14/07/2026
This Mk5 Volkswagen Golf GTI was a bit of a nostalgic one for us.
Dan and I have owned more Mk5 Golfs than we can probably remember. In fact, they're the reason we met in the first place.
It was only a couple of years ago we restored a lovely Edition 30 (video on YouTube for that one).
Years ago we were both heavily involved in the Mk5 scene, I helped run mk5golfgti.co.uk , and met Dan buying some Powerflex bushes on his driveway, and somehow that eventually turned into running a detailing business together over a decade later.
So when we get the opportunity to work on one, it always hits in the feels a little bit.
This one had definitely been enjoyed.
Black paint that had slowly turned more grey than black thanks to years of swirl marks and general wear.
There were also a few areas of body damage that we carefully touched in to reduce their appearance. Not invisible, but a big improvement. Saving the need for a respray in the short term.
We started with a full decontamination and clay bar treatment before carrying out a full two-stage paint correction to bring the paint back to life. (Heavy cut and refinement).
Once the polishing was finished, we protected everything with .co Alpha Quartz ceramic coating.
The rest of the car got the same attention.
Door shuts cleaned.
Engine bay detailed. Yes you can clean engine bays. No it doesn't damage them.
Interior deep cleaned with the carpets wet-vacced, leather seats scrubbed, and years of built-up grime removed.
The headlights had also seen better days, being rarer Xenon units, which are hard to source these days - so we restored them before protecting them with PPF to help keep them clear for years to come.
By the time it left, it genuinely looked like a different car.
The paint had gone from looking tired and washed out to the deep black it should have been all along.
Cars like this remind us why we still enjoy what we do.
Sometimes it's not about working on the newest or most expensive cars.
Sometimes it's about bringing an old favourite back to life.
