Fiat 500 cleanup.

[Steve Webb]

Yes I know this thread is not something you would normally expect from me, cleaning cars is not really my thing and I'm certainly not a 'detailer'.
However the family 500 has got in a bit of a state recently. The outside is filthy, not just dirt but that horrible green residue as well. Added to that the black side stripes have started to peel. Well they haven't looked good for ages, and to be honest I was never 100% happy with them from day 1, but recently they have looked shite!

So With the recent purchase of a polisher for just this job amongst other things I thought I'd strip the stripes off and give the car a damn good clean and polish.

Here is how it looked yesterday, complete with crappy stripes.


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0390.JPG

Stripe


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0391.JPG

Starting to take the stripe off


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0392.JPG

http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0393.JPG

Gone completely


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0394.JPG

And no your eyes aren't deceiving you, after years of using red paint that fades to pink over the years, it seems that Alfa/Fiat are now using a red paint that gets darker when exposed to sunlight.


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0395.JPG

After a couple of hours armed with all sorts of solvent removers and some clean dry cloths all of the remaining glue from the stickers has gone. I suppose one thing you get from doing this sort of job is seeing just how bad the paint finish on the car is. Orange peel in a couple of places along with some colour variation and even a paint run. Luckily all will be covered up with new stickers.


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0396.JPG

And this is what it looked like before


http://www.berlinasportivo.com/forumpics/Fiat500/IMAG0397.JPG

So the plan today is to give the outside a good polish today and order some new side stripes, but this time in silver cos I fancy a change.

[markgq4]

are they as good as all the hype that goes with them steve?

[Steve Webb]

are they as good as all the hype that goes with them steve?

Well I've got no complaints with it as far as it goes. Its a 1.2L with the Dualogic gearbox (Missus has only got an Auto license) and it gets a consistent 45mpg around town.
Not too keen on the handling when you press on to be honest. The tyres are Michelin Energy something or other and quite wide, and it feels like the rear end is far too firmly damped. It feels as though the back end is looking for an excuse to step out.

The only problems we've had with it are the warning light for the power steering that likes to come on in the cold (Electric power steering and the light is a voltage warning) and a sticky button for the gearbox mode (never used so not really a problem)

Its 5 years old now, and just done 22k km, no rattles or squeaks and it does what it says on the tin so overall I'm happy with it.

[Steve Webb]

Spent this afternoon removing thousands of tar spots from the car (lots of new roads and roads repairs here over the past couple of years) and finding a couple of stone chips and minor scratches. Only 1 car park dent from a door so can't complain.

Gave it another wash to get the rest of the green mold off it, and its just about ready for a polish now. Just hope it doesn't rain before tomorrow night.

[Alfie]

Well you done it very well.. I like your work, because the car is cleaned (http://www.allvehicleaccessories.com.au/) very nicely. like your remove those rally sticker very good. Thanks for sharing your work, what you use to remove off the sticker from the car's body.. good work