Detailing Gone Bad (Part 2): 2013 Audi Q7 S-line
by Kevin GeorgeWhat are the odds that two (2) of the worst cars I have worked would come from the same owner. I do want to point out however that in both instances, this damage was not caused when actually paying someone to detail their cars. This 2013 Audi Q7 S-line was purchased on a rainy day by the owner from a dealership out of state. This is one important lesson that most people should note, do not purchase a car on a rainy day from a dealership as you will not be able to see the true condition of the finish. After having the car home for a few weeks and the typical dealership glaze job wore off, the same nightmare that was inflicted on their Tundra (Full Article Here) was also present on this Audi.
Here are a few pictures of the vehicle just after being dropped off.
The exterior was heavily lacking in gloss due to all the surface flaws present on the vehicle.
Like most German cars, the wheels were heavily covered in brake dust.
With the vehicle thoroughly washed, chemically decontaminated and washed one final time with a Nanoskin Wash Mitt we could now see the true condition of the finish. Here is a quick video that shows the driver side of the vehicle.
Source: YouTube
The vehicle was pulled in the shop and we started with our usual test spot, using the Rupes 15 MKII with a Griot’s Microfiber Cutting pad and compound. With a few moderate passes the results looked great, with only minor haziness or marring that required cleaning up during the polishing process. Once again we were not going for a flawless finish, just removing a majority of the defects and improving the gloss and clarity of this beautiful color.
With the heavy swirling, holograms and light scratches removed the Teak Brown Metallic really came to life.
With the exterior fully compounded and polished the car was wiped down with Eraser to prep the surface for application of Gtechniq EXO V3. I will do a more in-depth review on the application of the application of EXO V3 in another blog.
The finished product turned out pretty amazing compared to what it started out like. It went from looking like a vehicle that has 100,000+ miles on it (which it does) to a nearly new vehicle again.
I really love the look of this color, and the depth and clarity it now has is simply outstanding. Gtechniq EXO V3 did an amazing job putting the icing on the cake for this project.
I certainly did enjoy seeing the turn around on this one!
Great job as always Kevin.
Thanks Mike.
Kevin,
This customer should be with you for life! I was gonna ask, ” what is going on in Central, PA.?” As you pointed out this was an out-of-state purchase.
Great work!
Thanks Steve! Yeah I believe they said they purchased this in Ohio, and the dealer certainly did a number on the exterior.
Stunning work Kevin
Thanks Lee!
Kevin,
Great job!
One question, why did you go directly to Exo V3 after the polish? Why not CSL or CSL + Exo? I thank you in advance for your insight on this question.
Doug, Exo can also be used as a stand a lone product and offer great protection and benefits. Exo provides a 2 year claimed durability on its own which is a great option for a lower priced option of protection to clients. I must say that I do prefer the application of CSL over this product though. The simple answer though is when you are testing a product you don’t want to taint the results, so I simply only wanted to use Exo on its own.
Thanks Kevin!
NICE!!!
What products did you use. That be nice to show
Pam, I used various Rupes machines along with Griots microfiber pads and Jescar Compound for the initial compounding step and followed that up with a quick polish using Essence on yellow Rupes pads.
Hi Kevin,
Do you have any advice on removing water spots from CSL? Have tried using spotless with little luck. My next plan is to go over CSL with a white/yellow rupes pad and essence+
Wow nice job, this really came out good, good advice on. Good advice on buying a car on cloudy and rainy day.
It truly amazes me that a dealership allows a vehicle(new or pre-owned) to be sold looking like that. Nice work brining it back!