Enhancement Detail - Ceramic Bolt On
An Audi RS6 is a truly versatile car and this was a true example of what they can do. On one hand an absolute powerhouse ready to be driven hard, on the other hand a great family car. This one clearly is used for both and in the last few months had been down to Italy and back and hadn't seen a soap sud in over 3,000 miles. It was long overdue a good clean and the owner was keen to have it looking its best again.
The owner got in contact primarily to book the car in for Ceramic coatings, after some discussion and a little education we discussed and explained why the car would benefit from an enhancement detail prior to the application of coatings and the customer agreed. Upon arrival it was clear why the owner was so keen to have the car done. 3,000 miles and all four seasons of dirt - This RS6 certainly needed some TLC and I was just the man for the job.
Starting with the all important snow foam, nice an thick to drag off as much of the surface dirt and grime as possible. While it was dwelling I went round the creases and cracks with a Hog hair brush to agitate the snow foam into the sitting dirt and lift months of grime. After a few minutes dwelling the car was rinsed down and I moved onto the wheels. Oh the joys of ceramic brakes! Now a note to all owners with ceramic brakes, you have to be extremely careful with what products you use and if you have any questions please get in touch and ill be happy to advise but its strongly advised that you dont use normal wheel cleaners! Wheels deep cleaned I moved not the arches and slowly worked my way around the car. Once the wheels, arches and shuts had been deep cleaned and degreased I moved onto the engine bay and did the same here. After about two hours meticulously cleaning and degreasing the grubby parts the car was rinsed down again and ready to be washed.
The all important two bucket method was used with grit guards in place and a nice soft lambswool wash mitt. I worked my way around the car starting from the top carefully removing months of dirt, salt and grime to reveal that stunning Midnight Blue Metallic Paint. Once safely washed the car was rinsed again and I liberally applied a later of Car Pro Iron X to remove Iron fall out and other contaminants. Left to dwell and rinsed the car was then dried for application of tar remover. Once the TFR stages were complete the car was clayed with a clay mitt and then safely dried with a variety of towels and a Metro Vac Master Blaster.
Now the car was ready to be taped up and inspected. All plastics, rubbers and delicate trims were taped prior to polishing to prevent them being damaged during the polishing stages. Paint depth readings were taken and the lights were switched on. The owner was fully aware of the damage that Hand car washes can do so fortunately the car had never been near one, It had seen one or two dealer washes and that was about it since new which to be honest was probably a blessing in disguise as the paint really wasn't too bad. Dont get me wrong it was far from perfect but given the mileage and the fact the car was nearly a year old it could certainly have been worse. I completed a few tests with various pads and polishing combo's and found the optimum choice and began enhancing the paint to remove light swirls and defects from the paintwork. In total I spent around 15 Hours polishing meticulously lifting as many defects as I could with a single stage machine polish. Once the polishing stages were complete, tape was removed and further readings were taken. The car was then wiped down twice with Car Pro eraser, Glass polished, Exhausts Polished and all surfaces prepared for coatings.
Car Pro C Quartz UK was the ceramic coating I had chosen to add durable, hard and extremely glossy finish to the lovely Midnight Blue paint. G-Techniq alloy wheel armour was used on the wheels and a product I've not used before for the glass, Car Pro Flybe. All coatings were layered twice to ensure optimum protection and left to cure in appropriate conditions to ensure safe bonding.
While the coatings were curing I moved onto protecting the exhaust with G-Techniq C4, The engine bay with Aerospace 303 and completing all the finishing touches on the exterior. It was then onto a deep clean of the interior. Firstly the interior was hoovered to lift loose dirt and grime. The leather was then deep cleaned with Dr Leather Leather Cleaner and agitated into the pores of the leather with a small leather brush. Once the leathers were cleaned they were conditioned with Auto Finesse Leather conditioner restoring a lovely fresh finish to the leather and the all important leather smell. Plastics, Rubbers and Fabrics were wiped down and cleaned and the interior was complete.
The car was then moved out into the sun for final checks and wipe down before photos and handover. Another extremely satisfying detail, Admittedly two long days and a late finish but the end result is always worth it!
