New becomes better-than-new: an AutoLavish documentary of a GTI

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Perfection. The best value in the small car market today, the GTi has world class build quality and materials, engine and drivetrain, performance, and appearance. The 4-door version of the GTi add even more value, with a clean non-4-door style and additional utility. This particular GTi was loaded: Leather, Nav, with a Manual 6-Speed. The owner contacted us awhile back, and we advised to wait until all the mods were done so we could "fix" any issues that happened along the way. After suspension work, window tint, and a few interior enhancements the owner dropped it off at our place. The goal: perfect paint and to not have to use a towel to dry the car. Our initial thoughts: Meg's MF followed by C-Quartz and Reload. The vehicle had under 4,500 miles. It had been washed a handful of times, including at the dealer at least twice.

Exhaust tip:

Swirly Wheels

Jacob began on the jambs first with cleaner followed by steam and a wipe to dry, then sealed.

As shiny as his head!

Engine bay started with the underside of the hood:

Got to get behind the seals and gaskets as well as these are the areas that accumulate hard core grime:

Engine was doused in degreaser, brushed and wiped, rinsed and dried. No dressings.

Notice the R8 oil cap

Plate comes off of course:

The best license plate mounting ever: Volvo piece fits Audi/VW with rubber feet the only thing touching paint. I wish my car had something similar!

And we are ready for wash. We get many inquiries asking how much shampoo to use in the foam gun. Here is our "secret ratio for maximum foam" for using a strong shampoo like Chemical Guys Citrus Wash. This is not the shampoo to use for maintenance washing, but works good for pre-polishing.

There were minimal suds left from using Optimum Car Wash on a previous car:

Here we add the soap first to make the quantity easier to see. It is best to add HOT water first, then add soap – this process helps reduce foam blowing out of the bottle as you fill it.

Enough soap:

Now added water to top it off:

Ready to rock:

... and rocking!

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Each foaming consumes about half our bottle. So each bottle is enough for washing once (as we foam, rinse, foam again and then wash).

Rinse:

Clay:

The lube is just a diluted soap solution:

“Hey wait! What about washing the wheels?” We usually do the wheels prior to the paint. But today was special.

Tim working his mechanical powers on the lugs:

Removal was completed by hand as to not scratch the barrels of the lugs. Notice the super cool sockets, lined inside and out to help keep the wheel's lug holes scratch and nick free. If you search for our wheels-off articles you will see a cool trick to do to your own sockets to make them less scratch-ing for the cheap. These sockets are from Griots, and are an insane value for just $75 IMO.

We will get into more on the wheels in a bit. Next up: Polish prep.

De-badging begins:

Flossing well between the molars:

Pop! goes the last one:

With the car up in the air and taped off adequately, we were ready for polishing.

Mirror, mirror on the hood...

There were significant paint defects for its age, and they were DEEP! Some were light, like this marring:

Others were medium like these swirls:

And others were deep like these Random Isolated Deep Scratches. You’ll notice multiple scratches perfectly parallel to one another as a result from either a water blade / jelly blade, or the brushes of an automatic car wash:

Some more nastiness:

Paint was typical: very thin down low and building up as the robots worked their way up the panels. If you are working on soft and thin paint trying to correct deep defects, you better know your paint's health. Who do you trust your car to?


Three measurements on the same panel at the same longitude show paint growth caused by global warming! …or something like that

For polishing we decided, after trying a few combos, to use the good cutting power of the Meguiar's Microfiber pads but with M105 for additional cut. The defects in this paint were deep. The worst ones were long and straight, as if caused by a water blade or automatic car wash brushes. Others were somewhat more curved, either from drying or a dirty wash mitt. Dealers will never be able to wash correctly when they pay bottom dollar and put rookie guys in charge of tasks like touching your expensive car. The dealer/washer who put these marks into this paint was negligent in doing so, and should be held responsible for the damage. There is no way a car this new should be this thrashed.

Here I'm working the area around the door handles with the PC and the 6" mf cut pad:

This is one of those that will never come out and is large enough to be seen easily

We got a taste of what Bob Willis of Auto Concierge enjoys by having the car slightly raised; it makes for a less stressed and cramped back. Unlike us, Bob has a top of the line Snap-On scissors lift in his shop. We envy his set-up like you cannot imagine!

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Paint and fans of paint:

Now we go back to the wheels. Since they were going to be removed for cleaning we left them dirty during the initial wash. We removed them, and laid them down on carpet to avoid scratching them while we hit them up with cleaners. Sticky Gel 3:1 worked well enough. The hard stuff would require much more than the gentle wheel cleaner could offer.

An early Michigan Spring day meant it was quite cold still:

Looking good so far:

Next was to flip them and wash the faces:

Looking good after a wash, eh?

Lets look closer:

Some of these scratches were mind-boggling:

Improper tire mounting messes up the inner lip edge of the wheels. “Who cares, it is on the inside where nobody will ever see, right?” goes the thinking, but much like the type of people that bring us their cars; we certainly do care and would like to have seen such avoidable damage never occur.

The “Sledgehammer”:

Just a spray and a nail is all that is needed to remove most adhesive residue and tar:

But don't go crazy with it! Some areas will need a more careful application:

On the fronts, just a few improper washes with brushes caused severe swirls:

Jacob grabbed the M105 and an applicator and worked it by hand:

This proved to not be enough. He next brought out the small backing plate and a flexible pad for the PC:

Ahh yes, working nicely:

Holding on tight!

Faces as well, and much easier:

Left side done, right side not done:

How about those barrels?

Just large enough to fit the PC:

Afterwards, Jacob brought them into his living room for the night:

Wheels would be coated with C5 Wheel Armor and CQuartz. Getechniq C5 on the faces as they will need all the armor they can get, and CQuartz on the barrels which will benefit more from the increased water sheeting capabilities.

Faces done:

After a few hours of cure he flipped them over to do the barrels:

The barrels absorbed this stuff really fast!

More evened out:

Now done:

After a few more hours of cure, he added the Reload:

Much better than the swirled mess they once were. How about some sun shots!

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

We decided to try out Car Pro's PERL dressing neat on the tires. Starting with the inside walls, then the outside walls.

Let to dry:

OK, so done with the wheels and tires. That took a few hours per wheel. BUT WAIT! THERE IS MORE!

New spacers for a tighter stance:

Yes, even the spacers got coated with Gtechniq C1

Before:

During:

One undone, one hazing:

Done!

Before remounting the wheels we had to wash the wells. Here Tim sprays the fender liners with high pressure water:

And the brakes:

Nice and rusty!

Another step before mounting was to coat the hub with anti-seize. This helps keep the different metals from becoming their own special alloy under wear, heat, and deflection. The trick is, similar to greasing door hinges, to apply light and just enough. Most mechanics will just slobber this stuff all over in a “the more the better” mentality. Jacob applied this as thin as possible, and as even as possible with a finger.

Wheels back on and car back on the floor:

Rechecking torque after a few hours of static set:

Disregard the leafs please. Warm weather prompted to leave the garage door open for awhile, and wind thought it would be cool to flood the floor with old brittle and sticky leafs

One large chip square in the middle of the hood was an eye sore. After filling in with touch up paint, I worked my magic:

Next grit:

Removing sanding marks:

Here I continue on the correcting stage:

And Jacob starts refining:

B-Pillars need love too!

We polished up the center caps with Menzerna 106fa.

Not done…

Done:

After many hours of polishing, time for the final wash. Life is good.

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Check out the wheels water sheeting properties even under the pressure washer!

Next was to remove the crappy film the fogs had on them, to replace with better film and a better install. Key to a proper install is light removal. Since we had the wheels off getting to the fogs was easy.

OK, maybe not quite that easy...

Victorious:

Crappy film:

They had some defects, so Tim and Jacob hit them with the MF pads:

The key to not breaking off tabs is to have someone to hold the light. A vise or a table will not work, and will exert excessive force on tabs and features, not to mention it is difficult to keep stable enough to polish.

We slapped the 12% tinted film on there and reinstalled the fogs:

Windows need special care too! We like to polish the inside surface with Klasse AIO. We find it helps keep the windows clear of fingerprints and dust, and even makes them more quiet during rolling up or down. So far we have not had any issues with tinted film. We don't rub hard, though, and we only apply after a good cleaning with Meg's Glass Cleaner.

Lets start by working the edges, but not into the rubber. This rubber would be coated with CQuartz, and I did not want the Klasse interfering:

Leave to haze slightly. Leave on too long and it becomes hard to remove:

Per the owners request, C-Quartz would be applied to all exterior surfaces except the windshield, which would get Aquapel:

Applying:

Trim would get C4 Permanent Trim Restorer:

Wow!

I began inspected the CQuartz looking for areas in need of further working:

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Looks OK:

At this point the vehicle had been polished with Meguair’s 105 on the Meguiar’s microfiber cutting pad, Meguiar’s 205 on a white Lake Country pad, Menzerna 106FA on a black Lake Country pad, and 3M Ultrafina on a blue Lake Country pad, some wetsanding, chips filled and sanded flat, wheels polished with Meguiar’s 105 on an orange Griot’s pad then followed up with Meguiar’s 205 on a white 4 inch Lake Country pad, coated, paint coated, trim coated, interior cleaned with 1Z, windows polished inside, and windscreen coated with Aquapel:

Time for sun shots! Just a few cloud in the sky and a beautiful day!

My neighbor's yard is so much nicer than mine!

Pham rolling deep, makes his intro:

(his pics will follow)


The owner arrives to pick up the vehicle and was surprised to see what color the paint actually was once the clarity had been properly restored. A happy owner

GTI leaving, RS4 waiting in line for her own special treatment.

Steven Pham’s pics now:

Thank you very much for reading through!!!

-Marc, Tim, and Jacob from AutoLavish, and Steve from Steven Pham Photography


(Total time spent was between 14-17 hours)

 

[Overboost]

Looks fantastic. I really like that 12% tint on the fogs. I think that would work great on my GT fogs as well.

 

[COBRA90GT]

Pretty impressive, as always.


BTW - What was used to treat the paint surface underneath the removed "GTI" emblem ? The 3M adhesive cleaning agent or something else ?

 

[moneypit]

One word Sick

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Looks fantastic. I really like that 12% tint on the fogs. I think that would work great on my GT fogs as well.

Thanks - and do it! It'll look nice for sure.

Pretty impressive, as always.
BTW - What was used to treat the paint surface underneath the removed "GTI" emblem ? The 3M adhesive cleaning agent or something else ?

The badges are stuck onto the paint once cured with adhesive. Remove the badge, remove the adhesive residue, and you're left with just the paint once again. The 3M Adhesive Remover makes the job MUCH easier, and the area was later polished out with the rest of the paint.
Thanks for looking!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Looks great! Love the color. You guys ever have trouble washing engines??? I just cleaned up my Explorer. I didn't go crazy under the hood, just on "MIST" setting with the hose. I stayed clear from the alternator, but I guess some splashed in there and it was squeaking all weekend. Luckly I had one at work. I just slapped it on today and have no more squeak. That's why I never take a hose underneath a hood, but this motor had tons of dirt on it.

 

[Quick86]

Matt --- I've power washed my motors before. I usually keep mine running though while doing it and avoid over doing it with alternators and distributors. NEVER had an issue. But then again, thats my Civic... Some people say to NOT let them run, but like I said, I take it easy on it. The Mustangs/Trans Am/Lightning the motor was always off and I do it by hand with rags.. lol

 

[avbcon12]

Awesome job!

Where can I get the Gtechniq Trim restorer? I need it desperately for both of my Jeeps. Nothing else seems to last.

 

[Golden]

Looks awesome! The paint is stupid slick, I may have to try that Ceramic Quartz sometime as an LSP, but it sure is not cheap.

Marc, how exactly did you and Jacob get hooked up to detailing together?

Also, I like this photo:

I have taken the same picture before.

 

[Overboost]

How long does the Cquartz treatment typically last? I can't seem to find much information on it.

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

One word Sick

Thanks

Looks great! Love the color. You guys ever have trouble washing engines??? I just cleaned up my Explorer. I didn't go crazy under the hood, just on "MIST" setting with the hose. I stayed clear from the alternator, but I guess some splashed in there and it was squeaking all weekend. Luckly I had one at work. I just slapped it on today and have no more squeak. That's why I never take a hose underneath a hood, but this motor had tons of dirt on it.

Quick added a nice reply already, but so far we've been good to go. Of course working on a lot of modern cars helps as they seem to be better made as a whole. Certain cars have more to look out for than others, and some owners are worried no matter how much they trust you. I think it wasn't until the 3rd or 4th time we worked for DBK that we touched under the clam shell. Glad we did though; looked outstanding afterwards.

Awesome job!
Where can I get the Gtechniq Trim restorer? I need it desperately for both of my Jeeps. Nothing else seems to last.

Hhhmmm good question. We got a lot of these coatings before they really hit the market over here. Because of that, most were ordered directly from Europe. I can tell you my g/f's '07 Saab 9-3's trim still looks outstanding after 6-8 months of having the trim restorer applied. Send me a PM and I'll at least try to supply you more information.

Looks awesome! The paint is stupid slick, I may have to try that Ceramic Quartz sometime as an LSP, but it sure is not cheap.
Marc, how exactly did you and Jacob get hooked up to detailing together?
Also, I like this photo:
I have taken the same picture before.

Much appreciated as always. The coating isn't cheap, but it's not quite like buying a full tub of Zymol Royale or even Supernatural. If it performs half as good as it's supposed to over time, it should be well worth it. You might want to look into Opti-Coat 2.0 AKA Opti-Guard 2.0: it's an enthusiast version made for DIYers in which it comes in a smaller applicator and has more solvents in order to work a bit more slowly.

Jacob and I met a few years back at an S2000 meet. I just got back from Afghanistan and was out of the Army and he had just sold his '04 Berlina Black s2k but came to the meet anyways. Despite having two other New Formula Red S2000's there, he could tell mine didn't quite look the same. We talked a little bit about what wax we were both currently using (I had Lusso Oro on my s2k back then) and realized we both knew more than the other thought. A few months later in the Spring, we talked a bit more as we saw some of the detailing work the other had posted. With no one else trying to do this type of perfectionist-style work in the area, we figured we should get together and knock out a car together. First car we did was the Porsche 993 RS-CS race car on our website and we've been knocking out cars, doing research, learning about the latest and greatest, experimenting, etc ever since. We started very small and still are. While we're now looking for a couple more bodies that are willing and able to give us an additional hand from time to time, we're also planning future moves. We surely don't have all the supplies we want yet (a few high dollar items are currently in our sights), but we're trying to make sure to keep pushing forward. We're happy with the work we're putting out, but we want to offer the absolute best and highest level of service available anywhere: not just Michigan or the Mid-West.

Speaking of which.. I suppose it's about time I posted the full write-up that goes with this eh?

Nice reflection shot btw! I know you work hard to take great care of your ride. That shot came out perfect for us - I wanted to shot the perfection as evident from the sun and also the crazy amount of flake that was finally visible with the polished finish.

 

[Marc@AutoLavish]

How long does the Cquartz treatment typically last? I can't seem to find much information on it.

It's grouped with the "coatings" AKA made to be permanent. GTechniq C1, CarPro C-Quartz, and Optimum Opti-Coat AKA Opti-Guard (it seems they changed the official name now that it's actually been released).

 

[Golden]

Well that's cool. It's funny when you meet somebody that knows more than the avg person about detailing. Almost like a secret society :lol:. I still consider myself an avg. shade tree detailer, but I have done a few paint corrections. I wish there were detailing workshops in the area (kind of like Meguiar's Open Garage in CA). I'd really like to attempt wet sanding.
I definitely do work hard to keep my car looking it's best, but I have some paint correction to do on it. A woman hit me head on in a parking structure, so the car had to make a visit to a body shop. A good friend of mine did all of the body and paint work, but their porter put some mad swirls into the paint in certain areas.

 

[DarrinB]

I usually don't let anyone detail my car but myself, but I would make an exception for you guys!

Great Work!

 

[Stang04GT]

Amazing work as usual! Might have to get some of that 12% film for my mustang's fog lights.