"My daughter recently acquired a well-used Toyota Yaris. With more than 80,000 miles on the clock, eight years of English weather, four owners and less than careful cleaning, the paintwork was a great opportunity for the Polished Bliss treatment. I like working on older cars as there’s so much more added value to create.

Firstly, I did a very thorough wash using the two bucket method and a pair of Easirider Lambswool Wash Mitts. Two handed washing sure beats the right-hand only and it is particularly easy to work one glove against the other in the rinse bucket to remove grit and grime between replenishments from the shampoo bucket. Then a power wash under the wheel arches was followed by an all over treatment with Autosmart Tardis, which made very quick work of the tar spots and other detritus that is not always easy to see with the naked eye. Then a wash followed by a work over with CarPro Iron-X, which is truly a revelation. Foul smelling stuff even with the added floral aroma, it leaves telltale mauve streaks wherever it finds iron particles, and there were a surprising amount of them! After another wash I tackled the paintwork with Meguiar’s Quik Clay Kit. Thanks to the efficacy of the Tardis and the Iron-X, this was not too onerous a task. Onto the polishing...

The paint surface had acquired more than its fair share of swirl marks over the years and I'm still too much of an amateur to tackle a major pain correction job. Instead, I tried Wolf's Chemicals Ultra Fine Polish (WP-1N). On the label it says, "Some may finish when they believe that their job is done, some finish when a job is 'good enough' but there are some out there that won't finish until the job is unquestionably perfect... if you're the latter then WP-1N is your polish". Well, a couple of hours of careful work later and I'm a convert, no, I am an evangelist! Follow the instructions, work on a small area at a time, and take plenty of time buffing off gently with a Poorboy's Deluxe Mega Towel. Then I spent some time looking for the original swirl marks, but with very little success. The results were beyond my wildest expectation.

Next came two coats of Wolf's Chemicals Nano Paint Sealant (Body Wrap), allowing a good 12 hours in between for curing. Each panel was carefully cleaned with ReAgent Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) to make sure that the surface was scrupulously clean. Applying the Body Wrap was amazingly easy, as it just needs the thinnest of coats but you need good light to ensure you are getting comprehensive coverage. Again, buffing off with a PB Super Buffing Towel was a pure pleasure, and so easy. I finished up with a thorough clean and polish of the wheels and dressing the tyres. The black front grill was very difficult to clean, but I found a short stubby brush and tyre dressing worked a treat. The tailpipe was cleaned and polished with metal polish.

What a result! Mirror-like reflection, gob-smacking gloss, metallic magic, just run out of adjectives! And, don't just take my word for it. Two days later the dent man came to take a dent out of the door and categorically refused to believe he was working on original eight year old paint (and there is a man who has seen a few cars in his time). Then, just as he completed his work, it rained, giving me the chance to grab a great beading shot."