02 plate S2 Elise - man it needed some love!
Discussion
How do's all..? 
A friend and associate of a neighbour bought his 2002 Ice Blue Lotus Elise in early 2006 - shortly before I got my SportsRacer and despite always enthusing about it, he confessed that last summer's weather and the current condition of the car has him considering selling up every month
After seeing the work I'd done on our Alfa 147, he asked if I'd have a go at his Elise. Of course, having the chance to get up close an personal with an Elise again had me agreeing instantly and I did say that it was my intention to have him walk up to it when finished and fall in love all over again... did I succeed..?
He dropped the car off on a Sunday evening - or rather he parked it with the roof off and the keys in it somewhere near the house and by Monday evening, it looked like rain. Unsure whether he anticipated that I'd have already made a start, I decided to take the initiative rather than risk a flood and put the soft top on! He admitted that he'd forgotten all about it until waking in the dead of night thinking, "Ah well, too late now anyway"
Tuesday lunchtime brought the start. Closer inspection revealed some general muckiness:
And a nasty ding in the rear clam:
which is beyond my abilities as it will need filling & painting to do the job properly. However, touching in with some Ice Blue paint made things a little better - well, at least they were body coloured gouges rather than white ones!
Moving to the interior:
Towards the engine bay:
So, erm, yes... you can see that it's been rather neglected (and it didn't get that way on track either!)
To be fair, I think we've got this one in the nick of time as it could soon get drastically ropey and resembling a wreck! Unperturbed and still being a huge lover of these cars, it was time to get stuck in 
First up, the car was foamed with a mix of Bilt Hamber Auto Foam and Bilt Hamber Surefex with the awkward bits agitated with a small brush before a handwash using the two bucket method, two mitts and Poorboys Slick n Suds. Tar spots were removed using AutoGlym Tar Remover before a rinse and quick towel dry revealed the extent of paintwork surface damage:
Before tackling that, the remainder of the day saw the car jacked up, wheels off, arches pressure washed and cleaned via 4:1 dilution of Surefex & small brush and washed with an old mitt before being dressed with AutoGlym Vinyl & Rubber Treatment
Before:
After:
The inner surfaces of the wheels received the same 4:1 Surefex treatment and were scrubbed with an old brush
Before:
During:
AutoGlym Tar Remover shifted the remaining spots before a wash & rinse and the wheels were finally cleaned and prepped with Klasse All-In-One before two coats of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard
Wednesday saw the car disappear for an MOT! Some play in the steering rack kept it at the garage all day so nothing got done
...but at least it passed later that day and it returned once again
Thursday started with a quick wash to remove the muck it had picked up along the way and attention then turned to the engine bay which I cleaned using 4:1 Surfex and a small brush before a fine spray rinse. All was dressed with Aerospace 303 Protectant (which needed a doing again at the end after the polishing dust had entered the vents, but hey ho!)
Before:
After:
The interior was washed and cleaned using Surefex once again - this was quite a task due to the limited access and the enclosed nature of the tub
All the leather on the seats and door cards was cleaned using Gliptone Leather Cleaner and a little neat Surefex removed the very stubborn green stuff which had been dropped on to the driver's seat
Next up was the paintwork. Using the Megs 220 Orbital Polishing Machine and Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 on a Sonus SFX-1 pad, I set about improving the finish
After four attempts, the heavy swirls went from this:
to:
A big improvement, but not completely corrected as deeper scratches remained. However, without any way of measuring the layers of paint on the car, that was as far as I was personally prepared to go. Discretion being the better part of valour and all that!
A swipe across the engine bay lid was nicely corrected though:
As were the random patches where I'd guess that perhaps tar spots may have been removed with a Brillo pad!
Some scratches near the air intakes were sorted:
And the definition in the metallic paint was suitably restored (left half of the photos corrected, right half as yet uncorrected):
Lovely metallic flake:
I then glazed the whole car with Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze by hand and left that to cure before buffing. A layer of Collinite 915 Paste Wax was added to a few panels and left to cure for a short time whilst I worked around the car cleaning the glass inside and out with the Carlack Glass System and blackening the external plastics using Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel
After buffing off the last of the Wax, everything was topped with Zaino Z8 Sealant
All the interior plastics, alcantara and aluminium were finished and tidied with Aerospace 303 Protectant on a microfibre cloth before the tyres were dressed with New Look Trim Gel and some Z8 used to finish the outer surface of the wheels
With the natural daylight long gone, the final shots were taken under the halogen work lights:
The following morning provided the opportunity to grab some quick snaps in natural light:
So, did I succeed in my intention..? You bet! He can't quite find the words but is so chuffed!
A friend and associate of a neighbour bought his 2002 Ice Blue Lotus Elise in early 2006 - shortly before I got my SportsRacer and despite always enthusing about it, he confessed that last summer's weather and the current condition of the car has him considering selling up every month
After seeing the work I'd done on our Alfa 147, he asked if I'd have a go at his Elise. Of course, having the chance to get up close an personal with an Elise again had me agreeing instantly and I did say that it was my intention to have him walk up to it when finished and fall in love all over again... did I succeed..?
He dropped the car off on a Sunday evening - or rather he parked it with the roof off and the keys in it somewhere near the house and by Monday evening, it looked like rain. Unsure whether he anticipated that I'd have already made a start, I decided to take the initiative rather than risk a flood and put the soft top on! He admitted that he'd forgotten all about it until waking in the dead of night thinking, "Ah well, too late now anyway"
Tuesday lunchtime brought the start. Closer inspection revealed some general muckiness:
And a nasty ding in the rear clam:
which is beyond my abilities as it will need filling & painting to do the job properly. However, touching in with some Ice Blue paint made things a little better - well, at least they were body coloured gouges rather than white ones!
Moving to the interior:
Towards the engine bay:
So, erm, yes... you can see that it's been rather neglected (and it didn't get that way on track either!)
To be fair, I think we've got this one in the nick of time as it could soon get drastically ropey and resembling a wreck! Unperturbed and still being a huge lover of these cars, it was time to get stuck in First up, the car was foamed with a mix of Bilt Hamber Auto Foam and Bilt Hamber Surefex with the awkward bits agitated with a small brush before a handwash using the two bucket method, two mitts and Poorboys Slick n Suds. Tar spots were removed using AutoGlym Tar Remover before a rinse and quick towel dry revealed the extent of paintwork surface damage:
Before tackling that, the remainder of the day saw the car jacked up, wheels off, arches pressure washed and cleaned via 4:1 dilution of Surefex & small brush and washed with an old mitt before being dressed with AutoGlym Vinyl & Rubber Treatment
Before:
After:
The inner surfaces of the wheels received the same 4:1 Surefex treatment and were scrubbed with an old brush
Before:
During:
AutoGlym Tar Remover shifted the remaining spots before a wash & rinse and the wheels were finally cleaned and prepped with Klasse All-In-One before two coats of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard
Wednesday saw the car disappear for an MOT! Some play in the steering rack kept it at the garage all day so nothing got done
...but at least it passed later that day and it returned once againThursday started with a quick wash to remove the muck it had picked up along the way and attention then turned to the engine bay which I cleaned using 4:1 Surfex and a small brush before a fine spray rinse. All was dressed with Aerospace 303 Protectant (which needed a doing again at the end after the polishing dust had entered the vents, but hey ho!)
Before:
After:
The interior was washed and cleaned using Surefex once again - this was quite a task due to the limited access and the enclosed nature of the tub
All the leather on the seats and door cards was cleaned using Gliptone Leather Cleaner and a little neat Surefex removed the very stubborn green stuff which had been dropped on to the driver's seat
Next up was the paintwork. Using the Megs 220 Orbital Polishing Machine and Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 on a Sonus SFX-1 pad, I set about improving the finish
After four attempts, the heavy swirls went from this:
to:
A big improvement, but not completely corrected as deeper scratches remained. However, without any way of measuring the layers of paint on the car, that was as far as I was personally prepared to go. Discretion being the better part of valour and all that!
A swipe across the engine bay lid was nicely corrected though:
As were the random patches where I'd guess that perhaps tar spots may have been removed with a Brillo pad!
Some scratches near the air intakes were sorted:
And the definition in the metallic paint was suitably restored (left half of the photos corrected, right half as yet uncorrected):
Lovely metallic flake:
I then glazed the whole car with Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze by hand and left that to cure before buffing. A layer of Collinite 915 Paste Wax was added to a few panels and left to cure for a short time whilst I worked around the car cleaning the glass inside and out with the Carlack Glass System and blackening the external plastics using Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel
After buffing off the last of the Wax, everything was topped with Zaino Z8 Sealant
All the interior plastics, alcantara and aluminium were finished and tidied with Aerospace 303 Protectant on a microfibre cloth before the tyres were dressed with New Look Trim Gel and some Z8 used to finish the outer surface of the wheels
With the natural daylight long gone, the final shots were taken under the halogen work lights:
The following morning provided the opportunity to grab some quick snaps in natural light:
So, did I succeed in my intention..? You bet! He can't quite find the words but is so chuffed!
SeanyD said:
Great wite up, and great photos. Good effort in giving the car the TLC it much deserved
Thanks Seany 
I was expecting to have my hands full with it - but the inside definitely caught me by surprise!
It was so rewarding to to bring it back from the edge though. I felt suitably honoured and proud
S Works said:
You're madder than mad Jack McMad and his pet March hare, but fair play to you buddy, that's a transformation and a half! If ever the gigging game gets too much, and you're not in the mood for any building projects, you know you have a vocation there! Well done.
Hey Tim - how's married life treating you fella..?
Funny you should mention the vocation - I've had a load of people saying the same thing lately! It bloody half kills me though as I just can't do anything by half!
mrssumner said:
Will you do mine for me pleeeeese?
It's not half as bad as that one, honest
.
It's not half as bad as that one, honest
.mrssumner said:
No, seriously, mine's not quite that bad. My door hinges are much cleaner.
I should hope they are! 
Mind you, if that's a pic of your car in your forum profile, then my talents stand no chance!!!
Edited by Janitor on Wednesday 7th October 00:17
Defcon5 said:
Had the owner been rallying in it?
Not quite - but he does currently live down the end of a farm lane, so when the weather is crap - which of course is very often these days - he gets very disheartened with trying to keep it nice... so disheartened in fact that I guess he stopped trying Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff