fiestaturbo.com

by **Gaz7** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 2:58 pm

.... So the FRST has come out of her winter hibernation, and the Focus has just had it's first polish as the paint is hard enough now, and i want to try to prove markFRST wrong that you can't make silver cars shiny :wink:

Gareth

by **andyhardy** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:11 pm

Looking good!

Love both of them mate - have an RST myself and used to have a brilliant Focus 1.6 Zetec before (I may even stick my neck out and say it's one of the best cars Ford has made!).

I'm getting my turbo resprayed at the moment - any tips for looking after the paint on it, I've heard that you shouldn't polish them straight away.

Cheers,

Andy

by **Max M4X WW** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:12 pm

Lovley, I noticed the

after your name instead of the usual

i can see why

Both look amazing, Both H platers lol. and the focus looks like it was when u bought it. So does the fiesta!

by **Gaz7** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:24 pm

Max - thanks

Both H platers indeed lol

Andy - are you having your car resprayed in the original grey? If so, many bodyshops will say that you can polish the paint striaght away but you never should. What level of spraying are you having done?

For example, i've left the Focus just over 3 months for it's first polish, as you should always leave a brand new car, or a bare metal spray, for around 3 months before polishing to allow the paint to properly work harden (i.e in the real world not in an oven)

Certain colours can be done slightly sooner, mercury grey and the silver on my Focus are tough paints and could be done sooner if you wished, but i still left it 3 months to be certain. Other soft colours, like red and black, should always be left.

If the painting is a local paint (i.e not on bare metal but over existing paint) then you don't have to wait as long, 1-2 months is fine. 3 months is a good general time limit though

As for the Focus - it's supreme

After 3 months and nearly 3k, i love driving it - great build quality, no squeaks or rattles, and unbelievable handling, brakes and dynamics. I have a road near my house with lots of roundabouts on it one after the other. I can go along that road and hold 2,000rpm in 5th gear and whup all the saxo VTS boyracers that drive down it time after time :wink:

When they overtake me on the straight bit afterwards, when i'm still holding 2k revs, they think they've 'done me' :lol:

Gareth

by **SPo0n** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:29 pm

is the focus going to stay concours too? wicked cars

by **andyhardy** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:32 pm

Thanks for the info dude.

It's just a respray in Merc. Grey (not bare metal) so will leave it for 3 months like you said.

Cheers,

Andy

P.S. What do you use on your tyres? Sorry 'bout all the questions but I get the impression you love it really :lol:

by **Gaz7** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:37 pm

Spoon - yeah i'm keeping the Focus working class concours, partly because i love it :lol:

and partly to prove to all the people who buy new cars and ruin them, how easy it is with a bit of dedication to keep it how it was when you bought it

Andy - i do love it :lol:

No probs, 3 months will be fine, then just polish lightly ( when i did the focus i used hardly any pressure when applying and buffing off ) I use Autoglym tyre dressing on my tyres

by **SPo0n** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:45 pm

What do you do if you have to walk through mud or a puddle to get back to your car?

hoover it instantly? just that i have to take the dog out for a walk quite a bit, and i take him in the car - it's filthy and full of dog hairs. you seem to be able to keep cars clean - what's the best way for me to clean it?

by **Gaz7** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:52 pm

The easiest way is honestly lots of regular cleaning - i clean the Focus around twice a week so the dirt never builds up to unmanagable levels. I wear safety boots to work, so to make sure i don't get my carpet mats dirty i cheat a bit and i've got slim rubber mats on top of them - i can just hose these off then give them a quick spray with rubber care to keep them black so they look nice

You have to be fairly careful with your paint, as imperial blue (my dad's sportka is imperial so was my mates zetec-s) is a soft paint, and chips and scratches easily. I'd sit back from other people on the road to help prevent chips, and you have to be careful when you wash. Rinse with low pressure water first to remove loose dirt, then use loads of soap and water on the sponge to help prevent swirl marks. Regular polishing will build up layers to protect your paint too

As for the dog hairs.....

I'm afraid my dog is not allowed in my car at all :lol:

Gareth

by **Max M4X WW** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:52 pm

SPo0n :What do you do if you have to walk through mud or a puddle to get back to your car? hoover it instantly? just that i have to take the dog out for a walk quite a bit, and i take him in the car - it's filthy and full of dog hairs. you seem to be able to keep cars clean - what's the best way for me to clean it?

Dont take the scrotty dog in it to start with!

by **1600power** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 7:48 pm

topstuff m8, fiesta is as shiny as ur fresh bloody focus......excellent!!!

by **SPo0n** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 8:04 pm

Max M4X WW :
SPo0n :What do you do if you have to walk through mud or a puddle to get back to your car? hoover it instantly? just that i have to take the dog out for a walk quite a bit, and i take him in the car - it's filthy and full of dog hairs. you seem to be able to keep cars clean - what's the best way for me to clean it?

Dont take the scrotty dog in it to start with!

i have to though, to "earn my keep"? :-?

gonna give my car a thorough clean tomorow if the weather is nice

by **MikeyXR2i** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:53 pm

Put it away the weather aint ready. Bring it out now, and it will be rusted away by christmas. :wink:

by **Capri** on Sat Apr 10, 2004 10:25 pm

Both are looking lovely mate, I still think that Focus is a fantastic looking car, very classy indeed. Of course, the FRST is somewhat more fun and I reckon better looking, as I always say it's a credit to yourself and I hope you enjoy the summer months in her.

By the way, looking at the reg, was your Focus registered somewhere down here, either in Portsmouth or Bournemouth? only all the cars we have tooling round here are on H# plates.

by **Gaz7** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 12:24 am

Mikey - it's okay she is back in the garage, it was a brief excursion on a nice day - i need to start readying for FITP

No rust in site

1600power - yeah the shines are pretty similar

The fiesta hasn't been polished yet, so i'll do that the next time it comes out to see if that gives it the edge

Capri - thanks

I still won't really use the Fiesta in the summer, probably only do about 1k miles a year now, but it is fun when she comes out

Yeah i buy all my cars in Bournemouth, because the Essex dealers ( and every where else with the possible exception of a dealer in Cambridge ) can't match the prices they offer for Ford priviledge. My family have used the same salesman for years now, and although i always shop around every time i buy a new car, no one can ever match the Bournemouth prices

Gareth

by **ju575** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 4:02 am

Your FRST is exactly like i'd want mine if i had one

. Absolutly mint, like they should be

by **andyhardy** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 12:33 pm

Capri :By the way, looking at the reg, was your Focus registered somewhere down here, either in Portsmouth or Bournemouth? only all the cars we have tooling round here are on H# plates.

Yeah - H is for Hampshire and surrounding area I believe.

We get G plates round here for Kent and Sussex - Garden of England (why they didn't choose K or S I don't know :lol:

)

by **Bash** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 1:53 pm

Nice pictures Gaz, really brings out the colours well

What camera you use? I have cybershot and doesnt quite bring out
the colours as what you actually see

Keep it clean d00d

by **Gaz7** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:26 pm

I use...... Cybershot :lol:

I find it fine, apart from it struggles when the sun is shining directly on the red

Gareth

by **XR_Ben** on Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:07 pm

Those xenon focus lights just look soo nice, i love em

I've never met/ seen anyone who takes as mcuh care as you do when it comes to their cars and paintwork. I hope to take a leaf out of your book when/ if i get my car resprayed.

Dont you ever get just a touch fed up with cleaning cars? Even in a really cold and wet spell of weather, are you still out there cleaning and polishing?

by **Gaz7** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 12:14 am

Yeah the lights are great - soooo much brighter than normal lights, makes driving in the dark much less stressful on your eyes

As for the cars and paintwork i can honestly say i do enjoy it, i find it quite relaxing after being busy at work to go and clean my car for a few hours without any hassle - i look forward to it

It's also got to the stage where i'm so used to the car being clean i hate it being dirty, so i'll wash it before doing anything else or it bugs me :lol:

In the winter when the weather's really bad, i do admit it's more of a labour of love - but this is also when i wash it the most - when it snowed and i had to drive the focus to work, i washed it every day for four days to keep the salt off - just to make sure it stayed nice.

My dad's like it aswell so i was also brought up like this :lol:

Some people at work think it's really funny i take so much care of my cars, but they're my pride and joy and it keeps me happy so no harm done

Also, some people can make me laugh in the sense that they think it's silly taking so much care over a car - but they'll do something like buy a new mobile for £200 and protect it with their lives lol, one of the blokes at work doesn't even like people touching it :lol:

Fair enough but the phone was £200, bust it and you can go buy another. The Focus is worth £13.5k, the FRST, to me, £priceless

Gareth

by **DJ Josh** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:29 am

Both cars look stunning, top work. The FRST probably looks as good as it did the day it left Ford!

by **Gaz7** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:53 am

Thanks, that's the aim eventually

Gareth

by **Max M4X WW** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:06 pm

Gaz7 :Thanks, that's the aim eventually

Gareth

Eventually? What do you class it as now?

And if you dont mind me asking, Whats its milage?

by **Gaz7** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:12 pm

I always try to be critical of my own work - so there's bits and pieces i'd like to do before i'd class it exactly as factory, more work in the engine bay and more work on the underside. Mileage is 86k, wanted to get it up a bit more ideally for concours reasons, but i don't drive it enough now for that to happen

Gareth

by **Max M4X WW** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:15 pm

Ok cool

by **MikeyXR2i** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:24 pm

if you want to keep these type of cars, A1 Perfect, they need Critical checks on the underbody, ones that are dry used, maybe not so much, but all the problems start way down here, which turn these cars into sheds.

by **Gaz7** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:37 pm

The car is dry use only

but i've been doing underbody prepping for about a year. Would like to get it all finished (the underbody) this year ideally, but that depends how much time i have

Gareth

by **DJ Josh** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 8:14 pm

Gaz, just out of interest regarding dry-use, what happens if it rains on a show day? Like it did last year at FITP?

I showed my mate these pictures today, we're both stunned at the mintness of your FRST, bleedin love it!!

by **Gaz7** on Mon Apr 12, 2004 8:29 pm

Lol yes, FITP last year grrrrrrrrrrrr :lol:

The car will only ever come out of the garage on a perfectly dry sunny day, as like i said it'll do 1,000 miles a year absolute tops. The only exception is for a big show, FITP, FF or RSOC National day. Then, begrudgingly, i will get her wet, as i have to attend the shows or i'd never drive it :lol:

She's fully undersealed etc, so wet use is no problems, it's just a pain as it means cleaning all the underside, rear arches etc again.

The weekend after FITP last year involved hours of cleaning with the car up on axle stands etc, but it's not too bad - layers of polish and the like means it all comes off pretty easily.

I'd much rather, that for the few show days a year when i have to use the car, it didn't bloody rain though :lol: