st170 under car detail

[rigpig]

thanks guys. you can argue its a bit pointless and it is a daunting task when you first get under there but i think overall its worth it. i dont plan on buying another car so i want to get as long as i can out of this one.

 

There really isn´t anything stopping you keeping any car for ever (barring accident) as long as you maintain it and make repairs in good time any modern car will last for decades, If you do this sort of inspection and cleaning regularly then you will never get rust as it won´t have a chance to start. Every car has it´s weak spots but if you know them you can prevent them. So if you intend to keep the car then I think you are doing the right thing, it will drop in value and bottom out and then start to rise again eventually as it becomes a modern classic and so on.

 

Wish I had the patience to do mine like this though :-)

[Hezz]

i am going to end up doing this to mine i think. i cant believe how manky mine is underneath compared to my gti

[ST170 Dan]

i am going to end up doing this to mine i think. i cant believe how manky mine is underneath compared to my gti

 

its definately worth doing, im a bit of a neat freak so its nice knowing its fresh and clean under there.

[shawdreamer]

im a bit of a neat freak so its nice knowing its fresh and clean under there.

 

 

strange how that corresponds to my preference in shags too

[ST170 Dan]

had another day off friday so used the long weekend to do some more painting. i started by taking the wheel off on one corner, removing the bumper, arch liner and the rear lights, leaving me with this:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/eaef8ed8-e02d-412b-85d2-bbeff36cda8.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/dbb969fd-b74f-4f19-ba19-00b43a094a7.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/69cd957f-0be8-42fd-9bcc-d259ec2fa30.jpg

 

first job was to pressure wash the arches, under the rear bumper and tail lights. i then clayed, cleansed and waxed the area, leaving me with:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/ba485f94-3691-4a58-aaa7-5770424ee66.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/68ccf3a4-aea4-4bd0-9dc4-2a8d1cdbdce.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/77f2269a-6307-4b07-9096-d8ebced01a4.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/b8d26380-8d48-4f6c-8cc0-057ed7b0a41.jpg

 

then i got down to business and started the painting. by the end of the weekend i had this:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/0b947564-3616-4fb4-bb70-5cbae2f6a95.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/053c3114-dcf8-4e2b-820f-b574fbeb71a.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/73c8dff0-f2ad-4dcf-a191-27572d53302.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/971447ba-22f6-4fe9-8e3a-62bbbcd701f.jpg

 

i then gave the back of the bumper a quick clean and removed the fog/reverse lights and cleaned them:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/ab8ab34f-4112-41c6-8109-3d2d4d57170.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/2ff18b98-0826-41cf-abc7-1396ae1435c.jpg

 

so thats it for this weekend. all in all im pleased with the results again, looking alot fresher and tidier than it was. i thought the back would be easier but when i got under there i realised there was alot more to it!!

 

the next session will see me do the exhaust and floor. i need to finish doing some of the bolts on the rear drivers side, but i had a scare with the locking wheel nut key so i need some new locking nuts before i take that wheel off again.

 

all comments welcome.

[stuey650]

good effort that and doing it with most parts still on the car. Gonna be a nightmare to keep on top of though, one rainy day and it'll be a mess again!

[ST170 Dan]

yeah, summers comin tho so should be ok for a while. at least theres some degree of rust protection now.

[ST170 Dan]

ok, so i took a day off work to finnish my undercar detail. i did the front half back in april but i wasnt happy that i forgot to do one bit, so i did that bit:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0148.jpg

 

apologies for the poor quality but you get the idea. i did the front part a quick wash and i was pleased that it came up nice and fresh after just a quick wash. it means that even if it does get dirty you can bring it back to fresh looking really easily. i also took this opportunity to dress the hoses with chemical guys new look trim gel. and for good measure i washed the alloys while they were off (had to swap them coz i put them on the wrong way round last time!!):

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0145.jpg

 

so i did the rear axle on my last big session and there was nothing to update here. on my last big session i also started to do the flooring but i didnt do any pics that session. as i had done the floor i decided to do behind the sills, on the back of the shell and along the chassis, just for conitinuity if anything else (i thought it would look odd if the paint just stopped). so this session i just finnished the floor, shell, chassis and everything in the middle section. the exhaust was also done in heat paint. anyway, enough chat, the pics!!

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0142.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0141.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0140.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0139.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0138.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0137.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0135.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0143.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0133.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0129.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/dreadscort/Photo0125.jpg

 

all in all im really pleased with it. once cleaned up everything looks fresh and clean which was exactly what i was trying to achieve. the contrast of the black and silver looks really good i think, rather than everything look murky and dirty! the only thing im slightly dissapointed about is that the heat paint isnt very good - part of it is already chipped off or stained slightly so i may redo that towards the end of the summer. the next project will be a wheel refurb so watch this space!! all comments good and bad welcome

[ajc.78]

good effort mate always wondered what my st170 would look like clean lol!

 

need to get my alloys refurbed as well the st170 ones seem to have a habit of corroding more than others

 

you gonna be showing it as looks like a concourse level effort?

 

al

[JC]

good effort mate always wondered what my st170 would look like clean lol!

 

They do look nice clean...

[ST170 Dan]

good effort mate always wondered what my st170 would look like clean lol!

 

need to get my alloys refurbed as well the st170 ones seem to have a habit of corroding more than others

 

you gonna be showing it as looks like a concourse level effort?

 

al

 

i did jokingly think about it but its miiiiiiiiiiiiiiles off concours standard i think - the paint has some quite serious defects to sort out and as mentioned the st170 wheels are prone to paint corrosion that i need to sort out. and the engine is only clean on the surface, its grubbier once you delve a bit deeper.