My time with the dirty white... Polo (now with after pics!)

[PaulVW]

I did most of this work towards the end of February, but I changed jobs and moved to Cape Town in the mean time and therefore only found time recently to put some words down.

As in the past, I welcome any advice, feedback or comments, as I am still very new to this.

My next detailing attempt was done on a white 2004 VW Polo 1.9 TDI 2-door Highline. This is a car of a friend and ex-colleague of mine and the car was in need of some serious TLC...

Firstly some random before pics

Exterior
Lots of road grime and some swirl marks were already visible...











The engine bay was also rather dirty.




Interior
The interior was a bit of a mess. The seats and carpets were very dirty and seemed like it wasn’t cleaned in years! (Luckily the owner will not be able to see this thread:rofl




Detailing:
1. 1st Wash Down

Following what I learned (mostly from David’s threads), I started by removing the wheels and giving the car a complete was down using a diluted APC solution and Meg Gold Class Shampoo. At this stage I still used the Karcher Foaming Lance but my next detail will be done on the “next level” as my “Carn Special” foaming lance is in the post...













Some contamination most probably from industrial fall out (Sasol Gas Liquor), bird droppings & household enamel paint was visible after drying...




2. Chassis & Wheels
I cleaned the suspension components and wheels with Sonax Extreme Rim Cleaner and APC. After drying, I sprayed a generous amount of Adams - Invisible Undercarriage Spray on all the suspension parts. I finished the rims off with the CG Wheel Guard and the tyres with Megs Hot Shine Tyre Gel. I also cleaned the engine bay with APC.
















3. Interior Clean
After the wash down I refitted the wheels and moved the car into my garage and called it a day.

The next day, I first vacuumed the complete car, where after I used a very mild APC solution to clean the trim panels and inner parts of the doors. I found some old stains on the carpets and seats which were easily cleaned with the Adams Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner. I also cleaned the loose carpets using the same process.

Some after pics of the interior:




4. Polishing & Waxing
After the interior was sorted, I inspected the paint work under some fluorescent lights. The damage on the bonnet was the worst...








After taping the car up with some blue tape, I followed a 4 step process to try and correct the paint work. I first clayed the complete car using an Adams clay bar and lube. Thereafter I applied two Menz products (SIP & Final Finish) using my newly acquired Megs G220 DA polisher and LC pads. Finally, I gave it a good layer of Collonite wax by hand.

The results were pretty amazing:










The garage was again in a mess!


Product of choice:


5. Final touches
I gave the car a final wash down using Megs Gold Class shampoo. After drying, I used Megs Gold Class Trim Detailer to make the black parts look nice again. (I can’t wait for my Aerospace 303 which is also in the post...) I also used Megs Plasti-X to sort out the faded number plates and lights. Finally, I used Mothers® Glass Cleaner to clean and polish the windows.

Some random final after pics















Summary:
This work took me about a week to complete (only working weekends and evenings after work). The owner was very impressed and immediately drove the car back to Pretoria into a rain storm, covering it with dirt again...

What is really amazing is that most of this dirt rinsed off with normal tap water – the Collonite really offers a very good protective layer which is easy to clean.

The owner was so impressed that he asked me to also detail his fairly new Land Rover Discovery V8 HSE. This will be my next thread but I must say, trying my hand on a R650k vehicle was a bit intimidating...

Thank you for looking!

[calypso]

What great work, love the the wheels off attention.
But just as the thread got interesting, the pics failed. Can anyone else see them? And also what those funny looking things on the fenders?

[PaulVW]

(06-05-2010 07:23 AM)calypso Wrote:  What great work, love the the wheels off attention.
But just as the thread got interesting, the pics failed. Can anyone else see them? And also what those funny looking things on the fenders?

You are right - I just checked the first few pics initially, but it seems like not one of my "after pics" are showing. I suspect it is a problem with the host site . I will try and sort it out...

The things on the fenders are magnetic bowls to keep the wheel nuts in. They have rubber bases which I clean frequently in order not to scratch the paint, but they are great for keeping the nuts in a safe place. This is all obsolete kit from my rallying days

[Jughead]

Yeah ... I also cannot see the after pics ... but from what I can gather with the amount of effort you put into this detail it would be awesome ...

Carn ... get an "OCD smiley" or something
... this deserves one for the wheels bit (so far that I can see)... I dream of doing that one day ...

My brother has the same polo (i think ) .. so will be sending him the link as well ... He aint a believer ... YET!!!
So this should sway him a bit ...

I was also wondering what that was on the fender ... looked like a VW badge ...

Awesome job !!! Awesome !!! ...

[Wayno]

Great work Paul.... Cant wait to see the final pics...

[onyx]

Yeah i cant see the pics either... Awesome work!

[jagged]

Excellent job...especially liked the pics of the mag wheel transformation

[Rayner]

Inspiring work. Love the work on the arches. did you use the Sonax product and apc on the arches or just apc?

[PaulVW]

Thanks for the comments guys! Glad you guys like the part about the wheels

Still trying to fix the other pics

(06-05-2010 11:38 AM)Rayner Wrote:  Inspiring work. Love the work on the arches. did you use the Sonax product and apc on the arches or just apc?

I did spray a bit of Sonax in the arches as well, but TBH, I think it is the APC that did the trick. I found the Sonax only works really well with brake dust - not for general cleaning and that area had more of a greasy dirt than brake dust.

[Carn]

From what I can see, another top shelf effort Paul with great attention to detail

Removing the wheels is always nice as it adds that extra element of thoroughness to a detail. Sadly however the number of clients who are willing to pay for the service are few and far between (in my experience anyways).


Pity about the rest of the pics...Hope you get the problem sorted ASAP

[springbok]

I don't think I have ever seen a detail where all 4 wheels have been removed prior to washing. 10/10 for a great job. Loved the wheels and also that device for storing the bolts. Where did you buy it?

[PaulVW]

(06-05-2010 06:49 PM)Carn Wrote:  From what I can see, another top shelf effort Paul with great attention to detail

Removing the wheels is always nice as it adds that extra element of thoroughness to a detail. Sadly however the number of clients who are willing to pay for the service are few and far between (in my experience anyways).


Pity about the rest of the pics...Hope you get the problem sorted ASAP

Thanks David,

The problem with the pics is sorted. It was my own bulk uploading / incorrect numbering mistake...

I can't wait to try my new products - which my wife collected from the PO yesterday

Yeah, I fully agree on the wheels and underbody clean. It takes about the same time (or even more) as polishing the complete car but most people don't appreciate it as much. (The other problem is that that area also gets very dirty very quickly and easily again so it is really not worth the effort but it look cool)

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(06-05-2010 10:34 PM)springbok Wrote:  I don't think I have ever seen a detail where all 4 wheels have been removed prior to washing. 10/10 for a great job. Loved the wheels and also that device for storing the bolts. Where did you buy it?

Thanks springbok!
I think Makro stocks those wheel nut dishes nowadays. Otherwise try ATS Motorsport but be preparred to be ripped off

[dood786]

Brilliantly done Paul, excellent results.

i like those magnet thingies

[DieOubaas]

(06-05-2010 07:00 AM)PaulVW Wrote:  ...
The interior was a bit of a mess. The seats and carpets were very dirty and seemed like it wasn’t cleaned in years! (Luckily the owner will not be able to see this thread:rofl
...

I hope you've made sure if this!!!

[PaulVW]

(07-05-2010 02:18 PM)dood786 Wrote:  Brilliantly done Paul, excellent results.

i like those magnet thingies

Thanks Naseem
Yeah, those things are nice, especially if you need to change your wheels every stage in some desserted gravel service park...

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(07-05-2010 04:22 PM)DieOubaas Wrote:  

(06-05-2010 07:00 AM)PaulVW Wrote:  ...
The interior was a bit of a mess. The seats and carpets were very dirty and seemed like it wasn’t cleaned in years! (Luckily the owner will not be able to see this thread:rofl
...

I hope you've made sure if this!!!

Hey, where are the days when Guests could not view the images?

BTW - you have to be a detailer to join this forum - not a client of a detailer and owning a water magnet which was given to you as a present and which you have never used does not count

[Carn]

(07-05-2010 04:30 PM)PaulVW Wrote:  Hey, where are the days when Guests could not view the images?

Guest's can't view them, that's probably why he registered on here

[PaulVW]

(08-05-2010 09:09 AM)Carn Wrote:  

(07-05-2010 04:30 PM)PaulVW Wrote:  Hey, where are the days when Guests could not view the images?

Guest's can't view them, that's probably why he registered on here

I guess I better watch what I say then - I don't want to loose my only customer