Purchased a small French lightweight hot hatch - Renault Clio 172 Cup & NOW 182 Trophy

OcUK Staff
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Hi there


So some more work on the car today, started by removing the door trims and yep quite a bit of dirt behind them:

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All cleaned and waxed, then re-fitted:

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Then decided to prepare the cars paint for correction and polishing which will come in a few weeks, as such washed it and then gave the car some clay bar action, oh my was it covered in crap and remember I have washed the car a couple of times now including treatment with fall out remover, goes to show how effective a clay bar is:


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Car was then washed again and I gave it a very quick going over with Aqua Wax simply as its so easy to apply, spray on wet car, wipe down and buff, literally five minutes and gives protection for a few weeks, car is starting to look really good now:


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Of course then it rained, but now the car actually beads even with a basic wax coating:


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Next step on the bodywork will be putting the Chipex kit to work to see how well it can deal with the deep scratches and paint chips, I will also remove the sills at somepoint soon as well to clean behind those. :)
 
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When will the wheels be sorted :(

Need to drive it to sort wheels, so after the belts and service, remember belts are in desperate need so its not been started since getting home and parked up, maybe next week or week after. :)

They shall be done in as close to silver as original Renault bright silver colour and a set of AD08R in 205/45/16 fitted all round, with the completely refreshed suspension should handle quite nice then.

Give him a chance! He’s done more to that in a week than most do to their cars in their entire ownership. :p

Although yeah, come on Gibbo, don’t slack:D

@Gibbo Aqua Wax, is that the one made by Autoglym? Don’t laugh, it’s not for my e38 I’m thinking more for the truck. :o


Yes buddy its Autoglym stuff, one of the easiest waxes you will ever apply, simply wash the car, rinse off, then mist aqua wax over the panels, then wipe the entire car down with a microfibre, then quickly buff with a plush drying towel, job done. It gives a few weeks protection but applies and removes as easy as a quick detail spray, so its ideal for a quick short term protection or motors meet. ;)
 
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Yes buddy its Autoglym stuff, one of the easiest waxes you will ever apply, simply wash the car, rinse off, then mist aqua wax over the panels, then wipe the entire car down with a microfibre, then quickly buff with a plush drying towel, job done. It gives a few weeks protection but applies and removes as easy as a quick detail spray, so its ideal for a quick short term protection or motors meet. ;)
Nice one, thank you. :)
 
Soldato
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I saw a guy on DW (ironically a Clio) wire wool his glass and the end result was superb. I'll see if I can dig it out and drop it in here for you!
 
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I saw a guy on DW (ironically a Clio) wire wool his glass and the end result was superb. I'll see if I can dig it out and drop it in here for you!

Thanks m8, would be nice to get the scratches out of it, as can't replace the windscreen as it would not be same thinner lighter version and as the car has original glass through out, would be a shame to spoil that.

I'd have though that just like paintwork that glass can be corrected and polished to an extent. I will try some compound on a rotary first, see if it has any impact, otherwise am left to resort to some sand paper, wet and dry, or the wire wool you speak off.
 
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Thanks m8, would be nice to get the scratches out of it, as can't replace the windscreen as it would not be same thinner lighter version and as the car has original glass through out, would be a shame to spoil that.

I'd have though that just like paintwork that glass can be corrected and polished to an extent. I will try some compound on a rotary first, see if it has any impact, otherwise am left to resort to some sand paper, wet and dry, or the wire wool you speak off.

Its incredibly hard to polish glass and make decent progress on anything but very light scratches. You will need to use a polish like Ceriglass and a Rayon pad. Keep the pad wet with a spray of water as the polish has a long work time. Be aware of the temperature in the glass so that you don't damage it.
 
Soldato
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Interesting thread, I'll be following with ,erm, interest! :D

Another warning Re the strength (or lack of) these, my mum had one years back - not a 172 mind you - hers was written off at 12 months old after an extremely minor - almost walking pace - traffic shunt which bent the chassis!

Epic little things but made of cardboard it appears.

Standard old French car then?
 
Soldato
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Getting busy! Look forward to reading this on a near daily basis :p

I emailed the guy about that £500 MOT Failure gumtree ad that was posted up, didnt get back to me and noticed the Ad was gone yesterday so must've sold.
Then saw a 172 (non-cup but with a few decent minor mods) up for £800 ONO (MOT til Mar 2019, 100k miles ish, no service history for past 40k but has owned it for 7 years). Told him I'd come today with asking price. Nope, sold last night.

Spot any more corkers like that, give me a poke!

At this rate I think I'll be aiming for a £2000 buy on a good-ish standard 172 and "lightly" modifying for track.

Send me a trust message there is one I’ve seen on a Facebook group that’s in mint condition for £1250 (172)
 
Caporegime
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there is a few between 1000-1500. a steal.you know in 2-3 years these will be 5000 all day. obviously if clean and of decent running standard.
 
Soldato
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Loving the enthusiasm that Gibbo has for his cars :)

there is a few between 1000-1500. a steal.you know in 2-3 years these will be 5000 all day. obviously if clean and of decent running standard.

My only problem is that they're old and French. Having owned old French cars before, I swore never to do it again, admittedly they were my only/daily cars at the time.
 
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Hi there

Another day, a few more deliveries. :D

So the original door strips were damaged (deep scratches which been plastic be hard to repair, plus they were heavily faded. So I came across a used set on ebay for £20, but in better condition, they arrived today and were like new, the bullets were also cleaner as well, so got those fitted and compared old with new:

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New ones fitted:

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I did the other side as well, much fresher. :)







Also a box of goodies from ECP:


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- Coolant bottle
- New wheel bolts
- Clear side repeaters
- New HT leads
- Rear number plate lense
- Battery clamp
- Probably some stuff I forgot!


So as the battery was not secure, I got that sorted:

Before:

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After:

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Just small jobs today but bit by bit it all adds up. :)


Tomorrow I shall give the fast orange hand wish with pumice a try mixed with some meguiars ultimate compound to see if it really works at removing scratches from glass, shall let you know. :)
 
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