With these articles we aim to supply answers to some
of the most commonly asked questions, and answers to the questions
you should be asking, as well as entertainment for people who have nothing
better to do but read about car care. If you can't find exactly what you
are looking for, use the site search at the top of the page, and if all
else fails, drop us a line!
Latest Articles
We go through a list of charges point by point. See if they are fair, if the prices are reasonable and how money could have been saved.
Using wet towels to keep the paint from drying will make a clean-up easier. Once the spilt paint has dried everything becomes so much harder, parts may need replacing and these could take a long time to arrive.
If the paint is water based emulsion, then it is possible to clean up a paint spillage by mopping up, then slowly diluting and vacuum up the paint.
Ask the Experts
These are the latest questions asked on
We have a chair that is badly worn and would like to get it back to new looking. I do realise that you only do furniture but most of the domestic products seem a bit amateurish and not as good a finish as one would get by a car product... [more]
drivers seat needs small restitchibg
ipost code rm155db
Model: merc clk [more]
The body work is immaculate and shiny apart from this joint under the headlamp. Is it serious rust and very costly to fix? Spider rust? Will car need total respray?
South London
Model: rover mini... [more]
More latest Questions
Q & A
Many paint spillages can be cleaned up for less that the cost of your insurance exess, but it may be worth calling them anyway to let them know what is going and keep you option open.
The things that catch people out when they return a lease car. We talked to over 30 lease company and fleet managers, asking them what drivers normally get charged for.
In this video we show a repair to a scuff on a bumper. The paints we use are the same as used in a bodyshop, then last just as long, thats why we offer a three year guarantee.
A Smart Car with a hole in the carpet, bird's mess marks and some buffer marks on the headlight. Smart Car Repairs for lease return.
This car came in for one of our Free Lease Appraisals, we had three days to get it fixed before it was returned to the lease company.
A look at a Honda Civic which has some scratches and dents and a scuff on the bumper. It also has some poor repairs on the front wheels.
Can smart repair really save you money? (Prt 2). If a repair is done badly, it will cost you when you come to sell your car, and if you are returning it to a lease company you are likely to incur recharges, so you''ll pay twice.
The benefits of a Smart Repair Vs a Bodyshop, and the downsides to both.
It's true that New Again can repair all kinds of minor damage and wear, putting it right and making a car look much fresher and newer. But did you ever stop to think what the wear on a car tells you?
A leaky windscreen let in a load of water, flooding both footwells. The damp had caused mould to grow on traces of dirt throught the car.
In this video we show how a combination of our expertise, smart repair and body shop repair can save hundreds of pounds over the cost of dealership repair prices or the lease company's re-charges.
Dents on a Mercedes and a Jaguar -- some we can remove with paintless dent removal, some we can't. We repaired the Jaguar dent with a midi-repair.
This car had milk spilt in it and caused a terrible sour milk smell. To remove this odour we used an extractor to remove the milk and then treated the car with bioactive enzymes.
By Danny and Kieran - 19/10/10
This car smelt of body odour and dogs. We used enzymes to kill the smell. They work by eating protien which normally feeds the smelly bacteria... and when the bacteria starves to death, the enzymes eat them too.
By Anna and Arron - 20/09/10
By the time this was noticed, the car was begining to smell like a pond. We had to strip out the interior of the car in order to remove and dry the thick carpet underlay. We also used our odour kill system to decontaminate and remove the smell.
By Anna and Kieran- 20/09/10
This Porsche had a Midi-Repair to the front bumper, the rest of the paintwork was corrected and then Paintsealed. Some dents were also removed and the hood reproofed.
By Gary and Kieran - 14/09/10
This video shows a car which has had hot ash rain down on it, it is also contaminated with smoke.
By Kieran and Arron - 14/09/10
This lovely NSX had some Midi-Repairs, the rest of the paintwork was corrected and then Paintsealed. Inside the car was valeted and the driver's leather seat was recoloured.
This video shows a car which has had hot ash rain down on it, it is also contaminated with smoke.
By Gary and Arron - 01/09/10
Most hoods don't need recolouring, as the reproofing usually makes them darker. Although this hood was quite faded, thorough cleaning and water-proofing was all it needed. This video shows how much cleaning is involved before a hood is reproofed.
By Gary and Arron - 28/08/10
The owner of this car sent us some photos through Ask the Experts to see if we could remove their dents with paintless dent repair. Because the dents were so harsh, we recommended that Kraftwork carry out a Midi-Repair at their bodyshop.
By Gary, Kieran and Davide - 17/08/10
Paint spiltt in the back of a Ford Fiesta. Gloss spirit based paints are far harder to clean up than water based emulsion, but in this case we replaced many of the parts as they were readily and cheaply available from a breakers yard.
By Gary, Kieran and Matt - 30/07/10
With paintless dent removal we removed four dents from the doors of this 350zx. We later machine polished this car so any blemishes would have shown up on the pristine paintwork, so it's important to remove imperfections like this before paintwork correction.
A Maserati with scuffing on two wheels. We show you how the wheels are filled, sanded, keyed, primed and painted, before the wheels are put back on the car using a torque wrench.
Car Leather Repair: A Porsche which was here for numerous repairs and services, this video shows connollising done to repair a leather seat bolster and handbrake.
By Gary & Alan - 26/07/10
In this video we show you how we turn a 'polished face' wheel into a normal painted wheel. Alloy wheel refurbishment on a Mercedes SLK.
By Kieran & Arron - 21/07/10
In this video we show a removal of a very large dent.
We did some paintwork on the front end, removed some dents, buffed out a scratch and carried out cosmetic repairs on two wheel before the car was returned to the lease company.
Alan shows us how he carries out a couple of common leather repairs.
By Danny & Alan - 13/07/10
A particularly bad case of tree sap contamination which etched the paintwork requiring us to wet-sand the upper surfaces to correct it.
An example of a burn in a headlining.
We restore a very dirty hood on a BMW
Some scratches on the upholstery of a Mini are repaired
using Modern Connollising.
By Gary & Allan - 22/05/10
Wet sanding the acid etched marks left by bird droppings.
By Gary & Kieran - 26/04/10
In this video we show you the results of polishing a plastic
rear window and cleaning the hood.
By Gary & Arron - 27/04/10
We are seeing cars with acid rain damage. Could
it be the result of the volcanic fallout?
Wheel Repair, dent repair and scratch removal to get the car ready for return.
By Gary, Kieran, & Danny - 28/4/10
Repairing vandalism -- removing key scratches.
By Kieran & Gary - 17/04/10
The
bottom line is that you want to get the job done right, at the best possible
price.
By Gary - 17/03/10
Don't
keep paying for that car lease.
Let someone else take on the payments!
by TakeMyLease.co.uk - 20/04/10
...because some people haven't a clue what we are
talking about.
When to clean and condition, how to avoid wear and
damage on leather upholstery.
All about the mystical art of Paintless Dent Removal,
complete with diagrams.
Everybody's doing it... but smart repair isn't the
answer to every problem.
By Gary & Danny - 30/12/09
Frequently asked questions about removing odours
from cars. (Including Doggy smells!)
Whatever do we mean? It's how we handle rumble strips
and feature panels.
Photo Gallery:
Modern Car Renovation - 205 photos
The best of the rest! We write articles about some
of the cars we restore, time permitting, but there are many other vehicles
that pass through our doors. We take photos that get filed away in our
archive, sometimes because we don't have before and after shots. Here is
a collection of snaps of some really nice cars and the folks who work on
them. It gives a good idea of what we do here.
Cleaning up flooded cars is not as simple as most
people think. This article shows why.
Also
see the photo gallery.
Secrets used by trade on getting
more when you sell your car.
An Article by GoCompare.com about the differences
between leased and bought cars.
By GoCompare.com - 2/12/08
A run through of the different methods used in refurbishing
and restoring modern cars.
By www.cararticles.co.uk - 3/11/08
Follow us along as we inspect a leased BMW and prepare
it for return.
By Gary, Kieran, & Danny - 23/9/08
How you can save money when returning your car to
a lease company. These people did!
By Gary - 09/09/08
So what are car cosmetics? We have our own definitions.
By Danny - 06/09/08
You wouldn't think they can damage your car, but
they often do and the damage is often very expensive to repair!
By Danny - 05/09/08
Leather Recolouring on a Bentley Turbo RT
By Gary, Kieran. Aaron, & Darrel - 23/8/08
Leather Recolouring article using our strongest
method.
By Gary, Kieran. Aaron, & Darrel - 23/8/08
Wacky-Tobacky Odour Removal.
By Gary - 22/8/08
Video Article:
Hood Reproofing
We recolour and reproof the fabric hood
on a classic De Ville.
By Gary - 7/7/08
Video Article:
Paint Splatter
Fence paint splattered on a Ford focus,
we remove it.
By Gary - 7/7/08
A can of paint goes over in the back of a BMW. See
how we deal with it.
By Danny - 11/6/08
This time we have conclusive proof... we got it
on video! ...as if you needed any more proof!
By Danny - 11/6/08
How to get the best out of Auto Trader.
By Danny - 9/6/08
Trying to explain why sometimes a big scuff can
be repaired with SMART, and a small one can't. Things are not always as
simple as they might seem!
By Danny - Done ages ago, but I forgot to link to it!
- not really an article, but some of the things
that make us different from the rest. Important stuff!
By Danny - 6/6/08
A look at some of the benefits of Supagard with
Steve Polain of... Supagard!
By Steve Polain - 6/5/08
Advantages for the business owner of leasing their
fleet vehicles.
By Darren Nash - Planet Leasing - 30/4/08
Everything you ever wanted to know about sealants
and haven't been afraid to ask.
By the web stig - 25/4/08
We found a car which was treated with Diamondbrite 15
years ago! What kind of condition do you think it is in now?
You will be amazed, we were!
By the web stig - 25/7/06
Review:
How good is Supagard? Part II
Is is worth the money? You be the judge!
What the dealerships don't show you, how a 3 year
sealant looks after 7 years. Pretty good.
By Danny - 12/04/08
Review:
How good is Supagard? Part III
A near mint condition Toyota Rav4.
A car we treated and maintained for the last 6 years.
By Danny - 16/04/08
This article serves as an introduction to the articles
above.
By Danny Argent - 4/07/05 updated: 19/12/09
Matt Elliston of Jewelultra tells us why we should
have Diamondbrite on (and in) our cars, and tells us how it works.
By Matt Elliston - 04/8/06
The benefits of our services to the lease companies
By Gary Wray - 27/07/07
A case study of a car inspected by New Again.
By Danny - 26/06/07
It's not just the money... There are many other
benefits too!
By Danny - 29/06/07
The cause and the solution to the arguments between
drivers, fleet managers and lease companies.
By Danny - 06/07/07
Why drivers who inspect their own cars miss most
of the damage.
By Danny - 07/07/07
There was something fishy about the BMW Mini, could
there be foul play? The game was afoot!
By Danny - 4/06/07
An article about motorsport sponsorship, why you
can't get it, what you are doing wrong, and how to take a new approach.
By Danny - 12/03/07
A photo diary of Lauren's journey to the land that
gave us Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, we follow some very British
super cars in one of the world's most famous races.
By Lauren Stebbing- 20/12/06
It's debatable if you can actually call it a valet
-- but take a look and see what you get when you take a brand new car to
a cheap car wash.
By Danny - 27/01/07
A comprehensive look at paintwork correction using
rotary buffing - including the Zenith point technique.
By Mark (Brazo) - 4/11/06
An example of paintless dent removal on a
large dent.
By the web stig - 14/10/06
Car valeting, car grooming, auto detailing, auto
reconditioning, etc. What's the difference between them and a car wash?
By the web stig - 08/09/06
An example of the wet sanding technique used to remove bird
dropping damage and scratches - part of our new paintwork correction
service.
By the web stig - 09/08/06
Article:
Willy's Summer Visit
Willy Winterfalk visited us again this summer to buff some cars. Although this is a repeat performance with yet more Porsches, it's always worth taking a peak at his work.
Part 1 - Honda NSX
Part 2 - Porsche Carrera S
Part 3 - Autocar Magazine - Scratched Astra
Part 4 - Porsche Carrera 4
By www.cararticles.co.uk - 3/11/08
If you buff cars then the easiest way is with a 200mm pad, yet many people are scared by larger pads?
Many people find that once they have buffed a car and got it out in direct sunlight they get buffer marks. Willy shows us how to avoid it.
Some are good and cheap, some are bad and expensive. How to find the right company for you.
By the web stig - 29/07/06
An insurance company points a limo in our direction after some firework damage to the roof.
By the web stig - 6/5/06
A run through of the different methods used in refurbishing and restoring modern cars.
By Danny - 3/6/06
Find out why microfibre is taking the valeting
world by storm.
By Marc Brady- 24/4/06
How to maintain, care and clean chrome wheels - we asked the experts at Cruzin On Chrome and they gave us this article.
By Peter Moorcroft
Some tips on how to avoid end-of-lease recharges
for excess mileage.
By Terrence Jumbe
Smart Leasing 5 Step Guide on choosing a leased car.
By Terrence Jumbe
A complete guide full of useful advice and tips about how to care for and return your leased car.
By Danny Argent - 10/01/06
Willy Winterfalk talks us through a Porsche he buffed while visiting Clean Image and explains why the Allpad buffing system is unbeatable.
By Willy Winterfalk
We removed light scratches and swirl marks and corrected the paintwork on a TVR using the AllPad chemical buffing system.
By Danny Argent- 12/09/05
Guest Article:
Porsche Project We carried out a project on a Porsche, Paintwork and wheels. See us removing scratches and swirls on this beautiful car.
By Danny Argent- 2/08/05
The Porsche article (above) generated a lot interest from as far away as Japan.
By Danny Argent- 7/09/05
Find out why Mark valeted a bonnet with a scrubbing brush and mud!
By Danny Argent- 7/07/05
We play a game with car values, on and off the radio...
it's a game everybody can win!
By Gary Wray - 10/12/04
All about booking your car in and the way in which we do things.
By Sam - A long time ago
All about our appraisal system and the way in which we do things.
By Danny - A long time ago
A short article giving basic advice to new car buyers.
By Gary Wray - 19/08/04
Find out all the benefits of a valet, why and when you should have it done. And how it can pay you back!
By Gary Wray - 11/12/03
Why we think you should come and see us more
often and what you would get out of it.
By Gary Wray - 08/07/04
How to Guide:
Selling GuideA complete guide full of useful advice and tips about how to sell your car. Learn where to advertise, when to advertise, and how to get the most money for your vehicle.
By Danny Argent - 20/11/03 Last Updated 6/06/05
A report on Danny's busman's holiday and fact finding mission to Alingsås, and the different problems and approaches to valeting between the two countries.
By Danny Argent - 09/01/04
Charity abseil to raise money for Chelmsford Unity Club.
By Danny
The causes, the damage, prevention and cure.
By Danny Argent - 10/01/04 - Updated 19/12/05
All the questions people usually ask about
having their wheels repaired, from chrome wheels to buckled and smashed
wheels.
By Danny Argent - 20/05/05
The title says it all, here is an example of one of our 'second attempts' at removing tobacco odours.
By Danny Argent - 24/09/05
Due to popular demand, I have answered one of the most commonly asked questions - how to go about taking care of stone chips.
By Danny Argent - 29/04/05
A random isn't quite as fancy as some of the
other machines, but it can still work wonders on light scratches.
By Danny - A long time ago
Photo Article:
Stone
Chip Repair opens in new window
Photographic example of how stone chip touch-in
can dramatically improve the appearance of your car.
By Danny Argent - 20/06/04
Before and after shots of Alloy wheel restoration.
By Danny Argent - 21/06/04
Photo Article:
Bumper
Scuff Repair opens in new window
How we can repair trim and bumpers using
special paints
which mimic the effect of textured plastic.
By Danny Argent - 21/06/04
Before and after shots of the restoration of a rear plastic window
on a convertible car using Hindsight™.
By Danny Argent - 16/09/04 - Updated 25/08/05
Actual photos of how a Renovo® treated hood looks in the rain.
By Danny Argent - 16/09/04
Another flick through our photo album and some examples of how we deal with scratched, faded and dull paintwork with wet sanding and buffing.
By Danny Argent - 07/07/04
How these 'Evil' machines ruin your paintwork and devalue your car.
By Danny Argent - 03/07/04
Not only did we remove the concrete fallout from this Audi, but we also removed the dents and buffed the car to a mirror finish.
By Danny Argent - 8/9/05
What would you do if somebody threw paint all over the interior of your Mercedes? The insurance company decided to bring the car to us for help. This proved to be one of our most difficult jobs.
By Danny Argent - 17/10/04
A varnish designed for sealing concrete was thrown over a Peugeot. We got the worst of it off on two hours so that the customer could do the rest himself.
By Danny Argent - 19/09/05
We cleaned up a flooded Ford Focus for an Insurance company. It was filled with silt and smelt like a swamp so we had to take the car apart to tackle the job.
By Danny Argent - 22/09/05
Fire can cause a lot of damage to a vehicles interior, but the main problem is the smell. Can we fix it?
Yes we can!
By Danny Argent - 17/11/04
Yet another paint spillage in the boot of an Audi,
here's what to do and how it is dealt with.
By Danny Argent - 10/12/04
As photos become available, I will be posting short pages giving actual examples of smart repairs on interiors. I hope to be able to cover plastic, vinyl, leather and carpet repair in the not too distant future.
By Danny Argent - 25/05/05
An April Fools Day Hoax Article:
Car Care for Modern Paintwork Believe it or not, it actually fooled a few people - and we had great fun writing it.
By Danny Argent - 1st April 2006
Product Reviews
Company and Product reviews
As much as we would like to, we can't do everything! We often find ourselves
referring our customers to other companies in related industries. In this
section we will showcase their work, because it's fantastic work that
they do!
Trimcare are a vehicle trim repair specialist, we show you how they deal
with a cigarette burn repair.
11/06/05
Because connollising is a very specialist skill, Allan has the good fortune to be asked to work on some very rare and unusual vehicles.
By Danny Argent - 06/12/04
Proving that the best ideas are usually simple, these products protect your car from the dangers of the garage.
By Danny - A long time ago
Superb range of professional car care products
By Danny - A long time ago
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