Friday 15 July 2016

Iron Fallout


Iron fallout, or ferrous fallout is something that, with modern high traffic volumes, has become a greater issue to detailing. Although often referred to as industrial fallout and very common around train lines, a majority of the iron contamination comes from road user's brake pads; each time the person in front of you brakes, microscopic pieces of iron fly into the air and pelt your cars paint work. Of these particles, a fraction can become embedded in the paint due to the sharp, jagged edges (we're on a tiny scale here), especially if unprotected, and can lead to body corrosion if not addressed. Especially prevalent in the case of alloy wheels, where the iron particles, plus road salt can lead to electrolysis, speeding up under-paint corrosion.
Semi-regular treatment with a fallout remover safely dissolves the sharp edges of these iron particles, loosening them from the paintwork surface without affecting the surrounding area and enabling them to be safely washed away. However using those too often CAN damage surfaces, and is unnecessary as most iron fallout will be removed with simple regular washing, hence why regular waxing as prevention is better than remedy.
 
The downside is, they smell rotten, largely due to the ammonic reaction with citric acid, thioglycolic acid, and the iron itself, the combination of which results in the purple/red colour change associated with the products.
If your car, or wheels seem clean, but upon closer inspection reveals tiny black dots, sometimes with an orange halo, this is a good indication of iron contamination and something we can help with removal of.

Friday 8 July 2016

EK9 Paint Correction


The first Civic to receive the Type R badge, the EK9, was introduced in August 1997. This first generation of Honda's VTEC powered “Type R” hot hatches gave a blistering rev range and 183bhp, hugging drivers in red alcantara seats and carbon fibre effect dash panels, and was Japan’s answer to the Golf GTI and Saxo VTR's domination of the hot hatch scene in the late 90s.

We were handed the keys to this one with the aim of restoring some shine to the, almost matt, Olympic White paintwork.
First step was to thoroughly clean the car, this revealed a second issue, thousands upon thousands of tiny iron particles in the paintwork. Two rounds of iron removal with VP Dragons Breath iron contamination remover and a thorough clay barring reduced these down to negligible amounts, and gave us a safe surface to begin polishing.

The oxidisation removed from the test panel alone was phenomenal, we were washing pads between each pass to remove the chalky build up of old oxidised paint, but the difference was immediately apparent. Working around the car the bright slick gloss began to show through, and with only a single stage polish using Lime Prime as our cleaner, taking around 6 hours, we were able to restore the paint's shine and reflectivity. 
in this 50/50 down the centre, you can see the line where the light picks back up...
Finished with two coats of diamond bright by Dodo Juice the finish shone through and snow blindness crept in…


Friday 1 July 2016

Convertible Roof Paint Spot Removal

We were contacted by Insurers NFU to come to the aid of this black convertible which had been doused with thousands of fine paint spots – a result of wall painting by roller at the owners company car park – which had dried onto the surface.

No problem for us. A clean, followed by a steam cleaner for more stubborn marks and complete water extraction and re-seal, and the roof was as good as new, giving the customer back a perfect car, and saving the insurers around £1,500 for a replacement roof.
Paint damage on your convertible roof, from paint to stubborn mould? just give us a call.