I picked up my car several months ago now. Fantastic condition, including FASH, but the paint was . . . well;
So I finally had option of a daily driver (A4 derv) and a garage, while my parents were away in Vietnam. So a long weekend and the work begins.
First off, as she stands;
Quick blast down with the Karcher and a lot of the grime is removed;
Then a snow foam with a mixture of Gold Klass Shampoo and ph neutral snow foam. Note to self, taking pictures while snow foaming is trickier than I remember;
Shuts, tight spots and cracks agitated with G101 and envy brushes;
One part of this stage I was very happy with when finished, although each side took over two hours each, were the door shuts. Here I found a major amount of grease, grime and what I am guessing was delivery wax as it was very difficult to shift. Sadly I don't have many pre wash pictures, but the following are after being washed down with G101;
So on to a spray down with Tardis, the agitated and resprayed with G101 and agitated again. The tight space made this stage very lengthy;
You can probably tell how happy I am with the results based on the number of photos of such a small area!!
The car was then washed, two bucket method, with Megs Gold Klass shampoo, wash mitt etc. Those into their detailing will note one major difference in my approach to washing my car - no wheel pictures! This is purely because these will be removed at a later date to be cut back and sealed properly. They are in surprisingly good nick, but are being replaced for 18"RSTTs soon as well.
Once washed down and dried, we were left with this;
Pat dried with I4Detailing large drying towels and on to claying. For this I used Megs no:16 last touch as per usual, but decided to try the I4Detailing poly clay - big mistake. Really didn't like this due to its inability to refold easily to give a clean surface. Photos not so good from this but not too bad on the contaminants side of things. There was very little tar present as well so Tardis was barely used;
Bonnet;
Rear bumper;
The car was then refoamed with just Megs Gold Klass and then washed with the usual 2BM and Megs Mitt, dried and backed into the garage to assess . . . well, back up what I already knew (sadly).
Looks good!!
Not!!
The car was a mess. UDS, major marring from a lifetime of bad washing, possibly even petrol station brushes
and even a few bird dropping etches;
A particularly bizarre scratch on the drivers side wing;
The car was then taped up for the end of day one;
Again, something I am maticulous about, as my last car showed signs of bad over run from a buffing machine on the rubbers and plastics - PITA to remove!
Sorry to leave this at a fairly "cliff hanger" moment, but photobucket is being very slow tonight. I will update once the photos have finished uploading.
Thanks for reading
James
Ok, so, photos up loaded, good to go again
The car was good to go with a machine polisher. Now comes the major delays. First, my Kestrel rotary gave up the ghost. Then I was away every weekend for around a month and therefore just had no time for the car. I braved walking to work for almost a month to make sure I didn't drive her out of the garage.
Finally ordered a new Silverline as an in betweener machine, after almost calling on Jimmeh to get her booked in. Sadly my new role at work leaves me with no time, coupled with a misses in Birmingham Uni (down at the weekends) left me with about an hour a day, if that. So, panel by panel she was machined.
Started with Lime Prime and a 3M polishing pad via rotary, but this had little affect on the UDS and I wanted as much perfection as feasible. So, on to a 3M pad with Menz Power Finish 203s (worked so well on several previous customer Audis) and this did not disappoint. I managed to achieve about 85% correction, so not perfect but very happy in comparison;
A real idea of how bad the paint was;
In comparison to;
A 50:50 of bonnet (done) to wing (marred);
During the weeks that went by, the sun did show its face once or twice. So I was able to take the car out of the garage and get some direct sunlight befores;
So, finally, this weekend I was able to final stage polish the car with the DA and some Lime Prime on a Lake County Finishing pad. I do love Lime Prime, even though I am not a major Dodo fan.
Results;
The car will not see as much love and attention in the detailing department as I want, due to work and travel. So instead of just Carnuba wax, I gave the car a very decent dose of sealent. Yes, this won't give as good a finish (yes I'm picky
) but will last a very long time. Poison of choice was an "old" faithful; Chem Guys Blitz spray sealent. Results;
I have forgotten to add another part I am very happy with, the exhausts!
The car was finished with Megs Long Lasting tyre shine, Autoglym Fast Glass, Chem Guys New Look trim gel and then a wipe down with a relatively new fav, Zaino Grande Finale;
The only part not treated to a full recon was the rear bumper. Due to a very unfortunate trip/fall I have damaged a very minor spot of paint, but being a perfectionist, I am having it resprayed. There are a couple of very deep scratches from unloading over 8 years as well, so a good chance to get her spot on. For the moment, I am covering the area in a matt black bumper protector, covering the offending area!
Plans; wheels off and cut back and sealed, then sold/replaced. TT pedals have been fitted but a few interior parts need bringing back to life including the CC buttons, radio buttons and the headlight switch. Next stage, interior! Leather needs a good treating, as well as a decent clean of the carpets etc.
Thanks for reading!
James
I forgot to mention in the thread, a big thanks to the following;
Matt@I4Detailing - exceptional speed and price on products
Angela@Polished Bliss - very quick response to a number of questions
And of course, our resident super star, Jimmeh, for help and suggestions via PM and text. Cheers buddy
So I finally had option of a daily driver (A4 derv) and a garage, while my parents were away in Vietnam. So a long weekend and the work begins.
First off, as she stands;
Quick blast down with the Karcher and a lot of the grime is removed;
Then a snow foam with a mixture of Gold Klass Shampoo and ph neutral snow foam. Note to self, taking pictures while snow foaming is trickier than I remember;
Shuts, tight spots and cracks agitated with G101 and envy brushes;
One part of this stage I was very happy with when finished, although each side took over two hours each, were the door shuts. Here I found a major amount of grease, grime and what I am guessing was delivery wax as it was very difficult to shift. Sadly I don't have many pre wash pictures, but the following are after being washed down with G101;
So on to a spray down with Tardis, the agitated and resprayed with G101 and agitated again. The tight space made this stage very lengthy;
You can probably tell how happy I am with the results based on the number of photos of such a small area!!
The car was then washed, two bucket method, with Megs Gold Klass shampoo, wash mitt etc. Those into their detailing will note one major difference in my approach to washing my car - no wheel pictures! This is purely because these will be removed at a later date to be cut back and sealed properly. They are in surprisingly good nick, but are being replaced for 18"RSTTs soon as well.
Once washed down and dried, we were left with this;
Pat dried with I4Detailing large drying towels and on to claying. For this I used Megs no:16 last touch as per usual, but decided to try the I4Detailing poly clay - big mistake. Really didn't like this due to its inability to refold easily to give a clean surface. Photos not so good from this but not too bad on the contaminants side of things. There was very little tar present as well so Tardis was barely used;
Bonnet;
Rear bumper;
The car was then refoamed with just Megs Gold Klass and then washed with the usual 2BM and Megs Mitt, dried and backed into the garage to assess . . . well, back up what I already knew (sadly).
Looks good!!
Not!!
The car was a mess. UDS, major marring from a lifetime of bad washing, possibly even petrol station brushes
A particularly bizarre scratch on the drivers side wing;
The car was then taped up for the end of day one;
Again, something I am maticulous about, as my last car showed signs of bad over run from a buffing machine on the rubbers and plastics - PITA to remove!
Sorry to leave this at a fairly "cliff hanger" moment, but photobucket is being very slow tonight. I will update once the photos have finished uploading.
Thanks for reading
James
Ok, so, photos up loaded, good to go again
The car was good to go with a machine polisher. Now comes the major delays. First, my Kestrel rotary gave up the ghost. Then I was away every weekend for around a month and therefore just had no time for the car. I braved walking to work for almost a month to make sure I didn't drive her out of the garage.
Finally ordered a new Silverline as an in betweener machine, after almost calling on Jimmeh to get her booked in. Sadly my new role at work leaves me with no time, coupled with a misses in Birmingham Uni (down at the weekends) left me with about an hour a day, if that. So, panel by panel she was machined.
Started with Lime Prime and a 3M polishing pad via rotary, but this had little affect on the UDS and I wanted as much perfection as feasible. So, on to a 3M pad with Menz Power Finish 203s (worked so well on several previous customer Audis) and this did not disappoint. I managed to achieve about 85% correction, so not perfect but very happy in comparison;
A real idea of how bad the paint was;
In comparison to;
A 50:50 of bonnet (done) to wing (marred);
During the weeks that went by, the sun did show its face once or twice. So I was able to take the car out of the garage and get some direct sunlight befores;
So, finally, this weekend I was able to final stage polish the car with the DA and some Lime Prime on a Lake County Finishing pad. I do love Lime Prime, even though I am not a major Dodo fan.
Results;
The car will not see as much love and attention in the detailing department as I want, due to work and travel. So instead of just Carnuba wax, I gave the car a very decent dose of sealent. Yes, this won't give as good a finish (yes I'm picky
I have forgotten to add another part I am very happy with, the exhausts!
The car was finished with Megs Long Lasting tyre shine, Autoglym Fast Glass, Chem Guys New Look trim gel and then a wipe down with a relatively new fav, Zaino Grande Finale;
The only part not treated to a full recon was the rear bumper. Due to a very unfortunate trip/fall I have damaged a very minor spot of paint, but being a perfectionist, I am having it resprayed. There are a couple of very deep scratches from unloading over 8 years as well, so a good chance to get her spot on. For the moment, I am covering the area in a matt black bumper protector, covering the offending area!
Plans; wheels off and cut back and sealed, then sold/replaced. TT pedals have been fitted but a few interior parts need bringing back to life including the CC buttons, radio buttons and the headlight switch. Next stage, interior! Leather needs a good treating, as well as a decent clean of the carpets etc.
Thanks for reading!
James
I forgot to mention in the thread, a big thanks to the following;
Matt@I4Detailing - exceptional speed and price on products
Angela@Polished Bliss - very quick response to a number of questions
And of course, our resident super star, Jimmeh, for help and suggestions via PM and text. Cheers buddy
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