(2nd) Limestone Grey VW Golf 7 Gti - Detailed by Lawrence

**lawrenceSA** · 01-30-2016, 07:13 AM

I originally detailed this car back in April last year Limestone Grey VW Golf 7 Gti - Detailed by Lawrence and the owner has had some construction going on at home, and so the car needed to have a decent tidy up. Although it looks pretty rough on the outside, once all the dirt was cleaned off, the paint remained in very good condition and so the owner's efforts at maintaining it properly need to be recognised :hurray: It was however heavily contaminated.

So as always the dirtiest part of the car first.

The engine bay.

Next up the fender wells, tires, brake calipers and wheels

This is how the car looked before being washed

Then it was time for a wash and decon.

Pre-wash - HP rinse | Valet Pro Citrus Prewash | HP rinse | Angelwax Fastfoam | HP rinse
Wash - Carchem Luxury Shampoo | Lambswool wash mitts
Dry - Waffle Weave Drying Towel | ONR as a lubricant
Tar removal - Valet Pro Citrus Tar Remover
Iron removal - Carchem Revolt | HP rinse
Clay - Shield Heavy Duty | ONR as a lubricant
Inside Fuel Flap / Door Shuts - HP rinse | Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Polish and Protect with Autofinesse Tripple
Honeycomb - HP rinse | Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dress with Autofinesse Dressel

Despite a fair amount of contamination, the paint itself was in really good shape making it very difficult to capture whatever defects there were, and so the paint was given a light polish and re-protected.

Paint readings - 115µ to 170µ
Paint Correction - Menzerna SF4000 | White Lake Country Hybrid Pads | Flex 3401
Paint Inspection / Pre-sealant Clean - Gyeon Prep
HP rinse | Valet Pro Citrus Prewash | HP rinse | Angelwax Fastfoam | HP rinse
Protection - Soft 99 Fusso Coat (dark)

There was however some etching on the bonnet

Exhaust tip cleaning - Carchem APC
Exhaust tip Polishing and Protection - Menzerna Polishing Cream | Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish

Exterior Glass - Gyeon Prep | Wynns C-Thru
Exterior Rubbers - Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Aerospace 303

**lawrenceSA** · 01-30-2016, 07:14 AM

Here are some after shots, first with my cell phone

And some with the DSLR

Total time spent = 26 hours

Thanks for looking and as always and comments or questions are welcome.

:hi:

**Mike Honcho** · 01-30-2016, 07:56 AM

Great post. Great tutorial. Great job. As always.

**Mantilgh** · 01-30-2016, 08:10 AM

I always enjoy your write ups and work. Great job!!!

**Desertnate** · 02-01-2016, 09:11 AM

Amazing as always. The car looks great!

Did you take the wheels off to get at those brake calipers? If not, what is your technique for getting them looking so good?

**emmjay** · 02-01-2016, 12:01 PM

Gorgeous as always!!

I just sold mine and this post made me miss it a little.

I don't want to hijack the thread but If I may...I have a couple of questions.

1. Which rubbers exactly(you mentioned doors and exterior) were protected with Aerospace 303, I just picked up some and would like to try it out. Are you referring to the rubber window and windshield surrounds, inner door surrounds for keeping water out etc.?

2. You mention cleaning to engine bay with HP rinse, Apc, Hp rinse and then dressel. I'm very paranoid about using HP rinse in any car let alone the Gti, any tips? I don't know what is what in there so don't really know what to cover/what to avoid, how much pressure/dry etc.

You could PM me if you like haha :P

**Sicoupe** · 02-01-2016, 01:34 PM

You nailed it like always my friend! looks outstanding my buddy!

**wrb_subie** · 02-01-2016, 01:51 PM

i wish I could take pics this nice on my details

**Aaryn NZ** · 02-02-2016, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by wrb_subie

i wish I could take pics this nice on my details

Hey Lawrence,

First off - I love the new logo on your avatar mate! Awesome!

As above, I agree totally! Your photos are ridiculous, I'd have them framed & hung on the wall in my shop if they were mine.

Great to see that vehicles come to you in the condition I get alot of my work, refreshing to see. Hahaha, love the footprints on the glovebox!

Although theres no major 50/50 shots of a huge transformation from severely swirled out paint to a faultless finish - the quality & attention to "detail" is easily visible. Fantastic write up again Lawrence, very enjoyable! Thank you for sharing!

Aaryn NZ.

**lawrenceSA** · 02-02-2016, 03:32 AM

Originally Posted by Mantilgh

I always enjoy your write ups and work. Great job!!!

Thank you very much

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Amazing as always. The car looks great!

Did you take the wheels off to get at those brake calipers? If not, what is your technique for getting them looking so good?

Thanks. Wheels were left on. They literally got the same treatment as the wheels themselves.... so in essence cleaned with Angelwax Billberry wheel cleaner followed by Carchem Revolt (iron remover) and sealed with Gyeon Wetcoat.

Brushes obviously make getting to them a lot easier and for the calipers themselves it was a combo of a Daytona Jnr, the small Wheel Woolie brush and Autofinesse Hogs Hair brush.

Originally Posted by emmjaygti

Gorgeous as always!!

I just sold mine and this post made me miss it a little.

I don't want to hijack the thread but If I may...I have a couple of questions.

1. Which rubbers exactly(you mentioned doors and exterior) were protected with Aerospace 303, I just picked up some and would like to try it out. Are you referring to the rubber window and windshield surrounds, inner door surrounds for keeping water out etc.?

2. You mention cleaning to engine bay with HP rinse, Apc, Hp rinse and then dressel. I'm very paranoid about using HP rinse in any car let alone the Gti, any tips? I don't know what is what in there so don't really know what to cover/what to avoid, how much pressure/dry etc.

You could PM me if you like haha :P

Thanks.

1. Basically it is the rubber that runs around the door shut area of the car itself, the rubbers on the door and around the windows (inside and out)....

2. For the engine bay, I typically will cover the alternator, computer box and coil packs on the Gti engine bays with a combo of plastic bags, saran wrap, mf towels and tape. Then its spray on the APC and agitate. Then I am using the HP washer from a few feet away so that it is really just a light mist of water landing on the engine bay, which then lifts up any of the foamy APC residue, allowing it to run off the bay. I then use a little air blower to blow out the bay. I guess there is ALWAYS going to be a risk, but I haven't had any issue to date, and I discuss the risk with all my customers prior to getting their approval to go ahead and detail the engine bay.

Originally Posted by Sicoupe

You nailed it like always my friend! looks outstanding my buddy!

Thanks Kyle

Originally Posted by wrb_subie

i wish I could take pics this nice on my details

Thank you very much.

Photography is something that you can teach yourself pretty quickly from the internet -its how I did it.... subscribe to places like Digital Photography School or Picture Correct for daily tips etc. There are countless articles etc to learn from.

I am using a very basic Cannon 1100D DSLR with the basic 18-55mm kit lens - really nothing fancy at all. To my mind (and I am no photography pro), the following are things that have really helped me improve my pics (detailing wise)

-Understanding the exposure triangle (ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed)
-Getting comfortable in full manual mode
-Understanding composition [what is where in the pic] (rule of thirds, filling the frame etc)
-Being able to manually focus on defects
-Being able to use a shallow DOF (depth of field) [this helps draw the eye to your subject by blurring out everything but the subject)

As with anything, it just takes practice to get better. First learn the art of photography before you worry about hardware upgrades. Its not the camera, but the person snapping the picture... Much like Mr Mike Phillips behind a PC 7424 will be able to make a car look better than someone who doesn't know HOW to polish paint who was using a Flex 3401