Last weekend saw the return of J's stunning red .:R32. Sporting some small, neat enhancements, the car is looking better and better every time I see it :headbang: Righty then, onto the detailing. This was to be a 2 day affair with day 1 seeing to all the small details such as wheels, arches, engine bay, tailpipes, etc, along with as much paint correction as possible. Day 2 would be for completing the paint correction and all the finishing details. I'll start off with some photies of the car as it arrived... Some filthy tailpieces Numberplate tape remains Some road splatter Wheels didn't look too bad Calipers were a mess though Some gunk up in the arches With the initial inspection complete, it was out with the trolley jack in order to pull off the wheels. Dirty arches, nothing unusual here The brake calipers were looking sorry for themselves And wheels not so clean after all With the wheels off and with full access to the arches and brakes, I applied Sonax Extreme rim cleaner to the calipers and a liberal dousing of APC to the arches. Whilst the brakes and arches were soaking, I set about cleaning up the wheels. The process was a thorough clean with Sonax Extreme rim cleaner again, followed by APC, a rinse off and then claying with Meg's fine clay. After drying, all the tar was cleaned off with Sonax Tar remover, followed by a final rinse and dry. Polishing and sealing duty was handled by my all time favourite rim cleaner/sealant, Smartwax Rimwax. Rimwax'n Remember these? Thats better Rimwax always brings out the best in the alloys paintwork Balancing weights looking spiffy and better than new With the wheels out of the way, it was time to turn my attention to sorting out the arches and clean out all the accumulated dirt and grime. Unfortunately I think J's track day excersions had cooked the paint on some areas of the brake caliper, and despite trying a variety of polishes and combinations, I couldn't restore the original shade of blue... Arches after cleaning were dressed with 303 Wheels back on looking better than ever The rear wheels and arches got the same treatment, transforming this To this With the wheels & arches taken care of, it was time to sort out the engine bay. Once again nothing out of the ordinary, dust, dirt and some calcium deposits, etc. Before stopping for some refreshments I soaked the engine bay in some APC and re-filled my buckets with some clean shampoo and water. APC doing it's thing After scrubbing all the odds and ends, everything was rinsed off with pressure washer set to a light spray. With the engine running to aid in the drying process, everything was dried off and wiped down. Next up all the paintwork was given a quick once over with Werkstat Prime, a great AIO (all in one) that cleans and protects in one easy step. Plastic trim was treated to 303 Aerospace and the gorgeous carbon Gruppe M air intake got the Werkstat treatment topped with Pete's 53' :drool: Finished engine bay All the odds and ends clean and dressed Underside of the hood clean and shiny Gruppe M carbon glory :drool: Having completed the engine bay and wheels I decided to get started on prepping the paintwork for the polishing process. 1st up, a thorough rinse to remove as much dirt as possible before foaming with APC to remove any previous waxes, QD's and sealants that may have still remained on the surface. With the APC left to dwell on the paintwork, I got stuck in cleaning all the nooks and crannies with my trusty detail brushes Emblems Filler cap area Panel gaps and trim joints The shuts also got a good once over with 5:1 APC and various brushes. For some or other reason the white patches on the rubber conduits wouldn't come clean and dressings didn't help to hide them either :thinking: After rinsing off the APC, the car was washed using the 2BM with Sonax Hi-Gloss shampoo. Following another rinse to remove all the shampoo and surface dirt, Meg's fine detail clay was put to use removing all bonded contaminants. Having completed the clay process and after a final rinse, the car was dried off and the paintwork was ready for correction. Prior to starting on the paint correction I needed to remove the numberplate tape residue and to sort out the exhausts. After peeling away as much of the tape as I could I was left with this With the bottom adhesive layer of the tape still firmly in place, it was out with the Sonax Tar remover again to soak the film in. After leaving the tar remover to break down the glue, I managed to remove all of the sticky gunk and remaining residue. Having tidied up the number plate recess I got stuck into cleaning an polishing the exhausts. Sonax Alu & Metal polish was used to great effect to restore the shine to the chrome plated tailpieces. Unfortunately it was nearly dark at this stage so only 1 quick pic. With the prep work completed I plugged in the halogens outside the garage to inspect the paintwork. At this point it was still quite warm and considering I decided to only polish out the front end, I decided to work outside in the cool for a change. I had noticed during the day that the car had some swirling with a few RIDS thrown in for good measure, but under the lights more of the defects became apparent. I must apologize up front for the shoddy pics, for some reason my camera didn't particularly like taking pics of the red paint under the yellow light from the halogens. You will also notice not all the pics are from this specific time as I took various ones along the way during day 2. RIDS and swirls Taillights were nicely swirled up as well Having checked out the paintwork it was time to find a polish and pad combo to correct the defects. Having polished this particular car before I knew the paint was quite hard but decided to try my luck anyways with 106FA on a 3M polishing pad. As expected this did little apart from removing some of the milder swirling so I turned to SIP on the yellow and eventually, green 3M pads. I think the Scholl S17 would have been the perfect one-stepper, but alas, I gave my last samples away and didn't have enough to complete the car with :bawling: Having found a suitable combo, I set about correcting the entire front end before packing it in for the night. A quick reflection shot outside after correcting the bonnet Day 2 started by dusting with a lambswool duster to remove any dust that had settled on the paintwork overnight. I also decided to pull the car out into the sun to check the front end work I had completed the evening before. Paintwork looking rich and glossy Not a swirl in sight Happy that the SIP and 3M green pad were getting the job done properly, I moved into the shade inside the garage to carry on with the rest of the car. Some before and afters Another One more Last one I promise The .:R's red paintwork coming back to life Taillights after 106FA and the yellow pad While I was in the garage and with my gym mat available to lie on, I clayed and polished the undersides of the door sills. Hammered plastic B-pillars Good as new after a 2 stage, SIP and FA combo While I had the spot pads out the A-Pillars were given the same treatment. And finally a random reflection shot during polishing With the polishing complete it was time to remove all the dust and oils in preparation for the final stages Paintwork was looking stunning prior to the final wash down With the final wash completed and the car dry it was time for the LSP. On a solid red like this there is only one choice, Jetseal topped with Pete's 53 The trim got 303 Aersopace, tires saw Meg's Endurance Gel and all glass was given a once over with Sonax Glass cleaner. Some finished pics Tape residue and tailpipes all cleaned and shined Chassis cat set about checking the arches one final time With the storm clouds rolling, J asked to leave the car overnight rather than risk driving it home in the rain. Back inside the garage I took some more pics icture: Wheels looking hot Lovely deep reflections Final shot of the gorgeous intake With the .:R parked away for the night it was time for a bath and bed....Monday morning here we come Monday evening J and Aldo arrived to collect the car...Before saying good bye I couldn't help but snap a few more shots! Final one As always, thanks for looking :thumb:
Looks great!!! I loved cleaning and correcting our little GTI loaner - paint corrects nicely!!! Good work!!!! Andy
Thanks for the kind words guys, always appreciated :thumb: @ Ken, most definately Sir. Thanks to you and JL for all the words of encouragement during the difficult times, it is much appreciated :mounty: @ Max, I only do interiors where requested to by my clients. This particular client didn't want it done at this stage for whatever reason
Well done Carn vehicle looks superb. To be honest, every time I see a detail from you I can't help but think of your partner (may he rest in peace) so every time I look see a detail from you it's far more then a detail to me. Well done, vehicle looks incredible and love that engine bay :applause:
I particulary love job done on arches, calipers, coilovers, wheels...very nice, I have to do too.:headbang:
