R.I.P BRYAN ALEXANDER

We had the very sad news that on 24 October, Bryan, our East Midlands Section Chairman of over 20 years, passed away of a heart condition. Bryan was a huge Alfista - and a true gentleman.

Bryan will always be fondly remembered for his wonderful, warm character and generous nature. In his retirement he set about his Italian motoring hobby with a focus of ensuring people enjoyed their own ownership of Italian just as much as he did.

Retiring from his directorship at Boots in the mid 1990s, absolutely full of life, he became the East Midlands area organiser for the Owners Club and also Chairman of our AROC Section. Back then he bought a new 1997 156 2.0 TS which he kept for the rest of his life, then a lovely 308 GT4, and soon his pride and joy; the wonderful Alfasud Sprint Trofeo as pictured above. After owning another Ferrari, a beautiful Ferrari 328 GTB, he bought a 4200 Cambio Corsa and an Alfa Spider 3L V6. The Maser went fairly soon though as he said he enjoyed driving the Alfa more! I’ll never forget him driving it hood down with a leather flying jacket—and helmet & goggles—as we convoyed to RAF Duxford! What a laugh that was.

Of course Bryan will always be remembered for coming up with the idea of Midlands Italian Day (MITCAR), and he threw himself into the organisation of those events for 15 years, negotiating attendance for Italian Car lovers at some wonderful venues, a new one every year. Right onto his 80’s Bryan would attend our meetings as often as he could, always cheery despite the ‘dodgy knees’, ‘tricky eyes’ and even a ‘dicky ticker’. He always had time for people, especially new club members - always interested in them and their cars.

Without doubt Bry will have so wanted us to ‘carry on as normal’, and this edition of Alfisti, mostly written well before the sad news, does. Many of us club members knew Bryan well - he was a such a feature of ‘the Alfa family’. This family sends its warmest condolences to Bryan’s wife Jenny, and all of their kin.

I feel genuinely honoured to have been close friends with Bryan for so long. Speaking to him only a few days before his passing, we were still talking about next year’s MITCAR, and how, though he was short of breath, he could drive short distances perfectly OK. He was always positive about the future. I know I will miss him terribly. John THE OFFICIAL OWNERS CLUB

EAST MIDLANDS NEWSLETTER ■ November 2019 ■ Issue 226

IT’S THE NEC CLASSIC!

8-10 November - the biggest UK Classic Motor Show

The NEC Classic Motor Show is always a terrific event for Club INSIDE members to enjoy and is really an indoor paradise for all Petrolheads.  The FOX RUN Every year the sheer scale of it astounds. Over 300 car clubs displaying over 3,000 cars. Hundreds of classic cars on sale too,  Section AGM & Alfa Quiz alongside a simply gigantic trade and autojumble area with over 650  Detailing Corner traders. Club members can secure a discount on advance tickets (see Club  Our Alfas, and more . . . Forum for the code), and of you order soon you’ll get a limited edition Top Trumps set too. That is certainly original! COMING UP Our owners club stand is again in the premium hall, number 1. We’re in a different spot from last year though, nearer a corner, but  November Meeting Night right next to . I don’t like to give away the cars that will  NEC Classic Motor Show be shown as I know people quite enjoy the surprise, suffice to say  New Year Meal there are some absolute beauties from across several decades, the youngest this time being 15 years old, the oldest over 60. Among them we have a TV celebrity’s car too, a very well known face, who we hope to have along at various points. He’s a fully paid-up member too!

ALSO - On the Saturday there’s a very special new feature where the cars and crews Alfisti is originated by competing in the RAC Rally of the Tests, arguably one of the UK’s toughest events, will take on an indoor course, within the show, to complete a speed and agility test. This will mark the half- John Griffiths way point of the Rally, and crews will be waved away from the NEC to continue with the event. AROC East Midlands Section Secretary Competing for prestigious awards, there is also a superb mix of entries from a 1936 Derby 0774 8881317 Bentley to MGs, Porsches, Minis, and plenty more including ALFA ROMEOS! With AROC East Midlands Section members helping to run the stand ever since 2001, we Email: [email protected] continue this year, and Section member Ian Osbourne will also be displaying his rather fab 166 V6 there too. Sunday will see the usual Remembrance Sunday minutes silence, always wonderfully observed. A lot of us will be remembering Bryan at that time too, proud to show his cars there in the past as well of course. R.I.P Bry, you won’t be forgotten by Alfisti. John

aroc-uk.com/eastmids

Coming up . . .

Date Activities

Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham, AROC stand featuring historic Alfa Romeos. Our Section members will be helping on the stand. Do come and 8-10 November say hello! Special ticket discount available for AROC members on the Sat and Sun. See AROC publications or contact John.

Monthly meeting at The Gate Hangs Well, Lewin Bridge, Syston, Leics LE7 Thursday 14 1NH - Head for the Function room (“The Boat House”)- starting at 7.30pm. November from Will include the infamous ‘What’s it worth’ quiz, with nice prizes! 7.30pm Great bar food available too.

WEDNESDAY 11 Speaker Night at our December meeting. More details very soon. December from We are aiming for this date —11 December - given the recently announced 7.30pm General Election date of 12 December.

New Year Meal at La Torre, 48 High Street, Coalville, Leicestershire, Friday 10 LE67 3EE. Special three course party menu under £25 a head. Great food and January, great company - lots of additional fun on the night too including charity 7pm for 7.30pm raffle. We are limited to 54 seats that must be booked via John

NATIONAL ALFA DAY 2020

…. Is set to be on Sunday 5 July 2020.

Club manager Nick Wright and I are in talks with the new events team at the site AND with the Alfa Romeo UK Events team who were so delighted by the event last year….

It is the week before Goodwood Festival of Speed so we are hopeful of some special cars being displayed again via Alfa Romeo.

Sign up to get the ALFISTI Small Print: Alfisti is the newsletter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club UK East Midlands Section. The Alfa Romeo Owners latest news, info Club UK ltd cannot endorse or recommend services or products advertised in its publications. Any opinions published in ‘Alfisti’ or its sister and chat. See website, Twitter account and Facebook Group are personal ones. Alfa Romeo Owners Club Ltd Registered Number 01106134. Please

contact John Griffiths if you have any queries about the Club or our active local Area Section. See cover for contact details. www.facebook.com/groups/arocukeastmids ALFISTI’S CONTENT, IMAGES AND DESIGN ARE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT. PLEASE ASK PERMISSION BEFORE ANY RE-USE.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P3

AROC is back at this MASSIVE show again in the Premium Hall 1 with another very special display of members’ Alfa Romeos.

This year the loose theme is ‘Winners’, and we will have a great cross section of models again from across the ages.

Tickets Discounts are available now to Club members Log on to the Club Forum and go to the Events area and you will find the code.

The image below is taken from the Show’s main website shows the AROC display there in 2017..

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ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P4 SECTION AGM

& Alfa Quiz

The Gate Hangs Well, Syston

Thursday 10 October

[Please note that this report was written the day after our AGM and well before the sad news of the passing of our Chairman Bryan Alexander.]

Our only meeting of the year where there’s any real formality, but NAD, SpAD were all well supported by our members, and we we still make it a fun one. Our AGM is held in October as it’s the enjoyed The Coventry MotoFest again in June. The monthly meeting month when me & Mrs G resurrected the area group back in 1995. favourites continued - Fun Concours Night, Spider Night, Curry Incredibly, 24 years later, it’s all still going! Back then we were called Night, Twilight Drive, BBQ Night and more. We will I am sure repeat the Central Midlands Section, but having merged with the remnants many of those in 2020. of the East Midlands in the 00’s, we dropped that misleading For next year we will also look at more ‘new’ visits, and more ‘Central’ tag (that nobody uses!). displays at events, for example the Hinckley Classic Car Show in Anyway, on a dank evening after days of rather miserable weather, September. and a lot of water, witness the cancellation of the Auto Italia Event at On regular meeting venues, we had a mix of 3 in 2019; The George Stanford Hall) - we were pleased that we still had around 30 people & Dragon, The Rothley Court Hotel and The Gate Hangs Well. With along to the meeting. the G&D’s car park being remodelled with relocation of the sewage Mentioning 1995, for this one we returned for this to the same system, we will keep an eye on its completion and suitability for the venue we’d met at way back then - the Gate Hangs Well in Syston. future. Rothley Court has proved very popular and we will be Landlord Neil is a complete Petrolhead, owning many cars from V10 checking out its potential for more indoor-based meetings too, Audi S8 to some Yank Tanks - by way of various motorcycles - and whilst I think most enjoy the ‘rustic’ nature of the GHW’s facilities. (I being good friends with our Section Regular, Chris Conlon, he was must say the room with multiple central heating radiators is an awful very happy to have us along giving us free use of their ‘Boat House’ lot better than it was back in 1995/6!!), and the general welcome of function room. Back in 1995 I am pretty sure it was termed the Neil and his friendly staff. The consensus in the room is that we Skittle Alley! How times change. should look to plan meetings at venues 3 or 4 months ahead to aid Deputy Chairman Brian Smith welcomed communications, notably the lead people to the meeting before me as times in the Club magazine, and play Secretary/Organiser went into the main With over 30 gatherings and activities to to each one’s strengths. The GHW business. Firstly, now in his 80’s, our get involved in, it was another really busy has a huge events paddock, for Chairman of over 20 years, Bryan Alexander, and varied year. example, that can be reserved for us, who is a tad poorly at present, had let me ideal for a fresh outdoor evening know that he wanted to stand down from any truly active role. event perhaps. Bryan will remain joint treasurer (with me) but take the title of In close I thanks all present for their continued support through Honourary Chairman in recognition of his services to AROC. I will the year, and for making the Club so enjoyable to be a part of. also mention George Cole, also an octogenarian and not in best of Then, after a drink break, it was on to the quiz!! health who stays as our Honourary President (aka El Presidenté!). A feature of our AGMs since the start, the winner of the quiz has With these positions voted in, I went on to recognise the assistance the honour of setting the next one…. And this time was the turn of so many of our number made to the activities of the Club, at local last year’s winner Ian Reeves. Ian sadly couldn't be with us owing to and national level. We have 5 model Registrars in our ranks and 3 of his working pattern, but he obviously spent a lot of time coming up us are on the Club’s Board of Directors. Many help out at the with a particularly challenging and entertaining set, which I national Club events, notably National Alfa Day this year at Bicester formatted up for convenience of printing. It covered various Alfa Heritage. Romeo topics, and branched out into various ‘Italiana’. From ocean On communications, I mentioned that this newsletter will continue liners and sea planes to the Italian Highway code! Multiple choice in its monthly digital format; that the number of broadcast emails format helped people for the most part, but we had a nice number will stay at a minimum but reminded people that the website is of groans as always too - which made me as the holder of the always kept up to date with the latest information. answers on the night laugh a great deal! On budget, we are running very well. With recent income from The potential maximum score was 22 I think, and we had 2 joint MITCAR, we have over £2,000 in funds - an amount built up over 19 top scorers with 10 (cough!) - Alex Black and Chris Conlon. The tie years of MITCAR’s - those not being priced for profit I must add— breaker was called into play, and via that the winner was Chris, who but it is a healthy level that can be used to subsidise some activities, has the unbridled joy of setting the 2020 edition! Another prize was prizes and general expenses, for example production of printed given to the person closest to the tie break answer; how many road materials for navigational runs, quizzes, competitions, and to registered are there in the UK, the winner getting closest to purchase prizes, plus the numerous expenses for the next edition of the figure being Alan Lathwell who was only a few hundred out. MITCAR of course! The Wooden Spoon winner? Well 3 people got the proud score of We next spent some time reflecting on the past 12 months of 4 (lower than the law of averages!) - and the furthest away on the tie events. With over 30 gatherings and activities to get involved in, it break for that was Mark Gunston, who one the spectacular booby was another really busy and varied year. With visits to Rolls Royce, prize: a pull and go BMW X5!! He was delighted… ha-ha! Performance Centre and the Meguiar’s UK HQ we certainly had Thanks again to Ian for setting it, and to everyone who came along some different things to do than just stand around cars. We are to make our ‘formal’ meeting so enjoyable. Next month it’s The already planning some different visits for 2020. For driving events What’s it Worth Quiz, back at the Gate Hangs Well - I hope you can we enjoyed another super track day at Curborough, and had a make it. cracking karting challenge too in October. For big events, MITCAR, John

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter October 2019 - Issue 225 - P5

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P6

THE FOX RUN

Despite some horrible autumnal weather, essentially that being relaxing wander around the hangars and outside (the rain had persistent rain topping a fortnight of Leicestershire floodings, over 20 stopped amazingly!), looking at the fabulous aircraft. Some of us met at The Gate Hangs Well in Syston for a rather super favourites being the magnificent Vulcan that people were able to breakfast in preparation for our annual navigational drive. climb up into and talk to an ex-Pilot therein; some amazing other This year, cars were set off at roughly 2 minute intervals for a tour British jets including Lightning, Jaguar, Harrier and Buccaneer, around some lovely parts of North East Leicestershire and across Meteor, Gnat, Canberra, Javelin, Sea Vixen, you name it! Some great through the vale of Belvoir into Lincolnshire. Cars ambled through surprises too—a personal favourite being the SAAB Viggen, and a some lovely villages ling Long Clawson, skirted Grantham then Drakken too, and a pair of Soviet MiG 23s. headed north up towards Newark, finishing at the Newark Air Thanks to Club member Mike Allen who does volunteer work there Museum. for organising a little entry discount and for providing his insight as Most cars had a navigator who used the provided Tulip instructions we looked around. Mike is definitely on to give us a more formal and few singletons joined in in convoy. Only a few took unintended tour there, and we will book that in the Spring, hopefully on a day diversions, and happily everyone made it to the finish after a roughly when the weather is a little more clement 53 mile tour. There was only one point where the road was flooded, A very enjoyable day anyway and thanks as ever to all those who happily only to the depth of an inch or so! came along. John After a bit to eat and drink in the cafe, people were able to enjoy a

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P7

It was a tad damp at the start…. ….but oh, those sausages!

Brian’s Brera with Gary’s Giulia Veloce . Bob & Gill giving the 147 2L a spin

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P8

Dave and Chris Atkins made a good decision in bringing their 4x4!

Paul Atkins with his beautiful 159 Ti Ian and Julie Smith - their 916 Spider back on the road!

Liam and Debbie in the MiTo Chris and Sue Conlon testing their Spider’s waterproofness. (It passed!)

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P9

Lining up at the finish. Below—the majestic Avro Vulcan

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P10

Cold War Warriors—the awesome English Electric Lightning, and the Soviet MIG 23 ‘Flogger’

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P11

Impressive SAAB Viggen. Remember the old TV ads?? Below - the beautiful De Haviland Buccaneer. Affectionately known as The Ten Ton Budgie...

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P12

The diminutive Gazelle - one of many beautifully presented helicopters present. Below - Sea Harrier, the actual example that made an emergency landing on a freighter

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P13

The tiny Folland Gnat trainer, and below once again the fabulous Vulcan

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P14 Silverstone Track Day

Feedback here on the AROC-backed Silverstone track day organised by Unity Alfa Romeo.

Saber Ali: WHAT A DAY! Thank you to Nick Wright and Unity for an incredible experience at Silverstone. A mixed weather day, with sun and hail and everything in between. Highlight for me was chasing down Salvatore Vitale in his Giulia Quadrifoglio: where he had the advantage in the straights but me in the corners- I love how the 4C darts around the corners, but had no answer for 500hp on Hangar Straight. The weather was perfect for me, damp enough so I didn't destroy my tires but dry enough (most of the day) to have some proper fun. It needed a bit of skill to be quick in those conditions. Sound-wise the classic Giulia, 8C and straight-piped 155 [Brian Smith? JG] were a driving orchestra. What tickled me was that there were some very quick non-Alfa motors there: a Lotus Exige, a Porsche Boxster Spider, a 911, a racing [Fulvia . JG] and even a Lamborghini Huracan, but none of them could really come to the party and mix it up with the fastest Alfas. Either they were novices, or didn't like the wet. It was quite fun chasing and overtaking the Lambo. What made it fun for me was the amount of cars on track, seeing all the different lines and much opposite-locking, what a load of fun. I hope we can do it again. Saber

Brian Smith: I had a great day at Silverstone yesterday, despite struggling to get a clean lap in. Overcooked it a few times and got lots of understeer, nothing too serious though and managed to restrict my 'off track' excursions to below five. The 155 (previously known as The Kontzwagon) performed faultlessly despite struggling for power. The Giulia QFs flew past me on the straight but strangely enough weren't that far ahead at the next bendy bits. Had my best laps in the wet strangely enough, it was surprising how much grip there was in tricky conditions. All in all a fantastic experience and I can now add Silverstone to the list of tracks that the 155 has been on. Oil pressure was a little low on the return journey so I stopped and let the car cool down just in case. Back up to pressure thereafter. Brian

Sal Vitale: Silverstone was lots of fun. Special thanks to Saber Ali for the chase, and Graham Whiteside for the moral support while I was leaving the track at about 60mph….. Sal

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P15

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P16

Concept . . . Production?

TONALE - THE BIG LEAK!

These photos hit the Italian car headlines in October. A rather ‘base spec’ Alfa Romeo Tonale apparently at a customer evaluation event where it was presented alongside some of its key competitors, also in similar greys. The car has what’s expected to be its smallest wheels on (17s) and ‘basic’ headlights, The refreshing thing is the car has kept a great deal of the beautiful concept cars proportions and highlights. We can’t really add a lot more as a lot of things would be subject to change come production.

Production versions, according to latest ‘sources’, are a 2.0 MultiJet Diesel in various poer outputs including a Mild Hybrid STOP PRESS - FCA will merge with PSA Group variety (yes, on diesel), and 2 petrol 1.3 4-cyl petrol turbos (FireFly) in base (150hp), MHEV and PHEV. Front wheel drive, Q4 Almost out of the blue - on 31 October it was confirmed that PSA and Q4-E electric (petrol front, electric power rear). (/Citroen//Vauxhall) and FCA will take a50% stake in a parent company forming the 4th biggest car manufacturing As for when it will land, well, there’s a lot of conflicting group in the world with production of around 9 million units p.a. information. Maserati are desperate for new / modified models FCA Head, will be chairman, PSA Head, and look to be getting those first. Anything between winter 20 (I’m pretty sure I’ve got some of his records) becoming the CEO. and Winter 21 seems to be being talked about! John There are strong global synergies and this will give and Alfa much needed investment for new models and technology. John

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P17

2020 will be sponsored by Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo will be Automotive Sponsor of the 2020 “1000 Miglia” And it was with the same, undimmed enthusiasm as in the past This continues the multiannual partnership between Alfa Romeo and that on 18 May last year fans welcomed the arrival in Brescia of the “most beautiful race in the world”, to be held on the traditional Giovanni Moceri and Daniele Bonetti, winners of the 2019 “1000 Brescia-Rome-Brescia course from 13 to 16 May 2020. Miglia” in the 1928 6C 1500 SS from the FCA Heritage collection, Several priceless Alfa Romeo models belonging to the FCA Heritage normally on show in the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo at Arese. collection will take part, and Alfa Romeo will provide the organisers Second place went to the 1929 6C 1750 SS Zagato of Vesco- with a fleet of 30 Giulia and Stelvio cars from the current range. Guerini, while the other Alfa Romeo cars entered by FCA Heritage all finished the race with very respectable placings. What's more, The 38th re-evocation of what Enzo Ferrari liked to call the "most Alfa Romeo also received the Sponsor Team Trophy, thanks to beautiful race in the world" will be held from 13 to 16 May 2020 on Moceri’s victory and the fifth-place finish of the 1929 6C 1750 SS the traditional Brescia-Rome-Brescia course. An unmissable event, Young driven by Cavalli-Gamberini. which will once again enjoy the participation and support of Alfa Romeo as Automotive Sponsor. Renewed in 2019 to run until 2021, SO - DO YOU FANCY GOING?? the three-year sponsorship agreement sets the seal on the deep bond that has united the "Freccia Rossa" and the Italian brand ever With the event this year passing through Lucca in Northern since 1928. Tuscan, an area so very well known to members of our Section who have been on trips and holidays there, introduced but As always, several fine Alfa Romeo models from the collection of Section assistant Dave Atkins in the 00’s. Dave asks if you fancy a FCA Heritage, the Group’s department dedicated to protecting and long weekend he would be happy to help co-ordinate it. Though promoting the historic heritage of the Italian FCA brands, will be he no longer owns a property there he does have various present at the 2020 edition of the Brescia event. And these heritage contacts particularly in the beautiful old town of Barga which is gems will be joined in the parade by a fleet of thirty current vehicles just up the valley from Lucca. This could be done on a ‘road trip’ – Stelvio and Giulia. In their role as official cars of the 2020 "1000 or fly-drive. There’s a tremendous amount to do our there; Miglia", Giulia and Stelvio are sure to delight the many fans who fabulous scenery, very friendly people (lots of English spoken), watch them travelling the legendary course: there could be no better tremendous food, and Modena not a long way away either for introduction to the Alfa Romeo values, steeped in history and The Ferrari Museum for example. Milan is a bit more of a trip for competition. the Alfa Museum, but could form part of the adventure!

One of the most famous events in Alfa Romeo's racing history took If you are interested, do please speak to Dave at a forthcoming place in 1928, during the second edition of the "1000 Miglia", when meeting or drop him a line at [email protected] the constructor won both the individual and the team titles, with all eight of its cars successfully completing the course. In the years between then and 1957, Alfa Romeo won the event an amazing (Photo below showing Alfa Romeos at this year’s Mille Miglia.) eleven times, a record which will now never be beaten, and which confirms the unbreakable bond between two brands which shine with a special glory on the world motoring scene.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P18 A look at some of our local members’ cars. Our Alfas If you’d like your car featured here, please just drop a line to John.

Giulietta 1.4 MultiAir Lusso Wes Harkcom

From an email to John -

Hi John, thanks for putting me in touch with Dave Knott at Inta Services in Leicester. HE was able to repair my noisy MultiAir unit, saving me over £500! Thanks Again, Wes

159 2.0 JTDm Ti Paul Atkins

Paul had owned a very nice Alfa GT Blackline for several years, but after covering lost of miles in his job he decided it was time for a change. After a lot of searching by him and dad Dave, he tracked down this beauty, a 170hp Alfa 159 Ti. These cars look absolutely stunning in black with their brushed chrome mirror caps and the superb 19” alloys. Paul has now fitted a ’double DIN’ touch screen head unit and has had a driver’s seat rip perfectly repaired by Auto Trim Systems in Leicester. It’s an absolute cracker.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P19 Our Alfas

Alfa Spider 2.0 TS Chris Conlon

Chris’s on-going ’resto’ of his Spider is quite a story. We’ll be getting an update from the man himself this winter, but it’s nice to cover the fact that several bits work as intended - notably that the roof is waterproof!

Giulia Veloce Gary Hearne

After all the photos of wet cars on The Fox Run, including Gary’s lovely Veloce, here’s one of that same machine earlier this year being properly enjoyed on our Track Day at Curborough. What a fab car...

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P20

To achieve a ‘half and half ‘like this Perfecting paintwork needs a lot of elbow work, but there are some great products today to help.

No matter how careful you are, over time your paintwork will pick up fine scratches and marring. Over time this builds up to a ‘fogginess’ that dulls the finish no matter how well you wash it. You can even whack wax on it but it still won’t look its best. You can see what I mean by taking a look at the car in sunlight—look for a reflection of the sun (good luck on that ta the moment!) or take a smart phone and flip the light on shining a spot. This is a sure fire way of highlighting swirls and lines, the fogginess can be illustrated later. So how can you improve all this? Let’s take a look… Firstly - take the professional approach. Book your car in with a professional detailer. They will asses the extent of the paintwork’s defects and quote you on a process for perfecting it by machine polishing, using a range of abrasive pads and compounds, normally then offering a sealing service too with a ceramic coating, which will help defend against them coming back. (Despite what you read, ceramic coats can’t stop them entirely, you best defence is ‘safe washing’, which we’ve covered a lot before. How much? Well it depends on a lot of factors, but basically how poor the paint is and the level of perfection you wish to achieve. A single-stage refinement will cost from around £300, a 2 stage cut and refine process, with a coating, can double that. Now the results are, generally, amazing, often making a car look like it’s had a respray. Secondly - can you get near this finish at home? Yes you can get near to it by using similar equipment. We’ve covered that before; dual action polishers (the safest bet for a home Detailer), cost from around £100, though I will always point at the Kestrel DAS6 Pro, a 900watt watt machine available from around £130. A good single-stage diminishing compound that cuts and refines in one will cost about £25 (Scholl S20 Black) - and polishing pads around £11 each—you’d need 3 or 4 per car. You’ll need plenty of microfibre towels, quality masking tape, and panel wipe So you’re looking at about £250 to get equipped, not far short of that ‘basic professional treatment. It will take around 6 hours of your time to ‘do’ a car too, but you’re then set-up. If you’ve more than one car that’s ideal, but you can use the machine to apply glazes, waxes and sealants too to great effect, and to easily re-treat your car after a period. I will emphasize again; you will not beat a professional finish, but with practice you can begin to get close. OK - this is great, but can I do it any more cheaply? Well with the latest products you can lift the look of a car’s paint by hand. You’ll need a quality compound/polish, applicator pads and microfibres. Three products I’ve tried and recommend are Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and 3-in-1 Wax, and AutoFinesse Tripple. The biggest and quickest ‘cut’ is via the ‘compound, but you need to be most careful with its use. It is not a diminishing abrasive, so over working can in fact induce hazing as you actually create more marks, meaning following up with a finer polish is required - conveniently Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish can help there! AutoFinesse Tripple and Meguiar’s 3 in 1 are probably better balanced here, also including fillers that, err, ‘fill’ some marring, temporarily disguising the worst of them but helping to give a high shine. What’s the technique? Taking a foam polishing pad, you’re basically trying to imitate a dual action polisher. Prep the pad by applying a few blobs of product and working it in. Then add some more and draw a stripe with it across an area of panel, say approx. 2 feet long, Now work across that, pressing fairly hard working in cross hatch then circular pattern. Note, unlike a wax you want the product to remain ‘wet’ on the panel as you work it. Tripple and 3in1 can be left to dry - the carrier agents in them eventually flashing away - to then be buffed off with a microfibre. If you can still see a lot of swirls, repeat the process. You can normally see an improvement with the manual process, though it is pretty hard work. It’s particularly good at lifting fine hazing or ‘fogginess’. You won’t shift deep marks this way (the ones you can feel with a nail - even pro and d/a treatments can do little about those) but you can improve them, the process softening the sharp edges that catch the light. Whilst Tripple and 3 in 1 contain resins to ‘fill’ remaining imperfections, the aforementioned Compound and Polish don’t do this, so best to follow up with a high quality glaze - like Poorboy’s Black Hole or White Diamond (dark or light paints), then apply a wax/sealant or ceramic coat. So, 3 options, hopefully I’ve given you some ideas here. The effort is worth it, you’re adding to your own enjoyment of the car and also to its resale value. I could not believe the difference in finish on our 8 year old MiTo when I d/a polished it myself, it simply knocked years off it, and ultimately to achieve ’top whack’ on its private sale. Cheers! John

Meguiar's Personally I like to use a puck Ultimate when I am polishing paint by hand. Compound That’s when I’ve not time to crank

up the d/a with some This is a genuinely terrific Hexlogics…. product. As mentioned above, it can be used by hand as a polish, or as a mid-strength cutting compound with a dual action polisher. I find it as good as their Scratch-X 2 scratch remover product too for removing the odd fine scratch by hand. A 450ml bottle costs around £13 delivered on eBay, and is a really good investment.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P21 Always check out our website for the latest news, reports and photos aroc-uk.com/eastmids

NOVEMBER MEETING NIGHT at The Gate Hangs Well Lewin Bridge, Syston, Leicestershire LE7 1NH

Thursday 14 November, from 7.30pm

It’s the ‘What’s it Worth’ Quiz!

A fun, multiple choice quiz based on the values of Italian cars—and other things! With some very nice prizes too.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter November 2019 - Issue 226 - P22