Beautifully put together mate! What do you use on your plastics? Your sideskirts etc? 
All looking very fresh!
All looking very fresh!
Thanks both!
With the plastics underneath and in the wheel arches I just use AG Vinyl & Rubber Care. With the sideskirts etc I use as little as possible just wash then use quick detailer and the occasional thin application of AG Bumper Care.
DC
With the plastics underneath and in the wheel arches I just use AG Vinyl & Rubber Care. With the sideskirts etc I use as little as possible just wash then use quick detailer and the occasional thin application of AG Bumper Care.
DC
Woah! You've managed to keep them looking great! Mine look pretty crap, I'm half considering buying myself new ones tbh...
You seriously need to enter some concours events with all this detail
+1
It looks amazing mate, I love it. I really hope this car will last at least another 20 years!
Also, do you think the AG Bumper care would bring the plastic/rubber-ish bumpers on pre-facelifts back to new-ish black as well? And if it might work, do you think the 'stuff' would be worth the cost on a car that has a lot of little dings and scratches and generally bad paintwork? (As I'm trying to get mine back into better condition too, but I'm only on a student budget so I don't want to spend a whole load of money on something this minor...)
Calliper Refurb
Previously I had re-painted the callipers/carriers with Smoothrite but the finish was deteriorating with flaking, bubbling and rust.
Also I was never happy with the sloppy un-masked brush application and the fact I never did any thing with the corroded handbrake mechanism lever and cable bracket on the back of the calliper.
Having seen excellent results achieved by others I decided this time to disassemble the callipers, remove/treat all rust, mask all seals properly and use VHT (brand) Aluminium Calliper Paint (aerosol).
Started off using Nitromors to remove the old Smoothrite but this still required extensive wire brushing with a drill to be rid of it completely.
Results:
Re the AG Bumper Care - give it a go! - its only about £4
Handbrake cable brakets before: (afters later)
Previously I had re-painted the callipers/carriers with Smoothrite but the finish was deteriorating with flaking, bubbling and rust.
Also I was never happy with the sloppy un-masked brush application and the fact I never did any thing with the corroded handbrake mechanism lever and cable bracket on the back of the calliper.
Having seen excellent results achieved by others I decided this time to disassemble the callipers, remove/treat all rust, mask all seals properly and use VHT (brand) Aluminium Calliper Paint (aerosol).
Started off using Nitromors to remove the old Smoothrite but this still required extensive wire brushing with a drill to be rid of it completely.
Results:
Re the AG Bumper Care - give it a go! - its only about £4
Handbrake cable brakets before: (afters later)
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Everything was then left to soak in Bilt Hamber Deox-C - Concentrated Rust Remover for 24 hours which did a great job. Various small wire brushes and a dremmel were used to further enhance every surface ready for paint.
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/deox-c-concentrated-rust-remover-1kg.php?cPath=77
The Handbrake cable brackets and hex bolt were given two brush coats of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 - Rust Eliminator and two spray coats of Extreme Chassis Black.
Afters:
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/deox-c-concentrated-rust-remover-1kg.php?cPath=77
The Handbrake cable brackets and hex bolt were given two brush coats of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 - Rust Eliminator and two spray coats of Extreme Chassis Black.
Afters:
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Good lord DC! (Your name would be handy here!) , that's again some top work! Gotta get my hands on this Bilt Hamber Hydrate you're using! Where do you get it from? Fancy giving my calipers the once over when I get my ronals on!
, that's again some top work! Gotta get my hands on this Bilt Hamber Hydrate you're using! Where do you get it from? Fancy giving my calipers the once over when I get my ronals on!
Callipers and Carriers were then painted using VHT Aluminium as per instructions with the addition of two coats of VHT Clear Lacquer and baked in the oven at 90oC for an hour (best not done on a Sunday - lol).
Carriers:
Callipers to follow
Carriers:
Callipers to follow
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Yeah very pleased!
Though this was the second attempt!
I had to start COMPLETELY from scratch (bare metal) as whilst baking in the oven, brake fluid seeped out and ruined the paint. I was so gutted I nearly gave up and spent £160 on new recon callipers but after seeing the quality of the ones in stock I decided to persevere!
This time I decided to remove the pistons, all fluid, seals and rubber boots till after baking to ensure this didn't happen again. Also it means you can get a better prep/finish around the piston aperture. To keep the internals clean I cut discs of cardboard the same diameter as the first groove the rubber boots sit in and pushed them inside which creates a good seal.
After removing the cardboard disc.
I found that one of the pistons was damaged so I replaced it with a new one from Big Red and also replaced the rubber boots and inner piston seals with a new genuine VW kit from the dealers.
The handbrake mech lever was masked up and painted after baking the silver paint.
Though this was the second attempt!
I had to start COMPLETELY from scratch (bare metal) as whilst baking in the oven, brake fluid seeped out and ruined the paint. I was so gutted I nearly gave up and spent £160 on new recon callipers but after seeing the quality of the ones in stock I decided to persevere!
This time I decided to remove the pistons, all fluid, seals and rubber boots till after baking to ensure this didn't happen again. Also it means you can get a better prep/finish around the piston aperture. To keep the internals clean I cut discs of cardboard the same diameter as the first groove the rubber boots sit in and pushed them inside which creates a good seal.
After removing the cardboard disc.
I found that one of the pistons was damaged so I replaced it with a new one from Big Red and also replaced the rubber boots and inner piston seals with a new genuine VW kit from the dealers.
The handbrake mech lever was masked up and painted after baking the silver paint.
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How did you bake them? In your own oven at home? And what paint did you use? You know what, I'm beginning to edge towards this silver. It's so much fresher than over-used red.
Will look immense I'm sure . I'm requesting a few pics of your interior too, so put those up in your next update
. I'm requesting a few pics of your interior too, so put those up in your next update 
Some images from fitting the calipers:
Whilst the disks were off I prepped, masked and paint them with POR20 heat resistant paint:
Next task after this was the front installing the front struts.
Whilst the disks were off I prepped, masked and paint them with POR20 heat resistant paint:
Next task after this was the front installing the front struts.
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