Operation Bora Body

[audi-tone]

use steel wool. gently ofcourse. did with mine, looks just like the one above

[PranK]

With regards to the body, you could always give it a buff first and see how much of a difference it makes.
Won't fix the dents/scratches on the "a" pillar but will take out most, if not all of the roof racks and spoiler marks.

The panels that have deeper scratches will need a respray but if your a perfectionist (like me), then you might end up having to respray the entire exterior of the car.

This takes time/effort and a bit of skill or a lot of beginners luck to get right but saying that, we all have to start somewhere.

You don't need to spray in a booth but I seriously recommend it, especially considering that you can hire one for $150 a day.
(Saves a fair bit of buffing in the end and your not suseptable to moisture like you are if you paint in the elements.)

Since there was so much dirt in the door jams, I bet theres heaps more stuck in behind the front guards. You can clean this out by removing your plastic inner guards or just do it if you need to remove the guards for paint.

Good luck.. I always love a project!

I bought a polisher and have been attacking small parts of the car with cutting compound and then a polish, makes a big difference in some places but barely noticable in others. I should say that I am no polishing expert though, so my technique could no doubt use improvement. Thanks Youtube!

A mate of mine up the road has a huge tent that he has erected inside a giant shed and he sprays cars in this tent. I *might* try and borrow that for a day or two, but I might even prefer to just pay for a booth, it'll be a lot cleaner.

There is *so* much grime behind the panels. Actually in any 'slightly obscured' part of the car. Under the boot, it must be almost a centimetre thick. It'd be interesting to see how much weight it would add (definitely not performance hindering but just for curiosity's sake.)

Thanks for the info!

Boras are great,so you have a wonderful project to work on.

The Navy is a good looking colour,I would keep the origional alloys,clean them up,and DONT spray them Black...

Hopeyou got it for a bargain price ???

Hah, you sound like my wife! They do look great when they are nice and clean, I must admit. A sand, respray and nice clear coat would work very well.

And yeah, I did get it for a bargain price. When I went to look at it, it was totally filthy. I could see this putting off so many potential buyers. It amazes me when people dont make any effort to make their cars look good when selling them. I must have spent 4 or 5 hours cleaning my Golf before showing it.

Where did you get the power windows plastic thing? Mine looks shocking too, wouldnt mind replacing it.

From here. I was pleasantly surprised that they were all genuine parts too.

[vwsport]

Great car I've had my bora sport since brand new and love it.
Just noticed the photos and yours still has the original sport floor mats in it! I'm surpised they've not worn thru. I went to buy them once after about 3 years and VW didnt have them as a spare part.



Also when you take the boot spoiler off you can replug back in the back window mounted brake light (if you havent already). Another tip on the bora especially on a car that has lived outside is to make sure the drainange channels on the sunroof are clear. If your car is that dirty they're probably blocked. Mine got blocked up and the drainage channels couldnt drain and so the channel overflowed into the car and I had a frigging lake on the floor of my car. You can put whipper snipper cable down them or a length of screw plug stuff and that clears them

[gringo_54_oval]

Another tip on the bora especially on a car that has lived outside is to make sure the drainange channels on the sunroof are clear. If your car is that dirty they're probably blocked. Mine got blocked up and the drainage channels couldnt drain and so the channel overflowed into the car and I had a frigging lake on the floor of my car. You can put whipper snipper cable down them or a length of screw plug stuff and that clears them[/QUOTE]

Im gonna try the whipper snipper trick on my bora,its a good idea just to be on the safe side i hate the smell of wet carpet in the car..

OP with the gunky doors try kerosine it should remove all that black wax type dirt.

1st with a spray bottle apply the kero get a cheapo paint brush and start brushing away followed by a high pressure washer and blast that **** off.

If that fails ( PLAN B.) grab a rag with acrylic thinners and give it wipe down. dont worry thinners wont ruin your paint because our sexy boras are all painted with 2-pack paints and thinners wont stuff it up if your just wiping dirt off it.

good luck dude

[PranK]

OP with the gunky doors try kerosine it should remove all that black wax type dirt.

1st with a spray bottle apply the kero get a cheapo paint brush and start brushing away followed by a high pressure washer and blast that **** off.

If that fails ( PLAN B.) grab a rag with acrylic thinners and give it wipe down. dont worry thinners wont ruin your paint because our sexy boras are all painted with 2-pack paints and thinners wont stuff it up if your just wiping dirt off it.

good luck dude

I actually have a steam cleaner with a jet nozzle, makes short work of the gunk. Its a natural degreaser and doesn't hurt the paint at all. Thanks for the tip though.

[PranK]

Great car I've had my bora sport since brand new and love it.
Just noticed the photos and yours still has the original sport floor mats in it! I'm surpised they've not worn thru. I went to buy them once after about 3 years and VW didnt have them as a spare part.

Yeah the drivers side one is showing signs of wearing through. I was stoked to see them in there when I looked at it.

Also when you take the boot spoiler off you can replug back in the back window mounted brake light (if you havent already). Another tip on the bora especially on a car that has lived outside is to make sure the drainange channels on the sunroof are clear. If your car is that dirty they're probably blocked. Mine got blocked up and the drainage channels couldnt drain and so the channel overflowed into the car and I had a frigging lake on the floor of my car. You can put whipper snipper cable down them or a length of screw plug stuff and that clears them

Yeah plugging in the third brake light is on my list of 'to dos.'
Mine are clear now, most of the car has been gunk free for a few weeks. Great tip tho with the whipper snipper cable.