Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

This forum is designated for Detailing discussion...
Forum rules
Please take a look at the rules for posting in the Technical section as all posts will be moderated accordingly...

Technical Section Rules
Post Reply
lawrence
Lord of the Sponge
Posts: 10704
Registered for: 13 years 7 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Sea Blue Polo Vivo
Membership No: 1676
Location: Durban

Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by lawrence »

The brief for this detail was simply to get the paint sorted out. No engine bay, no interior, and even the owner was even happy to simply have a basic wash on the wheels - but I landed up giving them a proper decon and seal... well...because they needed it.

Before

Image

During - the process was to pressure rinse the fender liners, tyres, wheels and calipers. Then spray the whole area down with Carchem APC @1:5 through a Gloria Foammaster, let it dwell, agitate with a variety of brushes and mitts, then pressure rinse. I then hit the wheels with some TAC Systems Iron Zero, let it dwell, agitated and pressure rinsed thoroughly. Auto-DNA Wheel Cream was then applied for protection and the tyres dressed with Carchem PERL neat. The fender liners were dressed with Carchem Vinyl and Rubber Dressing.

Image

After wash and decon.

Image

The car was obviously dirty and before washing with Carchem Luxury Shampoo the car had Valet Pro Advanced Neutral Snowfoam applied, left to dwell then pressure rinsed off.

Image

In the weak morning sun you can already start to see the swirls.

Image

Image

The car was decontaminated using TAC Systems Iron Zero, Capro Tar-x and Shield Heavy Duty Clay.

Now the naked paint revealed the true horror.

Image

The vulnerable sections were taped up prior to the initial cut, which was intended to remove the vast majority of the damage. I eventually settle on Menzerna SHC 300 on Orange Lake Country Hybrids. The paint was considerably softer than all the other Audi's I have detailed and so the foam had the advantage of 'soaking up' more of the residue and leaving behind less hazing to clean up, which was done with Menzerna SF4000 on Black Lake Country pads.

Image

After cutting.

Image

After polishing.

Image

This bird dropping had etched really deep into the paint and sadly is very much still visible. I could probably have wet-sanded it out but that's not really in the best interest of a daily driver.

Image

Image

Luckily this one wasn't etched as deep

Image

Image

Here there was a deep scratch on rear fender.

Image

Again the exposed edges are taped up to avoid striking through.

Image

Completed

Image

Here is a 50/50 of one door corrected and the other not.

Image

Often overlooked areas were cleaned.

Before

Image

After

Image

The exhaust tips before even being washed. They were in a really sad state.

Image

After wash they looked better but now showed the true extent of the corrosion.

Image

After a quick polish with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish.

Image

All of the badges/emblems were cleaned.

Image

After

Image

Here are a few after shots.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Total time spent 26 hours.

As always, thanks for looking and any comments or questions are welcome.

:hi:
User avatar
Kyle
General
Posts: 9429
Registered for: 11 years
Car Make: Porsche
Car Model: Adidas TYP 64
Membership No: 1922
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Kyle »

Wow, that paint was trashed! Did they wash it with a dry cloth?

Excellent save bud, I'm sure you added 20K to the value right there.
Image
Current:
'03 BMW E46 330i Individual

Ex:
'06 Impreza 2.0R Wagon
'03 S3 8L
'11 A3 1.6TDi
'70 VW Beetle 1600 Twin Port
'00 A4 2.4 V6,
'09 Ibiza Cupra 1.8T,
2013 Vivo Gran Turismo,
E36 M3 Coupe,
E46 320i Individual MSport,
'98 Civic V Tec,
E36 318is Msport,
E30 318i Coupe,
GOLF MK1 GT


Why make things easy for yourself when you can make them incredibly difficult and complicated.
Ashveer03
Lieutenant
Posts: 1621
Registered for: 7 years 1 month
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Polo 9n 1.9 TDI Sportline
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Ashveer03 »

Got to see this live This car had some nasty scratches though! Awesome stuff Lawrence

Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk
When a car tailgates me, i slow down - then floor it and give them a cloud of diesel smoke to choke on :driving:
lawrence
Lord of the Sponge
Posts: 10704
Registered for: 13 years 7 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Sea Blue Polo Vivo
Membership No: 1676
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by lawrence »

Kyle wrote:Wow, that paint was trashed! Did they wash it with a dry cloth?

Excellent save bud, I'm sure you added 20K to the value right there.
Thanks Kyle. Yeah the paint was pretty hammered. Its way softer than the typical Audi paint, which obviously does nothing to help keep it looking good as it scratches soooo easily. But yeah it certainly does look like it was scrubbed aggressively with a green kitchen sponge or similar.
Ashveer03 wrote:Got to see this live Image This car had some nasty scratches though! Awesome stuff Lawrence

Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk
Thanks bud :hi:
visn
Enlisted
Posts: 1
Registered for: 6 years 5 months

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by visn »

lawrence wrote:
Kyle wrote:Wow, that paint was trashed! Did they wash it with a dry cloth?

Excellent save bud, I'm sure you added 20K to the value right there.
Thanks Kyle. Yeah the paint was pretty hammered. Its way softer than the typical Audi paint, which obviously does nothing to help keep it looking good as it scratches soooo easily. But yeah it certainly does look like it was scrubbed aggressively with a green kitchen sponge or similar.
Ashveer03 wrote:Got to see this live Image This car had some nasty scratches though! Awesome stuff Lawrence

Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk
Thanks bud :hi:
Superlatives are far too often loosely used these days and lose their impact. Lawrence is genuinely deserving of a number of superlatives though.
His work is easily among the best in the detailing fraternity.
He shows the greatest passion for detailing and imparting knowledge.
He is most pragmatic in his approach to all things detailing.
I could go on but I think most people will get the gist of what I'm saying.

A living legend.

Thank you for the work done on the poorly maintained, 12 year old vehicle. To say it exceeded all expectations would be an understatement.

The horrendous scratches you see are courtesy of Auto Pearl car wash on North Coast Rd, Durban. They have a special where they will scratch the hell out of your paintwork for a paltry R150, it was too good to pass up.
lawrence
Lord of the Sponge
Posts: 10704
Registered for: 13 years 7 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Sea Blue Polo Vivo
Membership No: 1676
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by lawrence »

visn wrote:
lawrence wrote:
Kyle wrote:Wow, that paint was trashed! Did they wash it with a dry cloth?

Excellent save bud, I'm sure you added 20K to the value right there.
Thanks Kyle. Yeah the paint was pretty hammered. Its way softer than the typical Audi paint, which obviously does nothing to help keep it looking good as it scratches soooo easily. But yeah it certainly does look like it was scrubbed aggressively with a green kitchen sponge or similar.
Ashveer03 wrote:Got to see this live Image This car had some nasty scratches though! Awesome stuff Lawrence

Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk
Thanks bud :hi:
Superlatives are far too often loosely used these days and lose their impact. Lawrence is genuinely deserving of a number of superlatives though.
His work is easily among the best in the detailing fraternity.
He shows the greatest passion for detailing and imparting knowledge.
He is most pragmatic in his approach to all things detailing.
I could go on but I think most people will get the gist of what I'm saying.

A living legend.

Thank you for the work done on the poorly maintained, 12 year old vehicle. To say it exceeded all expectations would be an understatement.

The horrendous scratches you see are courtesy of Auto Pearl car wash on North Coast Rd, Durban. They have a special where they will scratch the hell out of your paintwork for a paltry R150, it was too good to pass up.
Thank you very much for your kind words Vis - they are truly appreciated :oops: :hug:
ByronJ
Wheel Whore
Posts: 38
Registered for: 8 years 4 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Polo 6C Comfortline
Membership No: 3044
Location: Midrand

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by ByronJ »

Once again, Lawrence to the rescue.

Epic work :hurray:
User avatar
Unobeat
Lieutenant-General
Posts: 8378
Registered for: 12 years 11 months
Car Make: Fiat, Toyota, Mazda
Car Model: Uno, Auris, CX-5
Location: Pretoria

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Unobeat »

What a restoration, oustanding Lawrence.
Epic man.
THANAS wrote:Mix them together to create Shellstrol, and then mix that with Winstrol to create the ultimate, maximum performance oil for your engine.
panic-mechanic wrote:When I build engines and do stuff like this I do it when there is nobody else around, No distractions, No phone nothing so that you don't forget what you should be doing. It's the little things that make them run right. Anybody can slap a basic bottom end together. that is the easy bit. It's all the little things that makes these builds a success or not.
User avatar
Belix
Lieutenant-Colonel
Posts: 4280
Registered for: 13 years 11 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Passat B8
Membership No: missing
Location: Randburg

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Belix »

eek, looks like it was cleaned with a scourer...
Still, makes for a nice contrast to the finished car. Nice to see car getting some loving. Top work Lawrence.
lawrence
Lord of the Sponge
Posts: 10704
Registered for: 13 years 7 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Sea Blue Polo Vivo
Membership No: 1676
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by lawrence »

ByronJ wrote:Once again, Lawrence to the rescue.

Epic work :hurray:
Thanks Byron :hug:
Unobeat wrote:What a restoration, oustanding Lawrence.
Epic man.
Thanks bud.
Belix wrote:eek, looks like it was cleaned with a scourer...
Still, makes for a nice contrast to the finished car. Nice to see car getting some loving. Top work Lawrence.
thanks Marco. Yeah it was pretty bad.... all thanks to the local car wash. Its really only when you see some before and after pictures like this that you appreciate how much damage poor washing and drying can do.
Showtime Detailing
Enlisted
Posts: 5
Registered for: 6 years 4 months
Car Make: Vw Polo
Car Model: GTI
Contact:

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Showtime Detailing »

Wow Lawrence, you continue to raise the bar in the detailing world.
That's the art of detailing!
Thank you for the inspiration bud!
Shane O
Showtime Detailing
Tel: 0795270899
Email: info@showtimedetailing.co.za
Web: http://www.showtimedetailing.co.za
Rsi huntered
Captain
Posts: 2866
Registered for: 15 years 6 months
Membership No: missing
Location: Gangsta's Paradi$e - GP

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by Rsi huntered »

:fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: no other words for that paint :lol: :lol: :puke:

What an outcome though 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
Golf 6 Ed. 35 - 2013 (FR&R Tuned)
Tiguan 2018 R-Line :evil:
Polo 6C Ex
2004 Golf 1 Baby 1.4i +VAT :evil: 76.3 WHP@K.A.R
Polo 2008(9n3)Ex:-(
Golf 1(2 door)branch,exhaust,domingo's,leather seats,electric windows, 2.0L 16v ( sold ) :cry: Ex.
Golf 2 2L 16v full house(RIP) :bang: Ex
Jetta 2 1.8 16v full house(sold) Ex
lawrence
Lord of the Sponge
Posts: 10704
Registered for: 13 years 7 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: Sea Blue Polo Vivo
Membership No: 1676
Location: Durban

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by lawrence »

Showtime Detailing wrote:Wow Lawrence, you continue to raise the bar in the detailing world.
That's the art of detailing!
Thank you for the inspiration bud!
Thanks very much for your kind words bud!
Rsi huntered wrote::fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: :fear: no other words for that paint :lol: :lol: :puke:

What an outcome though 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
Thanks
User avatar
cli 16v
Lieutenant
Posts: 1921
Registered for: 16 years 5 months
Car Make: Mazda
Car Model: CX5
Membership No: missing
Location: West Rand

Re: Moro Blue Audi A3 - Detailed by Lawrence

Post by cli 16v »

Another epic rescue, thats another reason why I wash and maintain my cars paintwork myself.
Ex:
13' Audi A4 B8.5 1.8T SE - OEM+
'15 MKVII GTi
'07 MKV GTi OEM+
'89 MKII Golf CSL OEM
'97 MKIII GTi Exec
'92 MKII Jetta CLi 2.0 16v Exec
Post Reply