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Today I did some detailing...

We have the "Today I Did Something To My Car" thread out in the main forum, and a lot of the posts on it pertain to detailing.
I thought it would be a good idea to give our various detailing activities a thread in their proper home.

I'll get the ball rolling.

Today ( ahem, last night really!), I snow foamed the car
Wasn't able to follow through and wash it properly as my back went, but couldn't believe how well it looked this morning!
In fairness I have a fair bit of LSP on it, but there was ten days worth of road film and tree sap on it.

Well impressed.

Over to you!

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challengemaster

tossy wrote: »

lol I'll draw your attention to the very respectable 27mpg in the middle pic.I also draw your attention to the 171k and still running like clockwork It would shame S3's with 60/70k less.

I'd well believe it too. Looks mint, hope I get to see it before you sell it

Are those (wheel) nuts or bolts or what tossy?

Tossy, you might pop over to the chat thread pwease

challengemaster wrote: »

Except petrol. ****er always wants petrol

lol I'll draw your attention to the very respectable 27mpg in the middle pic.I also draw your attention to the 171k and still running like clockwork

It would shame S3's with 60/70k less.

challengemaster

tossy wrote: »

The car wants for nothing.

Except petrol. ****er always wants petrol

Hal1 wrote: »

That is a lovely S3. They are on my horizon again, looks very well sorted. Any modifications apart from wheels? pm me if you want to discuss it more thanks.

Forge Turbo intake pipe.
Forge adjustable short shifter.
Joe power stage one remap.
Genuine CK's
H&R spacers all round.
R32 Steering wheel.
ITG panel filter

The car wants for nothing.

In the last 2 years of ownership i've done the following (probably forgetting some bits)

New Fuel pump
All Breather/vac hoses replaced.
3 new coil packs
2 new Xenon bulbs
New ABS sensor front left
New window regulator drivers side.
2 new rear shocks.

All the work done on the car by George Dalton, oil change every 5000 miles,plus haldex servicing at proper intervals.

It also had timing belt/water pump done and a new clutch fitted just before i bought it.

That is a lovely S3. They are on my horizon again, looks very well sorted. Any modifications apart from wheels? pm me if you want to discuss it more thanks.

tossy wrote: »

Gave it a good cleaning yesterday and took some photos for the 'for sale' ad, always sad photos to take.

h48D07D0F

Gave it a good cleaning yesterday and took some photos for the 'for sale' ad, always sad photos to take.

challengemaster

Curran wrote: »

Looks very well - the effort was worth it....tough to beat black when its kept clean (though thats a nightmare :P)

That's why I didn't bother for the last few months, got sick of trying to keep it clean

Looks very well - the effort was worth it....tough to beat black when its kept clean (though thats a nightmare :P)

challengemaster

To say the car is shining is an understatement... metallic fleck is now visible from a few feet away

Tried to capture it, iphone and it's stupid focus range.

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Lads I'll tell ye one thing, OAC Perfection is an absolutely brilliant product!

was a little sceptical about this stuff, but gave it a blast today and have to agree it's good stuff. have to see how it lasts long term now

challengemaster

And last but not least - Some reflections with it all finished.

And I tried to capture the same angles from the initial pictures of the dirt...

quadrifoglio verde

Looks a hell of a lot better than when i saw it anyway.
You should do the trophy next

challengemaster

Aaaaand... finally :pac:

I left it at 2 coats of EGP. Threw perfection on the glass and door shuts, but wasn't bothered going over the whole car with it. I will in a few weeks as a top up.

Here's some 'fantastic' iphone pics :pac:

challengemaster

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Nice reflections! Next time don't ruin it by having that giner ceann of yours visible in the reflection

Bit better than the starting 'reflections' :pac:

It's getting there alright. Oh, and I didn't skip corners

Annoying seeing all the paint damage though

Nice reflections! Next time don't ruin it by having that giner ceann of yours visible in the reflection

challengemaster

Hard to see, but first coat of EGP hazed off and left for ~45 mins

And then buffed off

Dinner time, but I'll give it another 1-2 coats of EGP, finish it off with perfection and sort out the small dressings

challengemaster

After some scratch-x

In fairness, while it is good for some water marks and what not, it's not a scratch-x (:pac:) on a proper DA polisher. Best I can do for now, though, so crack on.

I've taken a fancy to the matte look:

Or...not

SRP done and (thankfully not too dusted)

challengemaster

Yeah, I know in theory:

A) don't do any washing/detailing in direct sunlight

don't let water / etc dry & bake in

Unfortunately, there's no shade at my house, and with the direction the sun is moving there isn't going to be any time today either. Not much choice on A

Regards B, it wasn't even as if I was leaving it there drying in. Panels were drying in WHILE I was claying, and I was only doing 1 panel at a time. It's actually easier to leave it and tackle it after IMO (as long as you don't leave it all day in direct sunlight to bake on - be quick about sorting it). Which is what I did

Mix isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) 1:1 with water, and throw it in a spray bottle. As for how much - 500ml 1:1 did me for the entire car, applying it liberally. That's 250ml IPA + 250ml water.

Mist it on in very small sections at a time, and dry instantly.

Result? Result:

You can now see the paintwork in all it's glory. IPA will have removed any remaining contaminants from the water drying, any fillers from polish, and any remaining protection if there was any.

Which also means you can see a glimpse of the metallic in the sapphire black. It's glorious when you see it properly

Shame about the amount of paint chips / defects / etc....

There's still a few stubborn places from old water marks that have been there for, quite possibly years (before I got the car). I'll give it a go with Megs scratch-X and see if working it by hand is enough to get rid of it.

Will that wash out easily? I wouldn't have left it on for long if the panels were too hot. I was going to wax my own car but I think that's an evening job when it's cooler or if it clouds over.

challengemaster

Mind-blown update: When I said it was hot, I didn't actually think it was THIS hot.

There's fúcking steam coming off the car as soon as I put the wash mitt to it. INSTANT STEAM!

challengemaster

OAC Tar cleanse doing it's magic

Megs clay + AG Shampoo mix as lube

And with the whole car done... (this is just after the lower parts of the doors)

This sun is causing a bit of a problem though... paint temp is through the roof.

challengemaster

Update: Time for some tae. Most of the car now clayed, just have the lower parts of the doors / sills to do. Not bad going by 9am

Next up: Another 2BM, then out with the SRP, EGP, and depending on how bothered I am, HD wax and perfection :pac:

challengemaster

Looks like a load of shít is in the air, a lot of which decided to settle on the car overnight.

And ofc you can see the lovely beading currently :pac:

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Lads I'll tell ye one thing, OAC Perfection is an absolutely brilliant product!

Mc Love wrote: »

yeah another likely purchase I'll be making! Curran will be happy

Apparently lads,
This >> OA Speedseal

Topped with a touch of perfection is supposed to give awesome results.

challengemaster

Stupidly overdue a clean... as in it's been months :eek:

Proof is on the car:

Out with the OAC pre-clean

And 2BM with tonnes of fairy liquid

A lot cleaner, ready for claying, polishing + LSP tomorrow

Still have to try Perfection but AG Aqua wax is handy after a quick wash. Just spray on while wet and wipe with cloth.

challengemaster

Mc Love wrote: »

Better or worse of the same as AG Rapid detailer?

IIRC rapid detailer and aqua wax are essentially the same product.

Perfection is about a billion times better :P

Hal1 wrote: »

So better than demon shine?

Piss would be better than Demon Shine :pac: