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Lol! Ok a few pictures. This morning was first time driving her to the office. Sitting at my desk, gazing out the window and boy does she look great. Already caught about 5 people turning their heads to check her out! Parked at home in the driveway First time I saw her! What a butt!
If this is your first black car - please be aware that it is very easy to swirl the paint while cleaning and polishing. I recommend ceramic coating it to ease cleaning. Be religious about using non-abrasive cleaning implements.
On mechanical side - as this is ultra-low miles car, it sat a lot. This means that you need to go with time-based approach to changing fluids. If you have original coolant, brake fluid, differential fluid, transmission fluid - they all overdue. Also an original battery of this age will be a suspect, I'd replace it outright as these cars go crazy with false codes (and give an owner a heart attack) if battery is marginal.
Last but not least - these cars have two key flaws that I recommend you proactively address. Water pump is known weak spot, it is not if, but when it will fail. Keep an eye on this. Timing chain is another weak spot - it won't be an issue at such low miles, but you might want to get religious about early oil changes. You can prolong its life a great deal by using JLR-spec oil and doing more frequent oil changes. It is also a good idea to remove plastic engine cover, as it traps heat and overtime makes plastic coolant pipes brittle.
Last but not least - dash tends to shrink. If you don't park inside, put up reflective sun screen to protect it.
As SinF already said get it ceramic coated, however prep is key. I neither had the tools or the time and entrusted it to a local company with a good rep (so good in fact he now has the contract for all of the new and used cars sold at the local Aston dealership)..
So process was
Wash
Ferrous remover
Wash
Clay bar medium and fine
Wash
Remove wheels and ferrous treat and ceramic coat
Stage 1 machine polish
Stage 2 machine poilish
Hand polish
1st stage ceramic coat Nd allow to cure for 8hrs
2nd stage ceramic coat and let cure overnight
Refit wheels
Apply glass nano sealant
Treat and seal interior leather
That took 4 full days and cost me £1200, well worth it as water still beads off and I only have to wash it every couple of months...the rain does it for me ...pic below in his place Nov 18
Sadly here in the UK it isnt possible to buy a low mileage XK, as iver here they are not treated as rarities or exotic...just cars to be used and abused.
In rhe car owning fraternity here multicar ownership is a rare thing, so typically 12k miles pa is the norm ;(
"It is also a good idea to remove plastic engine cover, as it traps heat and overtime makes plastic coolant pipes brittle"
First time I come across this recommendation. Will have to think about this one................................
Concerning the engine cover, my alternative is to partially raise the hood after a drive. Then I have a floor fan that sits nearby that directs air across it to force heat away. The fan is not required but it cools it much faster.
We did it
...pic below in his place Nov 18
