy Alex, cheers mate & there is no way in a camels hump these tiles would go down in my house the colour is goppin dude ! :lol: for the unit perfect though ! 



Dift said:


> Got my own elise to do on Friday... If it turns out half as good as this ill be chuffed to bits.


Sweet have fun Dift ! I'm sure it will turn out great :thumb: if you need any info drop me a line



tonyy said:


> Great work:thumb:


Cheers Tonyy 



Jonny_R said:


> brilliant work and lovely car.
> 
> Looks like a very rewarding colour to work on


Thanks Jonny, I love this dark blue looks awesome inside, outside & lends it self very well to a bit of polishing :thumb

Thanks for taking the time to reply gent's
Baz :thumb:


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

nice work there looks good


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Better than new !


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

gb270 said:


> nice work there looks good





sprocketser said:


> Better than new !


Thanks guys for taking the time to post & the kind words

Baz


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