2002 Black Audi TT (56k uh-oh)

[imported_animes2k]

So my friend says "yeah, it`s dirty."



New Rule: if someone says it`s dirty, believe them.



I was almost out of p21s wheel cleaner, so i picked up some a2z wheel and tire cleaner on the way there. My hands still hurt. Wear gloves.



So I get there, look it over and notice the swirls aren`t TOO bad, but there are some suspect areas... Turns out it`s looking like clearcoat failure in a few spots. Very odd. A chip in the repainted door, but otherwise not too many deep scratches. I didn`t intend to attack this as a swirl-removal job. Good thing.



I noticed the wheels and thought they were painted...

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/wheel_before.jpg



Nope. Not painted.



I noticed the interior looked "a little dirty"... Darn garage lighting. It was filthy.



Anyway, here`s the process/products:



1) fix complex-supplied hose

2) figure out how to turn on water

3) attach my own hose and nozzle to complex hose



Quick wash (z7) 4-bucket method (2 buckets x 2) FILTHY!

a2z on the wheels, scrub scrub scrub, rinse!

p21s on the wheels, let dwell

pull the mats (ew):

Folex the hell outta `em

Prestone `em too! Scrub scrub scrub!

Vacuum (3 whole HP of Craftsman POWER!)

Woolite (6:1) on all the leather. And then some.

Awesome (10:1) on vinyl (ew!) - a cheapie APC, all I had, $1 well spent

Spot the trunk area, scrub

Spot the carpets, scrub

Meguiar`s Interior QD (had to try it!) - works pretty well, I like...

IG on glass



More wheel scrubbing, more a2z (I left the remaining 1-2 oz in the bottle there). Give up on wheels without taking them off. Curbed to hell, anyway.



Clay.

Clay.

More Clay.

Guess what comes next?

Clay. (had to hit some horizontal surfaces 4+ times to clean it off)

GEPC/4" SFX2/4-5 (x2-3 in some CC failure areas)

I was done. Souveran topper.

Armor All on the wheel wells

Meguiar`s grape gel on the tires

Leave the wheels alone... Usually would have AIO/SG`d em, but um.. no.





I`ll consider this the "prep" for a true prep. Ouch. I just about kicked him in the head (my friend... whose car this is).



The Before pics...

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/front_before.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/rear_before.jpg



No interior befores. Too dark, didn`t think to use flash, didn`t think it was that bad :P



The AFTERS. GEPC really came through and of course Souveran and natural light are my friends, but the swirls were visibly reduced in harsh lighting.



http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/frontside_after.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/rear_after.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/rear_after2.jpg





I remember why I have a guy that does interiors for me...



- Chris

[imported_animes2k]

more pics...



http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/mirror_mirror.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/reflections1.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/reflections2.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/interior_drivers.jpg

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/details/audiTT/interior_passenger.jpg

[BigAl3]

:up

[stilez]

Beautiful!





At least your honest man...There are limits to everything, but you sure as hell made this one look a helluva lot better!



You may want to invest in some wheel acid to chew up that brake dust. A2Z and P21s can get expensive.

[RuffRyder]

Awesome job! I hope you smacked your friend around a few times for having his car in this condition!

[imported_animes2k]

Yes, please. Wheel acid. By the gallon? Some of that stuff on the inside of the wheels was NOT going to budge. I really wanted to make a nice detail out of this, but I didn`t expect such a long time (8+ hrs). I wasn`t very efficient with my interior, which didn`t help at all and after claying, I noticed the maintenance guys turned off the water, so I had to QD the whole car.



Thanks for the thumbs up and the comments. I knew YOU guys would appreciate it (feel my pain). :) He`s impressed, but I almost had to hard-sell him on this.



Be careful what you wish for, I guess...

[imported_themightytimmah]

Wow, helluva job Chris. I had an Audi A8 come to me in similar condition, it laughed at A2Z. I ended up using Hydroflouric acid, it took 4 shots of it WITH AGITATION to get the rims truly clean. Even then, some of the dust was burned in beyond repair. The HFl brightener is nasty stuff though, I`d highly suggest picking up a gallon of PB`s Spray+Rinse next time you order detailing supplies. If you`re used to P21S, it`ll knock the socks off of ya.

[gav'spurplez]

very nice !! :D

[imported_animes2k]

Thanks, timmAHHHY! :)

I just ordered a less-expensive wheel cleaner (DP?) to try out with an order from autogeek (arriving tomorrow! what did i order, now?)... But I`ll give the PB`s a shot. the p21s is terribly expensive...



I`m running either out of my garage or mobile and out of the trunk/passenger seat of my s2000... not exactly a lot more room for more products and tools. I think I need something else to detail with... 91 accord would work (my bro`s), but it`s been broken into 6 times already...



Thanks for the suggestion of the HFl, but I think I`ll prolly pass on that for now... people are pretty understanding and most of my clients aren`t TERRIBLY demanding, what few I do have. I sort of wish I hadn`t even tried to clean the inside of the wheels... :) But MINE are soooo clean... hehe



----------------



Thanks, gav`s!

[imported_guapsnaman]

Nice car and excellent pics man.



What kinda camera you using?

[imported_animes2k]

thanks, guapsnaman... it`s a canon 10d... i usually bring along my wide zoom on details (16-35/2.8), as I did with this one.

[Porkanbeans]

Wow, beautiful job! Looks like you were very thorough in your work. Through the running out of P21s to the water shut-off, I`d say you`re incredibly more patient and persistant than I am :D . Those are some great pics, too.



Awesome job! :up

[JaCkaL829]

Very nice improvement, i`m sure the owner was pleased!

[Tasty]

Once again it kills me that people have cars this nice and don`t care for them. Nice work, great pics!



EDIT: That`s a pricey camera to tote around to details. Are you a photographer by trade?

[imported_animes2k]

pork: thanks, i take pride in my work.

johnny: yes, he was. let`s hope he washes it regularly. with an instruction sheet I need to type up for him ...

tasty: thanks! he`s a slacker. he only drives it every few days because he works from home and can walk or take the metro most places... but I don`t think he`s touched it since winter. As far as the camera, yes one of my trades (three I`m practicing at the moment, including detailing) is photography. I need to work on my automotive photography :)