Author Topic: Detailing My ClubSport  (Read 11533 times)

Offline Garhan

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Re: Looking For Detailer Suggestions
« Reply #10 on: 09 March 2021, 11:15 »
Very nice indeed  :grin:

Offline Exonian

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Re: Looking For Detailer Suggestions
« Reply #11 on: 09 March 2021, 12:46 »
That does look nice  :cool:
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline Brocky_

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Re: Looking For Detailer Suggestions
« Reply #12 on: 10 March 2021, 17:23 »
Thanks, all.  :smiley:

Currently scouring Detailing World and CYC to put together a decent setup to keep it looking nice.  I already have a little Nilfisk pressure washer and a foam attachment from Autobrite.  Pretty sure I have some wheel-woolies and some grit guards somewhere but will need a couple of buckets, a couple of good wash mitts and some other stuff.

What do you guys think about waxing after having a ceramic coat?  I am sure it can't hurt from a protection perspective but is it worth it from a visual one?
Mk.8 GTI ClubSport

Offline Watts

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #13 on: 10 March 2021, 18:21 »
I'm not knowledgeable on ceramic coatings or for that matter detailing in general! Might be worth asking the person that ceramic coated yours as they will have a specific view and may recommend an appropriate product.

Just a note regarding the Nilfisk pressure washer, I have one too and had to replace the stop start valve recently. If you use a connector on the end of your hose pipe with auto stop where it connects to the Nilfisk then best remove it for an open connector, the place I bought the valve from said the auto stop connector can cause the valves to fail.
2019 Oryx White 5dr TCR.

Was - 2015 Tornado Red 3dr GTI PP, manual, Santiagos, Audi short shifter.

Offline Brocky_

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #14 on: 11 March 2021, 00:38 »
The guy who did the ceramic said that a good foam, shampoo & dry would be fine, which I am sure it will be.  I was just wondering if a good wax on top would make any visual difference, really.  I have ordered a Quick Detailer from Auto Finesse and will apply some of that afterwards and see how it goes.  I'll have a scour over at Detailing World as well.

As for the Nilfisk, it hasn't even been out of the box and I have had it over six months!  :grin:  Thanks for the heads-up, though.  I will keep it in mind.
Mk.8 GTI ClubSport

Offline SRGTD

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #15 on: 11 March 2021, 08:23 »
@Brocky; like @Watts, I also don’t have any personal experience of ceramic coatings, but from what I’ve read on various detailing forums and in articles discussing the very subject you’ve raised, applying a wax to a ceramic coating may do more harm than good, because of the natural oils and grease in waxes that can attract dirt. It’s also questionable whether a wax applied over a ceramic coating will provide much additional durability, due to the slick nature of the coating (a wax may struggle to bond to the coating). Also, bear in mind that the reflective properties of a light coloured, non metallic paint such as Pure White won’t be a great as, say, a dark coloured car, so applying extra products is unlikely to produce extra shine over and above that achieved by a professional detailer with their prep work prior to applying a ceramic coating, and the coating itself.

You’ve no doubt invested quite a lot of money in having a coating applied to your car that should provide high levels of protection, slickness and shine. IMHO the most important thing now is to maintain it correctly;
  • regular washing; pre-wash (snow foam), followed by a safe wash with a good quality ph neutral car shampoo solution using a two bucket wash technique and soft lambs wool mitt, pat dry (not rub) with soft micro fibre towels or blow dry with a warm air blower (I use a Metro Vac sidekick blaster).
  • remove any ‘foreign bodies’ as soon as possible - leaving them on the car could damage the coating (e.g. bird droppings). These should be softened before removal (soaked well and left for a few minutes and wiped away very carefully with a soft micro fibre - not rubbed, as hard rubbing could result in any grit in the droppings damaging/scratching the ceramic coating).
Did the detailing company that applied the coating provide you with a ‘care instructions’ leaflet from the manufacturer of the ceramic coating product that was used? If not, it might be worth asking if there is such a leaflet. I’d also be asking what needs to be done in the event of the coating being damaged - e.g;
  • by bird droppings if unavoidably left on the car for a prolonged period (car parked up in an airport car park for a week or longer).
  • if paintwork repairs are ever required, necessitating unavoidable removal of the coating so repairs can be carried out. Presumably the coating would need to reapplied in these circumstances.
In your position, I’d not be buying waxes, sealants or similar products as IMHO it’d be money wasted. I’d use the money you might have spent on those products on petrol and just enjoy driving your car! :smiley:
2020 Polo GTI Plus; Pure White, DSG (because they all are)
Gone but not forgotten;
2016 Polo GTI; Blue Silk
2011 mk6 Golf GTD; Carbon Grey
2007 mk5 Golf GT (2.0 170bhp TDI version); Deep Black Pearl
2002  mk4 Golf GTI (the 150 bhp diesel version); Deep Black Pearl

Offline Brocky_

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #16 on: 13 March 2021, 23:24 »
Thanks for the replies, folks!

So, today, instead of spending money at the petrol station, as I have been every couple of days since getting the car, I spent my day off lying in bed, relaxing and doing my research on Detailing World....which resulted in me spending money on detailing stuff instead.  :whistle:

I discovered, as you guys already suggested, that using anything over a Ceramic Coat will actually not be worth it and may even be a detriment to the protection or the finish.  So I got to looking at what I should be using to maintain the CC.

I already have a little Nilfisk and an AutoBrite foam lance.

I have ordered:

Products
1ltr Auto Finesse Lather Shampoo - A great shampoo that I've used before.  Picked it up as it was on offer, then discovered Reset, so won't use it on mine.
1ltr Auto Finesse Finale Quick Detailer - To be used with a very light misting as a drying aid.
1ltr Auto Finesse Spritz Interior Detailer - Self-explanatory but I need to check if it's ok to use on the displays.
1ltr CarPro Reset Shampoo - Designed to maintain CCs.  Absolutely EVERYONE recommended this shampoo!
500ml CarPro Reload - Again designed for CCs. To be used every 3 months as a 'topper' for the CC to act as kind of a sacrificial layer for it.
1ltr Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam - PH neutral and CC safe


Kit
Ultimate Finish 3 Bucket Set with Grit Guards - Wash, Rinse & Wheels
Microfiber Madness Incredimitt Wash Mitt - Had one of these before and they're brilliant!
Microfiber Madness Incrediflair Wheel Mitt - Incredimitt with a thumb to get behind the spokes better
Set of 5 Envy Detailing Brushes - £6.  Bargain!
Wheel Woolies 3pk - Again, had these before and they're great.
Klin Korea Large Evo Drying Towel - Everyone is raving about these and it's not easy to find them in stock at the moment so grabbed one.
Chemical Guys Wooly Mammoth Drying Towel - Had one before.  Soaks up and holds 4ltrs of water. Unbelievable drying towel.
Klin Korea Zero Finish HD Microfiber Towel 5Pk - For finishing
in2Detailing Korean Waffle Weave Glass Cloth - For interior glass
2x 36pk Kirkland Signature Ultra Plush Microfibre Towels - Used these before and they are quite simply the best value for money microfiber cloths around at £18 for 36

Looks like the ClubSport is getting spoiled rotten next week!  :cool:
« Last Edit: 13 March 2021, 23:45 by Brocky_ »
Mk.8 GTI ClubSport

Offline SRGTD

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #17 on: 14 March 2021, 07:23 »
@Brocky; that’s a comprehensive range of quality products you’ve invested in. Nice to see someone else adopting the three bucket wash method (I also use a third bucket for wheels).

Hope to see some pictures showing the results of your efforts, once you’ve put your new products to use  :smiley:.
2020 Polo GTI Plus; Pure White, DSG (because they all are)
Gone but not forgotten;
2016 Polo GTI; Blue Silk
2011 mk6 Golf GTD; Carbon Grey
2007 mk5 Golf GT (2.0 170bhp TDI version); Deep Black Pearl
2002  mk4 Golf GTI (the 150 bhp diesel version); Deep Black Pearl

Offline Brocky_

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #18 on: 14 March 2021, 17:28 »
@Brocky; that’s a comprehensive range of quality products you’ve invested in. Nice to see someone else adopting the three bucket wash method (I also use a third bucket for wheels).

Hope to see some pictures showing the results of your efforts, once you’ve put your new products to use  :smiley:.
Yeah, it's cost me a small fortune already!

Grabbed a few more pic's to show my brother (he lives in Vegas) so thought I would put them up here.

Just ignore my pyjamas.  It's Sunday and raining!!  :whistle:

I haven't used any products on the inside yet, either, so it's a bit dusty and fingerprinty until my orders arrive.












Mk.8 GTI ClubSport

Offline Brocky_

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Re: Detailing My ClubSport
« Reply #19 on: 23 March 2021, 02:16 »
Gave the ClubSport his first clean today after almost 3 weeks of exited, new car fun - I have 1,200 miles clocked already!  I am quite new to detailing and the car is ceramic coated, so it was only a basic job, but I am learning as I go.

Rinse with Nilfisk C110
Snowfoam with Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam & AutoBrite Foam Lance
Rinse
3-bucket contact wash using CarPro Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incredimitt & Incrediflair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies & Envy Detailing brushes
Rinse
Towel-dry using Klin Korea Evo
Quick Detail using FeynLab Detailer (matches my coating), Costco yellow MF cloths & Klin Korea Zero finishing cloth to buff
Exterior glass clean with AngelWax Vision & In2Detailing Korean Waffle Weave Glass Cloth

I left it quite late in the day and, being somewhat of a detailing newbie, took longer than I thought, so ended up struggling for light and had to streamline my planned regimen on the fly.  Ideally I wanted to use my new BLO AIR-S dryer, wanted to AngelWax H2Go the windscreen and wanted to polish up the exhaust tips with Auto Finesse Mercury but, alas, I was beaten by the sands of time.

Some thoughts...
The GSF went on well, once I had played around with the nozzle and mixture screw - it wasn't that thick but clung & ran off nice, though I felt it really didn't have the cleaning power.  I know the GSF isn't going to have the oomph that other foams have, as the clue is in the name....or maybe it was my mixture screw setting, as I only used just around half of the litre bottle on the whole car.  I will give it another go next time and see how it fairs.

On the other hand, I found Reset to be brilliant.  Whilst doing my research, I have seen lots of people raving about it and now I know why.  It suds up great, it glides the mitt across the paint and the grime that was concerningly left behind after the foam and rinse came away with barely any effort.  Very impressed.

The Incredimitt, IncrediFlair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies & Envy brushes all worked great, although getting even the medium Wheel Wooly (small one isn't long enough) into the barrel of the front wheels (18s), past those ClubSport big brakes, was not happening.  I will need to see if I can get a thinner brush.

The Klin Korea Evo drying towel.  What a bit of kit this is!  Using pat-drying on the horizontal surfaces and gentle wiping for the vertical ones, it dried the whole car, no bother, no wringing out, in a few minutes.  Highly recommended.  Just get one!

FeynLab Detailer.  Used it because it's the same brand as my coating.  Goes on nice, buffs up nice, adds a nice gloss and it smells great!  Applied with Costco specials and buffed off with the Klin Zero, which seems a really nice finishing cloth.

With very little light remaining, I gave the exterior glass a wipe down with AngelWax Vision glass cleaner.  To be honest, I probably should've left this, as I was unable to see if there was any streaking, but hey ho, lesson learned.  I'm not sure about the cloth.  Ok for the first wipes but when flipped over to buff off, it really felt overly grabby.  I will give it another go in better conditions and maybe look for a different one to compare it to.

So, as I was out of light, I was unable to get any photos as I needed to pack away my kit (Booooo!) but I will try to grab a few in the morning before I head off to work.  All-in-all, I felt I did a decent job but definitely learned some lessons along the way.  Hopefully I can improve next time.

I will add some photos tomorrow, if it isn't raining in the morning.
« Last Edit: 23 March 2021, 02:19 by Brocky_ »
Mk.8 GTI ClubSport