When buying a brand new car, it is not wrong to assume that the car being handed over to you would be quite literally perfect, untouched. Sadly, this is often not the case with the vehicles being delivered and prepared by dealerships with incorrect training, insufficient time and whilst they may pretend to care about the customer, not so much about how they handle the car. Whilst the customer will be collecting a brand new shiny car, sometimes there are already inflicted damage such as polisher holigrams, glue residues and in some cases even paint chips - yes really! The customers will be so happy to get behind the wheel of their latest investment they don't take the care needed to look over the vehicle thoroughly to see defects. Maybe the dealership offered a 'protection package' for a high price yet fail to follow correct procedures in installing said packages. Thats where the New Car Detail comes in..
This beautiful Blackberry Volkswagen Scirocco was brought to us after the owner rejected the dealership protection packages, a package that was offered for over £500. Needless to say that £500 would be better spent on tissues and chocolate to sooth the heartache a few months down the line when the cars 'perminent' protection suddenly falls away.
Firstly, the registration plates were removed from the vehicle in order to allow access to all painted surfaces to be worked on and protected. The car was then sprayed with a citrus pre-cleaner and left for a couple minutes before the entire car was blanketed in a layer of foam. This allows any surface dirt to be lifted and carried away from the paint leaving a safer surface to bucket wash after pressure rinsing. The Doorshuts were cleaned with a detailing brush and a diluted of All Purpose Cleaner (APC) whilst the foam was dwelling on the surface. Any intricate and hard to reach areas were then agitated with a detailing brush to remove any dirt and dust from areas such as panel gaps, grills and badges. The foam was rinsed away with a pressure washer to blast away any loose surface dirt before moving onto the bucket wash. Two buckets were used to ensure grit particles weren't re-transferred back onto the Scirocco's paint possibly causing surface marring. Auto Finesse Lather shampoo accompanied a high quality deep-pile wash mitt to gently cleanse the body free of light contaminants and road dirt. Any tar spotting that was present was removed from the paint with a dedicated tar remover. As the car had little mileage there was very little spotting to be removed. A microfibre misted with tar remover was enought to gently massage the spotting away. Once the fallout remover was left to dwell for a few minutes the car was then brought back outside for a rinse using pressure washer once again, then yt again brough back inside to be clayed by hand.
Leaving the car still wet, a quick detailer was used as a lubricant for the claybar. A 'fine' grade claybar was used as this will reduce the chances of any marring, as the fallout remover and tar stages removed the bulk of the contaminents there wasn't much left to remove (if anything). Once completed the car was brought back outside for a final re-washed to remove the contamination and quick detailer residues. Thoroughly rinsed and for the final time, the car was brought back inside and pat-dried with a drying towel. All water traps were cleared of standing water with warm filtered air before all delicate trims, plastics and rubbers were masked off to prevnt polish damage and staining. The car was then inspected under halogen and LED lighting to view a various amount of damage to the paint, some panels were more damaged than others. A scratch was found on the A pillar where it seems the dealership were removing the travel film as there was a large area of glue residue on the windscreen.
A single stage machine polish was carried out to remove very light swirling, a few heavier swirls and even buffer trails from the roof panel from poor dealership technique. After each polishing set the panel was wiped down with IPA to remove any polish residues that may be hiding underlying swirls and marks. Any found would then be re-polished and re-wiped down with the IPA until the correct finish was acheived. Once the whole car was completed, a final IPA wipedown and inspection was carried out to ensure everything was as required.
The next step was to tackle the trims and glass. This allows any trim dressing or glass product that may be over-spread onto the paint to be removed simultaneously with the Panel Wipe process, saving time and unnecissary risk of re-marring the paint. The window rubbers and trims were dressed with Gtechniq T1 Tyre&Trim whilst the glass was sealed in a long lasting hydrophobic sealant to optimise visibility during the wetter weather.
Once all the trims and glass was taken care of, the car was then wiped down with Gtechniq's Panel Wipe to remove any remaining polish residues and trim dressing remains to leave the paint bare and ready to allow maximum bond to the EXO coating.
The entire car was then coated with EXO, applying in straight lines using the provided gtechniq micro-applicator. A brand new microfiber was used to spread the residue evenly over the panel (or section for larger panels such as bonnets, roofs etc) before a second new microfiber was used to buff the remaining resudue away to leave a clean, smear free finish. The entire car was worked panel-by-panel until all paint was coated before a second coat was applied in the same manour as the first; apply, spread and buff. With the second coat applied, it was time to let the body cure for a minimum of 3 hours. The engine bay was wiped free of dusting from the polishing stage at this point with Autofinesse Dressle to help protect the plastic trim whilst retaining the factory satin finish.
The car was jacked up safely and the wheels were removed, making sure the care was supported with axle-stands adequately. The wheels were then cleaned with a non-corrosive, safe wheel cleaner and soft bristle detailing brush to remove light brake dust from the faces and barrells of each wheel. Once rinsed, the wheels were then coated in a fallout remover to eliminate any bonded contamination from travel and from light usage since the purchase. The wheels were then force dried with warm filtered air before each wheel was treated with Gtechniq PW (Panel Wipe). This step removed any oils on the surface to leave a clean paint surface for application of the C5 Wheel Armour to take maximum effect. The c5 was applied to one wheel at a time, spreading with the cotton pads supplied and buffed off using a fresh microfiber cloth to a clear, checking alterative angles of viewing for any left over residue. The inner wheel barrells were coated in C5 also. A folded microfiber was used to cusion the wall from damaging the wheels whilst being lent against it.
Whilst the wheels were off, the arches were cleaned with a mild dilution of APC, wiped dry and arch liners were protected with T1 Tyre&Trim. The wheels were then re-fitted to the car and the wheel bolts were torqued up to a specified amount, locking wheel nut tool was then replaced into the boot kit where it belongs. The Pirelli P-Zero tyres were then dressed to a high-satin finish with Gtechniq T1 at this point also.
The interior was vacuumed of light dusting and a minimal amount of debris. The dashboard and door trim surfaces were dressed and protected with Autofinesse Dressle to allow the new-car matte finish to remain whilst still adding some protection. All leather was protected with Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard before all interior glass was polished to a crystal clear finish. Floor mats and short-pile seat centres were misted with Gtechniq I1 Fabric Guard to finalise the protection of the car.
A Gtechniq window decal was applied to complete the job of getting this brand new scirocco back to the expected condition of a fresh new car.
