2009 VW Passat

This vehicle was booked for a minor paint correction. The vehicle:

2009 VW Passat

Here is the vehicle as it was delivered to me:

The day the vehicle was delivered it was raining, in fact the entire weekend was raining :shrug:










No chrome :shead:





Well seeing as it was pouring outside I washed the vehicle via ONR:


Wile I washed the vehicle I set the steamer to worm up:


Once the vehicle was washed it was time to concentrate on the rims, wheel wells and tires. First up I applied Red P21S Gel then agitated it with the EZ brush:


The face of the rims were agitated with the Zymol brush:


Tires received a coat of ARO and scrubbed with a Meg’s Tire brush:


To finish it all off it was steaming time:

The wheel wells were also steamed and here is the end result of all that hard work:




Next up, the vehicle was clayed with Riccardo Yellow Clay bar, here is how the clay bar finished off:

Some contamination but nothing too harsh.

Now for the paint inspection, first up I used my PosiTector 6000:


Readings were normal for majority of the vehicle, except for the driver door. Driver door showed signs of repaint :shead: Not only were the readings extremely high and spiked at the driver side door panel but there were other signs that told me repaint. I’ll show what I mean shortly, but for now here are the paint gauge readings of the PosiTector 6000:



Now that I knew how much clear coat I had to play with, it was time to use the PosiTector 200 and take readings:


Here are the readings of the PosiTector 200:



Well now that I knew I was good to begin the polishing step I took my 3M Sun Gun out to inspect the vehicle:


Here is what I found:











Remember how I mentioned the driver door showed spikes on the paint gauge, well when I found these lovely signs it confirmed the vehicle had been either re-painted or re-cleared, so I was on the phone with the owner asking if the vehicle has had body work done to it. Owner had no idea and worst part the vehicle is brand new :shakehead:





Now for the main event, the owner pointed this out:



Vehicle got this wile it was parked :shakehead: This scratch looked quite deep but I told the owner I would do my best to reduce it as much as possible, worst part it was right on an edge.

The pillars were going to need some serious attention as well:


Oh almost forgot this scratch:

A deep scratch on the inside of the rear view mirror :what: Can’t say I’ve seen a scratch like this before but I’m always open to try something new :thumb:

The hood also had these lovely scratches:






Well I had my work cut out, I taped up the vehicle and I was quite shocked to look at the clock and realize that washing the vehicle, rims, tires, wheel wells, paint gauge readings, paint inspection and taping took over 5hrs :shrug: time flies when your having fun huh

Well called it a day:

Of to bed, a early start the next day.

Day two:
Let the polishing begin :thumb: Since the vehicle was booked for a minor paint correction I needed to find a polish/pad combo that would deliver best results. I tested Menzerna SIP with a 3M UK Black Polishing pad and that didn’t deliver sufficient cut, so I stepped up the polish to the 3M UK Fast Cut Plus with a 3M UK Black Polishing pad and this delivered adequate results, here is a before of the roof:


After:


The trunk was taped up for a 50/50 picture:


Now for the 50/50:


Lower part of the trunk before:


After:


Driver side tail light before:


After:


Passenger side tail light before:


After:


I removed the license plate and polished it, before:


After:


The driver side bumper had a little surprise for me:

Not sure what it was but it appeared to be etched in, but wasn’t sure how deep it had etched in the clear coat. Here is a closer look:

This section took several passes.

After:



All gone :thumb:

Rear passenger side pillar before:


After:


Rear passenger door before:


After:

This section required another pass as not all defects had been completely removed.

Passenger door before:


After:


Driver side front bumper before:


After:


Front bumper before:


After:


Now remember those pillars, driver pillars before:


After:


Passenger pillar before:


After:


Now remember that odd scratch on the driver side mirror, this one:


Here is how it finished off at the end:


The only are that gave me trouble was the driver door panel, I gave it one pass with the Fast Cut Plus and Black 3M UK Polishing pad and this combo did nothing to remove the swirls, so I bumped the foam pad to the Orange 3M UK Compounding pad and hit it 3 times to completely correct the driver door. Worst part is that the deep scratches I posted earlier, those I could not remove because they were trapped underneath the clear coat, so regrettably no matter what combo I hit the area with, I would not be able to remove those scratches with out removing the clear coat so these scratches:





Where to remain permanently on the vehicle, unless vehicle is taken to a body shop to have those removed, real shame though considering this is a brand new vehicle and was purchased as a brand new vehicle :thumbdown:

Well it was now time to refine the finish and remove all the buffer marks and hazing I was leaving behind. To refine the finish I decided on using 3M UK Ultrafina SE and a Blue 3M UK Finishing pad:

Once done with the refining the vehicle is given a final wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection:

Followed up with yet another 3M Sun Gun inspection, just to make sure I didn’t leave any buffer marks. I would have loved to take the vehicle outside and inspected it with the natural sun but it was still raining :shrug:

Now for the protection stage, for the owner and I agreed that for the summer the vehicle would look great with a nice coat of Carnauba. Now seeing as this vehicle has lots of flakes within the paint I wanted to use a wax that would make the flakes POP! So I turned to my Swissvax Crystal Rock:

First Swissvax Cleaner Fluid was applied and buffed off followed up with a healthy coat of Crystal Rock, I applied via foam applicator and got nice thin and even application:


Wile I let Crystal Rock bond to the surface of the vehicle I wanted to make sure the rims of this vehicle maintain there like new condition so I sealed them using Klasse sealant:

Boy it’s been a wile since I last used this sealant and I had forgotten what a paint it is to work with, but well worth it as long as it keeps brake dust and other contamination of the rims :thumb: By the way these rims took a bit of time to properly clean.

Well the finishing steps now, tires were dressed with Optimum Tyre, glass was cleansed with Stoners Invisible Glass with a Glass micro fiber towel, wax was buffed off with several Cookie Monster micro fiber towels, all exterior trim was dressed with Black WOW, exhaust’s were also polished with Autosol (even though they were not chrome).

Here are the end results:























Regrettably no outside pictures, weather was not co-operating with me rain was off and on so I at least wanted the owner of the vehicle see it nice and clean but I told him to take a look at the beading hen it gets rained on.

Lastly, I was able to give the engine a good wipe down as well, before:


After:


Before:


After:


Well that concludes this detail, hope you enjoyed it.

 

Awesome work as usual Carlos. :thumb: How long have you had the CR and how do you like it? How did you decide to use CR instead of Vintange for this car?

 

I love that car. Turned out great! How long did the detail take?

P.S your garage is CLEAN!

 

Thank you doc eace: I've had this same pot of Crystal Rock for over a year now, I hardly use it though so my pot is almost full. The reason I went with Crystal Rock is because Crystal Rock makes flakes pop like crazy while Vintage mutes flakes. It was a personal choice to be honest, but the owner sure noticed the flakes on the paint as soon as he saw the car that was the first thing he noticed, so I would say the Rock came through :thumb:

 

Great looking vehicle, I can see why some people fall in love with this vehicle. This vehicle took me around 25hrs or so but I lost track to be honest but something like that. As for the garage, now that I've completed the floor of my garage it makes a huge difference to the appearance of my garage, as you noticed

 

I thourghly enjoyed that!! I love all the lights in your garage!! Will have to take the idea of the small halogens you are using. Car looks great!

 

looking good Nica. I like the small track lights so you can pin point a spot, great idea.

 

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm quite pleased with the garage so far, still not done though and I still need to put up more lights but I'm still debating as to which ones to go with next. I've got majority of the lights up and operational, as you saw on the pictures and the garage is well lit but there are a few circuits that still need get a fixture installed...but all in due time. Thank you for the feed back, very much appreciated.

Thank you Rocket, glad you enjoyed it. The track lights come in handy to pin point defects or if I've missed a spot when removing polish or wax or well just about anything...but there is always room for improvement, can never have enough light when it comes to detailing :thumb:

 

An example of beauty. You're expertise is evident. As the owner of an '08 Passat (my wife's.....she drives it, I clean it. Happy wife...happy life!!:applause2 I understand the termoils in working on this particular vehicle. Very good work.

 

Thats just Great....You just showed me 1/2 dozen "New" products I want now. Thanks Alot:hmph:

Oh Yea, The Jetta looks Awesome:applause:

 

As always Carlos...... :worship2:

 

Love it Carlos, very nice work! the new floor looks great

 

Nice detailing - love the attention to detail throughout the machine polishing stage and a lovely looking finish at the end. Interesting to see ONR and steamer being used as these seem to be gaining some popularity on our side of the Atlantic...

 

a TRUE correction, nice result!

Did you get your hands on a serious amount of Red P21s, or is that just a personal stash?

 

Very nice work Nica!

Can you share with me what kind of floor you have in your garage?

 

Great work. It looks just beautiful and I really like those wheels. they match the car very nicely...:thumb:

 

Awesome job Carlos, appreciate the great write up as well

 

Great job on the Passat. Wish they still came with the W8 mine has. Floor in your garage looks awesome!

 

Thank you for the kind words very much appreciated. These vehicles are great, love the aggressive stance they have..reminds me of Audi

Glad I could help :giggle: It's always good to try something new :thumb:

Thank you for the feed back, glad you enjoyed it eace:

Thank you pirex, glad you enjoyed it. I love my garage :righton:

Thank you Dave for the kind words, very much appreciated. I too have noticed the use of steam and ONR in the UK, seems to be the future with all the environmental issues going on all over the world. I enjoy the ease of use and the end results of course.

Well the Red P21S Gel stash...I deemed it 'personal stash'....as to how much I got that's a secret :shhh: But don't hopefully soon there will be enough to go around

Glad you enjoyed it, as for the floor I purchased it from Ucoatit. Great stuff and great warranty, I did all the work my self and it turned out great, I love my garage floor. My friends that come over say it looks like a show room now, not a garage. Exactly what I was going for :thumb:

Thank you Buddy, I agree the rims compliment the vehicle very nice...but they are a pain to maintain...but that's the price we pay for looks huh :shrug:

Thank you for the feed back, very much appreciated eace:

I never paid much attention to VW before but after detailing this one have a better appreciation for them, love the interior :druling:

 

Carlos, I really enjoyed watching this detail! Klasse SG on wheels, huh? I never actually even thought of it. I've been using JS109, and Collinite 476S. I've heard that FK 1000 outlasts 476S on wheels, although both are very durable on wheels (compared to many other wheel sealants). eace: