BRUCER'S SPRINT BLUE S3

[jr001]

I was asked by Bruce (Brucer) to try and bring more of the sprint blue colour out in his 1-week-old S3. He felt is was being subdued by the dealer-applied Supaguard. He wanted his new car looking the way it should do and wanted me to spend around 16 hours (over two days!) on this task. It was great to get to work on this slightly understated (that’s why we all like Audis, right?) beauty of a machine.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2547AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2547AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2547AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2547AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2547AD.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

A half-hour’s drive got me to Bruce’s place and in no time I applied some Meguiar’s Safe Degreaser through Autobrite’s HD Foam Lance. This was intended to start the process of removing the Supaguard film.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2548AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2548AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2548AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2548AD.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2548AD.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

The car was then pressure-rinsed.

After that I foamed the car with Autobrite’s Supa Snow Foam and let that dwell for 5-6 mins also. This is a mild cleaner that lifts dirt particles, hence the need to give it time to do its work. The car was then pressure-rinsed again.

As the car was only 1 week old, at this stage I decided to forego the usual two-bucket hand wash as I’d already cleared the paint of any dirt.

The car was then pat-dried using a Poorboys waffle weave drying towel before claying.

Car then clayed with Sonus Green clay but this probably would not get into the SG film as much as I’d hoped, but my aggressive clay did not get put into the kit boxes!
I was proved correct here, and when I poured some water over a couple of the panels, the water sat on the surface for a few seconds and then sheeted off. So some of the SG was still there, and providing some protection for the car. The machine polishing was about to change all that.

The paint itself was in very good condition really with only very minor swirls marks evident.

Before taking to my new Makita 9227CB rotary polisher, I did some paint thickness measurements on all the panels.



Bonnet: 141 – 165 microns.

Roof: 118 – 125 microns

Doors: 112 – 141 microns

Front and Rear outer wheel arches: 125 – 145 microns.

Boot hatch: 128 – 138 microns.



This gives you an idea of today’s modern Audi factory primer + paint + clearcoat total thicknesses.



Because of the very minor nature of the swirl scratches, I opted for Menzerna 106FA final finish polish to remove them. A meguiar’s 6.5 inch polishing pad was used on the rotary. Polish spread at 600rpm and worked at 1200 rpm. I set about this meticulously and patiently and completed the whole car in 8 hours. I then spent a further 4 hours with Menzerna 85RD final finish polish to tease out some more of the gloss and colour of the paint on a Meguiar’s finishing pad. In using this much finer polish, I spread at 600 rpm and worked it at around 1000 rpm. The 85RD polish has negligible cut (1/10) and maximum gloss (10/10) characteristics.

Bonnet Before

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Bonnet After

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NS Front Wing Before

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NS Front Wing After

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While I got on with the paint, Bruce got the wheels off and cleansed with Jeff’s Werkstatt Acrylic prime and allowed to cure for 20 mins. Buffed over and then applied three coats of Jeff’s Acrylic Trigger sealant. Bruce loves his wheels and it was doing his head in as to whether the wheels should come off and get this treatment. He gave in after we tried it on one wheel. He liked the results and made his final decision to go ahead.

The results:

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2569.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2569.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2569.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2569.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2569.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

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The following three photos show the paint glow and reflectivity immediately after the machining, before any cleansing and waxing.

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After the machine polishing, each panel was wiped down using Meguiar’s Last Touch quick detailing spray, before being cleansed with Zymol HD Cleanse. This was applied with the red foam side of a German applicator pad. It was then buffed off using Poorboys Deluxe Microfibre towels, changed regularly.

The final sealing and protection of the paint was Zymol Glasur 57% carnauba wax. I thought their Carbon wax was very good, but this one is VERY nice indeed. On and off in the same manner as the HD Cleanse.

Tyres were dressed and protected with 303 Aerospace Protectant. This is the first time I've applied it and I have to say I think it's amazing. Thanks to Polished Bliss for getting this to me in time for Bruce's car.

The background light levels were now very low, so only a couple of final shots. We then made our way to an indoor multi-storey car park in Edinburgh. The lighting was not very good. Kitchen fluorescent strip lights to illuminate large spaces! The natural oils in the Glasur wax don’t need much light to show that deep, wet, glossy finish as you can hopefully see from the following photos.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2581.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2581.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2581.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2581.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2581.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

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This shot in the darkness of Edinburgh’s side streets still manages to capture the wetness of the finish from the minimal lighting on offer.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2593.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2593.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2593.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2593.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2593.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

A dark interior shot, again showing why we like our Audis!

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2611.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2611.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2611.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2611.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/First%20Correction/100_2611.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

The following morning gave me the chance to take some full daytime shots.

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The end results were very pleasing, especially to see a brand new car able to be transformed to this degree of glossiness and wetness, not to mention the level of protection. Supaguard does a good job of protecting, but it sure does a great job of robbing the car of its depth of colour and all the other possible features.

A big Thank You to Bruce for the bacon and black pudding rolls. We even watched the Audi channel during my lunch breaks. Top man is Bruce.

Hope you enjoyed reading.

JOHN

 

[Ess_Three]

Nice work...:thumbsup:

 

[phil1978]

I do like the new S3's, but please change the YELLOW DRL's :icon_thumright:

And top job John, looks excellent.

 

[jr001]

Thanks guys!

A beautiful car I'd agree. I think Bruce might have something to say once he's sobered up!!! I think he's still a bit overwhelmed about things.

Phil, what are Yellow DRLs?????

Cheers,

JOHN:icon_thumright:

 

[brucer]

Afternoon all,

Finally i have dragged myself away from looking at my car outside & explaining to my neighbours all about the work John has done (John i hope i've explained it right, lol).

I just want to say a BIG thank you to John for all the effort & time he put into my car over the past few days. He has truely made my pride & joy look amazing. He really is a master at detailing, im just so jealous.

Also thank you for all positive comments left by members.

Yellow DRL's - yellow daytime running lights, any suggestions to get better ones??

Many thanks, Brucer

 

[phil1978]

PIAA do an Extreme White version. I think I paid about £15 for them. They def look more Xenon colour and not so yellowy.

 

[WX51TXR]

Awesome! Great detail, and a heap of machining to boot! Impressed by the Glasur too, going to start stocking it soon, as a perfect stop gap between the entry level Carbon and the much more expensive Concours. Nice one! :icon_thumright:

 

[jr001]

I've been meaning to suggest that to you guys at PB. Well worth the step up and worth every penny.

I look forward to giving you guys my money for it next time round!
:icon_thumright:

 

[WX51TXR]

Cheers John! :icon_thumright: