Firstly I would like to thank the owner of this red Golf Gti for granting us the opportunity this weekend to perform what I like to call one schweeet detail. Willem and I had a blast with this one.
So for the first time ever I got to detail a car other than white or silver, which I’m the self proclaimed king of by the way and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this beauty. The weather made things difficult but we pulled through quite easily. Here’s what we used on the day.
Products used:
- Sonax Extra Gloss Shampoo
- Sonax Extreme Wheel Cleaner
- Shield Blade APC
- Menz Intensive Polish
- Menz Final Finish
- PB Dark Hole Glaze
- AG HD Wax
- Automagic Fine Clay
- Adams Detail Spray
- Adams Undercarriage Spray
- Smartwax Rimwax
- Turtle Wax Tyre Dressing
- Smart Dressing
- Blue-b-Gone
- Meguiars Metal Polish
Pads used:
- Meguiars light cutting pads
- Flexipad (Blue and Pink)
Brushes used:
- Meguiars Slide Lock Brushes
- Daytona Wheel Brush
- Mom’s old trusty kitchen brush
- AG Hi-Tech Wheel Brush
- Tyre Brush
- Fender Brush
Cloths used:
- Assorted MF Cloths
- CD Drying Towel
- MF Sponge
- CD Applicator Pads
So I got up early Saturday morning without using my alarm for the first time in years (I’m not a morning person) due to the excitement knowing that I’m getting to detail a red car for once. We got the call and went to meet our customer, what a jolly fella this guy is and immediately we’re hit with the question that’s asked oh so often, “will you be able to remove the swirls?” and with no hesitation we answered yes and then some. Also thanks to Neil for popping in. After some chatting (about detailing off course) Neil and our very friendly customer left and it was time to get our hands on this baby for some serious detailing and boy oh boy did we! I must say that the GTi is well maintained which made our job so much easier.
So the wheels got tackled first by using the Sonax Product as always, and not one drop of the reddish/purple colour, to no surprise off course as I’ve mentioned earlier this car is in tip top shape. Surely I would get some action on the inner part of the wheel…nope, no grime or dirt at all, not even loose dirt or dust. The tyres got washed with APC and the tyre brush. Easy and fast when working on low profile tyres like these. The wheel wells came clean with no fuss at all, no dirt was sticking to it, I almost started thinking we we’re wasting our time with the fender brush as the pressure cleaner itself was enough to do the job. My winning combination for the wheels and tyres consisted of the Smartwax Rimwax, Turtlewax Tyre Dressing and the wheel wells got sprayed with Adams Undercarriage spray leaving the wells matt black and looking new again.
The entire car enjoyed a decent wash (washing every panel twice) to ensure no dirt sneaked by us first time round. The Sonax Gloss shampoo foamed up nicely and the washing process commenced using the MF sponge and Meguiars slide lock brush. The inner doors were given a proper wash too, not that it needed it though but I can’t carry on with the detail knowing that it’s not.
The car was rinsed and dried using my favourite cloth, the CD drying towel. It dries up so easily. I then started claying with help of Automagic’s fine clay and Adams detailing spray. I noticed some people clay moving the clay bar in a straight forward and backward motion and other in circular motion but I have learned the hard way straight scratches are more difficult to correct than circular ones, therefore all processes done to the paint I try to move in a circular formation. Most of the contaminants came from the rear of the car as we all know hatches seem to build up more dirt here than anywhere else. After this we laid down the clay as the hunger struck to enjoy a healthy balanced meal…Steers burgers and chips and so we moved on. Finally the moment we were waiting for: correction. The vehicle got taped up and a few test runs were completed to determine the right combination and must admit this clear coat wasn’t going to make things easy for us…we ended up with Menz Intensive Polish and the Meguiars light cutting pad (not to worry, its a tough old bird this one) finished off with Menz FF, Blue and Pink Flexi Pads. Every time we wanted to pull the car out into the son to see what correction was achieved the rain would spoil everything, it rained about 4 times during the correction stage. I managed to take a few reflection shots after the Menz session and wow…some really high gloss and deepness were gained and the colour popped like crazy. It looked unreal.
Notice the deepness of the red paint.
Here is some correction shots I managed to take during the rain showers.
Out came the Poor Boys Black Hole Glaze…enough said, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. All the bright green trees and blue skies in the background at this stage looked dull compared to the red paint, it’s like one can get lost in it. I had to adjust my eyes few times as the paint messed around with me. The deepness was uncanny.
The vehicle was topped off with AutoGlym’s HD Wax which also played it’s part in the brilliant finish achieved. Awesome stuff that!
I cleaned out the engine bay and treated all plastic panels with SmartDressing. It came out better than I expected.
Lastly the exhausts were cared for using Blue-b-Gone and Willem started up the drill using Meguiars metal polish to clean out the insides. It gave the car that new look, like it was just bought at the dealership.
Note the right exhaust outlet is much cleaner on the inside that on the left.
Exterior trimming was treated with…wait for it, Nugget! We wanted a long lasting product for the trim and believe it or not, nugget seems to work the shizz. Keep in mind not all plastic trim surfaces welcomes the nugget as easily as on the GTi.
So I know by now all of you are asking what correction was achieved in the end. I would say a 99% correction was achieved due to some deeper swirls and scratches. Willem and I weren’t willing to cut that deep to eliminate one or two more scratches. I think all and all the detail turned out a huge success!
We wrapped up the day and we had one very happy customer.
Just want to thank Willem as well for helping me out on the day.
Enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.
So for the first time ever I got to detail a car other than white or silver, which I’m the self proclaimed king of by the way and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this beauty. The weather made things difficult but we pulled through quite easily. Here’s what we used on the day.
Products used:
- Sonax Extra Gloss Shampoo
- Sonax Extreme Wheel Cleaner
- Shield Blade APC
- Menz Intensive Polish
- Menz Final Finish
- PB Dark Hole Glaze
- AG HD Wax
- Automagic Fine Clay
- Adams Detail Spray
- Adams Undercarriage Spray
- Smartwax Rimwax
- Turtle Wax Tyre Dressing
- Smart Dressing
- Blue-b-Gone
- Meguiars Metal Polish
Pads used:
- Meguiars light cutting pads
- Flexipad (Blue and Pink)
Brushes used:
- Meguiars Slide Lock Brushes
- Daytona Wheel Brush
- Mom’s old trusty kitchen brush
- AG Hi-Tech Wheel Brush
- Tyre Brush
- Fender Brush
Cloths used:
- Assorted MF Cloths
- CD Drying Towel
- MF Sponge
- CD Applicator Pads
So I got up early Saturday morning without using my alarm for the first time in years (I’m not a morning person) due to the excitement knowing that I’m getting to detail a red car for once. We got the call and went to meet our customer, what a jolly fella this guy is and immediately we’re hit with the question that’s asked oh so often, “will you be able to remove the swirls?” and with no hesitation we answered yes and then some. Also thanks to Neil for popping in. After some chatting (about detailing off course) Neil and our very friendly customer left and it was time to get our hands on this baby for some serious detailing and boy oh boy did we! I must say that the GTi is well maintained which made our job so much easier.
So the wheels got tackled first by using the Sonax Product as always, and not one drop of the reddish/purple colour, to no surprise off course as I’ve mentioned earlier this car is in tip top shape. Surely I would get some action on the inner part of the wheel…nope, no grime or dirt at all, not even loose dirt or dust. The tyres got washed with APC and the tyre brush. Easy and fast when working on low profile tyres like these. The wheel wells came clean with no fuss at all, no dirt was sticking to it, I almost started thinking we we’re wasting our time with the fender brush as the pressure cleaner itself was enough to do the job. My winning combination for the wheels and tyres consisted of the Smartwax Rimwax, Turtlewax Tyre Dressing and the wheel wells got sprayed with Adams Undercarriage spray leaving the wells matt black and looking new again.
The entire car enjoyed a decent wash (washing every panel twice) to ensure no dirt sneaked by us first time round. The Sonax Gloss shampoo foamed up nicely and the washing process commenced using the MF sponge and Meguiars slide lock brush. The inner doors were given a proper wash too, not that it needed it though but I can’t carry on with the detail knowing that it’s not.
The car was rinsed and dried using my favourite cloth, the CD drying towel. It dries up so easily. I then started claying with help of Automagic’s fine clay and Adams detailing spray. I noticed some people clay moving the clay bar in a straight forward and backward motion and other in circular motion but I have learned the hard way straight scratches are more difficult to correct than circular ones, therefore all processes done to the paint I try to move in a circular formation. Most of the contaminants came from the rear of the car as we all know hatches seem to build up more dirt here than anywhere else. After this we laid down the clay as the hunger struck to enjoy a healthy balanced meal…Steers burgers and chips and so we moved on. Finally the moment we were waiting for: correction. The vehicle got taped up and a few test runs were completed to determine the right combination and must admit this clear coat wasn’t going to make things easy for us…we ended up with Menz Intensive Polish and the Meguiars light cutting pad (not to worry, its a tough old bird this one) finished off with Menz FF, Blue and Pink Flexi Pads. Every time we wanted to pull the car out into the son to see what correction was achieved the rain would spoil everything, it rained about 4 times during the correction stage. I managed to take a few reflection shots after the Menz session and wow…some really high gloss and deepness were gained and the colour popped like crazy. It looked unreal.
Notice the deepness of the red paint.
Here is some correction shots I managed to take during the rain showers.
Out came the Poor Boys Black Hole Glaze…enough said, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. All the bright green trees and blue skies in the background at this stage looked dull compared to the red paint, it’s like one can get lost in it. I had to adjust my eyes few times as the paint messed around with me. The deepness was uncanny.
The vehicle was topped off with AutoGlym’s HD Wax which also played it’s part in the brilliant finish achieved. Awesome stuff that!
I cleaned out the engine bay and treated all plastic panels with SmartDressing. It came out better than I expected.
Lastly the exhausts were cared for using Blue-b-Gone and Willem started up the drill using Meguiars metal polish to clean out the insides. It gave the car that new look, like it was just bought at the dealership.
Note the right exhaust outlet is much cleaner on the inside that on the left.
Exterior trimming was treated with…wait for it, Nugget! We wanted a long lasting product for the trim and believe it or not, nugget seems to work the shizz. Keep in mind not all plastic trim surfaces welcomes the nugget as easily as on the GTi.
So I know by now all of you are asking what correction was achieved in the end. I would say a 99% correction was achieved due to some deeper swirls and scratches. Willem and I weren’t willing to cut that deep to eliminate one or two more scratches. I think all and all the detail turned out a huge success!
We wrapped up the day and we had one very happy customer.
Just want to thank Willem as well for helping me out on the day.
Enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.
