2004 Rover 75 Connoisseur SE

[tompinney]

I haven't been on here as much as I have been in the past few months due to completing my degree recently, however here is my latest project.



This is my Mum's new car. We've only had it a couple of months now but the car has 10k miles on it and the paint was a little worse for it, although it was by no means terrible. Here is what I started the weekend with...

Lots of bugs and tar spots

Minor Swirling

The first task of the day was to wash the car with Megs NXT shampoo using a wash mitt and the two bucket method. I then dried the car with a Waffle Weave towel and then clayed the car with my Clay Magic kit and followed that up with another wash.



Next up the wheels and arches.



Before

The alloys were cleaned using AutoBrite Brite Wheels. Any stubborn tar stains were treated with AG Bug and Tar Remover and the the rims were polished with AG SRP, then coated in AG Alloy Wheel Seal and topped with NXT Tech Wax. The tyres were cleaned with APC and Megs Endurance Gel.



After

 

[tompinney]

The front arches were cleaned with APC and the trim treated with AG Rubber & Vinyl Care

Before

After

The same process was repeated for the rear wheels and arches

Before

After

And heres the car at the halfway through the wheel cleaning

With the car all taped up I polished the car with Sonus SFX-2 polish and and a white SFX-2 6" pad on the PC. I made 1 pass a speed 2 to spread the polish then 2 passes at speed 4 and then 1-2 passes as necessary at speed 6. I then applied some #21 sealant with a foam applicator and followed that up with a coat of Megs #16 wax applied by PC. The windows were polished with AG Glass Polish and the trim was treated with Megs #38.



Look no swirls

Nice flake shot!

The obligatory tree shot (Its a Detailing World thing!)

 

[tompinney]

And here are some shots of the results of my efforts from Monday morning before my Mum headed off to work...

No more bugs littered over the front bumper! And a nice reflection of the neighbourhood

And some final reflection shots

Sorry for all the photos, A managed to get quite a lot done over the weekend.



So what do you think?

 

[mikebai1990]

I'm absolutely speechless! You transformation truly darkened and deepened that red color. In US, we don't see cars like those, but I think I like the design The wheels and wheelwell transformation was amazing, as good as new! Great job

 

[odonnellb]

never seen that kind of car! looks cool! nice job on the paint too

 

[Diesel1]

Very nice job!



Where are the hub bolts? Saw pics of the rear rotors with no bolts! Are the attached to the lug nuts on that car?

 

[Ben Kenobi]

A fantastic job Tom! Nice to see a Rover sedan, oops saloon! Love the colour too, reminds me of my car. I take it the wheels use a long bolt with the head going through the wheel and into the hub? Must be fun trying to mount a wheel with nothing to hold it in position. Your Mom must have thought it was a different car sitting out there. Thanks for all the photos, you're quite a photographer too.

 

[joyriiide1113]

Very nice job!



Where are the hub bolts? Saw pics of the rear rotors with no bolts! Are the attached to the lug nuts on that car?

Same with my car. The bolts actually screw into the rotors.

 

[rohan25]

Thats a beautiful car. Looks awesome post detail. Maybe I should park my 745 in your driveway and pick it up the next day

 

[Tacidblue]

Hi



Superb detail on the car!! :woot2: Nice deatils given as well.



Cheers

 

[tompinney]

Cheers for the comments guys. Thats only my second proper detail with the PC and I'm learning all the time from here, Detailing World and from using the PC itself. I'm looking forward to having another go on my car now and getting that to look even better.

A fantastic job Tom! Nice to see a Rover sedan, oops saloon! Love the colour too, reminds me of my car. I take it the wheels use a long bolt with the head going through the wheel and into the hub? Must be fun trying to mount a wheel with nothing to hold it in position. Your Mom must have thought it was a different car sitting out there. Thanks for all the photos, you're quite a photographer too.

I think my mum was afraid to drive it when Monday morning came, having seen the work I put into it. The dealer prep was frankly quite poor, the paint felt like sandpaper in places!



You are correct about the long bolts into the hub. Fortunately the centre hub nut cap sticks out from the hub so you can rest the wheel on that while you line it up, but it can be a pig of a job. Its a strange way of doing it if you ask me, makes far more sense to have the threads sticking out of the hub IMO.

 

[Ben Kenobi]

I bet she was Tom, that was a good photo of your mum in the car! It's too bad Rover is out of business, I guess that may make her car more of a collectors item. It doesn't seem like much sense to put the bolts in that way but at least you have the center hub to help. Looking forward to seeing you post your Rover after you use the PC on it. :waxing:

 

[Bigpoppa3346]

Sweet work! That red looks soooo deep and wet, and those must be some of the most immaculate wheels I have ever seen. Great job.

 

[imported_GregCavi]

Stunning JOb!! That color begs for 21! Glad you went that route. Im sure you mum was very thrilled!



Greg

 

[abbeysdad]

Really good work - now Mum won't even need to say she has a new car cause everyone will just know!



Seeing your results, I'm thinking some neighbors are wondering how they might get you to 'stop by' !

 

[tompinney]

I think my neighbours have grown out of the 'you'll polish the car away' remarks stage now! One of them even asked me if I could have a go at their alloys upon seeing the transformation of those wheels. I'm thinking it will be the ideal guinea pig to try out the Poorboys wheel sealant I've just ordered

 

[Scottwax]

Very nice and thorough detail!



What type of drivetrain does that car have?

 

[tompinney]

That one is 1.8 4 cylinder 16v engine, FWD, but there is also a FWD 2.5 V6 and the RWD 4.6 V8 has its engine from Ford as it happens because the Rover V8 went out of production shortly before demise of Rover. Dad and I wanted Mum to get the V8 but she wanted the more economical version!



Heres the V8...

 

[Tasty]

That's a nice little ride. I like the looks of it. However, the fender gap definitely needs to be addressed. Probably not since it's your mum's car, but that thing would look great with a drop. Nice detail. I especially like your attention to the wheel wells.