Michael arrived at 9.45am as I heard the Evo VIII coming down the road with a thunderous roar. The car was an absolute beast in the flesh and the black paintwork really did the car justice. Michael simply wished for the car to be detailed to a show finish and wanted some minor surface scratches removed from the paintwork. He explained how the complex alarm/immobiliser operated and left the car in my capable hands.

It was overcast and spitting a little so I had a look over the car under the halogens and noticed a few surface scratches and very minor swirl marks. There were also a few noticeable scratches on the bonnet and roof which looked as though someone had drawn over the panels with a piece of white chalk. The wing mirrors and spoiler were of carbon fibre composite and were extremely rough to the touch.

I began the wash process by rinsing the car and applying Carlack Wheel Cleaner to the wheels and proceeded to wash the car with Meguiars Shampoo Plus. I rinsed the car clean and worked on the wheels with a further dose of Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner diluted 4:1 and a range of brushes and rinsed them clean. The arches were also treated with APC and worked with a long-handled brush.

After the wash and the car looked extremely clean but after rubbing my hands over the panels I noticed that the car was quite rough to the touch. I chose a new bar of Meguiars Quik Clay and proceeded to clay the car over with the aid of Quik Detailer as lube. After claying, the panels were smooth as glass and the clay bar had done a fantastic job. The wing mirrors and spoiler were transformed. I then washed the car with Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner and dried with a Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel. The heavens finally opened and into the garage the Evo VIII went for polishing.

Once inside the garage, I looked over the car in more detail under the halogens and noticed a few more swirl marks here and there. The PTG showed fairly healthy paint all round until I reached the bootlid where it was showing 90 microns and 80-85 around the edges which meant I had to show a little caution when tackling this area of the car. Onto the polishing then and since I had used the Metabo Rotary on a few scrap panels and my own Honda CTR successfully, I thought I would give it an airing on the Evo VIII with the consent of the owner.

I began with a Meguiars Softbuff Polishing Pad with Meguiars #83 Cleaner/Polish and worked a test area on the roof starting at speed 700, onto 1100 and back down to 700. I managed to work the polish much better than I had expected and got rid of all the swirl marks and scratches in one hit. Happy with the combination of pad and polish, I worked the remainder of the roof and bonnet and was delighted with the finish. However, not wishing to chance the rotary on more intricate parts of the car, I armed myself with the Porter Cable 7424 and proceeded to polish the remainder of the car using a Sonus SFX-2 Polishing Pad and #83 Cleaner/Polish and broke it down on speed setting 5. I worked the same combination on the carbon fibre wing mirrors and spoiler but used a slower speed (setting 4) and worked the polish for longer. I managed to rid the car of all surface scratches and swirl marks in one hit although a few remained on the bootlid as I showed a little caution on this part of the car.

After a quick bite to eat, I decided to glaze the car over with a coat of Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze with the aid of the PC7424 and a Meguiars Softbuff Finishing Pad and buffed the excess with a Sonus Das Buffing Bonnet ready for waxing.

Michael had specifically asked for a Swissvax finish so out came the Swissvax Saphir wax. I proceeded to apply the Saphir wax with an applicator pad applying a thin layer over the car and left it to cure for 45 minutes or so. Whilst the wax was left to cure, I took to the wheels with Chemical Guys Wheel Guard and worked the same on the tailpipe with an applicator pad and buffed the excess. Further, I applied a couple of coats of Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel to the tyrewalls by which time the wax was ready for buffing. I finally polished all glasswork with AutoGlym Fast Glass including the plastic light covers.

Michael arrived at 6.00pm and although it was throwing it down outside, he was really pleased with the finish. I was personally delighted with the results and had managed 95% correction (around 85% on the bootlid due to the thickness of paint). The #7 Show Car Glaze topped with Swissvax Saphir had left a fantastic depth and wetness to the paintwork although you may not be able to see the full extent of the finish as I had forgotten to turn the flash on the camera whilst taking the photographs in the garage.



The photos - click thumbnails to enlarge