Audi A6 Avant - Do What You Can Detail

[n_d_fox]

Completed this at the beginning of October. My boss bought this car earlier in the year and at the time asked me to do something with it, we've tried to get a few days sorted for me to have a look at it a few times but as he was on holiday for an extended weekend i thought it would be as good a time as any to get my hands on it.

I'd given myself 2 days to basically do what i could with the car so this was from the start a "do what you can in the time given" sort of detail.

So, the car after getting it home


DSCF0895 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0896 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0897 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0898 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0899 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

From 6 feet off it doesnt look too bad... dirty but in reasonable condition... wrong !

The front end was littered with welded on bugs, bird bombs, stone chips and swirls / scratches. The rear passenger door has scratches and scuffs all over it and there were some lighter scratches and random white marks over a lot of the panels. Then the usual swirls from years of car washes and poor technique (not from the owner i must add).

First things first then, a strong APC and Starngloss Foam mix was used to cover the car, this was left to dwell while i cleaned the wheels using Megs Wheel Brightener, SN shampoo and a mixture of brushes and a mitt


DSCF0900 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0901 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

The wheels were pretty shocking to be honest requiring 2 applications of wheel brightener and 2-3 hits with the brushes etc. They came up pretty well to be fair but to be as good as i would have liked them they would have had to come off the car and I just didnt have the time to spare unfortunately.

With the car then rinsed off and clayed with SN and Megs clay using Megs L/T as lube then rinsed and dried I was left with the following.


DSCF0902 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0903 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0904 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

A quick scout round to check out the defects

That rear door

DSCF0905 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Rear quarter - swirly !

DSCF0906 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Bonnet - more swirls

DSCF0907 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

After taping off a section of the bonnet i decided to try a few pads and polishes... i was always going to use the Megs compounds i recently got but tried a polishing pad first and after 2 passes with the rotary wasnt happy with the level of cut and the time it took so decided to go with Megs 105 on a lake country cutting pad. This felt a bit extreme (although i did consider wool for a second) but it cut through in good time and although left some holograming which was expected finished down pretty well and got rid of all but the most stubborn marks


DSCF0909 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

I didnt have time for any other before / during shots as i wanted to get all of the heavy polishing and as much of the refining done on day 1 as possible but here are some after shots.

Note: These are after Megs 105 on the cutting pad and before refining.

Bonnet

DSCF0910 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0911 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Passenger side

DSCF0912 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0914 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0915 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Drivers side

DSCF0925 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0926 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0927 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

With all the heavy polishing done I decided to refine using Megs 205 on a Megs polishing pad but with the G220 instead of the rotary. As a test i worked with this on the bonnet and was pleased with the results. The holograming was removed and the finish left glossy with nice levels of reflection and flake.

As i completed each panel I put down a layer of CG's Extreme Top Coat sealant and left that to cure while i refined the next panel or 2. Once the sealant had cured i buffed it off to leave the following

Bonnet

DSCF0928 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Drivers front corner

DSCF0929 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0930 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Oldest daughter took this of our youngest... caught me grafting in the background :lol:

DSCF0931 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Then this one of herself in the passenger front door

DSCF0935 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

With the light fading but not all of the refining completed and not all panels sealed i decided enough was enough for day 1 and packed away.

The next morning i looked out the bathroom window to see this 50/50 of the roof which was half refined and sealed (left side).

DSCF0946 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

After giving the car a rinse down and dry i cracked on with the refining and sealing. There wasnt a huge amount left but once it was all done and buffed I had the following to show for my efforts

Roof

DSCF0947 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0948 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Passenger rear quarter

DSCF0949 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Gave the car a rinse to get rid of the polish dust and to make sure everything was clean ready for waxing. Took a couple of beading pics (this is just the sealant btw).


DSCF0951 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0952 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Dried off and waxed with DoDo SN, left to cure and then buffed. Trimmed the tyres with Zaino Z-16, arches and engine bay with CG's Bare Bones and glass cleaned with Rain-X cleaner / sealant.


DSCF0956 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0957 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0958 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0959 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0960 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0961 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0962 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0964 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0965 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0966 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0967 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

I wanted to give the car a final wipe down once the wax had settled for a hour or so. the interior was looking a bit sorry for itself so i decided to give it a wipe over and vac.

Befores

DSCF0968 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0969 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0970 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0971 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0972 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Boot cover was stained and pretty dirty

DSCF0973 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

After a vac out and a wipe down with Megs APC (10:1) plus some CG's Fabric Clean with a brush here and there I had the following


DSCF0975 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0976 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

All done then... well not quite. As i said i wanted to give the car a wipe down before taking it back. I decided to go with Zaino Z-6 as I love the glossy finish this gives over something like Megs L/T.


DSCF0983 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0978 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0979 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0980 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0981 by n_d_fox, on Flickr


DSCF0982 by n_d_fox, on Flickr

Overall then very happy with the results. My boss is on holiday until Tuesday so hasnt seen the car yet. Hopefully he'll be pleased with the results. This was a big car to work on, bigger than anything i have done before but because i gave myself that extra time on day 2 it meant i didnt have to break myself trying to get everything done in 1 day. This left me to enjoy the detail and although i didnt exactly take my time i did relax more which meant i felt better afterwards :thumb:

Thanks for looking, Nige

[s3dubbin]

Looks really good. He will be gobsmacked i bet!! Stevie.

[stealthwolf]

Love the reflection! Great turnaround!

[n_d_fox]

Thanks for the comments guys.   

I must admit, the paint, although really tired and pretty swirled when i started, corrected really well and then refined perfectly.

I got lucky with the conditions on day 2 so the reflection shots and nice and sharp

[monte]

Good Job 

I hope you parked it in a garage until your boss came back 

All that hard work then left in the UK's brown rain and targeted by pidgins for a few days would have been a right bummer 

[benjii]

Looks nice

[n_d_fox]

Good Job 

I hope you parked it in a garage until your boss came back 

All that hard work then left in the UK's brown rain and targeted by pidgins for a few days would have been a right bummer 

As it happens it was left on a hotel car park for a day or so until he returned... he was still very happy with the results though