Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club (Bruxelles, Belgium)

[AutoSpaClub]

Auto Spa is a nice, spacious and professionally equipped place in which few detailing enthusiasts may deal with the cars - their own, their friends, etc.
Auto Spa is a completely private initiative and (so far) sponsored only with founding-member Piotr`s private money.
All the expenditures are precisely recorded and are available for inspection by any member of the club.
Each member of our club is required to participate in the cost of renting and maintaining the place, cosmetics, tools, accessories, repairs, etc.
All contributions from members of the club will only be used for expenses associated with the studio. I (Piotr) do not take any commission, salary, etc. Auto Spa is a private garage / studio and it is not a store, company or service provider.

A bit of "history":

The idea of creating detailing studio that could be shared by several people started going through my head at the beginning of 2013 :) In late March, I decided to put the idea into practice. I started with the presentation of the concept on a few online detailing forums. After hearing comments I changed some general concepts and started preparing: searching for a place, purchasing of equipment, accessories and cosmetics.

My first detailing job at the end of March:
Picasa Web Albums - Piotr - Detailing - r... (http://picasaweb.google.com/boguslawski.piotr/DetailingRowerek)

On 10 April I found interesting, spacious and reasonably priced place and on 20 April I signed the lease agreement.
On 27 April I received the keys and brought most of the equipment from my home.

Photos below illustrate how the studio looks at the time of receiving the keys...

http://www.autospaclub.eu/upload/201308/studio0sjpg.jpg
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http://www.autospaclub.eu/upload/201308/P1080239sjpg.jpg
http://www.autospaclub.eu/upload/201308/P1080241sjpg.jpg

... and now (3 months later).

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xJ7H1Myj8ak/UgEY2MceFOI/AAAAAAAACmE/u4quYzWZ81M/s800/IMG_1049s.jpg
http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NAH3t0Ww8Ho/UgEY4GyOM3I/AAAAAAAACmM/MI67HzhfqS0/s800/IMG_1051s.jpg
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https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vrnTh0psrGU/UgEY6IwCU2I/AAAAAAAACmc/vrnvYNKk9Wc/s800/IMG_1053s.jpg

[AutoSpaClub]

1-2 June 2013:

I spent the first weekend in June with a beautiful Opel Astra Coupe Bertone from 2001. The car was thoroughly cleaned, the paint has been corrected and polished and at the end all external elements are coated with products that improve water repellency. Have a look at the full story at: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43055-opel-astra-coupe-bertone-second-youth.html#post483075

4-5 June 2013:

Two evenings and early morning in the middle of week, I spent cleaning the interior of the stylish Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI. How it ended, you can read and watch at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Mercedes C220 CDI (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/mercedes-c220-cdi-en.html)

8-9 June 2013:

This weekend Auto Spa hosted a practical micro-van. The goal was a decent refresh after the winter and poor spring. On Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Fiat Qubo (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/fiat-qubo-en.html) you can find out whether the goal has been achieved.

15-16 June 2013:

Last weekend a SUV - the Super Urban Vehicle :) came to the Auto Spa. How did it end you can see on page: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Toyota Rav4 (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/toyota-rav4-en.html)

22-23 June 2013:

Last weekend was a little different because the most of Saturday I worked together with the owner of a few years old and very well cared Audi A4 Avant. The atmosphere during the work was excellent :) What came out of it you can see on the page: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Audi A4 Avant (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/audi-a4-avant-en.html)

29-30 June 2013:

How a new car should look like when you receive it at a car showroom? In my opinion the answer you will find at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Skoda Superb Combi (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/skoda-superb-combi-en.html)

6-7 July 2013:

Last weekend I refreshed eight-year-old Citroen C5. The car was thoroughly cleaned inside and outside, polished and protected. Photos before, during and after you can find at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Citroen C5 (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/citroen-c5-en.html)

This weekend was also special because when I worked at Citroen, the first claimant as a member of the club (my friend from Bxl) was working on his car. For the first time in his life he did a mini detailing - thorough washing, Clay bars, hand polishing, wax, wheels, windows, etc. The result was very good. You can see a few pictures at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Audi A4 Bartka (http://www.autospaclub.eu/audi-a4-bartka.html)

13-14 July 2013:

A hot weekend of July I spent refreshing the four years Nissan Micra. I invite you to a mini relation at: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43019-complete-2009-nissan-micra.html

In addition, on Saturday, two mates (whom I met through my profile on Facebook) worked at Auto Spa on the BMW 325i from 2001 :)

20-21 July 2013:

In another very hot weekend (the temperature in the studio reached 37 degrees!) I worked with a few years old Opel Corsa on which paint was very badly damaged at not professional hand car washes. The first time I had to deal with such a difficult paint and I learned a lot during this weekend. A more detailed description, videos and more pictures can be found at: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43020-complete-opel-corsa.html

22-24 July 2013:

I used part of my vacation to beautify the wonderful Alfa 159 in a very deep black color. The interior has been thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned, seats covered with a beautiful red leather cleaned and protected and all plastic parts refreshed. From the outside, after a thorough washing and claying, I did a two phased paint correction and the car is now almost perfect. Please visit: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43023-complete-alfa-romeo-159-a.html

27-28 July 2013:

Big Ford came to Auto Spa for cleaning of the interior very neglected by the previous owners. The entire car has been very carefully and repeatedly vacuumed, seats and carpets washed several times, headlining cleaned and all the plastic parts thoroughly cleaned and refreshed. Unfortunately I was not able to bring the interior to perfection :( A few barely visible stains and discoloration left on the seats - I was unable to remove them. I have too weak products or too little knowledge and experience to clean the interior so neglected for many years. More photos can be found at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Ford S-max (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/ford-s-max-en.html)

3-4 August 2013:

During this weekend I refreshed my cars. Car previously booked (VW Transporter) could not come and I`ll take care of it later. All work (except vacuuming) I did by hand because I did not have quite the mood to work with machines. In combination with the heat it was a nice workout, better than fitness or gym :) A little description and photos you can found at: Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Honda Jazz i Audi A7 (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/honda-jazz-i-audi-a7-en.html)

On Saturday I met with Colin from Brussels, an experienced detailer who is interested to work on cars in Auto Spa :) We arranged the next weekend for a big Jeep full detailing.

[Pats300zx]

Great looking shop Pitor. It looks like your business is starting to "boom". !!!

[AutoSpaClub]

7-9 August 2013:
For a few days of my vacation I dealt with a five years old Lancia Musa.
More information and photos can be found at:
http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43144-lancia-musa-buttery-black-paint-nightmare.html

10-11 August 2013:
This weekend I worked with the owner of "The Torpedo" - 6 year old (if I remember well) Peugeot 407.
More information, photos and a short video can be found at:
Auto Spa Detailing Enthusiasts Club - Peugeot 407 (EN) (http://www.autospaclub.eu/peugeot-407-en.html)

This weekend at Auto Spa, Colin (I wrote about meeting with him a week ago)
worked on a black Jeep Compass and he achieved a really super effect.

It was a great, great weekend. The atmosphere was just awesome!

[tropicsteve]

very nice facility piotr. great idea to give others a place to detail & learn.

[sprocketser]

Love this concept Piotr , it s getting real busy right !

[AutoSpaClub]

17-18 August 2013:
Very well cared Audi A5 Sportback in Lava Grey color (pearl) came specially from PL to Auto Spa ;) ... That`s a joke, of course, but it would be nice if it were true :). During the first half of Saturday, together with the owner brother, we cleaned and secured an elegant interior - using professional products from 303 and Chemical Guys. In the afternoon, I thoroughly washed the car. Condition of paint was very, very good - some individual small scratches and two places where someone wipe bird droppings - probably using a dry paper. I decided not to do any correction and I just deeply cleaned the entire car body with a slightly abrasive cleaner (Dodo Juice) and Flex 3401 machine. Finally, the paint was covered with a double layer of synthetic "wax" (Menzerna Power Lock). Wheels, windows, lights, plastic and rubber components have also been secured with the best products that I have in my collection.

[sprocketser]

Thanx for sharing mate . Nice interior results in there . Nice sheen . Lovely exterior also !

[GThg3zx]

VERY nice shop and the setup s sweeeet!!

[AutoSpaClub]

7-8 September 2013:
Weekend after the summer break was very interesting and entertaining. For a full
two days we have worked together with Colin on two very nice cars - twenty years
old Porsche Carrera 993 and one and half year old Peugeot 207 CC (cabriolet).

[AutoSpaClub]

14-15 September 2013:

This weekend, I dealt with two years old Ford Fiesta, with a deep black metallic paint. In accordance with the owner’s wishes I did not touch the interior of the vehicle (except for windows and door bays), which gave me more time to work on the paint. The car was very thoroughly washed, paint corrected and at the end all external components were properly protected.

This time I would like to describe a little more about all the steps that are necessary and thus show that a proper auto detailing is really quite complicated and time-consuming process.

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/43425-black-ford-fiesta-paint-correction.html#post487242

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Big test of sealants and waxes started. On the test car were applied various waxes and sealants. Car through the winter will be just washed periodically. Every two or three weeks we will examine which products are continue to fulfill its purpose, the protection of the car. More details and a list of products will appear soon on my website.

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[AutoSpaClub]

21-22 September 2013:

The whole weekend we worked together with Colin on a twelve years old Jeep Cherokee. This giant car looked not too bad from a distance, but upon closer inspection, it turned out that ‘he’ is in a really bad shape. The paint was covered with a dense network of scratches and hundreds chips from stones. After two full days we were able to remove most of the scratches (so about 80-90%), but the chips stayed – to get rid of them a repaint of the hood and the lower part of the doors is needed.

The work started with a thorough cleaning, which took a couple of hours. The wheels were the worst because of the dirt collected over several years, and their shape. Then the car was thoroughly dried and we started work on the paint. Some panels required a few hits with the machine and very strong compounds. After the step of removing scratches, we polished the entire car again using the soft pads and lightly abrasive polish to give maximum brilliance and clarity to the paint. At the end the paint was protected by an excellent wax produced in Japan called Naviwax. Of course we did not forget about the other elements such as seals, plastics, windows, chrome parts and tires, which have also been secured by the appropriate products.

Unfortunately we were unable to finish properly a few details, such as polishing the windows (which are also covered with a grid of fine scratches) and polishing the exhaust and fuel tank cover. I hope that we will have the opportunity in the near future to improve these little things, when car will come again for the interior cleaning.

[AutoSpaClub]

27-29 September 2013:

An almost vintage car, an Alfa Romeo Spider back from XX century, paid us a visit this time.

I started work on a Friday afternoon with a thorough cleaning of the interior – vacuuming all surfaces, cleaning floor coverings using steam and then manually (because I did not want to wet the interior), manual cleaning of leather, plastics and other elements such as the interior of the trunk under the carpet, door bays and spare wheel. Finally, a special conditioner was applied on the leather and all plastics were refreshed and protected.

On Saturday morning, Colin arrived, and from that moment we have worked together. The car was thoroughly and carefully washed – we tried not to allow the water to get into the various nooks and into the car. Fabric roof was separately cleaned with a special product and a soft brush.

After washing and decontamination, we dried it very carefully using a machine that generates strong and warm air stream. Next 14 hours (the rest of Saturday and half of Sunday) we spent correcting the paint, which was very difficult to work with – on some panels soft and on the others very hard. This “chessboard” really slowed our work, because we often had to try different combinations of compounds/polishes and pads. When the paint was almost perfect, the car was again very carefully washed and dried, and we proceeded to the final stage of protecting all external surfaces. Painted elements and the windows were covered with product based on nanotechnology, which gives an amazing slipperiness, glassiness and resistance to weathering for a long time. Plastics and rubbers were treated with special products produced in Poland :) . Finally, we secured the fabric roof – this step took us most of the protecting time, because the product should not be sprayed on any other surface than fabric, and this means that we had to tape the windows and the paint very precisely.

After nearly 30 hours of work this beautiful car looks great in our opinion.

http://www.autospaclub.eu/wp-content/uploads/wppa/831.jpg?ver=1

More photos and video you will find on my website.

[AutoSpaClub]

5, 6, 12 and 13 october 2013

Alfa Romeo 147

This is my third Alfa Romeo. Slowly I become a specialist in Alfas and I`m not
sure if I like it ;). Again this car was very difficult in terms of paint
correction, which was very whimsical and clearly did not want to be perfect ;).

http://www.autospaclub.eu/wp-content/uploads/wppa/884.jpg?ver=1

Toyota Yaris

The whole weekend we were working on a small Toyota together with its owner.
Very enjoyable two days and I think we were able to divide responsibilities well
during all the steps that are needed to professionally refresh the car. Yaris
stood a long time outdoors not used, and all crevices and nooks have accumulated
a lot of heavy grime.

http://www.autospaclub.eu/wp-content/uploads/wppa/972.jpg?ver=1

[AutoSpaClub]

26-27 October 2013:

Eight years old Audi A6 Avant came to Auto Spa in order to make the best as
possible refreshment and protection for the winter. After a brief conversation
with the owner, it turned out that he is more interested in restoring the
interior of the car.

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