Thread: A3 2.0T & mkiv R32 DBP

Hi all, a couple of reports that may be of interest.

First up, an 8P A3 that was put through a small protection detail.

Audi A3 2.0T – Lincoln Volkswagen Specialists Ltd

Sorry about the lack of reports recently; been flat out! Since my last write up, the F.458 Italia, I’ve done two minor corrections, been out on three maintenance trips and ticked off four protection details.

I wanted to share this one though as the car belongs to a local trusted company that I’ve worked alongside of for a few months now…

Lincoln Volkswagen Specialists Ltd. - Proud To Be Independant. - Lincoln Volkswagen Specialists Ltd

From servicing and repair, to diagnostics and performance upgrades located on the outskirts on Lincoln – LN5 9EJ.

So onto the car in question… It’s their development toy, an Audi A3 2.0 TFSi Quattro.

Currently, the car comprises of the following modifications:

REVO Stage 1 Software (taken the vehicle from 200bhp to 260bhp)
Forge Front Mount Twintercooler
Forge 11mm Wheel Spacers
Forge 330mm Big brake kit
EBC turbo grooved rear discs and Yellow stuff pads
Braided brake hoses
Brake system running DOT 5 fluid
Full super pro polly bush kit
Eibach front and rear anti roll bars
Eibach coilovers
Custom wheel alignment


And future plans for the car?

A full engine rebuild and GT3071X turbo charger.


Having just completed a 2500 mile trip around Europe (Nurburgring included), it was ready for some TLC.












Interior a little grubby, too:










The plan was to fully strip back, cleanse and protect the exterior and then to fix the interior and upholstery if time allowed.

The car has done quite a bit of track time; wheels seriously caked and the lower body panels were covered in road tar and rubber.

Usual approach in the wash stages – wheels > shuts > pre-wash > wash > tar > clay > dry.

Numerous applications of CarPro Iron-X were needed to fix the heavily pitted rims.








Once washed, AutoSmart Tardis used to help lift the stubborn tar deposits:












Next, Iron-X ‘Soap gel’ used alongside an old foam finishing pad to further deep cleanse the paintwork and remove inorganic contaminants.








Finally, in the car was clay barred to remove any remaining traces of foreign contaminants.

In this case, tree sap!








Engine bay cleaned with a degreaser and later dressed once dry and inside.

Having blown dry the car to remove all remaining trapped water, the exterior was polished by hand with Jeffs Werkstat Acrylic Prime and later followed with 2x layers of Jeffs JETT Trigger to protect.








With the wheels, tyres, britework and glass sorted it was time to move on to the interior.

Before/After:






Dirty water collected from front two seats:




Plastics and centre console wiped, leather treated, mats and carpets extracted, pedals, grab handles and steering wheel deep cleaned.








After the second layer of the sealant was applied, a final wipedown with Jeffs ‘GLOS’ and we’re finished.
























Much smarter! It’s a hell of a car; I was lucky enough to drive it back to the unit on the day. On the way back (when the work was complete), I even managed to average 32mpg! (Can’t wait for the engine rebuild and big turbo upgrade!)

Finally, two examples of why you shouldn’t ‘scrub’ at a bird bomb on your paintwork:





Thanks.

Jim

Volkswagen Golf R32 mkiv – Deep Blue Pearl

A customer that I had done some work for in the past phoned through early June to see about sorting their R32 in readiness for GTI International 2011 last weekend at Bruntingthorpe.

Pushed for time before the show, I managed to shuffle a few dates around to give a two day window for the job to go ahead.

Two day Major Paint Correction Detail.

Product

• 3M Glass Cleaner
• 3M Ultra Fina
• AutoSmart Tardis
• AutoSmart G101
• AutoSmart Hazsafe
• AMDetails mild clay bar
• Blackfire ‘Wet Diamond’ All Finish Paint Protection
• Belgom ALU
• Bilberry wheel cleaner
• Chemical Guys JetSEAL109
• Dodo Juice Born to be Mild
• Iron-X
• Jeffs Werkstat Prime
• Meguiars Super Degreaser
• Meguiars Endurance Tyre Gel
• Menzerna FG S500
• Menzerna 203s
• Menzerna 106FA
• ONR

Inspection.
















Now, if the mkiv R32 that Jonny (Pure Detail) and I worked on earlier this year was anything to go by, it’s going to be a long two days!




The sun was beaming down – no photos throughout the wash stages I am afraid other than a few wheels and contamination shots…

AutoSmart Tardis used to lift a few tiny tar spots:




And Iron-X doing its thing (still really impressed with this product!)




Usual wash sequence – wheels > shuts & sills > pre-wash > wash > tar > clay > dry.

AMDetails’ mild clay bar used to lift surface contaminants. Lots of tree sap on this one!




ONR (optimum no rinse) was used as clay lube and was performed inside to get out of the heat.

Two pieces of clay were left in warm water to keep them soft and malleable.




OK, so, clean, dry and inside. The first thing I notice is the finish on the roof:








One or two areas on the car had seen paint.






Defects:








Overall, the car was in a very good shape (compared to the other mkiv R as mentioned above!)

Starting high on the roof line, I picked out a few hazy patches.




Before/After:






Refined down to a crisp sharp finish:






B-pillar before/after:

N/S door handle – before/after:






Below the bumpstrips – before/after:






Flake pop:




50/50 between wing and door:




The bonnet was one of the areas the owner knew about in terms of ‘new paint’.

Before/after – light swirling and buffertrails left by bodyshop.








That was about it for day 1. I had completed the N/S, half the roof and the bonnet.




An early start day 2 and straight back into it.

Boot lid up first.

Before/After:






Before/After:






Before/After:






Complete: (see the swirling on the bumper; that’s next!)













In this light, the colour match on the bumper isn’t great although outdoors you’d do well to spot it.




Inner door handle tackled with Menz 203s by hand. Before/After:






Front bumper before/after:






Side skirt 50/50:

Machine work complete ~ 3pm into the second day.








Because of the dust created by heavy compounding, the car was put back outside for a good rinse.








After pat drying the car, it was blown dry with the Black Baron Vehicle Dryer to remove water from behind the badges, grilles, crevices etc.

After a thorough IPA (isopropyl alcohol) wipedown, Blackfire Wet Diamond was layed down to protect.






Wheels, tyres and exhausts sorted. Glass cleaned inside and out with 3M’s cleaner:






A final wipedown and then checking panel gaps for polish residues etc.

The owner is in the process of sourcing a new badge for the bootlid as we speak.

Overall, ~20 hours over the two were days put into this one. Considering, not a bad turnaround in my opinion!

Thanks for reading.

Jim

great work mate, beauty of an R32

Blackfire is a great LSP, looking great AS PER USUAL Jim

strong work jimbo as usual , as i said on facebook soz for missing the r32 at inters doh!!! for me taking a pic of the wrong car lmfao

Very nice job.

Ive just noticed on the paint depth gauge, the measure for the golf was 190's?

On all areas of the paint on my a3 i got 140s? not the end of the world but still... not much chance for mistake was there... ha

Loving your work Jim

awesome job mate wish i still had my nk4 32

simply awesome jim. seriously considering either mk4 or 5 R32 as my next car.

Top class as always Jim

Thanks again chaps.

Originally Posted by weela89

Very nice job.

Ive just noticed on the paint depth gauge, the measure for the golf was 190's?

On all areas of the paint on my a3 i got 140s? not the end of the world but still... not much chance for mistake was there... ha

A few of the panels on the mkiv had been sprayed (hence the high(er) thickness readings). Standard, from fatory, it could be anywhere from 120-160/170.. As a rule though, 200+ is more than likely an area that has been sprayed!

Originally Posted by S4twiggy

simply awesome jim. seriously considering either mk4 or 5 R32 as my next car.

love the mkiv mate. such a pretty car (the R). Although the mkv is tidy, I still think it would have to be the mkiv. (esp. in deep blue pearl!)

stunning work mate

Honestly mate, the write up, photos, and of course the work you do, it's awesome!

Don't know if you've already mentioned it, but what sort of price do you charge dot this work? Pm me if you want.