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Author Topic: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI  (Read 2115 times)

Offline Frenzy

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Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« on: September 03, 2011, 11:07:32 pm »


Finally I found the time to give my Silver GTI a proper detail, rather than just a wash and a quick detailer, which was a good, low time-consuming way of getting a decent finish and some protection to the car but no substitute for the full monty  :party: I should make it clear here that given that this was my first ever detail of a car and all done by hand the result i was aiming to achieve was not a proper correction of the paint - i have no tools with which to measure this by nor the skill it requires - but rather to create a showroom look i can be proud of and a knowledge that my paintwork is being properly looked after  :smiley:

Day 1
So it began on Bank Holiday Monday where i spent about 3 hours, during which time i rinsed the wheels, washed them with Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner and then sealed them with Poorboys Wheel Sealant. I then moved onto the exterior plastic trim - side skirts, rear valance & front splitter as well as the plastic bits next to the wing mirrors and on the undersides of the wing mirrors themselves using Poorboys Natural Look Dressing. I had to call it a do by early afternoon as we were going out later for the day.

Day 2
So i resumed on Tuesday, early in the morning, around 8.00am, knowing this was to be the big day. I also thought i would complete everything before the day was out - little did i know...  :fighting2:

I began with putting a second coat of Wheel Sealant on my alloys after giving them a quick prep with Megs Final Inspection. I then rinsed the car and washed it with Meguiars #62 Car Shampoo using the 2 bucket method and 2 wash mitts - one wash mitt for the upper parts of the car and the other mitt for the lower bits. Once washed the car was rinsed and towel dried using a premium plush towel (amazing thing) and was ready for claying.

Claying wasn't as difficult as i had expected. I used Megs Final Inspection as my lube and made sure to use enough - to begin with i was probably guilty of using too much as i was wary of marring the paint but once i gained confidence i soon found the right balance. Funnily enough it was at this point of confidence that i decided to fling my first piece of clay into the tarmac  :sad1: I managed to clay the rest of the vehicle with the 2nd piece with no further mis-haps, all the time folding the clay in on itself to ensure i was most of the time presenting a clean side.

Next up it was the AS Tardis, next time i'll Tardis, then clay. Tardis was effective at removing fresh tar spots but there were some really stubborn spots, probably years old which refused to budge even when leaving the tardis to agitate for a minute or two and really working it with a microfibre. Ho hum. So next came another rinse down and a repeat of the 2 bucket wash and another towel drying.

By this time the day was getting beyond me, it was about 16.00 and i still had to tape up the car, polish, gloss and wax... Yes my ambition was clearly exceeding my talent  :stupid:

It took me an hour and a bit to tape the car up. First time i'd ever done it and lets say you live and learn. I needn't have done such a thorough job  :grin:. Unfortunately by the time i'd done this and then spoken to the wife and given my son some attention - i was being a bad daddy  :ashamed: it was getting on for 19.00.  I was in two minds whether to start the polishing. I felt robbed that the day had elapsed and i'd barely got anything done but i didn't want to leave the tape on the car overnight...  :scared:

So like a pillock i started to polish it. I used Auto Glym Super Resin Polish, which i couldn't stand the smell of but my concern was the fading daylight. Somehow i managed to put it on the whole of the car in near darkness and by the time i was buffing it off i was doing so with the aid of my bicycle light because night had fallen :scared: :stupid: Amazingly as i was to find out the next morning i had practically buffed it all off, leaving just the odd miniscule amount here and there which you tend to do even in full daylight  :pomppomp: It was time to call it a do - time for my son's bathtime and i'd yet to eat dinner as it approched 21.00. My final schoolboy error for the day was to remove the car tape as i actually needed to keep it on for the Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection i was going to be using in the morning  :confused:

Day 3
Day 2 had wrecked me. 12 hours cleaning the car and my back was aching in areas i didn't even know i had muscles there to ache! But i was driven on by the desire to complete a full detail and the knowledge that i should at least protect the polish i had done.

However with no garage and just on-street parking i decided that the car wouldn't be in a fit enough state to start the EGP straight away so my first job was to give the car a full clean with Megs Final Inspection. I also thought the car would benefit from another polish - this of course after having re-taped the car up  :fighting: So finally i got to the gloss stage by 15.00 - Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection goes on very easily, its a lot more watery than the polish but you have to be careful not to over apply the product and to make sure that the application is evenly done. It was then time to grab some lunch and spend some time with my wife and son as the EGP cured to a haze for 30 mins or so before buffing it off. The wife then told me that was enough for the day, i agreed, knowing i could do the waxing the following day, having already got this far spacing it out over 3 days... Anyhow if you've managed to read this far you deserve some eye candy but please do read on for Day4's shenanigans and pics of the final results  :popcornsoda:


















Day 4
Yes! Today was the day i'd been looking forward to. I finally get to wax! Now waxing is the fun bit but i knew from reading the threads on here and taking advice off the lads that if you don't put the effort into the early stages of the process, then you won't get the results from the waxing, it was this knowledge that spurred me on to polish the car twice despite detesting the smell of the AG SRP  :fighting:

So after giving the car another Megs Final Inspection top to toe clean, i then waxed on and buffed off (but not like Daniel-san because circular motions are not the done thing!) using Dodo Juice Light Fantastic and after just a couple of hours i was finally finished  :party:

I think the whole process had taken me about 19 hours, all done by hand. I have admiration and respect for those who detail a car in 8 hours! I learned a lot along the way and i dare say when i do the whole detailing thing again next March it will only take me about 15 hours. With time and practise maybe one day i'll get it down to 12...

And voila, here are the final shots - you'll see that the wax has enhanced the results from the SRP & EGP on day 3 but also brought out the flecks in the metallic paintwork to give it some sparkle. I'm really happy with the resulting combination of sparkle and gloss  :party:  - Thanks for reading  :drinking:





























 :driver:

Offline Boothy

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2011, 11:45:28 pm »
That's one epic detailing session mate! Was,it worth it? Results look pretty good,from where I'm sat.

Offline Frenzy

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2011, 11:50:19 pm »
Cheers Boothy and yep it was, really pleased with the results - great depth to the reflections, a gloss that makes the car almost look off white from certain angles out of direct sunlight but then when the sun is shining - sparkles!  :jumpmove:

The neighbours all think i'm hyper-loco but at least i provided them with a talking point for the past 4 days  :laugh:

Offline JPC

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2011, 12:43:22 am »
looking good mate! glad your happy with it! its satisfying isn't it, putting the effort in and reaping the rewards of a stunning looking car!

nice and glossy ftw!

Offline Jungle_Faced_Jake

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2011, 07:18:10 pm »
Well done, as they say you only get out what you put in. The flakes look like they really pop. I want to do a detail on my Reflex Silver soon, maybe next week sometime. Don't think I have the patience to do what you've just done though. Was thinking of a wash followed by SRP and EGP, then alloy sealant and tyre dressing. Would that be enough to get the showroom look?

Looks like you're a fellow North London lad?

Offline Tfsi_Mike

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #5 on: September 04, 2011, 07:19:05 pm »

Pristine, great work mate!

Offline JoeDarKa

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #6 on: September 04, 2011, 07:36:06 pm »
How are you meant to wax if not in circles? Noob question i know! I want some type of glaze for mine and saw this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-white-diamond/prod_551.html  Is this the same as extra gloss protection? Could i use both?

Looks nice and shiny, especially by hand!


GT Sport - Reflex Silver 2.0 TDI My Build

Offline Andy_GTI

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #7 on: September 04, 2011, 09:13:09 pm »
Fantastic work mate, fair play for putting all that time and effort into it!  :happy2:

Offline Tfsi_Mike

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2011, 09:14:19 pm »
How are you meant to wax if not in circles? Noob question i know! I want some type of glaze for mine and saw this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-white-diamond/prod_551.html  Is this the same as extra gloss protection? Could i use both?

Looks nice and shiny, especially by hand!

Fixed that for you  :happy2:

Offline Frenzy

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #9 on: September 04, 2011, 11:05:07 pm »
Well done, as they say you only get out what you put in. The flakes look like they really pop. I want to do a detail on my Reflex Silver soon, maybe next week sometime. Don't think I have the patience to do what you've just done though. Was thinking of a wash followed by SRP and EGP, then alloy sealant and tyre dressing. Would that be enough to get the showroom look?

Looks like you're a fellow North London lad?

Cheers Jake, not North London, West London  :happy2:

I'd say if you did a proper wash of your car, followed by SRP & EGP you'll get a good look (remember to apply products evenly and don't go too thick, best to build up layers by repeating the process) - it will be a glossy look rather than a metallic one - if you look at the first series of pictures from Day 3 this is what i achieved from a wash, clay, wash, polish, quick detailer, polish & gloss - all that is doable in one day but you'll need to start early if you've never done it before.

If you want the metallic look to go with the gloss then you'll need another product to bring out the flakes - i used Dodo Juice Light Fantastic. There are probably other waxes, sealants and glazes that you can use which will also enhance the metallic effect but someone else will need to advise you of these  :smiley:

Offline Frenzy

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #10 on: September 04, 2011, 11:07:19 pm »
Fantastic work mate, fair play for putting all that time and effort into it!  :happy2:

Luckily i have a very understanding wife!  :signLOL:

Offline Frenzy

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2011, 11:14:24 pm »
Quote
How are you meant to wax if not in circles? Noob question i know! I want some type of glaze for mine and saw this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-white-diamond/prod_551.html  Is this the same as extra gloss protection? Could i use both?

Looks nice and shiny, especially by hand!

Cheers Joe. Just wax on and buff off in straight lines mate! Loads of vids on youtube showing how to correctly do it :happy2: (a few showing how not to do it too  :stupid:)  Also read the guide by Jules182 stickied at the top of this section of the forum  :party:

As for the product you are enquiring about, that's probably best answered by someone like Stealth, JPC or Keith as they are very knowledgeable about their products  :pomppomp:
« Last Edit: September 04, 2011, 11:19:37 pm by Frenzy »

Offline Stevenebm

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Re: Frenzy's 4 Day Epic - Silver GTI
« Reply #12 on: September 05, 2011, 07:27:36 pm »
 Great job there.could eat your dinner off it.