Audi A6 detail

Mikeyc

Mikeyc

TheDetailingHandBook.com
The last couple of years I've been almost exclusively a Zymol user. However, after discovering this website I got the itch again and decided to go back to experimenting a bit. Plus it gives me something other than "the good stuff" to use on my friend's and family's cars. Zymol is pretty expensive after all. So over the last couple of weeks I've bought a number of new detailing products including a PC. I've never even used a buffer before.

I needed a car to experiment on and luckily I didn't have to go far. This is my Mother's 2001 Audi A6. It's 4 years old and probably has been waxed 4 times if that. In fact, before I detailed it the car had not even been washed in two months. :eek:

I had almost forgotten how much harder it is to work with neglected paint. Without further delay here's the detail along with some product commentary . . .

Befores:

Car is fairly dull and paint is oxidized and it actually looked worse in person
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The inside of each wheel was solid black from the brake dust
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The plastic and rubber on this car has never even heard of 303 before.
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Scratches on the trunk lid are from when my Dad put the recycle bin on top of the trunk. :eek:
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Exterior Process:
Wash - Zymol Clear
Wheels - Megs Wheel Brightener
Tires - Bleche White Tire Cleaner
Clay
Polish 1 - Menzerna IP w/ Yellow LC
Polish 2 - Menzerna FPII w/ Orange LC
Glaze - Menzerna FTG
Sealant - FMJ
Wax - P21s
Plastic & Rubber treated w/ 303
Tires Dressed w/ Megs High Endurance
Glass - Megs NXT
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Engine Bay Process:
Entire bay sprayed with APC
Metal polished w/ Megs NXT Metal Polish
All rubber & plastic Treated w/ Megs #40
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Interior Process:
Leather Cleaned/Conditioned w/ Lexol
Carpets cleaned with Little Green Machine and Bissel Carpet Cleaning Solution (came w/ the machine)
Glass - Megs NXT
Gauge cluster sprayed with Plexus
All remaining surfaces were cleaned with Megs Interior QD
Tough stains & scuffed removed w/ Mr. Clean Eraser
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Product comments:
-I was very impressed by FMJ it left the surface wet and super slick. Extremely easy to use too.
-I was impressed with the ease of use of P21S wax
-During the detail I tried three different glass cleaners. I rank there performance from best to worst as follows 1)Sprayway 2)Megs NXT 3)IG
-Menzerna IP & FPII are a serious PITA to remove from dark neglected paint after use
 
Antonio Waxer said:
Nice clean up...now just don't let it get that way again :whistling
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This was the single longest detail I've ever done. I don't have befores of the inside but it was decently dirty in there too. I told my mom "that's it. This was your one and only detail." This one was just back breaking. Luckily, she's getting a new car later this year. So, I can start fresh with that one.
 
Looks great! I don't know if you caught the thread on the A6 I detailed, but it came out great! The lines on these cars are awesome! :punk:

I see it's the 2.7T, the same model that I detailed. I finally got to drive the car last night, all I can say is WOW! After you get past that .5 second turbo lag it really goes! The trip-tronic on the steering wheel could be a bit better, but an awesome car nonetheless. I'm thinking about buying an 02 if I can find one, and in a manual too. I can't imagine how sweet it would sound with a 2.5" turbo-back exhaust :drool

Oh, on aother note: My brother flew down from WA for the weekend, he and his wife rented an a8. I can't even imagine how that thing drives!
 
Hawaiianelement said:
That looks like a 2 day job!! great work . mom's lucky to have you
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Yeah, about 14 hours. I've never used a PC before and I found that I was getting quicker as I went along. I guess I just need to get used it. After people heard about the job I did on my mom's car everyone is begging me to detail their car too. I may do a few more cars just for practice.

LikeaRock said:
I see it's the 2.7T, the same model that I detailed. I finally got to drive the car last night, all I can say is WOW! After you get past that .5 second turbo lag it really goes! The trip-tronic on the steering wheel could be a bit better, but an awesome car nonetheless. I'm thinking about buying an 02 if I can find one, and in a manual too. I can't imagine how sweet it would sound with a 2.5" turbo-back exhaust

Oh, on aother note: My brother flew down from WA for the weekend, he and his wife rented an a8. I can't even imagine how that thing drives!
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I've driven this car many many times. It's a pretty nice car. I bet the A8 is a pretty great car too. My friend's dad had one, but I never got to even take a ride in it. Another friend's dad has a brand new Bentley GT. I'm trying to talk him into letting me detail it.

Ferrarislave said:
Looks good, was it all that inside of the wheels? Bakes on stuff or?
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The brake dust on the inside of the wheels was pretty heavy and baked on. I would say without a doubt that the inside of these wheels has never ever been cleaned. The faces have been cleaned before, but definitely not on a regular basis.
 
s10cruiser01 said:
Awesome job man. How did you go about cleaning off all the break dust on the inside of the wheels?
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Despite all the baked on dust it was really easy to do. All I did was spray on a good amount of Meguiar's Wheel Brightener diluted 3:1 with distilled water. Let it soak for about 30 seconds then scrubbed the inside of the wheels with these brushes. It just melted off like a hot knife going through butter. Then I hosed off the wheels and voila like new. If you use the Megs WB just make sure to not let it sit on the wheel more than a minute. It has acid in it.
 
That looks like a different car. Nice work!

I may need to get some Megs Wheel Brightener. It sure cleaned up those nasty wheels!
 
joe.p said:
Real nice transformation. The dirt/breakdust on those rims look like it was a killer to remove.
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Not too bad. I just had to keep rinsing my wheel brush because it was getting gummed up with brake dust. The Megs Wheel Brightener is VERY powerful and eats brakedust like a snack. Recently, I tried the PB's Spray & Rinse Wheel cleaner. The PB's seems to be even more powerful. However, it's much less economical than the Megs. The PB's was about $15 for 32 oz. whereas the Megs is $20 for a gallon of concentrate which you would dilute before using. So, the Megs gallon goes a long, long way.
 
Nice job Mike.

I have tried all the Zymol waxes and they are very over-rated. P21S is one of my favorite carnaubas. You should also try Pinnacle Souveran (or perhaps the less expensive Signature II) which I feel is better in many ways.

For wheels I like the OTC Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner, even better than the boutique products with the exception of P21S Gel cleaner.
 
Mikeyc said:
The PB's seems to be even more powerful. However, it's much less economical than the Megs. The PB's was about $15 for 32 oz. whereas the Megs is $20 for a gallon of concentrate which you would dilute before using. So, the Megs gallon goes a long, long way.
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That makes sense, the WB is more geared towards the volume detailers. Guys who use enough product that they'd go out of business if they couldn't dilute the stuff they were using.
 
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