As it seems compulsory to have a C70 and a 480 (as if a 480 isn't enough to keep you busy!). Here's mine.
My 480 is stuck in its offsite garage, so hasn't moved since the October mini-meet. So to keep me busy, the C70 has been getting some love so I thought I'd share for those suffering from insomnia.
I’m working from home like many, so I thought I’d start on getting my other Volvos ready for when I can take advantage of the cheap fuel. This working from home is a con. though. I thought ‘working from home’ meant endless hours free to do good stuff, but it turns out I can actually work from home. Confusing!!
I have a few cheap older Volvos and can't ever seeing me having anything else (unless Mr. Lottery decrees otherwise and a Testarossa will be gracing my mansion!). A C70 dirty diesel (sunny day cruiser), '09 XC70 dirty diesel (daily driver) and of course the 480GT. Between them, probably only worth £7K on a good day. Mrs. has a '12 XC60 dirty diesel too. I work on the theory that I’d rather have choice of cars than one expensive one. The only downside is the running costs of older cars. Tax for all 3 is about £900/year, so I play the SORN game continuously. It won’t be long before my older diesels are taxed off the roads, so I’ll get the use from them while I can. I await a torrent of abuse, but my theory is that the most eco friendly car is the one you already own. Surely using a higher emission car for 10-15 years is better for the environment than building a new lower emission car every 2-3 years. Fire away; I’m open to being convinced!!
Anyway, onto what I love. Detailing!!!
First up, my C70. She’s a 2007 Volvo C70 D5 geartronic with 130k miles. I bought her over 4 years ago (90k on the clock) in a bit of a state, and have spent a few bob getting her up to a decent condition. New Bilstein shocks and springs all around, cambelt, driveshafts and brakes, wheel refurbs and ding removal soon relieved me of another £2k. No Bluetooth which is great, so no phone call interruptions on the move!! 6CD Dynaudio system is one of the best fitted to a Volvo. C70’s don’t seem to be worth much now as people seem scared (quite rightly probably!!) of old convertibles. I would say she’s now worth about the same as a full service and cambelt change at a main dealer on a modern Volvo. Anyway, worth about £1.5-£2k now but I love her!!
I’d planned for her to live in the garage, but as we had building work completed last year (so garage used as storage), she’s sat on the drive for the last 6 months unused. Not unloved, but uncared for. A roof seal dried out, so I ended up with a water leak. This caused a bit of mould internally especially on the seatbelts etc., and sods law a couple of drips fell on the passenger seat control module, stopping the electric seat moving (new part from eBay for £20 - result). A non-moving seat is a bit of a hassle when detailing though, as getting in and out of the rear of a C70 is not easy when you can’t move the seat. VIDA is a must for working on older Volvos.
So my start point was a car with reasonable paintwork (I’ve DA polished her in the past) but with washing swirls and a few historical scrapes and scratches that won’t polish out. Also, mouldy window and roof seals, but basically a good car underneath.
My challenge was not to buy any products to complete the task. Like many, I have a shed full of products gathered over the years, so I decided to use what I have and see what I could achieve. This is certainly not the best or most effective way to detail a car, but it’s what I could achieve in the time given with the tools and ability I have.
I started mid-Friday afternoon, so first up, the last of my snow foam. The end of a 5 litre can of unknown make, that I’d had for ages. It was pink originally, but now was just clear. It didn’t cling much, but I just gave it a few coats and it did the trick. A blast from the Karcher and the major crud was removed.
Second, a quick wash with AutoGlym bodywork shampoo. I’ve got gallons of this stuff, and I like it. It seems that a lot of new cars have an AG kit supplied for free. As most of my friends have no car cleaning tendencies, they give these kits to me. I’ve had at least 4, so I’m well stocked with shampoo, SRP and the rest.
Next, I followed with some Euro Car Parts products. I bought these for buttons when they had a good deal on, and I purchased alongside filters, oil etc. Triple QX fallout remover, Power Maxed tar remover and Power Maxed wheel cleaner. What can I say but they all do the job. Tar remover was good enough and fallout didn’t change colour much, but happy with the results.
Arches, shuts, water channels etc. cleaned with diluted Morrisons APC (plus tar remover as required) and some cheap paint brushes wrapped with tape to prevent scratches. Engine bay hit with the last of a generic degreaser from B&M or The Range, and the bonnet inside cleaned with the APC and tar remover.
Next to claying. I’ve used various clays over the years, but the Bilt Hamber is my favourite. However, as my cars are generally quite clean, I use the Farecla G3 clay mitt (much to the clay snobs annoyance!!) and AG shampoo most of the time. Super easy to use and I find effective for regularly cleaned cars. So fast as well.
The rear lights were removed to get the horrible green mould out. This always builds up on a C70 and is a sod to clean. Soft wire brush, Astonish mould & mildew remover and high pressure water gets you there eventually, but not until you’ve had a thorough soaking!
- before
- after
Front lights taken out to clean (Volvo headlight removal system just cannot be beaten. 15 seconds/per side even if you’re an idiot!!). I replaced the side marker bulbs for LED at the same time. Noticed the OS headlight is cracked and letting in moisture, so another £200 to replace.
Volvo dipped beams of this generation are criminally poor, so I might look at a HID upgrade at some time.
A quick foam, wash and dry and that’s day 1 done.
Day 2 and onto correction. I’m self taught, gleaning all my knowledge from the Polished Bliss guides and Junkman’s excellent YouTube guides. I’ve had my old Megs G220 DA for over 10 years and it does me proud, however I’m sure it would be quicker with a more modern tool. When I’m flush a Vertool DAS-21E Dual Action polisher is on my list of wants, but the G220 is fine for my limited ability. I corrected the C70 a couple of years ago using Lake Country Hydrotech cyan/Menzerna 400 and Lake Country Hydrotech tangerine/Menzerna RD3.02 to good effect, so this time I just did a single pass with Lake Country tangerine/Menzerna 2500 (plus the Lake Country Hydrotech cyan/Menzerna 400 for the scuffs). Not the last word in correction by any means, but satisfactory results for about 8 hours work. Another wash and a wipe down with diluted IPA.
Protection came down to two choices. Dodo Juice Purple Haze (given to me by an emigrating mate) or the last of my Werkstat Acrylic Jett. I use the Dodo on my 480 and it gives a lovely result, but for the C70 I went Werkstat. A coat of Werkstat Prime, followed by a couple of coats of Acrylic Jett (that’s just about it for the Jett now unfortunately). A quick wipe down with Glos Detailer the next day after another wash due to dirty rain overnight.
Day 3 and for the black trim I used Gyeon Q2 trim. Love this stuff. So economic to use and long lasting.
Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with AG EGP. I changed the tips last year as the originals were rusting. These were a quick fit by the local Powerflow centre and really make a difference. Tyres blacked with Chemical Guys New Look trim gel and engine dressed with Chemical Guys VRP.
Day 4 - I treated the entire interior to a thorough wipe down with Astonish mould & mildew remover to get rid of any mould spores. The carpet was then cleaned with cheap aerosol carpet cleaner (£1 a can from B&M) and AG interior shampoo and a stiff brush. Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care, APC, AG Leather cleaner and AG leather balm used on the interior surfaces. APC, Astonish mould & mildew remover and IPA for the mouldy seatbelts (I just threw everything at them!!). Convertible interiors do get really grubby especially in the back, so the leather took some work.
Windows cleaned with 3M glass cleaner. I couldn’t find any Rain X 2-in-1 rain repellent and glass cleaner spray which I prefer, so I treated the glass with the old favourite Rain X in a small bottle found at the back of a shelf. Not my finest hour as I can’t seem to ever get a smear free finish. Inside the rear window is really awkward. I really should borrow small child from a neighbour!!
Shuts, jambs etc. polished with AG SRP. All rubbers cleaned with IPA and treated with Nextzett Gummi Pflege. All the roof sealing rubbers cleaned with IPA and treated with Slugslime Fluorofluid PFPE Oil. Roof mechanism checked and lubricated as per Volvo schedule (not difficult).
What could go wrong here!! (roof in service position, but still a total ball ache to get to seals etc.)
All hinges, locks etc. lubricated especially door locks, as C70s have a habit of popping the doors open when moving due to seized/corroded mechanisms!
Apologies for the bolt fitted where the antenna should be. I had to destroy the antenna getting it out as the threads had corroded, so I’ve tapped out the base part and a new one is on order. A smear of copper grease should stop it reoccurring. I have to use a Volvo part as the stubby aftermarket items just don’t get a decent signal in sleepy Suffolk. New part on order, but tough to get parts ordered at the moment so still awaiting delivery.
Serviced this week too. Just oil and filters as she's only been 1500miles since the last service!
And that’s it for the C70 for now.
Next steps are to get the wheels off, paint calipers, clean suspension, arches etc. and properly clean & seal the wheels. Looks like I have a few weeks left though as were not going anywhere soon!
What I always find amazing is that with some decent TLC, most cars can be brought back to a really good condition. My C70 is the least valuable car in our close, but it looks better than 90% of cars on the road. So much better than the hordes of £300/month leased French boxes IMHO.
I’m now onto my dirty daily driver XC70 then the wife’s XC60. I’ve had to buy a few products now (snow foam etc.), but trying to stick to the use what I have philosophy. I think the XC70 will end up using the AG EGP as I’ve a couple of bottles spare.
Also, I want to tackle my neighbour’s Peugeot 207 CC. She’s a nurse and I have so much respect for her, so I’d like to do her a little favour. It’s a black 207 as well, and I’ve never detailed a black car so up for the challenge. It’s never ending this detailing lark but so much fun!!
This should keep my busy until I can get the 480 back. A C70/480 combination is hard to beat in the summer in my opinion! Stay safe people.
exxon near my location
