Leaderboard

I purchased a shed load of gear many years ago (G220 V1, PTG etc etc) but fell out of love with detailing after a while and went back to just using the local £5 hand wash place. Having recently purchased the ISF I decided to get some tuition so I could expand my skills and finally correct a car fully so I booked a tuition day with Matt at Obsiadian Detailing in Saddleworth. The pictures below are a mix of iPhone and camera, excuse my poor mspaint skills when masking my plate. Arrived at Obsidian HQ for 09:00 and after a coffee we got on with washing and claying the car - 2 hours later we were left with a washed and clayed car - Got it out of the rain and into the unit where it was dried and taped up ready for some machine polishing with a random orbital - We started with the bootlid which was showing the usual swirls and marks you would expect from a used car - The paint proved to be annoyingly soft and ended up needing a 3 step process of compounding, polishing and then refining with a trio of pads and polishes. The different between the correct bootlid and the untouched spoiler was obvious. We then moved on to the NSR door, the paintwork was just as bad as the rest of the car - The same 3 stage process resulted in a massive difference - Matt also showed me the Glare Professional Polish which we used on a section the OSR door, took no time at all to apply and I was shocked at just how much of the swirls it managed to mask. Something for me to consider using once I have corrected the rest of the car just to give it that extra something and help me keep on top of the finish. Having spent a good 8 hours or so at Obsidian HQ learning new skills and knowledge I now have the confidence to go and correct the rest of the car and get it looking its best. Will need some decent weather now unless I manage to find a garage or unit that I can use for a day or two. I strongly recommend one to one tuition to anyone who is looking to gain some confidence and skills in using a machine polisher and learning more about looking after your paintwork. If you are local (or fancy the trip to Saddleworth) then give Matt at Obsidian Detailing a shout.

Yes it was, much appreciated! It is/was stressful buying a car from outside the UK but I'm very happy with the car and the previous owner has been great. Made all the research/logistics worth while.

Hi mate, to tell if its HDD based, you button the the far bottom left of the screen should say INFO TEL. if it does then its HDD hased. Either way only the IS MK3 has free updates not MK2 so you will have to pay each time, DVD or HDD based

I actually agree, I know most hot hatches would leave me standing but I love my Lexus and it now goes the way I feel it always should have. And also because its different, there isn't another one that looks like mine around and I think it looks great too, so I will keep mine as long as its viable good luck with the conversion and look forward to seeing the pictures.

Hmmmmm.. shame BMW couldnt keep the reputation of its e46 M3 engine. The v6 4.0 was a oil guzzler built with weak components. Thats what pushed to the mighty ISF.😆 I miss my ISF😔

Ive spoken to the trader who has it atm and he is someone i know (thro a friend of a friend) so the car is there, his happy to take cash too.. i said i will come and see him next weekend. I will give you guys a full d-low after i see it... probably got bullet holes in it lol.