Project VRS - July 2016 - ?

[jronnquist]

Donor wheel arrived today. I plan to strip this to the bare metal and sand it smooth starting at 250 grit and ending in 2000. 

As you can see in the pic below, there are three layers of paint. I began stripping this with a steel brush wheel, but it's going to take far too long, and scars the metal. Using only 400, 800, and 1250 grip, I sanded down a small section and at least it proves that it can be done. Going to take a lot of elbow grease, though. Off to town for some heavy-duty paint stripper in the morning. 

Edited 25 October, 2016 by jronnquist

[jronnquist]

First layer of stripper on. 

Well, it seemed to do a pretty good job of Screwfix's own "No Nonsense" brand, but the result was a little inconsistent. Took all three layers off in some places and barely touched the first in others. 

[jronnquist]

And the second layer of stripper. 

[Stevewashere]

Any chance you can do a close-up shot of your wheels with the spacers on, Im trying to determine how wide I need to go on mine, so you stuck with 20mm rear and 15mm Front? 

[jronnquist]

Yes, 15-20. There are a lot of pointers on here about how best to go about putting on spacers. I was going to go for 10-15 at first, but these distances seemed a little timid. Originally, I thought I should have gone out to 25 on the rears, but from what I can see, most spacers above 20mm are the two-stage (not the official word, I'm sure) kind. I find the idea of bolting a wheel to the spacer itself, even if they're premium, a little risky, to say the least. And, after doing a run to the local skip, it became obvious that 25mm on the rear would have made the trip impossible, so no regrets (I'm also using 20mm lowered Eibach springs). In my opinion, the 20-20 down and 15-20 out combination is as far as you can practically go if you want to keep your arches un-rolled and you shocks stock. I'll take some shots for you tomorrow and post them on here. 

[jronnquist]

....and I'm still at it. A final coat of stripper to get rid of the stubborn sections of undercoat. 

And the sanding can begin. 

As you can see, the casting has left quite a rough surface. 

Spent about an hour with a sander and 180 grit paper on this today, concentrating on the flat surfaces mainly. The 180 actually does a good job of smoothing out the casting marks, and a little more time also gets the pits and scratches. But it's going to take a few more hours of work to prepare the wheel for 400 grit. This project would clearly be a hell of a lot easier with a simpler spoke pattern, but I think it will look great when it's done and polished. 

[jronnquist]

4 hours spent sanding today and still nowhere near where it needs to be. 

[pip_vrs]

What are you doing? polishing them?

Really liking the yellow on a mk2 at the min

[jronnquist]

Yes, I plan to polish them to a chrome shine. It's taking a lot more effort than I expected, but I think it will be worth it. 

[jronnquist]

Sorry about the delay. Here are some close-ups. 

Edited 31 October, 2016 by jronnquist

[jronnquist]

[jronnquist]

[jronnquist]

[Stevewashere]

The rear end is a big improvement, I like it,  Thanks

[jronnquist]

It's been a while, so I thought I'd give a little summary of recent developments. 

 

Sadly, I bumped into the back of a stalled pickup just around the corner from my house a couple of weeks ago. This was the result. :-(

 

But all is not lost. The £650 excess notwithstanding, At least I'm getting a new hood and front panel. I've also taken the time to order a replacement after-market grill which I have now painted (I will be selling the new replacement stock grill on here shortly). This is the one from Superskoda with the original mesh, so no need to remove bonnet catch this time. 

 

  

Also took off the front spoiler to repair and paint (yellow this time). 

 

 

 

I also got out the polishing kit I bought a few weeks ago and did a section of my test alloy. I like the polished look a lot, but in terms of time I can't see myself doing all five wheels by hand and so have found a company that will do them for £110 each, which isn't bad at all. 

 

 

Also, pressed aluminium number plates and the LED rear plate lights arrived today. Now all I need is the damn car back. Will post pics when it returns tomorrow. 

[jronnquist]

Oh yeah, one more thing. Following a trip to the airport with two kids, three adults and a boot full of luggage, I can state with absolute certainty that 20mm is as far you can lower this car!!! 

[jronnquist]

Okay, she's back!

 

Repair work is good with the exception of the grill, which is not - I repeat, NOT - VAG. It's a notch above the Polish after-market one I got on eBay, but not by far. 

 

Here's how it looked on arrival. 

 

 

First thing first; replace grill and put on pressed plates. 

 

 

 

And finally, add the front splitter....

 

 

The colour match isn't 100%, but it will have to do for now. 

 

Next job; send off alloy number one for full strip and polish...

 

[jronnquist]

Update: 

 

So the new bonnet turned out to be so cheap it didn't actually fit! The repair people have now ordered a genuine one.

 

In more exciting news; I sent off my first alloy today to TRS in Milton Keynes for a ceramic polish.

 

Here's a video of what they do.

 

 

 

Edited 8 March, 2017 by jronnquist

[jronnquist]

New genuine bonnet now on and looking much better. 

 

I've also installed a new Kenwood head unit. 

 

 

And a sub!!!

 

 

 

Neither are exactly top of the line, but it's a hell of an improvement on the stock Stream MP3 unit that had long since stopped streaming MP3s altogether, and got between 2 and 6 stations depending on where you are. 

 

[jronnquist]

I may have to rename this thread "Project GTA" 

 

So the first wheel is back from TRS and I can't complain. It's one very polished wheel. 

 

And on the car. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jronnquist]

Clay bar, Chipex and a polish. I know it doesn't look quite right with just the one polished wheel. The second will be back next week, so hopefully three weeks should see all four done and on. Also having full black tint on the rear window and back doors (and a mild tint on the front doors) on Thursday.

 

Edited 3 August, 2017 by jronnquist
Spelling

[jronnquist]

Update - 11 May 2017

 

So the Yellow Peril - as my kids now call it - is coming on nicely. 

 

Recent developments. 

 

1. Second wheel is back from TRS and on. I also filled in the lettering on both tyres (the reaction is love or hate) and painted the calipers. 

 

 

I'm going to use the spare and send both right wheels off at the same time to speed this up. 

 

2. Window tinting. Had a local company come out and do the rear window and back doors. If I could do it again I'd probably tone it down a notch as this is the full "limo" shade, but it's too late now. 

 

3. Roof bars. With bikes arriving for the whole family in the beginning of June, I thought it might be an idea to get set up. Found Thule bars and four Thule bike mounts on eBay for £180 which seemed a steal when looking at the cost of the same setup new. These have only been used twice and all four have locks. 

 

4. Headlights. Against my better judegement (I have seen enough after-market stuff to know by now) I bought a set of headlights with the black mould inside and an LED strip across the bottom. I did see the name of a German firm that make after-market clusters, but they had nothing for the Mk2 in stock, so I bought a set from Energized Customs. True to lessons already learned, the manufacturing quality was aweful (the black adhesive holding the lens onto the cluster had basically been allowed to spread freely). They also didn't fit as the positioning stub at the back was too big. I learened this when I tried to puch the light in anyway and broke the mounting bracket. I've since replaced both brackets with genuine parts and sent the lights back. 

 

However - having seen a thread on here about blacking out the inside of the genuine clusters I have now bought a set of used ones to give it a go. Looking at the pictures of the two exmapled on here, I think it's well worth a try. I'm a little apprehensive about putting the clusters in the oven to get the lenses off, but apparently that's the way to do it. I've also splashed out on a HID conversin kit and new fog, side and high beam bulbs which should look good if I can pull it off. 

 

5. Door/dash trim colour change. I've been thinking for a while now about painting the silver trim black and deiced to start today. The trim on the drivers door was a mess when I bought the car, and the piece on the centre console had worn to black around the AC dials.

 

A word to anyone considering this - it is NOT as simple as it should be. 

 

First of all, the trim on the doors is not clipped on, it's plastic welded to the door cards. The trim around the centre console comes off with a gentle tug, as does the small piece around the light switch. The one on the glovebox is screwed on with three Torx (20, if I recall) screws, but you'll have to pull off the glovebox to get to them and there's no room for more than the Torx bit itself. I used a soldering iron to remove the trim on the doors and plan to screw it back on as the plastic "pins" on the trim are hollow. I also lost over half of the plastic clips that hold the panels to the doors and have bought new ones all around as the rest don't look that good either. 

 

And I thought that was the hard part over. Not so. I originaly planned to sand the trim down with 1200 grit wet-dry paper just to get the paint to stick, but this turned out to be a pipe dream. As soon as you sand the paint down to the plastic to get rid of depper scratches any enamel-based paint will begin to eat what's already on there the moment you spray it. You could probably use something more gentle, but the trim (at least mine) is going to be subject to plenty of contact so it wasn't really an option. Luckily I have a rotary sander and some 600 grit pads which made the job a little less painful. 

 

 

6. White LED dome lights and boot lights. Bought a full set for the car (excluding for some reason the courtesy lights in the doors) and most went in without a hitch. However, the two side dome lights at the front were too long, but this can be overcome by snapping off the small bits of the moulding inside the housing just below the bulbs. 

 

7. Project DRL - !!!FAILED!!!

 

Jumping on the DRL bandwagon, I decided to use the LED clusters that came with my original badgeless grill and put these into the side bumper inserts. I have to admit that part of the problem was me just not thinking it through very well, but the effort resulted in a big old mess and I've now ordered new ones from Superskoda and put the idea behind me. 

 

And that's about it for now. Once the wheels are done and the new headlights installed (if I succeed), I think I'm going to call this project done. Might get some Osram LEDs to replace the indicator bulbs and the rest of the old filaments on the car, but that's about it. Or so I say. I'll undoubtedly dream up somehting else by then. 

[jronnquist]

Before

 

After

 

[jronnquist]

Update 

 

Quite a lot to report. 

 

1. So the wheels are back and I've now got four fully polished 18" Zeniths on the car. I can imagine some of you are probaly thinking this was a mistake, but allow me to make my case. 

 

The wheels were in bad shape when I bought the car and were going to need either replacing or proper refurbishment. My experience with refurbs in the original silver finish is not so good. I've had two sets donw in the past and both came back looking like they had been painted with Hamerite. I know you can get a good refurb to a darker colour for around £50 a wheel, but I didn't want to go that way. That left replacement as the only other clear option. But where can you get a set of decent 18" alloys for £440? The idea of just stripping the wheels to bare metal and polishing them was born of this dilema. As you can see from ealrier posts in this thread, I began by trying to do it myself. This insane (in hindsight) idea was inspired by this guy. 

 

 

But if you watch the video (all three parts) you'll see it took him a while. He also started with a brand new set of wheels, had an air compressor and the right tools, and had a simpler spoke pattern to work with. So in the end I found a company in Milton Keyenes who use ceramic polishers to do the job at £110 each. 

 

I'll admit I was initially a little freaked out by the result, which looked a bit too "bling". But unless  you have them laqured, this doesn't last long. As long as you stay on top of the oxydization with a lilttle metal polish from time to time, what you end up with is a finish that is metalic in a way no paint can be, but not all-out gangster. You also get a "clean" wheel with no marks, dents or scratches unless you add them yourself. In my opinion painting in the lettering complements this nicely, but I can imagine many will think this is too much. 

 

 

 

2. Painted the spolier black. Still not sure if this was too much or not. As you can see, I've opted for a yellow/matt black colour scheme and I thought the spoiler might provide a good contrast with both the black Skoda badge and the ABT badge. 

 

3. Door trim is now also black. This wasn't so much a descision as a compromise. Long story short; an elderly chap drove into the side of me a few weeks ago. The damage was minor and I decided not to make a claim as I've already made one this year and even "no fault" claims have an impact on premiums in the long run (trust me, I'm not kidding). Anyway, the door trim was cracked and one phone call to Skoda confirmed that you can only buy them as a set. Worse still, the VRS trim (at least for the pre-facelift MK2) is not the standard version and costs well over £200. Add painting and you're basically talking £300. The standard black set is less than £40.  I didn't realize when I ordered them that they have a dotted texture, but I managed to sand them smooth and repaint them. Again, the jury is out.  The good thing is that the spoiler can be removed and taken to my local paint shop if need be. Dito for the trim. 

 

4. Black headlights with LED side light bulbs and an HID conversion. 

 

 

 

 

 

Another project that I underestimated. 

 

I bought a spare set of headlights for this and used a heat gun rather than an oven to remove the lenses. It works just as well. One thing to note for anyone trying this is that the plastic guides that form part of the cluster mould are very weak. One of these was already broken by the time I opened the box. I plastic welded it back on with a soldering iron, then put an old alan key into the slot and filled it with epoxy to make sure it stayed. Anyway, once you get the lense off you need to remove the plastic insert and push out the inside cover for the indicator and sidelight bulb section. The chrome finish on these is very thin and will begin to melt if you use solvent based paint (which you need to), so I sanded it all off (except the bit for the sidelights and indicators). Once painted just put the cover back on, plastic weld back into place at the back and you're good. The chrome surround for the high beam stayts in the cluster, so no worries there. Where you DO need to worry is putting the lense cover back on. I made a huge mistake in using DIY -grade silicone. The clusters leaked right away and although I've since stopped these with healthy coating of liquid gasket to the whole seam, the damage is done and the inside of the lense is shot. I've since bought two more clusters and have brand new lenses (from China) to fit to them. This time I will be using a strip of Butyl Rubber sealent to place the lense, then black liquid gasket through a seringe to seal. 

 

5. Sound system. To complement the new Kenwood head unit I have replaced all eight speakers with JBL components and fully sound proofed the doors. 

 

 

I've also installed a 900W Kenwood sub to run them all. 

 

 

Needless to say, it's sounding a little better now. Both mids in the back doors were seized completely when I removed them. 

 

6. New shift gaiter and a chrome nob!

 

 

7. New LED license plate lights. 

 

 

I tried the eBay bulbs but these both began to flicker, so I went for actual LED housings. You can only get these for the facelift MK2, which are slightly wider. But I managed to modify them a little and they look much better.  They are NOT as bright as they lookin the picture.  These come with resistors for the CANBUS, but I didn't need to use them as it seems these lights are not regulated (at least on the pre-facelift).

 

 

And that;s about it for now. 

 

Next up:

 

- Shark fin DAB antenna (from an Audi A5). 

- Find out what that damn knocking sound is every time I hit a bump and do something about it. I've done a lot of reading up on this and the conclusion is that it could be ANYTHING. I've had the car on a ramp with a compatent mechanic and he couldn't figure out what the hell it is. Suspension is all good, springs and shocks are intact and the exhaust is nice and tight in all the right places, Nothing appears loose anywhere. The problem, of course, is that you cannnot replicate the sound when the vehicle is stationary without some kind of vibrating panel under the car. The sound is very clear when you hit a small pump, a pot hole or just a patch of deteriorating country road. It's a dull thud or clang, almost certainly metal on metal and it only happens on small, sharp bumps. The problem is, if it's not suspension related, it must be somehting else with moving parts. Steering rack? Gear box? Or maybe the guts of the DPF have come unhinged inside the housing. Who knows. I'll report back when I find the culprit. 

 

Edited 3 August, 2017 by jronnquist
Added some pictures

[Paul172sport]

Hi is the front splitter the superskoda one?

How did you find the fit and finish?