Ford Focus ST by The Valet Master

This bright red Ford Focus was brought to Marc at the Valet Master for his Dodo Juice Gold Valet with a of couple bolt-on extras to restore the plastic trim and seal the glass.

The car was pre-washed using Dodo Juice Apple iFoam - a snow foam that's just as clever as its name. Optimum Car Care (OPT) provided the all purpose cleaner (APC) which was used to pre-soak the wheels and wheel arches. It was also used on the window rubbers to remove the green growth that had started to develop. The main wash, using the two bucket method, utilised the OPT Car Wash shampoo product.

The wheels were pre-washed using Valet Pro Bilberry wheel cleaner, followed by OPT Ferrex fallout remover. Britemax AIO was then applied to the painted surfaces, before the whole alloy was coated with Gtechniq C5 to make future cleaning much easier.

Returning to the bodywork, the vehicle was dried after its hand wash. Various leaves and organic matter had gathered in the vents and the scuttle - these were removed with a Vortex gun and judicious use of APC. The paint was then given a three-stage decontamination - Dodo Juice Tarmalade to remove the tar, followed by Ferrous Dueller to remove the fallout, and finally clay barred using Born Slippy Lube and a medium clay.

After a second wash and dry the paint was now ready for some closer attention. Dodo Juice Lime Prime Plus and Britemax Black Max were both used to enhance the gloss and prepare the surface for protection. Future Armour, a spray sealant from Dodo Juice, was then applied before two layers of their Orange Crush carnauba wax, tailored specifically for red cars.

The glass surfaces were cleaned inside and out using Clearly Menthol - another Dodo Juice staple - which then allowed Marc to apply the Gtechniq G1 and G2 sealants. This glass sealant doubles as a rain repellent to dramatically improve visibility in poor conditions.

The owner had specifically asked for the black plastic trim to be renovated as it had faded to grey. To this end, Marc applied Gtechniq C4 which both darkened and protected the plastic. Marc went so far as to coat the wheel arch liners too.

Final touches included polishing the two chrome exhaust tail pipes using Blue-Be-Gone metal polish - restoring the chrome-like shine. The wheel nuts received the same TLC, so they complimented the newly sealed wheels. Last of all, the tyres were dressed with OPT to give a deep dark lustre.

By the end of the day the car looked like it was months old, not years - the contrasting plastics and glistening wheels finished it off nicely. Marc reports the owner was amazed at the difference after a proper valet.