What happens when kids clean your car !

Shagmonkey

Well-known user
Sep 9, 2004
1,266
86
Chichester - Well....close enough!
I thought I would post this up as some people might find it interesting even though it's not Cougar related. I posted this up on SCC also. :geek:

My next door but one neighbour turned 50 a month or so ago. His 11 year old daughter decided to treat "daddy" and wash his car for him. It's only a bog standard 10 year old Ford Mondeo but hey. He cleans it quite often and treats it well.

Anyhow, after about 30 mins, he decided to go outside, have a fag and see how his wonderfull daughter was doing.
What she was doing was washing his car........with a brillo pad from the kitchen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
She had done one side, the whole bonnet and the other wing before he stopped her!!

He asked me if there was anything I could do.........and who was I to turn down a challenge, plus a chance to improve my detailing skills.

This afternoon was the first time since then, that I had time to make a start. I only managed half the bonnet, so this thread will be updated as I do more and more.
So....................
Chapter 1 - The bonnet (Well half of it anyway)
What I was faced with:

P10-10-10_164301.jpg


P10-10-10_1643.jpg


P10-10-10_164302.jpg


Taped up and I did a small section first to see what grit sandpaper I would need to go down to, to get the level of finish I was after. Considering the value of the car etc, I was aiming for 80-90% correction.

P10-10-10_1649.jpg


Close up after being sanded:

P10-10-10_1650.jpg


Even closer up after one pass with the DA and some cutting compound:

P10-10-10_1656.jpg


Very happy with the result so moved onto the top quarter of the bonnet:

P10-10-10_1713.jpg


It's at this point the "client" has a heart attack :cry:

P10-10-10_171301.jpg


The same part machined and the tape removed from between top and bottom of the bonnet:

P10-10-10_172701.jpg


P10-10-10_1725.jpg


Again, very happy with the result so did the rest of that side of the bonnet:
P10-10-10_1739.jpg


P10-10-10_1740.jpg


Check out the shine: :stop:

P10-10-10_174001.jpg


And after being machined but before being refined:

P10-10-10_172601.jpg


Finished (not waxed) side:

P10-10-10_175902.jpg


Side left to do:

P10-10-10_175801.jpg


Overall (sun was going down so not great piccie)

P10-10-10_1759.jpg


I will do the other half hopefully tomorrow after work, and then the remaining chapters will be the rest of the car....if people are interested that is....
 
wow paul guess he's lucky to have a neighbour who kno wwhat hes doing. mmm dont think i'll ever let my daughter clean my car after seeing this! lol poor fella
 
I let my son wash my FireBlade once......................................... I emphasise once.
The lesson is don't!!!
Chamois dropped on gravel drive. Down to bare metal in places.
He lives still. I was restrained.
 
Looking good.

That reminds me of that I think it was insurance advert where the kid cleans the car with the brillo pad and does the side of the car facing away from the house, the only clue is the kid is waving at her dad, where he is in the kitchen, with the brillo pad in her hand. His smile dissapears
 
top job again paul,there are certain things we are all good at,one of these days i will get the confidence to use a da maybe on the laguna first lol
 
Good on yer paul for helping the poor old fella out:) (I hope he's ok after his heart attack:(), cracking job so far bud (as usual).(y)
 
Just a couple of piccies of the other side of the bonnet. This side had been washed/scrubbed harder :cry:
Before:

P10-10-10_175801.jpg


During - Note some of the swirls can still be seen through the wetsanding - 1500 grit ordered and i will be re-doing:

P11-10-10_1809.jpg


After:

P11-10-10_1824.jpg


P11-10-10_1825.jpg


This is the rest of the car I have yet to make a start on :eek: :eek:

P11-10-10_1826.jpg


P11-10-10_182601.jpg


P11-10-10_182602.jpg


P11-10-10_182603.jpg


P11-10-10_1827.jpg


P11-10-10_182701.jpg


P11-10-10_182702.jpg


P11-10-10_182703.jpg


And a new little toy to help me spot all the swirls. 300 Lumens and by golly it's bright!!!

P12-10-10_0823.jpg


P12-10-10_082301.jpg
 
Nice job done there Paul. My paintwork on my Coug was similar when I first bought it, although they used a "non-stick" scourer!! lol so the swirls/scratches weren't as enhanced like in the car you have done, but even so. However, now after both doing a clay bar and using Britemax (the one for removal of swirls) cut and polish my painwork is a damn sight better than it did - this is a pic I took yesterday in Exmouth

MondyandCoug017.jpg
 
OK. Nice weather again on Sunday and seeing as I just can't relax on a weekend (or ever for that fact), I decided to crack on and do some more for him.

This time, I decided to go for 100% perfection on the wing. Just to prove I could do it if nothing else.

The pictures and video were all taken on my mobile phone so I appreciate they are not the best quality. They don't do the finished result any justice but hey, I can only work with what I have got.

So. This was the front wing before I started if you remember:
P11-10-10_182601.jpg


P11-10-10_1826.jpg


This is some video I took of it. **** quality and seeing as the sun was shining I couldn't realy see the screen on my phone. Time to ask for a proper HD video camera for Christmas ! lol

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/carboncougar/Mondeo/?action=view¤t=V241010_1324.mp4

I split the wing with some tape so I could do some 50/50 shots. This photo shows the left side untouched, and the right side wetsanded with 1500, then 2000 grit sandpaper.
P24-10-10_1337.jpg


Having my new fancy torch helped me see the odd few deeper scratches that needed more work, so by the time I was ready to machine it, 100% of all visible scratches had been removed.

This is some more crappy video of the same 50/50 as the above photograph.

[video]http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/carboncougar/Mondeo/?action=view¤t=V241010_1336.mp4[/video]

This is the wing after machine polishing and tape removed. You should clearly see the 50/50 'line' still:

P24-10-10_1403.jpg


This is some more crappy footage of the above shot:

[video]http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/carboncougar/Mondeo/?action=view¤t=V241010_1401.mp4[/video]

Was VERY happy with the result, so reversed the process for the other side:

P24-10-10_1526.jpg


Crappy video of the above:

[video]http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/carboncougar/Mondeo/?action=view¤t=V241010_1527.mp4[/video]

Finished result:
P24-10-10_1558.jpg


Video of the whole wing:

[video]http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/carboncougar/Mondeo/?action=view¤t=V241010_1543.mp4[/video]

Drivers side door will be next........