Some dealer work I carried out earlier this week.
Nice to see some of the bigger groups coming to terms with detailing and splashing out a bit
Audi RS4 – Misano Red b7 saloon
5 months back, I was asked to prep an Aston Martin DB7 Volante by the Marshall Motor Group. (used car centre)
Having never really seen or had first hand experience with a ‘true’ machine polish or detail before, they were a little dubious about spending the money. After two days of my time however, they went on to sell the Aston for a few £k more than originally planned. Quids in!
The car in question this time, the RS4, although low mileage, had seen better days. Lots of poorly finished repainted panels and those that were still original were riddled with seriously deep marks and scratches (almost ‘yard brush’ deep – can’t work out how else they would have been induced; even a car wash I don’t think would be ‘that’ bad?!)
Product
• 3M Glass Cleaner
• 3M Ultra Fina
• 3M Fast Cut +
• AMDetails mild clay bar
• AutoSmart Tardis
• AutoSmart Hazsafe
• AutoSmart Reglaze
• AutoSmart G101
• AutoGlym Vinyl & Rubber Care
• Belgom ALU
• Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection
• Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II
• Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild
• Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)
• Jeffs Werkstat Prime
• Meguiars All Season Dressing
• Meguiars Super Degreaser
• Meguiars Endurance Tyre Gel
• Menzerna 203 Power Finish
• Menzerna 85RD 3.02 Intensive Polish
• Menzerna S500 Fast Gloss
I didn’t take any pics throughout the wash stages – to be fair, the car was ‘clean’.
Wheels, arches, sills and shuts followed by the usual ‘two-bucket’ safe wash after the pre-rinse, pre-foam etc. Quite a few tar spots were removed throughout and then other surface contaminants (bug remains, sap, iron fillings etc) were removed with a clay bar.
Pulled inside, and it looks like this:
Swirling & buffertrails from previous ‘mopping’ sessions:
Overspray on O/S/F door:
The bonnet was shocking. Again, quite what induced these marks in the first place I do not know…
Most of the car had seen fresh paint but the N/S/R wing stood out like a sore thumb. I first saw the car in the showroom, under the spot lights... A dull white ‘haze’ covered the rear quarter – it really did shout out “LOOK AT ME!”
Moving down the N/S:
So yeah, nice car, poor condition!
Starting with the bonnet (original paint)
It was clear this wasn’t going to be easy. Minimum of 3 hits per section required to give desired results…
Here you can see two random deep scratches awaiting further correction:
Before/After:
Natural light 50/50:
And another with the 500w halogen:
With the side repeaters removed to allow tighter correction, the O/S/F wing was corrected, polished and refined:
Before/After on O/S/F door:
Rear quarter befores:
After:
50/50 on boot-lid:
Before/After (awaiting refinement)
Cut, polished, refined.
While I was back there, the rear light clusters were brought back to life with Menz 203s and a Lake Country spot pad.
O/S finished – see if you can still spot the 50/50 on the bonnet…
No after photos I’m afraid, but look at the state of the N/S/F wing! Ouch.
Turns out the hazy rear quarter mentioned above had already been machine polished whilst at the Dealership… Their local SMART repairs guy took a look at it. Perhaps one of the reasons it looks like this:
Above the halogen reflection to the left of the photo, on the leading edge, can you see a rough texture/touch-up? My guess is the ‘mop’ at the time was pushed over both the lower and upper sections at once causing a bit of a burn through on the proud, delicate edge.
Although now fully corrected, refined and looking sharp, the paint itself wasn’t exactly amazing. Lots of tiny fish-eyes caused by silicone in the spraying stages.
The roof, fortunately, was a doddle! Only two passes required here – 3M Fast Cut+ on a green 3M cutting pad followed by a mix of Menzerna to refine to a crisp, sharp finish.
Low down under the bump strips:
And now back to the other half of the bonnet:
Before/After:
As good as it was going to get with the time given…
Machine work complete:
The engine compartment wasn’t particularly bad; the underside of the bonnet being the worst. Soaked in Megs Super Degreaser, agitated and rinsed and low pressure.
(Forgot to get the after pictures – agh!)
After the engine, the car was thoroughly rinsed to remove polishing dust and deposits.
Back inside, blown dry with the black baron. Wiped with IPA to remove any remaining polishing oils and Blackfire‘s ’Wet Diamond’ applied to seal the paint.
Glass cleaned inside and out. Exhausts tidied. Trim dressed. Interior tickled. Final ‘toothpickery’ and we’re finished.
Quickly taken outside for some sun-shots before being rolled back into the showroom to go back on display..
That N/S/R quarter looking 100x better:
And finished.
Sure you’ll agree, quite the save! Misano is an awesome colour – it really is. I have a couple of b7 cabriolets in Misano on maintenance but never a saloon. Really does suit I think!
Thanks for reading.
Jim.
Customer testimonial:
As part of the family owned Marshall Motor Group, with 102 years trading experience, customer care and satisfaction is something we pride ourselves in day in, day out. The Group has nearly 70 dealerships across the country, and here at Marshall Car Centre of Melton Mowbray, we deal only in the Group’s prestige and performance models.
Around 5-6 months ago, I got wind of White Details’ reputation for attention to detail and work ethic on the sort of cars we sell through word of mouth. I asked Jim to come and see us and get a valuation, and after thorough consultation, we set him to work on our Aston Martin. The result saw us sell the car at its true value, and have a customer who was more than happy with his new purchase.
So, when this Audi RS4 came to us needing some TLC, there was only one company we were interested in looking after it for us. And, as ever, the work Jim has done is first class and the car is sat in the showroom, under the scutiny of all our lighting, looking just as it should. For us, it’s going to be a case of first to see will buy. A cliche, but one made true by White Details!
To any customers or even other motor dealers reading this, all at Marshall Motor Group at Melton Mowbray would recommend White Details for any work on any car. We are already trying to fit other cars into Jim’s diary as we speak. Top work, top man. Thanks!
Nov'07 Rs4 Avant (Misano) (sold April 14),
