Headlight polish

[AlphaGaz]

I recently bought a 2003 3.2S which needs some TLC.  Polished the light today which were very faded using a 10 quid kit from Ebay.  Results are amazing even though I got caught out by a shower when the sealer was still soft but still a massive improvement for the money.

 

Also cleaned the roof for the third time and it turns out its blue not black!

[iborguk]

That looks a satisfying and good outcome for a bit of DIY 👍

[GmanB]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:08 PM, AlphaGaz said:

I recently bought a 2003 3.2S which needs some TLC.  Polished the light today which were very faded using a 10 quid kit from Ebay.  Results are amazing even though I got caught out by a shower when the sealer was still soft but still a massive improvement for the money.

 

Also cleaned the roof for the third time and it turns out its blue not black!

Great stuff, did you use a polisher or blood and sweat?

Edited July 1, 2022 by GmanB

[AlphaGaz]

for the lights i used a polishing kit from ebay which came with a pad which i fitted to a cordless drill on low speed.  The roof was good old blood sweat and tears witha scrubbing brush and some soft top cleaner again from ebay followed by a coat of fabsil when dry and I'm very pleased with the results of both jobs

[Strugs]

Link to the ebay kit you bought, please?

[Nitro V8]

They have come up well.

Another job on my list!

[AlphaGaz]

i used this one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204015173938?hash=item2f80408132%3Ag%3A8R8AAOSwoPNiKaiz&LH_BIN=1

the one thing I would say is that when I applied the lacquer they actually got worse although the weather didnt do me any favours as they are supposed to go in the sun and the minute I applied it it rained so I'm sure if it was down to this or the lacquer itself but I ended up wiping it off as it still hadnt hone off after 24 hours, polishing them again and this time I just applied car wax which I'm hoping will fend off the UV

[½cwt]

48 minutes ago, AlphaGaz said:

i used this one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204015173938?hash=item2f80408132%3Ag%3A8R8AAOSwoPNiKaiz&LH_BIN=1

the one thing I would say is that when I applied the lacquer they actually got worse although the weather didnt do me any favours as they are supposed to go in the sun and the minute I applied it it rained so I'm sure if it was down to this or the lacquer itself but I ended up wiping it off as it still hadnt hone off after 24 hours, polishing them again and this time I just applied car wax which I'm hoping will fend off the UV

I had hoped car wax would do the job, however after a couple of years they had started to go yellow again so wax/polish does not UV protect.  After a go with some cutting polish the light had come nice and clear again but after using a UV wipe and I have a similar problem to you that the UV coating has made the lights look worse than when polished, however in my case it has dried...

Polishing is relatively easy.  UV lacquer is the hard bit ☹️

[ATM]

17 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

I had hoped car wax would do the job, however after a couple of years they had started to go yellow again so wax/polish does not UV protect.  After a go with some cutting polish the light had come nice and clear again but after using a UV wipe and I have a similar problem to you that the UV coating has made the lights look worse than when polished, however in my case it has dried...

Polishing is relatively easy.  UV lacquer is the hard bit ☹️

I've seen some UV protection type clear wrap on eBay so could this be a simpler option over the tricky lacquer?

[AlphaGaz]

possibly, I'll probably just settle for re polishing them every couple of years.  I have to sell a kydney next for the clutch though which I had budgeted for when buying the car but I never considered the flywheel which most people are recommending too

[map]

41 minutes ago, AlphaGaz said:

possibly, I'll probably just settle for re polishing them every couple of years.  I have to sell a kydney next for the clutch though which I had budgeted for when buying the car but I never considered the flywheel which most people are recommending too

Maybe budget for the flywheel but be absolutely certain it actually need changing before commissioning that piece of work.  So many folk end up following an expensive "whilst you're in there" - "you don't want to be spending to open it up again" path to maintenance on these cars.  I am not sure how often that creates a realised saving for them - the next owner maybe.... 

[RedBarediver]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:04 PM, map said:

Maybe budget for the flywheel but be absolutely certain it actually need changing before commissioning that piece of work.  So many folk end up following an expensive "whilst you're in there" - "you don't want to be spending to open it up again" path to maintenance on these cars.  I am not sure how often that creates a realised saving for them - the next owner maybe.... 

This is very true. I spent a ton of money on my 147 because I was never gonna sell it. Now I'm forced to take a hiding and sell a car that is basically brand new for peanuts. If I had room in the garage or on the drive I would keep it but either the Porsche or the Alfa has to go. And I'm enjoying the Porsche too much.

[Araf]

34 minutes ago, RedBarediver said:

This is very true. I spent a ton of money on my 147 because I was never gonna sell it. Now I'm forced to take a hiding and sell a car that is basically brand new for peanuts. If I had room in the garage or on the drive I would keep it but either the Porsche or the Alfa has to go. And I'm enjoying the Porsche too much.

Loved my 147.  What model is yours?

[½cwt]

54 minutes ago, RedBarediver said:

This is very true. I spent a ton of money on my 147 because I was never gonna sell it. Now I'm forced to take a hiding and sell a car that is basically brand new for peanuts. If I had room in the garage or on the drive I would keep it but either the Porsche or the Alfa has to go. And I'm enjoying the Porsche too much.

 

19 minutes ago, Araf said:

Loved my 147.  What model is yours?

I liked and hated our 147 (56 plate Lusso JTD 150) but it was the most expensive car up to that point hat I'd owned (Porsche has trumped it but I knew I'd have to do work on a 18 year old Porsche, not on a 4 year old diesel hatch).  Good ride, handled well, drank a bit of diesel compared to a VAG TDI but nice.  But seized water pump (500 miles and 6 moths before the service interval with the cam belt but 6 months out of warranty, Alfa not interested in even a good will gesture) so complete set of cam followers and rockers, new handles on both front doors.  Halved in value in 18 months even as a second hand buy.

[Araf]

Mine was a JTDm (which I think yours probably was too, at 150bhp.  Mine was Ti spec and went very well.  I managed to get a free service in lieu of the paint imperfections and two new alloys as I managed to crack the front two.  I think it was the heat cycles at the Nurburgring that did it, as the first half of the laps was always heavy on the brakes.

[Baldrick]

I have a leggy Giulietta Jtdm 175bhp as the daily 'shed' which I guess is the spiritual successor to the 147.

Goes very well and does over 50mpg on the daily commute but the build quality isn't the best.

[RedBarediver]

12 hours ago, Araf said:

Loved my 147.  What model is yours?

Mine is the Sport Q2. Basically the lower horsepowered model of the Ducati Corse. Same 1.9 JTDm engine but just 150 bHp from factory instead of the 175 0f the DC. I had it remapped and a Ducati Corse clutch installed. The first remap was a little aggressive and the car became a BEAST. More fun to drive than a barrel of monkeys and nothing could keep up. It had so much torque that it destroyed the spiders and cups in 200 miles. Had the map turned down a bit to a more civilised place and it's a bit more sedate now but still way more powerful than a standard 150 bHp Sport Q2. The Q2 diff really makes a massive difference as well. Fantastic car. If it didn't mean that I will end up with 5 cars on the driveway I would hang on to it. There's only 109 of them left and this one is mechanically perfect and wants for nothing. Oh well, I suppose I had my enjoyment out of it. Someone else is going to get a fantastic deal when they buy this car.

[RedBarediver]

9 hours ago, Baldrick said:

I have a leggy Giulietta Jtdm 175bhp as the daily 'shed' which I guess is the spiritual successor to the 147.

Goes very well and does over 50mpg on the daily commute but the build quality isn't the best.

I had a 2011 Giulietta (1.4 Multi Air) as a courtesy car once. 155.000 miles on the clock and tight as a drum. I was really impressed. Everything worked, no buttons in the cabin loose or broken, no warning lights - nothing. My only gripe was that in anything other than Dynamic it was totally gutless. Switch over to Dynamic though and the car is a hoot to drive. I thought the build quality was nothing short of fantastic. The 147 build quality was miles ahead of the older Alfas (the GTV was okay but not great) but the Giuliettas are just amazing cars for the money. Beats the pants of any of the other offerings of the same era in looks and style as well. 

[986T8]

On 7/11/2022 at 12:19 PM, AlphaGaz said:

possibly, I'll probably just settle for re polishing them every couple of years.  I have to sell a kydney next for the clutch though which I had budgeted for when buying the car but I never considered the flywheel which most people are recommending too

You can test the flywheel, if you torque it on a bench and it returns to 5-10 mm of its original position then it is still good. I had to search a long time to find the spec, but was able to reuse mine. I suspect a lot of DMFs are replaced that are still good.

[AlphaGaz]

Thanks for the advice 986T8 i'll definately get it checked before going ahead, assuming garages will tell you the truth as I don't have the facilities to do it myself.

 

[ATM]

On 7/20/2022 at 7:33 PM, AlphaGaz said:

Thanks for the advice 986T8 i'll definately get it checked before going ahead, assuming garages will tell you the truth as I don't have the facilities to do it myself.

 

My mate had a new clutch in his 996 with a specialist and then spent months chasing some weird transmission shunt which turned out to be the flywheel.  So he had another new clutch and this time also the flywheel.  Both within a few thousand miles of each other.

[AlphaGaz]

Oh. I bet he was happy. I removed the clutch assist spring from the pedal which was broke into 3 pieces so I'm hoping a new one and some fresh gearbox oil will do the trick 

 

[ATM]

I think the flywheel is more expensive than the clutch.

[½cwt]

3 hours ago, ATM said:

I think the flywheel is more expensive than the clutch.

Complete clutch and release bearing kit (Sachs) about £300. flywheel (LUK) about £410 currently on Autodoc.

[AlphaGaz]

the job is hold for the time being as i discovered the clutch pedal booster spring was broken at the weekend so I'm hoping a new one will solve the heavy clutch pedal issue but i'll keep you posted when it arrives but would be a major bonus for the budget as the suspension is doing a fair bit of creaking also