Newbie bought a MK3 GTI today from Auction (Exterior Tips needed)

[Ashtonstanley]

Hiya i have just got home from Blackbushe with a MK3 Gti in hand, I already have a MK5 TDi but fancied a little project.

The car is in reasonable condition for its age but is in need of a good clean wax/polish etc. It has a few stone chips but no rust or bubbling.

The grey bumpers a faded to hell. Where do i start Is is best to remove and spray the bumper and trim ? is there a product that will restore them back to there original dark colour ?

I am looking to get a Kestral Dual Action DAS6 for the paintwork but what product shall i get and in what order shall i attempt to restore/improve the paintwork.

Will post pictures asap, any tips are appreciated.

Thanks Ash

[Dan J]

pics would be cool

start off with giving it a good hammering with a pressure washer and some tfr or equivelant, then clay the whole car, polish wise id go for menzerna or 3M, then glaze/seal,wax.

will type up a reply in more depth later when my kiddies are in bed and i can concentrate properly lol

[Ashtonstanley]

Cheers Dan
I will get some pics taken tomorrow.

[jaydubveedub]

The grey bumpers a faded to hell. Where do i start Is is best to remove and spray the bumper and trim ? is there a product that will restore them back to there original dark colour ?

Thanks Ash

Chemical Guys New look trim gel is one of the best trim products I have found. Worth a try, only £10 a bottle and lasts forever.

Alternatively, I have spruced up a few older cars in my time and re-spraying the black trim is pretty easy to do and you can get a very professional quality finish using just the normal bumper spray paint from Halfrauds.

Also heard that people have had success by heating the trim with a heat gun to restore the colour, but don't have any experience of this myself.

[Deano2711]

The best thing for faded black trim mate is Asda boot polish. Costs 86p per bottle and comes with a sponge top for easy application. The first coat will look sh!te but the second coat will look amazing. I used it every two weeks on my Mark 3 and it looked like new trim. Just make sure that if any goes on the paintwork to remove it straight away. Try it and you will be surprised Buddy.

[Dan J]

is it waterproof though???

got a vision of it leaving streaky black marks down the paint if im honest.

[brochwh2]

ive used the heat gun approach before on a motorbike part, with excellent results and it was very easy to do
however i did loose a bit of texture, so be careful.

[Ashtonstanley]

Thanks alot for your advice guys, i have been reading up on heating the bumpers with a heatgun and think i may give this ago. Then add some sort of bumper gel / solution etc was thinking of using (Valet PRO Protectant). Boot polish i think would work but is it a sustainable  solution ? i would like to cure the problem and maintain it, not just cover it up temp.

Any ideas on products and the process i should follow for the paintwork ?

Thanks again.

[Deano2711]

is it waterproof though???

got a vision of it leaving streaky black marks down the paint if im honest.

The boot polish takes less than 5 minutes to dry completely with no streaks in the rain. It also does not fade but if done every couple of weeks just keeps the shine like a new bumper trim would. Spraying the trim would be worse really and more expensive. I had my Mark 3 in August and am still on the first bottle of boot polish and as stated my trim looks like brand new.

[Guy]

please could you read:

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=147212.0

followed by the 10 pages already posted on the topic with the same solutions here...

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=91049.0