Audi S3 - Juice'd

[JimWD]

Hi all, after speaking to JD, and, noticing the appeal for Detailing here, I thought I'd contribute with a few posts of my own.

First up, this black 8L Audi S3. The following was written on behalf of my Audi-Sport forums..

Hope you can pick up a tip or two - Enjoy!


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How I miss my S3! Having previously owned 2 A3’s and the S3, you’d of thought by now I know this shape off the back of my hand. Wrong! I still managed to spend 13 hours on it, that’s the clean/prep stages and a minor correction. Some 90% correction was achieved with 106FA.

Product!
• 303 Aerospace Protectant
• AutoGlym Glass Polish
• AutoSmart Tardis
• AutoSmart G101
• Autosol - metal polish
• ChemicalGuys JetSEAL109
• ChemicalGuys New Look Trim Gel
• Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild
• Dodo Juice Limeprime
• Dodo Juice Supernatural
• Meguiars All-Season Dressing
• Meguiars Super-Degreaser
• Menzerna 106FA
• Zaino Z8

Pre-detail:

Post-detail:

I first saw the car at Kettering’s “Audi in the Park” show last month – a fellow Audi-Sport member that I’d known for some time. The car was wearing the Blackfire kit, and, I began to wonder if it even needed the work! Overall, it appeared to be a well presented/looked after car. It has however been ‘mopped’ at some point in its life. Typical bodyshop ‘doings’ and buffer-trials all over the place. We’ll touch this a bit later..


Inspection photos:

A few rough areas on the paintwork were seen through the dirt once the sun was out... A series of random marks down the driver’s side and the usual kamikaze bugs dotted around on the front end.

Wash: ValetPRO Snowfoam. Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild. Two buckets with grit-guards

I must say, I was impressed by the water repellent that had been applied to the windows! Nothing would stick to it, not even my foam

The front end had G101 sprayed liberally all over it – helped to loosen the embedded flies from the bumper/grill and mirrors

After the foam was taken off, signs of Blackfire’s protection were promising!

Re-foamed and washed.

Small sponge used for the under-carraige:

Rinsed, and, again, I’m mighty impressed with the Rain-X (or equivalent!) that is on the windows:

S3 was moved into the garage for the claying stages; the sun was beaming down and I wanted to avoid watermarks if possible. (Quite warm today!!)

Claying wasn’t too bad – the above was the worst I could pick up (roof)


Rinsed.

Open-hosed to remove majority of standing water..

Which left this:

Easy!


Dried with the Miracle Dryer. Now, at this angle, it looks stunning already!

However, flip-reverse it and put it in direct sun-light, we’re left with this lot:

Roof was in a bad way!

Hazy patch on driver’s door:

Good. Well.. At least there’s something to get stuck into!

Some higher than normal paint readings around.. The bonnet, tailgate and both rear quarters had seen fresh paint.

Plenty to work with here..

Working my way to the passenger side..

Before:

After:

Fiddy fiddy

Rear quarter reading:

As opposed to the door:

A shame really, but, once polished, you could see a colour difference between the two panels:

Passenger door before:

Passenger door after:

Up and on to the roof (original paint..)

Before and after:

The bonnet was lovely and, well, lovely and hazy!

50/50:

Before:

After:

I had to add a little Limeprime to the equation here to extend the work time. The pad was drying up and didn’t want to play ball.. Colour transfer to the pad (only from the bonnet..) odd!

Nice and sharp now.


50/50 along the driver’s side:

Love the black/blue/white combination going on here.. Tempted to leave the tape on!

Taken back outside to rinse (dust build up in nooks and crannies etc)

Dried off again and put back in for the night..

Glazed with PoorBoys Black Hole via DA and a 3M blue finishing pad:

Dodo Juice Supernatural:

And that’s the end off day one!

Exhaust tips were badly pitted. Struggled to fully recover them, but, Autosol and wire-wool didn’t do a bad job.

50/50

Nipped round the corner to check my progress.. (when I see the sun and a clean car, I get a bit trigger happy – I do apologise)

You’ve probably just spotted the area on the tyre that wasn’t dressed. Aye, that was facedown on the floor at the time, later went back and corrected this

So, tyres dressed with ChemicalGuys New Look Trim Gel. Alloys sealed with JetSEAL109 and a final Zaino Z8 wipedown..

Obligatory ‘thumbs up’ shot.

Excellent. A nice transformation here - enjoyed this one thoroughly.

So, does anyone want to buy an Audi A4 Avant? ( I need my S3 back!! )

Thanks for bearing with me.

Jim

 

[Needster]

Nice read and awesome result! Looks amazing!!

 

[LFCJosh]

awesome man. cant believe the lengths you detailers go to.

how much would a clean like that cost?

PM if you like.

 

[SC03OTT]

Cracking results.

how much would a clean like that cost?

I'd also quite like to know this please. My paint work is in a similar state.

 

[clio_greg]

good read and great results ! would love to have the patience to do all that

 

[Alastair.]

good work

 

[Justin]

Impressive turn around that!

 

[.GAZ.]

Very nice mate!!

 

[123stevevw]

s**t hot

 

[Ben]

Awesome work buddy. Looks excellent.

 

[RussZS]

Hello Jim

Awesome work dude!

 

[Craig.D]

looks a real minter now....great work

 

[JimWD]

Russ, how do fella :approve:?!

Thanks for the support all. Keep your eyes peeled for a few more - may post a classic Rangie in the next few days.

Jim.

 

[Seedy172]

Wow... That's come out awesome. Nice motor too.

 

[Bondie]

Awsome! Love It!

 

[devfuse]

sexy ! you can do my car any daY!

 

[DMS]

Looks awesome. Excellent work.
I'm not into detailing myself but I definitely want some clay after seeing how much crap it brings off of what (to me) looks like a clean car.

 

[JimWD]

DMS, you will not be dissapointed. It's a very important step to get right.. If your car has never been done before, you might find yourself there for two, three hours claying it alone .

You will, however, reap the rewards once complete.

 

[pritchard182]

perfection love the transformation

 

[Curtis!]

JD's head has just exploded,

But those 50/50 shots! Nice work, insperation(sp) to myself wanting to keep the car in minty.

 

[Beef-Mc]

Cracking transformation.

 

[Reyes]

One of my favorite cars of all time.
Fantastic work.

 

[DMS]

DMS, you will not be dissapointed. It's a very important step to get right.. If your car has never been done before, you might find yourself there for two, three hours claying it alone .

You will, however, reap the rewards once complete.

I'm 99.9% sure it has never been done.
It's only had one owner before me and I doubt she will have done anything other than take it through the car wash.
I jet wash it when I clean it, but I've never clayed it. I saw the Dodo Juice guys claying at Autosport and it brought a load of crap off the paint. Then I saw your photo above and it's much the same.

How much clay and lube would I need to do the whole car? Would one block (£15 - £20 worth) and one bottle of lube be enough?
I won't be doing it regularly, but when I've cleaned the car I can rub my hand over the paint and feel loads of bumpy bits. I presume it's these that the clay removes?
Also, does clay remove any previous layers of wax or would a special product be needed for that?

 

[Naith]

VERY impressive work, good view that

 

[JD]

FFS, wanted the Rangey up first Jim!!

I need to get mine in.If you fancy joining me in a couple of weeks time my red S3 is going into the garage for some well deserved action.

 

[IGotAClio]

Looks excellent, a great post to read...

Just wondering how much a service like this costs? or would you recommend me to have a go myself?? Bare in mind I have never entered this world before...

 

[Peperami]

Asides the cleaning (which made it look amazing) that is a lush s3! The wheels and colour work perfectly, what are those wheels??

 

[alex-avfc]

Seen a lot of your work over on DW...really impressive stuff. Used to have an A3 yourself didn't you?

 

[Ali]

Seriously good work mate! Bit of a Dodo **** arn't you!

Brakes and wheels look tasty too! non std?

 

[JD]

Brembos were a 1500 quid option Scottish, but by the looks of it I would suggest it is just this;

http://www.goapreu.com/products/mkiv_golf_f_i.htm

Option I am looking at as an when I feel it necessary.

 

[Ali]

Detailed yours yet?

 

[JimWD]

How much clay and lube would I need to do the whole car? Would one block (£15 - £20 worth) and one bottle of lube be enough?

I presume it's these that the clay removes?
Also, does clay remove any previous layers of wax or would a special product be needed for that?

Chances are then, it hasn't been done. You're in for a treat!

One clay bar should be enough for the Clio, yes. You can third a clay bar usually, if not just half it. Once you get a 'dirty side', rotate it, knead it and keep turning until you're able to find a fresh section. If and when you're unable to, it's time to bin the clay.

Dependant on which kit you go for.. If you were to pick up one of the "starter kits" from Halfords etc, you should have enough in the one bottle they supply.. It may be worth picking up a second reserve quick detailer spray (lube..) just incase. The more lube, the better.

I personally use Sonus Green Clay, and, Meguiars Last Touch as lube (but this comes in 3.78ltrs and would last you a lifetime..)

Clay will remove any previously applied wax's or sealents, yes. Failing that, when you next apply a polish/pre-wax cleanser, this will strip old product off too.

Have a look at this GUIDE for safe washing.. let me know if it helps at all.

FFS, wanted the Rangey up first Jim!!

I need to get mine in.If you fancy joining me in a couple of weeks time my red S3 is going into the garage for some well deserved action.

Ha! You like the Rangie, eh? Will get it up in good time. (....thats what she said)

Let me know the dates chap, and, I'll see where I am. Got lots to look forward to in the next few weeks. Four days coming up on a 330d tourer - that'll be fun!

Looks excellent, a great post to read...

Just wondering how much a service like this costs? or would you recommend me to have a go myself?? Bare in mind I have never entered this world before...

Thank you.

It's always great to be able to do such things yourself. This way, you can reap the rewards and it "means something" to you..

Where abouts are you located?

Take a look at the above Guide I passed on to DMS, this might be a good headstart for you.

Asides the cleaning (which made it look amazing) that is a lush s3! The wheels and colour work perfectly, what are those wheels??

A smart S3 indeed. It made me want mine back so bad!!

I believe the wheels are "Nuvolari" units.. Worked well, like you say :hail:

Seen a lot of your work over on DW...really impressive stuff. Used to have an A3 yourself didn't you?

Again, thank you.

I did! I had two A3's, a 1.8 Sport and a 1.8T Sport, and then the S3.

A few pics of previous Auooooodi's:

R reg, 1.8 Sport.

S reg, 1.8T Sport.

X reg , S3 265bhp - Hibiscus red.

Started life like this..

and ended up like this..

A truely stunning car. Loved it. BUT. Had to make way for something a little more practicle.. So, here is the current:

'53 B6 A4 Avant 1.9TDi Quattro Sport 130

and now with my shiny RS mirrors:

To be fair, another GREAT car. Just, not as much fun as the S3 .

Cheers!!

Jim

Ooh, and, before the Audis, a Peugeot and a *cough* Suzuki, I had this little beastie! I was a member here a loong time ago. Probably went in the name of "JimRedClio" ..

*beep beep!!*

 

[JD]

Detailed yours yet?

No mate, not had the time, will be done asap.

Jim, love the colour of the S3. Not something I would choose, but lovely to detail!!

Mine is awful, I need to get my arse in gear.

 

[JD]

Oh and Jim, fancy a swap wheels wise from your A4

 

[Alexander]

Stunning cars!

Love your Avant. I want one so bad!

 

[RussZS]

That A4 must be a god-send for carrying your gear about - my 197 is less than ideal

 

[JD]

Sometimes wish I was more mobile, Russ

 

[Peperami]

Jamei, have you posted a new car thread yet??

 

[Mike_182]

Sometimes wish I was more mobile, Russ

Having me hanging out the back of you can't make movement easy.

 

[JD]

I haven't Dan, it hasn't had any time spent on it at all. Not even a jet wash down. Nor have I had time to actually get the camera out! Promise I will soon.