• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

[email protected] | 01256 769611

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

  • Home
  • Services
    • Paint Protection Film
    • New Car Paint Protection
    • Gloss Enhancement Detail
    • Correction Detail
    • Signature Clean
    • Wheel Refurbishment
    • Leather Renovation
    • Bodyshop Services
  • Portfolio
Autocurators

Autocurators

Professional Vehicle Detailing & Paint Protection Services

  • About
  • Articles & News
  • Contact

Lotus Exige LF1 New Car Detail

August 27, 2015

This very exclusive 2014 Lotus Exige LF1 belongs to a couple for whom we\’ve treated numerous cars over the years. They were once real sceptics about the value of paint protection, having only experienced the poor value and poor quality dealership offerings. Since our services were recommended to them some years ago, we’ve applied effective paint protection to all their new cars.

Sat here in the iconic black and gold colours Lotus raced in during the 70s and 80s, the LF1 takes the regular Exige S with it’s supercharged V6 engine, then enhances it with the special paint job, lightweight cast gold wheels, super sticky Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo tyres and an interior trimmed uniquely for this run. Indeed there will only be 81 cars made, each one commemorating a Grand Prix win during Lotus’ racing career. This car is no. 81, and the plaque shows it as representing the 2013 win in Australia by Kimi Raikkonen. As is befitting of a car with such high performance credentials and racing heritage, this will be a regular participant at trackdays up and down the country, with the odd European jaunt thrown in as well. So the purpose of bringing it to us was to address some obvious defects that distract you from the amazing ‘Motorsport Black’ paintwork, and add some vital protection to allow easy removal of grime and tyre rubber after an event.

The car was pretty grubby upon arrival, weather hadn\’t been the best and the owners were keen to get some miles completed prior to the running in service being completed later in the week, and a track day shortly afterwards. It was given a good wash, dried carefully including blowing water out from all the panel gaps and other spots water gets trapped in, then moved inside to inspect closer and mask up.

Once under the light it was obvious the entire car was covered in fairly substantial swirls and marring, really robbing the paint of it’s true depth and gloss. There were some particular issues of concern, underneath the fuel filler cap looked terrible (and that damage was clearly visible without the light, it could be seen outside when filthy dirty!). There were some strange marks on the front clam too (not pictured), that had they been left would have detracted from the final finish too. Quite annoyingly, although fairly typical of dealer prep, there was chalky polish residue that had been scrubbed into the unpainted plastic trim around the glass engine cover. This material has a grainy texture to it, so removal of the residue would have to be done carefully so as not to negatively affect the finish of the plastic.

The car needed to be finished in one day, and because the products chosen to protect the car were from the GTechniq range, it meant we had to get the coatings on that evening to allow plenty of curing time.

In essence, the whole car was corrected using the excellent Rupes Bigfoot polisher, together with a variety of polishes. Once the appropriate finish was achieved, a thorough wipe down was carried out with a silicon removing solvent to ensure a completely clean surface for the GTechniq C1 coating to adhere to. Under the same light, the paint looked infinitely deep, the amazing gloss appearing as though it might even be ‘sticky’ if you\’d touched it. The rich colours of the Xirallic particles really stood out, in reality what is only a fraction of a millimetre\’s depth appearing as though it was deep enough to disappear into. The warm ambient temperature meant we could work on into the evening, applying the various GTechniq coatings to paint, glass wheels and trim.

When it was finally finished late that evening, the car looked spectacular. We’d promised a picture or two to our clients before it was put away for the night. Given that it was pitch black outside, we took the opportunity to take a couple of pictures of the car using a method called ‘light painting’ and captured a some interesting images to send to the clients straight away.

First thing, after a final dust down, there was time to grab some more images of the finished result.

Category: Lotus, WorkTag: berkshire detailing, detailing, gtechniq, hampshire detailing, lotus, paint protection, swissvax
Previous Post:Concours Winning 1954 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
Next Post:Volkswagen XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle

Ready for your car to look a million dollars?

Talk to us about how we can help.

GET IN TOUCH

Find us on the ‘gram

autocurators

569

Auto Curators Ltd

autocurators

View

Mar 23

Open
Our good friend Pete, of @petrolheadtours came to see us this week with his recent purchase. This dramatic looking Morgan Aero 8 is a very rare Series 1 car, unbelievably over 20 years old now. 
I’m fortunate that I’ve had the chance to drive these before, and the old school looks don’t prepare you for the driving experience. A very light car by modern standards, it features an aluminium chassis similar to that in a Lotus Elise, but borrows it’s drivetrain from a BMW 540i - so, a 4.4 litre, naturally aspirated V8 is under the bonnet. 
Pete is only the third owner of this amazing car, but years of someone lovingly wiping dust off the paintwork with a dry cloth had left it looking as dull as a blackboard. 
After a careful wash, there was an even more careful machine polish to carry out. The shapes are extremely awkward, and thus time consuming, but the results were well worth it. Finished with Onyx Graphene Pro ceramic coating, Pete was quite taken aback with the results when he collected it. We look forward to seeing it again at events this summer. 
Want the same for you car? Get in touch, we can help you. 
#autocurators #morgan #aero8 #detailing #paintcorrection #hampshire #hook #basingstoke #ceramiccoating #onyxgraphenepro
61 11

autocurators

View

Mar 15

Open
Q: When is a Yaris not your regular Yaris?
A: When it’s a Toyota Yaris GR!
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming one of these amazing cars to our studio for XPEL PPF installation. Find out more about the project in our latest blog article… Visit our dedicate PPF website ‘PPF On My Car’ from the link in our bio.
27 3

autocurators

View

Mar 9

Open
This super rare Alpina B3 Touring left us this afternoon, after we installed our Extended Front end PPF package. 
Having been delivered to us directly from Sytner Nottingham, on a covered trailer, we carried out a full new car preparation, before installing Xpel Ultimate Plus over the whole front, the sills, pillars and a rear luggage strip. We ceramic coated the paintwork and wheels, and protected the beautiful interior. This car will get lots of use, and should now stay looking like this for a long time. 
#autocurators #alpina #alpinab3 #sytner #xpel #ppf #hampshire #hook #basingstoke #reading #detailing #paintprotection #newcar #xpelhampshire
54 4
LOAD MORE... FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
Find Us

Unit 2 Optrex Business Park
Strouds Green Lane
Rotherwick, Nr. Hook
Hampshire, RG27 9AY

GET DIRECTIONS
Contact Us

01256 769611
[email protected]

Information
  • FAQs
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • About the Products We Use
Sign Up for News

We promise not to spam you, we’ll just send you articles and news to spin your wheels! PLUS every three months we give away a £50 Auto Curators voucher to one lucky subscriber.


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Website by Kate Coote Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT