William's Turbo RX8

Another long due update from us at Obsession Car Detailing.

We are slowly working our way through the backlog of cars and photos we have worked on, and we have some exciting write-ups coming so keep an eye out.

Also remember you can always stay up-to-date with what we are working on by checking out our Facebook at www.facebook.com/obsessioncardetailing.

Now onto William's RX8. The RX8 was meant to be a replacement for the legendary RX7, but unfortunately, in stock form, it was a tad...sluggish. It never really inspired like the RX7 did, so much so that there have been constant rumours about a new RX7 from Mazda. William didn't see this is a a problem though, and took advantage of the perfect weight distribution and handling to maximum effect, taking it to the track whenever possible. Soon, the power bug hit, and William had the car fitted with a full turbo kit, unlocking the potential of the Wankel rotary. Driving the car, I could only think "this feels like factory, this is how the car should have come from the factory". Amazing response, pin sharp handling, and a brilliant sound.

Despite these attributes, William knew his RX8 had seen better days, and because he drives his car how it is meant to be driven, it was bound to look a bit rough round the edges. He had taken it to other detailers over the years, and never really been happy, so he decided to bring the car to us for a full paint restoration.

The car was dirty, water spots, and staining:





Starting with a wash:





After our usual washing procedure, it was time to examine the paint:









The paint was adequate thickness in some places:







And scary thin in others:



Time to start testing:



A few stone chips were wet sanded, touched up, sanded and then polished smooth:



Good results from an initial cutting stage:







Refining with another stage:





A flawless finish after final polishing:



Time to call it a night:



 The car was wiped down to remove any traces of polish:



And Opti-Coat was applied for a slick, glossy finish that will last for years:









Final Shots:

























Like all our distinguished clients, William was blown away with the results.

Be sure to get in contact to find out how we can help beautify your ride to its former glory!

James' Verde Ithaca Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni Edition - Part 1

Balboni. What a name.

Valentino Balboni was the former chief test driver for Lamborghini. Upon retirement in 2008, Lamborghini built the Gallardo LP550-2 Balboni Edition to pay tribute to him. 550 horsepower, rear wheel drive, LSD, and of course, those stripes, make this one of the rarest Lamborghini's around, with only 250 built, and only 7 in Australia. And this is the only one in Australia in the signature Verde Ithaca colour, in our nations capital. Working on this car was truly a privilege.

This entry will be split into two parts, so stay tuned for part two which should be ready in a few weeks, as we still need to complete the interior. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to do the interior and complete a proper photoshoot, as this car needed to be ready for our stand at Auto-Italia, but rest assured, a full shoot is coming.

James contacted us when he acquired this car, after having us complete some work on his C63 AMG some years back, and Opti-Coating his wife's new VW Beetle.

He asked for the works, wanting it to look as good as possible. Importantly, this car is not a garage queen, its get driven, hard, and goes to the track regularly. James didn't want to spend hours waxing the car, so after seeing what options we had available, he requested Modesta Glass Coating. It took a lot of time to get this car booked in, but luckily, we were able to complete the job in time for Auto-Italia 2014, and the crowd response was amazing, they loved it. And we are happy to say, they James too, was amazed at how the car turned out stating "I didn't know it could look this good", and highlighting the candy effect as a result of the Modesta.

Without further ado, here are the pictures of the work. As always click on them to see the larger versions.

As usual we started with the wheels, attacking them with a cleaner to remove any iron fallout:



Then it was foam bath time:





The paint was also sprayed with a product to remove contamination and iron fall out:



You can see contamination here, contamination that can't be removed by standard washing:



Then it was time to examine the paint. Plenty of swirls and scratches:



The blue tape helps focus the camera:









It was late at night by now, but we wanted to come up with a plan, so a quick pass was done on the bonnet to ascertain the best plan of action:



Then it was time for bed.

The next morning, bright and early, with the car taped up, we proceeded with the correction:



We were seeing good initial results:



The tail lights are a masterpiece, and it was important to get them right, removing all haze and scratching:





The lower panel was completed with a small pad, and the honeycomb grill was painstakingly cleaned with a cotton bud:



The car is incredibly low, and most of the day was spent sitting down, caressing those gorgeous lines:



The black stripe was badly swirled, and you can see a 50/50 here:



The correction restored the blackness and gloss nicely.

Under the lights, you can see a before, and after a single pass with an aggressive compound, which was then refined to create a flawless finish:



The whole car was polished a second, and third time, to create a perfect finish:





You can see the industry standard Menzerna Polishes in the reflection:



Just beautiful:



It was getting late, and we examined every square centimetre of the car for perfection:







Some more reflection shots:









Once satisfied, the whole car was wiped down with 15% isopropyl alcohol to remove any residual oils:



And then the Modesta P-01A primer was applied:



Whilst curing, the wheels had Opti-Coat applied:



And the car was left to sit for the primer to cure:



The exhaust was polished to a mirror finish:



And then it was time for the Modesta:



You can see how the finish drastically just jumps at you! Its like a liquid effect on the paint!





The next day, we woke up at 5am, to prepare our stall.

And the car looked stunning.







And at our display:




James didn't see the car until the following day, as he has to head away. Suffice to say, he was blown over, and felt that he could not longer drive it for fear of ruining how good it looked!

Stay tuned for part 2!