New to this site - a few questions!

[Golfer]

Alrighty guys (and gals).  Just stumbled on yer site - looks fab - I'll be checking regularly!   Bought a 1998 R plate Mk3 8v just over a year ago and she is the best car I've ever had.   Mystic blue 3 door, totally immaculate.  I love it!  Anyway, just wanted to say g'day and ask for your thoughts about the following issues I have with the car:
- something always whines / makes a quite 'howl' for the first 10 seconds when I start the car from cold.  It's always done it, but I've no idea what it is - common problem / any ideas?
- ventilation system - recently the intake of air has reduced considerable, even on full blast.   This follows the passenger footwell filling with water due to a blocked vent duct.   Any ideas how I get inside the ventilation system to clear it out (I think it's either blocked or the flap which controls air flow is jammed / sticky).  Is it a dashboard out job?  
- what's the best product to get the black external trim back to black.  I've tried all sorts but nothing seems to work that well.  Someone mentioned silicon or something?  What do you all use?
Apologies for all the questions!
Great site guys - I'll def be a regular here!
Golfer

[i-espedair]

Dunno bout your first two questions mate sorry - Anyone else have a clue? golfVR6 might be ya man?

As for the external trim - no problem! Try some Auto Glym Bumper Care. Comes in a bottle like the resin polish. Awesome stuff in my opinion works a treat on my machine!

[golfvr6]

Welcome mate.
The whine is probably one of your accessories, ie. alternator, power steering pump. The bearings can be noisey when cold. Try taking off the drivebelt, and then start the engine from cold, if there is no noise then spin each pulley by hand to see if there is any noise.
As for your ventilation, check in the engine bay and make sure the fan vent isn't blocked. If you got water in vent system it should off leaked out rather than stayed in there.