When Mike Potter of Virtual World, an einszett retailer located in Southern California, asked if something could be done about his newly acquired project 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco I told him "definitely". After quite a few details, you learn that rarely can something not be fixed or at the very least, improved. Mike told me that the Scirocco had never seen a day of polish or wax in its life and worse yet, he didn't know when it was last washed!

Most "before and after" details usually involve a car that has a paint finish that's in reasonable condition. Not with this one and I was looking forward to seeing the changes that could be made.  To view all the pictures, click here for the gallery.

Step 1 - Wash

First thing that had to be done was give this Rocco a very much needed bath. This was essential to remove whatever loose dirt was on the paintwork so that when it came to polishing, the dirt on the paint wouldn't aggravate the paintwork further and make the polishing process go awry. Use einszett Perls Shampoo to wash and dry thoroughly.


Step 2 - Compound

After washing the car, it was time to polish. Extra Paint Cleaner (formerly 'Ultra Paint Polish' as seen in the pictures) with its cutting compound  formulation was used to remove the heavily weathered, oxidized paint layer. Extra is aggressive but it's abrasives break down as you polish for complete control. Extra can be applied by hand or machine. For this project, one half of the car was done by hand and the other using a Porter Cable Dual Action Orbital. The results are nearly the same but the time to achieve the results differ. The DA greatly decreases the time to polish. Either way, you will achieve dramatic results.

As you can see on the hood of the car, the results are significant and dramatic.

Step 3 - Polish

After polishing the entire car with Extra, I followed up with einszett Paint Polish which is a medium level polish that reduces swirl marks. It will remove the compound marks left by Extra, making the finish even deeper and glossier. Paint Polish also utilizes abrasives that diminish as you polish giving you complete control. And like Extra, it stays wet longer so that it can be polished longer without drying and powdering.

Step 4 - Wax

Finally, the car was protected with a layer of Glanz Wax. Glanz Wax not only helps add more gloss but more importantly, it adds a barrier between the paint finish and the elements the finish is bombarded with. Glanz Wax's synthetic formulation is twice as durable as traditional carnauba waxes and can handle the elements faced in everyday driving such as the damaging effects of UV rays, road grime, pollution, tree sap and bird droppings. It helps retain conditioning oils left by both polishes so your results last longer.

Step 5 - Recondition Plastic and Tires

Lastly, another step in this restoration was restoring all the plastic trim including the bumpers and mirrors back to their original state using einszett Vinyl-Rubber Care and Protectant. Vinyl-Rubber Care contains conditioning oils to restore dried out plastic (which appears white) and UV Rays to prevent the damaging effects of the sun. Vinyl-Rubber Care penetrates deeply into the plastic surface (it doesn't just dress it up) and seals in the finish for long-lasting protection against sun, rain, car washes, heat and so on.

If the plastic trim on your car is as dry as the one on the Scirocco, several applications will be necessary at first. After the first few applications, you will notice that less application is required as the plastic returns to its original condition.

Finally, Vinyl-Rubber Care is also applied on the tires. Unlike oil-based tire dressings which leave a high gloss shine and sling on the paint when you drive, Vinyl-Rubber Care is water-based, will not sling or collect dust. And more importantly, it does not contain oils that can cause the tires to dry and crack.

As you can see from this photo, the difference is night and day. If einszett can restore this paint finish, imagine what it can do for your car!


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