What have you done to your F Type today?

[JKFTYPE]

This really is the ultimate colour combination IMHO. Doesn't she look lovely!

I go round in circles about colour and trim on these!

IRR benefits from a polish and a sunny day!
On duller, dirtier days it can look a bit dark, a little more like one of the traditional reds that the XK150 and E Type came in. No doubt that's what the design team intended.

In brief I think the designers have done such a good job with the design and detailing of this car that I actively went against my usual dislike of black and black gloss trims and wheels. Before I bought mine I missed out on a more 'classic' looking one in the same colour but with body colour roof and silver colour trims. I'd have been more than happy with that. Actually that example had some expensive and aggressive looking diamond cut black and silver wheels which I would have changed for silver Centrifuges like those on WShudds' and TH51's cars, or maybe for silver Turbines, as I like the design of those wheels.

[WShudds]

This really is the ultimate colour combination IMHO. Doesn't she look lovely!

I go round in circles about colour and trim on these!

IRR benefits from a polish and a sunny day!
On duller, dirtier days it can look a bit dark, a little more like one of the traditional reds that the XK150 and E Type came in. No doubt that's what the design team intended.

In brief I think the designers have done such a good job with the design and detailing of this car that I actively went against my usual dislike of black and black gloss trims and wheels. Before I bought mine I missed out on a more 'classic' looking one in the same colour but with body colour roof and silver colour trims. I'd have been more than happy with that. Actually that example had some expensive and aggressive looking diamond cut black and silver wheels which I would have changed for silver Centrifuges like those on WShudds' and TH51's cars, or maybe for silver Turbines, as I like the design of those wheels.

The Centrifuge wheels grew up on me loads.

I agree that there's a constant battle between black and silver trim and wheels. But the F-type is so gorgeous and unlike anything else on the road that either work extremely well.

[Madlil]

Fitted the Smarttop module that I purchased via the forum from Hotlurve and very happy with the improved control of the soft top now. I have inverted the roof switch (every other manufacturers convertible switch is the other way round!), one touch operation, roof up or down via the key fob and a nice bonus is I have the start stop and exhaust buttons set to the memory setting meaning I don’t have to press them when I start up the car.

Great piece of kit for convertible owners.

[ianp]

Noticed that someone has kindly scratched the entire length of my car with what looks like a supermarket trolley. The picture shows a small portion of it. What is the best way to treat this?

[WShudds]

Run you fingernail across it. If the scratch doesn't catch it, it hasn't gone through the clear coat so a quick polishing with a mild cutting compound or more abrasive finish polish like the Sonax Perfect Finish with a DA polisher should take care of it. If it has gone through the clear coat at places for instance, you'll need to fill it with some paint first then polish it out.

This is just to give you some indication based on my experience.

[Pilot Pete]

If it has gone through the clear you can fill it with solvent based touch up paint after thorough cleaning and then wipe with isopropyl alcohol/ panel wipe. Lots of videos on YouTube - you need to use a fine point like a cocktail stick, not the fat brush that touch up paints come with. You don’t want to completely fill the scratch with colour, just make it body coloured.

Once the scratch is coloured, you can apply clear the same way. Once that has hardened you can then shave it back to flat it (using something like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256547982893 ... gLGV_D_BwE)

Once it is flat you can then wet sand to blend in completely, using fine grade wet and dry from about 1500grit to 3000grit. Once it’s completely blended you can then compound/ polish using a DA or rotary machine with suitable pads and polishes. I’ve done it with no previous experience (other than detailing my cars with the DA previously). It’s not as hard as it sounds!

Not great pictures, but here is a wavy scratch on my bonnet/ wing with the touch up paint applied (you can see the wavy line of what looks like smudged paint if you look closely)

And the finished panel after polishing.

[Duvetday]

20240831_121845.jpgNoticed that someone has kindly scratched the entire length of my car with what looks like a supermarket trolley. The picture shows a small portion of it. What is the best way to treat this?

I often get long scratches like this from twigs sticking out from bushes on country lanes.

I am not fussy and I'm no expert so this might be bad advice....but I always use Auto Gylm Ultra Deep Shine and these scratches always seem to come out.

One time I had a 5mm scratch all the way along on every panel which didn't seem to be going away...but even that seemed to disappear after about 5 goes with the Auto Gylm over the course of a month.

It's hard to tell from the photo if your scratch is deeper, but might be worth a try. (Again, I'd ask an expert first !)

[IvoDC]

I know. On my Opel Speedster, the police stopped me also once because I had a smaller license plate on the front. So i kept a large one in the boot. The same with my F-type. I have the large license plate you see on the left picture in the trunk. To keep the officers of the law happy

Do you still have your Speedster or was it replaced by the F Type?

I drove Speedsters from 2002 to 2020. My first one was a silver 2.2 Atmo. After a total loss in 2005, I bought a new Europe blue 2.0 turbo. Sold that one in 2010 because I drove it far too little (ca 500km/year). Missed it so much, that I bought a red Turbo in 2013 which I sold in 2020 to an Italian from Sardinia. And I suppose it's still driving there . As I needed my time and garage for something else, I didn't immediately bought a replacement for it.
My F-type I bought in april this year,

[MikeM]

I know. On my Opel Speedster, the police stopped me also once because I had a smaller license plate on the front. So i kept a large one in the boot. The same with my F-type. I have the large license plate you see on the left picture in the trunk. To keep the officers of the law happy

Do you still have your Speedster or was it replaced by the F Type?

I drove Speedsters from 2002 to 2020. My first one was a silver 2.2 Atmo. After a total loss in 2005, I bought a new Europe blue 2.0 turbo. Sold that one in 2010 because I drove it far too little (ca 500km/year). Missed it so much, that I bought a red Turbo in 2013 which I sold in 2020 to an Italian from Sardinia. And I suppose it's still driving there . As I needed my time and garage for something else, I didn't immediately bought a replacement for it.
My F-type I bought in april this year,

Nice one, as you will know for UK it was the VX220. Sales mostly between 2001 and 2004 with a few not sold until 2007. Actually a decent engine set up and more refined than Elise but Vauxhall dealerships really didn’t know how to handle it when compared to their usual vehicle range. Still over 200 on the road and some 400 registered off road with around 30 advertised for sale.

[Andyp123]

Gave her a clean and Polish.