Hi all! So this is the first Lotus that I've done (got another scheduled for some time in June) and come to find out it's a very rare one indeed. There were only 35 of these ever produced and this one is #27... who's the lucky boy?! Doing exotics always makes one all tingly inside, but when it's a limited edition one like this, I get an extra little butt tingle ... Anyway, this is one bad MF (and I don't mean microfiber)... 0-60 in a mere 4.1 seconds!! Snap! This thing is so ninja it's unbelievable... I need one. Badly.

So the car wasn't really that dirty, as it's only got 200k on the clock but it had some nasty scratches on the finish and also needed some protection on it before it's taken out into the elements... the protection was a very peculiar process...




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Paint flecks from the waterlogged garage walls







Rims before the nano rim cleaner



Brushed in with a detailing brush and rinsed... (different rim, but you get the point )



Some pretty nasty scratches and I'm pretty sure I know where they came from... I'll show you later.







So I decided to give Aquartz another shot and this time on something other than the paint (I did test it on the paint today also...). I've read that it can also be used as a textile sealant, so I applied the first layer of it a little heavily to ensure that it soaked into the fabric a bit. After a couple hours drying time I applied another layer by "misting" the ragtop, then let it sit for a bit and then wiped it in with a sponge applicator. Results to come...



A little "worked in" stripe



Everything was carefully taped up because this paint is super sensitive. It specifically states in the owner's manual to use salt-free shampoos, etc. so I didn't want to have any polish with lots of solvents in it landing on the paint and making it spotty!



Jeez what a mess!!



Whaaaaat! Leopard skin throw pillows for $6 at Lidl? Aw hell yeah, daddy's goin' shoppin' tomorrow!





Mess all gone . Polished out with a finishing polish and finishing pad and lots of passes... Being that this is fiberglass I didn't want to go too aggressive so I just took is slow and easy...







There are still a couple of deep scratches that will just have to remain as permanent residents, but they look much better now.



Front spoiler swirls. I had to remove the license plate holder to get to these



After



Wing before



Wing after... The wing was also removed to polish the stripes underneath, then the hard top was also fitted and polished.





So I did some homework on this car and its finish the night before and it has specific instructions on what and what not to use. No wax. No not even Swissvax's magic non-shiny 40% carnauba wax "Opaque"... that stuff's funny . Instead, they give you a little care package of what to use on the finish...



















W T F?



Yep, they say to use Armor All on the matte finish! Anyway, after getting a feel for the paint I understood why they said to use Armor All. The paint is pretty soft and therefore porous so it will inevitably fade much faster than let's say a bumper. They actually said that within the first year or so, expect quite a bit of change. The UV protection from Armor All will certainly help slow that process down. Because this paint is porous, it was almost like applying leather conditioner to unprotected leather; you could see the dressing soak into parts of the paint better than other parts. This made the application process a bit slow... Once I wiped it on (overlapping several times to ensure even coverage), I had to let it sit for a while to be absorbed, but not for too long because it would dry and leave streaks! Once almost dried, I had to buff it out with a MF until the streaks were gone. It was a PITA.

And an even BIGGER W T F for this!! A 3M scrubby pad to "remove tar and other bonded contaminants" :scared:. Which explains where the huge scuffs in the paint came from...

 

Engine cleaned and dreesed with a nano-dressing



Cool air duct here that leads to >>



...here to help keep the car cool



This is some kind of oil pump for the car... O_o





Well it looks as if I've found a good use for the rest of my Aquartz



Mr. Scura's brotha from a different motha, Truck Norris, making a cameo appearance, sporting his new kicks .











#27 of 35... cool



All that beef and they still managed to cram a radio, an air conditioner and traction control in this little monster!


















Daddy must have... The owner of this compact beefcake has promised to take me for a ride soon so I'll get some footage when we go and will share . To date the Italia is the fastest car I've driven but this one's got .2 seconds on it... wonder if I'll feel a big difference?



Thanks for reading and to all the Playboy subscribers, thanks for "reading"!

- Jesse O'Connor

 

 

About pissed myself when I read the throw pillow comment.

 

A mestermű -- Great work on a very sporty car, but that finish.... I don't think that I could deal with that long-term. Perhaps Lotus should just coat the thing with Teflon like some cooking pan and be done with it.

 

Well I couldn't resist... I got the entire set

Thanks Kev! I dig the color but it is definitely a PITA to manage. I'm ordering some paint next week from Lotus because he's already had a little boo boo with it and we're going to paint a scrap panel with it and coat it with my nano sealant to see if there's any change. I don't suspect there will be, but we've got to do something because other than UV protection there's nothing on the car... bugs took me more than 30 minutes to carefully wipe off the front of the car without marring it

 

Awesome Jesse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Now that I think about it, maybe that flat finish is supposed to be more of a radar/laser resistant surface than a new fashion craze. A Stealth Lotus?? Works for the F-117 Nighthawk . Maybe I've been wrong about all of the matte finishes.

 

Just have a look at Truck Norris... he is sooo ninja...

 

Cheers DJ! More to come...