assuming the days of t-cut are long gone??

I think the father in law has some black color-magic he uses on his black magic mk4 golf?

Noooooo!!! Not black colour magic :no: Don't do it.

You'll wash it 4 times as often as the red one... Trust me...

I have 2 silver cars, one white van and the black flash, hardly ever clean the

silver ones as they never look dirty, the van is mostly bird poop and the back doors get

grubby but it still comes up nice and stays clean for a bit.

The black one... Spend an entire day cleaning it. Looks gorgeous!

Then, use it once for a short journey... Dirty again. :(

Over my time with a black car I've learned that the easiest way to keep it clean is

to go on a mission and get her sparkling, then apply lots of wax. Then you can just

give her a wash with a decent shampoo (I use Meguiars gold class)

Then dry with a good microfibre towel (Uber important with a black car!!)

then a little quik detailer where it needs it to top up the wax applied during

the "mission" clean and you'll have a nice shiny car again without as much effort.

Cliff, if you want to drop by my house one day before combe you can give her a

nice clean using my products to try them out.

After your help with stickers and stuff I'd be glad to return the favour.

A good wash and dry then Poorboys black hole and a decent wax are all you need.

I'm using Nattys blue paste wax atm (summer wax) as it's aimed at darker finishes and

very easy to use even in the sun. (Smells lush too).

About October I switch and I give her 2 coats of colinite 476

to keep the winter out of the paint. I'm located about 5 miles from Bath.

Bring her round for a snowfoam

Thanks Garry

The red one was treated to a coating of the same wax/sealant i used during my alloy refurbs and the dirt just slides off.

To be fair the polish used when the dealer valeted is made the wash yesterday pretty easy - i'm just super fecked off that i managed to put those bloody scratches in the roof!

Off to find some Scratch X to hopefully fix it before she notices

I find a quick go with Autoglym Super Resin Polish removes scratching very well, as it's got a filler element in there.

A trip to halfords on the way home it is then

For best effect I leave it for an hour or so before buffing off, not an expert but I believe that makes sure the bit in the scratch has gone hard and so is left when you buff the rest off.

I'm sure a detailing fan will know the best application and removal method, but it's not my field. I just do what works.

Busy weekend for the almost sexy car

• Half 8am meeting at the dealer (45 minutes away) to regas the aircon and clean & maintain the rear brakes due to binding. Both completed in a couple of hours and car returned with icy cold air con and non squeaky rear brakes.
  
• Called into local Skoda dealer to pick up a new rear wiper blade as after 8 years the original one had dried right out and was plain useless.
  
• Had an interesting conversation with the guy in the parts department who wished the mk2 was a diesel as it'd have sold 80% more and that if i mothballed the low mileage black car it'd be a "future classic"
  
• Onwards to local VW dealer to speak to the parts department about Sharan return springs for the rear brakes to avoid binding in future. Delivery expected mid next week.
  
• Popped into Halfords and picked up an air freshener and a tube of Megs Scratch-X 2.0.
  Scratch-X applied to roof and wouldn't you know if a bit of buffing later and my scratchy handiwork was gone.
  
• Glovebox removed to investigate dash rattle.
  Nothing found but no rattle on a short test drive without the glovebox in place
  Replaced glove box - still no rattle after short test drive.
  Trip to do the weekly shop today and the rattle was back! feck it! :S
  
• While the glove box was out i noticed a leaf sticking out of the pollen filter slot so removed the cover and received the gift of a small forest in the footwell. I can but imagine it was 8 years worth of debris and the filter has never been changed as it's black!
  
• Gave it a quick wash (along with the red one) and if i feel inclined i may wax it later on too
  
• Umm..we filled it with fuel ready for a weeks worth of commutes
  

Busy times!

Oh and a new set of wheels has been purchased (yes already! )

I submitted a "best offer" on eBay that i never expected to be accepted and the guy said yes.

They do need a refurb and at the moment I'm not sure what colour to do them or even which car to put them on - decisions decisions

Just spotted this! Glad to see you found another car eventually! Which wheels you bought "accidentally"? (I use that excuse to the Mrs when I bought something I shouldnt). Both cars looking good, obviously the black one is quicker and better than the red one even with the mods I also know a bloke that does some spanky badges for them if you fancy them, would look a treat on them!

Nice!

I've always fancied a diesel Monte Carlo to add to our vRS Estate to save on commute costs but I do little miles at the moment - less than 5000 in 10 months.

Maybe when we move to a bigger house with garage I will buy a second car for the daily hack...

Maybe when we move to a bigger house with garage I will buy a second car for the daily hack...

The fun car needs to be very expensive to run before it pays off.

Both cars looking good, obviously the black one is quicker and better than the red one even with the mods

I love them both equally - having a favourite would just give one of them a complex they'd be forced to live with in later life

Which wheels you bought "accidentally"? (I use that excuse to the Mrs when I bought something I shouldnt)

It genuinely was an accident - up for £130 offered £100 and dammit he accepted

All shall be revealed in due course, probably to include a thread to gauge ideas/opinions on best colour selections given the mix of car colour & wheels/wheel colour available

I also know a bloke that does some spanky badges for them if you fancy them, would look a treat on them!

I'll bear that in mind. I bet he is a fantastic bloke

Expensive time of it for the pasty garage at the moment.

It would appear that plently of jobs on the red car that i've been putting off for years have now reached the points where they absolutely cannot be avoided any longer.

Car was in on Saturday for a full service and cambelt change (£350 gone) this then revealed a long "to do" list for before the car is MOT'd in August.

• 3 new tyres - which i knew about anyway but the prices are shocking at present - anything half decent seems to be around £90 a corner! time to get on to Camskill and then sweet talk a tyre fitter.
  
• Dead EGR valve - while it has been seeping oil around the seals for years it is now "pi55ing gunk everywhere out of the bottom" - anybody know the part number for a new one?
  
• dead rear bump stop - luckily i already have a full suspension set up the change so thats not a major issue (except labour)
  
• Near Side Outer CV Boot split - MOT fail but as the suspension is coming apart anyway might as well change that at the same time.
  
• Front pads and discs - yay new 312 bits all round again luckily everything down there is going to be taken apart so no reall extra labout
  

Going to be an expensive time of it over the next few months; but hopefully it'll all be stuff that'll then use the next few years.

On more sad news the other half has to have an operation on her foot which will mean she is off her feet for anything up to 3 months!

Luckily the tax on the black car is up at the end of May and her operation is May 29th.

As such the black car will be SORN and garaged until she is back in a position to drive again.

On a happier note the alloy refurb is gaining momentum I now just need to convince the other half its a good idea to go gold.

All good fun

On a happier note lasy night was dry and bright so i washed and gave the black car its first coat of wax;

and by "first coat" i mean first ever not that i'm going to apply a second and third.

light rain this afternoon meant this on the bonnet

but that said i think there must be some "product" left from the precollection valet as the roof (which i ran out of time to wax) looks like this

ah well hopefully it'll stop the dirt sticking and the car looking quite so dirty quite so quickly

Project "freshen the old girl up" has begun

first on the agenda: Headlights

after 8 years and 120k the headlihgt lens were past their best

they've started to grain up almost like the bulbs i'm runnging are too hot as well as going a little yellow

luckily a member who approached me about badge had just switched his headlights for the xenon replicas in the group buy so a deal was hatched

Compared side by side you can see how bad the lenses were:

passenger side was ok

drivers side not so good!!

so they were changed over which was relatively easy

2 bolts and 2 screws unclip the electrical connection and out they pop

spend 5 mins scrabbling around in the bumper/arch liner/sump guard to fish out the dropped screws and job done

switch over the bulbs, and height adjument motor and reverse the process.

As a certain meerkat would say "Simples"

A grand improvement me thinks

before

after

Next up new EGR valve replacement

mines been weeping for years but its finally near the end.

I think the gasket underneath has perished as ithere is oily gunk everywhere

so ebay was trawled and new one off an Ibiza was sourced following an EGR delete

Purchase new gaskets and seals from my local dealer and get the lot switched over.

I'll be intrigued to see exactly how full of sh*te the current one is!!

Then new boots to go on the new alloys, full replacement of all suspension, finally topped off with new discs and pads for the 312s.

Once done it should be good for another 100k and another 8 years

3 new tyres have arrived - now just waiting for my gold spray to turn up so i can finish the Montreals and get them fitted