Audi RS5 with Optimum Coating, dealer prepped VW GLI, BMW 328

[Scottwax]

2013 Audi RS5. Been trying to Opti-Coat it since early January, but between the owner's work obligations and surprise snow on one planned day, we weren't able to get it done until this weekend. I had previously applied Opti-Coat to his wife's BMW X5 (which is visible in one of the pictures) so when he got his RS5, he wanted the same done to it.



When I talked to him earlier in the week, he promised it was in good shape and he was right. This is a before shot (the only one that turned out okay thanks to the low angle of the late afternoon sun) which is indicative how pretty much the whole car looked. Only real issue was towel streaking on the lower panels. Sure glad we've had the time change, I was running late thanks to a dead battery and didn't finish this car until after 7 PM.



ONR wash, Opti-Raser pink to clay

Optimum Hyper Polish using an Optimum MF cutting pad and my Meguiars G110 v2 DA Polisher

ONR wash

Optimum Coating applied to the paint, wheels and calipers

ONR Wash and Wax @ 32:1 to clean glass

Armor All on tires/wheel wells

Interior vacuumed

3D Carpet Shampoo @ 16:1 to clean mats

Meguiars Interior QD to clean and dress interior

 

[Scottwax]

2013 Volkswagen GLI. Owner recently purchased this white GLI after the first one he wanted (silver) was sold by another dealer after he put his deposit down. He then went with the white since it also had a 6 speed. And now after owning it a few weeks, he really likes the contrast between the black trim and wheel accents and I have to agree. The honeycomb grill though...safe to say whoever designed it has never cleaned a car in his/her life. Unfortunately, even though he said he didn't want any prep done when he was dealing for the silver car, apparently the word wasn't passed along when he decided to get the white one. Initially he'd wanted a basic new car prep, washing, claying, 1 polishing step and to have the paint protected. Unfortunately, the condition of the paint meant that one step just wasn't going to be enough.

I did a couple test spots to see what would work best and #105 cut with a bit of Optimum Hyper Polish (to extend the working time dramatically) was working great. To help ease the sticker shock due to the necessary compounding step, I decided to finish with Optimum G-P-S since it is a light polish and a pretty durable sealant, much better than most all in one products. Plus it looks killer on white.

ONR wash, Opti-Raser pink to clay

Meguiars #105 cut about 30% with Optimum Hyper Polish using a 5" Meguiars MF cutting disc and my G110 v2

Optimum G-P-S using an Optimum MF polishing pad

ONR wash and wax @ 32:1 to clean glass

Armor All on tires/wheel wells

 

[Scottwax]

2012 BMW 335, yes I know the thread title and image descriptions say 328, just wasn't paying attention I guess... The owner is the friend of a regular customer (whose Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 I recently posted) who had him bring the car to his house for me to detail. The owner obviously takes really good care of the car, it was in excellent condition inside and out. The only areas that needed any extra work beyond a basic detail was the lint on the sunroof trim and the exhaust tips. Everything else was quite easy.

What works amazingly well was the Opti-Raser pink clay sponge, pulled the lint off it relatively quickly.

Exhaust tips before

Optimum Metal Polish

ONR wash, Opti-Raser Pink to clay

Optimum Hyper Polish using an Optimum MF cutting pad and my Meguiars G110 v2

Optimum Opti-Seal

Optimum Metal Polish on tips

ONR wash and wax @ 32:1 to clean glass and interior wood trim

Armor All on tires/wheel wells

Woolite/water @ 20:1 to clean leather and vinyl

3D Carpet Shampoo @ 16:1 to clean carpets and mats

Optimum Protectant Plus to dress vinyl

Duragloss #221 Leather Conditioner to treat the leather

 

[vp920b]

Top notch work as always :rockon:

 

[nonwelder]

Awesome...the owner of the GLI is singing your praises over on Vortex. I pumped you up too!



I have a 2012 Candy White Jetta. Nice to see the combo you used. I had some horrible dealer prep too, as I bought a car that was on the lot. I found the paint to need some pretty serious products, including an MF pad, to get it corrected.



Looks nice. Might just have to try some GPS with OS over it. I like the look.

 

[maxepr1]

Nice work as always Scott. Got to love Audi's, so nice, fit and finish it the best I think. VW finished down nice!

 

[Scottwax]

Top notch work as always :rockon:

Thanks!

Awesome...the owner of the GLI is singing your praises over on Vortex. I pumped you up too!



I have a 2012 Candy White Jetta. Nice to see the combo you used. I had some horrible dealer prep too, as I bought a car that was on the lot. I found the paint to need some pretty serious products, including an MF pad, to get it corrected.



Looks nice. Might just have to try some GPS with OS over it. I like the look.

Great to know the owner is pleased with his car. Really nice guy too, wants to learn everything he can so he can maintain the freshly polished look. Plus he gave me a jump start when my battery died.



The paint was pretty hard but not quite as hard as the most recent BMW's I've detailed.

Nice work as always Scott. Got to love Audi's, so nice, fit and finish it the best I think. VW finished down nice!

Thanks Tim! BTW, we need to get together next time it rains once I return from Phoenix. Hit up Tex's Star Grill or something.

 

[IHA Mark]

Great work as usual!

 

[Kevinch]

Scott, as usual - really nice work.

Lately, I've been spending a lot more time here reading the the posts from the pros on how they do what they do. In reading yours, it appears you have pretty much gone to MF pads as I rarely see mention of foam. I guess a silly question would be "why" - you must get better results. Can you expand on that though? I mean, are the finishes superior to those of foam, or are they similar but more easily or more quickly achieved, do they last longer for you...etc?

Also, can you tell me how often you clean the pads & how many you use per step? Also, what diameter do you prefer for use on the Meguiar's DA?

If that is too many questions, I apologize. I work on only my own cars & maybe those of immediate family, & while the results are always better than when I started they are no where near what I see on here. While I don't really expect to see the results that someone who does this for their livelihood does, I should be able to do better. I beginning to believe my choice of pads, & the mileage I try to get out of them may be 1 of my problems. Certainly appreciate any info your willing to offer!

 

[maxepr1]

Ok Scott. Pretty busy the next few weeks but rain I'm sure is in our future. Don't eat to much at Chino's.

 

[Scottwax]

Scott, as usual - really nice work.

Lately, I've been spending a lot more time here reading the the posts from the pros on how they do what they do. In reading yours, it appears you have pretty much gone to MF pads as I rarely see mention of foam. I guess a silly question would be "why" - you must get better results. Can you expand on that though? I mean, are the finishes superior to those of foam, or are they similar but more easily or more quickly achieved, do they last longer for you...etc?

Also, can you tell me how often you clean the pads & how many you use per step? Also, what diameter do you prefer for use on the Meguiar's DA?

If that is too many questions, I apologize. I work on only my own cars & maybe those of immediate family, & while the results are always better than when I started they are no where near what I see on here. While I don't really expect to see the results that someone who does this for their livelihood does, I should be able to do better. I beginning to believe my choice of pads, & the mileage I try to get out of them may be 1 of my problems. Certainly appreciate any info your willing to offer!

MF pads work well and finish great on most paints. On soft paints I finish with foam. Use 5" pads for correction, 6-6.5" for finishing. Spin them over a nylon bristle brush after each section, after every few cars, I soak them in water with Optimum Power Clean for about 30 minutes, scrub the surface to remove residue, then wash them in the washing machine in warm water, let air dry.

Ok Scott. Pretty busy the next few weeks but rain I'm sure is in our future. Don't eat to much at Chino's.

Oh, its raining in DFW? Hadn't noticed from 1000 miles away.



So glad I'm out here, wouldn't have made much over the next several days based on the forecast. And 50s on Tuesday and Wednesday? In April? In Texas? That's just wrong. 80s the whole time I am here in Phoenix. And already hit up Chinos!

 

[Levidg]

Nice work Scott,

 

[maxepr1]

MF pads work well and finish great on most paints. On soft paints I finish with foam. Use 5" pads for correction, 6-6.5" for finishing. Spin them over a nylon bristle brush after each section, after every few cars, I soak them in water with Optimum Power Clean for about 30 minutes, scrub the surface to remove residue, then wash them in the washing machine in warm water, let air dry.







Oh, its raining in DFW? Hadn't noticed from 1000 miles away.



So glad I'm out here, wouldn't have made much over the next several days based on the forecast. And 50s on Tuesday and Wednesday? In April? In Texas? That's just wrong. 80s the whole time I am here in Phoenix. And already hit up Chinos!

Windy, in the 80s and spotty rain off and on the last few days. Cold front coming through tues-wed supposed to drop into the 50's, my kind of weather!

 

[Scottwax]

Nice work Scott,

Thanks I appreciate that

 

[KC@detailien]

inspiring results and achievement

keep them coming .....Thank you for sharing your heart felt work

 

[imported_WCD]

Scott-- In reading your post and following your steps, do you complete a wipe down with an alch. mix after the polish and before applying the coating? I was told to do this before applying OptiCoat.



Also, I did a LEXUS SUV yesterday. I only used about 7 cc's in total, but know that about 10 is typical. I did a panel at a time, but am worried that I did not put it on thick enough. I did side to side and then up and down to ensure it was covered. Notably, the top of those with the sun roof is actually less are than a top of a 4 door sedan. I ONLY covered the paint. Customer wants protection on paint- was not worried with marring and funny enough...the guy was a polymer scientist for the government- creating coatings for military grade machinery that had to withstand temps up to something like 3000 degrees!!!



Thanks, Rob

 

[Kevinch]

MF pads work well and finish great on most paints. On soft paints I finish with foam. Use 5" pads for correction, 6-6.5" for finishing. Spin them over a nylon bristle brush after each section, after every few cars, I soak them in water with Optimum Power Clean for about 30 minutes, scrub the surface to remove residue, then wash them in the washing machine in warm water, let air dry.

Thanks Scottwax - appreciate it!

 

[Scottwax]

inspiring results and achievement

keep them coming .....Thank you for sharing your heart felt work

Thanks!

Scott-- In reading your post and following your steps, do you complete a wipe down with an alch. mix after the polish and before applying the coating? I was told to do this before applying OptiCoat.



Also, I did a LEXUS SUV yesterday. I only used about 7 cc's in total, but know that about 10 is typical. I did a panel at a time, but am worried that I did not put it on thick enough. I did side to side and then up and down to ensure it was covered. Notably, the top of those with the sun roof is actually less are than a top of a 4 door sedan. I ONLY covered the paint. Customer wants protection on paint- was not worried with marring and funny enough...the guy was a polymer scientist for the government- creating coatings for military grade machinery that had to withstand temps up to something like 3000 degrees!!!



Thanks, Rob

If I use something than Optimum products, I do basically an ONR wash substituting alcohol for ONR (about 20% alcohol content). If I use Optimum Product, I do a ONR wash since it is compatible with Opti-Coat...and more than a year later, those vehicles I have revisited show no signs of the coating being affected by being applied after an ONR wash.



The 10 cc warranty version recommends using anything left over be used to double up the coating on the horizontal surfaces. I find that most vehicles take from 6-8 cc's on average for a single layer and wheel faces (another 1-2 cc's if the wheels are pulled and the barrels and calipers are coated).