# Mk.8 Golf GTI Clubsport



## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Picked up my new car last week. Here he is having had a Feyn Labs ceramic coat a few days later. Excuse the poor photography skills, as you can see by the sky, true-to-form rain was waiting for me, so I just grabbed two quick snaps.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

When you get a chance, can you post some pictures of the inside?

It looks like they've done a nice job of prepping it...I'm not sold on the look of the MK8 but I bet it's lovely to drive.


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

I’m not mad on the wheels but the looks otherwise are growing on me.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Enjoy your new motor, :thumb:


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## TonyHill (Jul 28, 2015)

Looks much nicer than the new 'R' :thumb:


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

Not a huge fan of the wheels, but as its a CS & sits lower than the GTi it does look a bit better.

Guessing, better in the flesh.

Do I like, yes :thumb:


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

SuperchargedLlama said:


> When you get a chance, can you post some pictures of the inside?


Sure. Just ignore my pyjamas. It's Sunday and raining!! :lol:

I haven't used anything on the inside yet, either, so it's a bit dusty until my orders arrive.

























































SuperchargedLlama said:


> I'm not sold on the look of the MK8 but I bet it's lovely to drive.


Many aren't....but look at one next to a Mk.7 and it makes it look quite dated and a little 'flabby'. And yes, it's great to drive - whether in 'Refined Mode' or 'Lunatic Mode'.


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

c87reed said:


> I'm not mad on the wheels but the looks otherwise are growing on me.





Rappy said:


> Not a huge fan of the wheels, but as its a CS & sits lower than the GTi it does look a bit better.
> 
> Guessing, better in the flesh.
> 
> Do I like, yes :thumb:


Many feel the same about the wheels but I actually don't mind them. I am not a fan of black wheels which was the 19" option and parts of my daily commute would be quite harsh on 19s anyway. The ride is fairly stiff on 18s as it is, so I really wouldn't want to go bigger. I may swap the wheels out for another set of 18s at some point but for now I'm perfectly happy as it is.



Andyblue said:


> Enjoy your new motor, :thumb:


Cheers. Will do. :thumb:



TonyHill said:


> Looks much nicer than the new 'R' :thumb:


I think so.

Having seen the countless R drag-race videos, it is very impressive. No doubt about that. If I was making the choice now, would I choose the R over the ClubSport? Na. The weight difference speaks for itself and I don't feel the need to show off how quickly I can launch it up McDonald's car park in front of the local chavs. I much prefer the feel of a spirited backroad drive and that is where the ClubSport excels. I also like that the ClubSport appears to be going to remain the bit more exclusive car of the two and at 4-5 grand less (if you take the R Performance Pack into account) then there's not a chance in hell I would change.

Oh and red is a much better colour than blue any day of the week.


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

I really like the inside. Red looks sporty. Blue looks EV to me.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Brocky36 said:


> Sure. Just ignore my pyjamas. It's Sunday and raining!! :lol:


I'll be honest and say I thought that was GTI tartan on the seats! Commitment!

That interior looks lovely, it's a funny one but I think the design language they've got atm works reallllly well on the interiors, just not sold on the outside as much yet. It's probably because it's quite radical.


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

SuperchargedLlama said:


> I'll be honest and say I thought that was GTI tartan on the seats! Commitment!


Gti yes. CS no

Gti attached


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

SuperchargedLlama said:


> I'll be honest and say I thought that was GTI tartan on the seats! Commitment!


:lol:


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Rappy said:


> Gti yes. CS no


He was referring to my PJs.


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## boba fett (Jun 3, 2017)

Lovely car, I am sure you will change the wheels in due course, but what a wicked car, you must be excited !!


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

Brocky36 said:


> He was referring to my PJs.


:lol::lol:

Missed that. It would have been a GTD then


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

boba fett said:


> Lovely car, I am sure you will change the wheels in due course, but what a wicked car, you must be excited !!


Very much so. The first day I picked it up I was filling up at a petrol station and got a :thumb: from a guy in a Lambo....and the kids at work all reckon it's "Well sick!"....so, between those two opinions, I am pretty happy.


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## boba fett (Jun 3, 2017)

Brocky36 said:


> Very much so. The first day I picked it up I was filling up at a petrol station and got a :thumb: from a guy in a Lambo....and the kids at work all reckon it's "Well sick!"....so, between those two opinions, I am pretty happy.


It's a very good car you have bought, its the Drivers version - have fun mate !!


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

boba fett said:


> It's a very good car you have bought, its the Drivers version - have fun mate !!


Agreed :thumb:

Mate had a Golf R 7.5 and it felt very numb. He got a great deal on a Golf CS 7.5, the one without the backseats.

Now pushing out over 400bhp, since visiting VRS. It's bonkers & spins the wheels even in 3rd.


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Rappy said:


> Agreed :thumb:
> 
> Mate had a Golf R 7.5 and it felt very numb. He got a great deal on a Golf CS 7.5, the one without the backseats.
> 
> Now pushing out over 400bhp, since visiting VRS. It's bonkers & spins the wheels even in 3rd.


This is 300bhp as standard (Vs the regular GTI's 245 and the R's 320) and, honestly, I think that VW have hit the sweet spot and wouldn't really want any more in a FWD. It's pretty lairy as is. The most outstanding thing is the balance, though. I haven't been in an R yet but they have really nailed the driving experience with the ClubSport. Take it a little quick into a bend and just as you think it'll understeer, it slaps you on the wrist with a little rear-end shimmy and then grips and pulls you out of the bend like it's on rails when you power back on. It is so much fun to drive and I am sure it definitely has something that the R drivers will be missing out on.


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## TakDetails (Apr 25, 2020)

Exterior has really grown on me
Still not sure on the dash layout even though that digital ****pit looks clearer and better than the outgoing model.
Seats and trim look a step up.

Great choice! If I had the choice I’d choose this over the R!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Lovely motor, I believe the infotainment system and steering controls are a little clumsy and not very intuitive. What are your thoughts?


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Soul boy 68 said:


> Lovely motor, I believe the infotainment system and steering controls are a little clumsy and not very intuitive. What are your thoughts?


The steering wheel controls are fine. They take a little getting used to but they're no problem. I would occasionally hit the heated steering wheel button the first few times I drove it, but it hasn't happened for a couple of weeks now, so I have clearly adjusted to it.

The infotainment screen is also fine. Can be a little laggy upon first starting up but is fine within 30 seconds or so. The only niggle I have with it is that, at 6'3", I am obviously sat quite far back and I would like it to be maybe an inch or so closer to me, as I have to stretch beyond my natural reach whilst relaxed in the seat, but that's really nit-picky.

What _is_ annoying....and I would go as far as to say it's a horrendous design choice by VW....is the sliders for temperature and volume below the infotainment screen. They aren't too bad during the day but whoever on earth decided that they didn't need to be back-lit needs slapping with a crusty wash-mitt. Aside from being unlit, they're also in the spot where you instinctively rest your left thumb to give extra stability when poking at the screen with your index finger, when on the move, so I often found myself changing temperature when using the screen. They're completely redundant in my car and thankfully the voice control works well for adjusting temperature - Say "Hello Volkswagen, I'm cold" and it will increase the climate by a few degrees. Same for "I'm hot", "De-mist windscreen", "Warm my feet" etc.. It even recognises if the passenger makes the request and adjusts their side only. It's pretty slick.

A lot has been made in reviews about this stuff and, in my opinion, I think a lot of it is just nit-picking because there really isn't much else wrong with the car. Is it a bit 'minimalist' and therefore a bit out of the norm? Yes. Have VW scrimped a bit to cut costs? Yes, in a couple of relatively insignificant areas such as sunglasses holders and bonnet struts, but that was to be expected with the events of the last few years. Then you look at things like the IQ Lights with adaptive main beam as standard (which are absolutely fantastic! I leave mine on all the time once it gets dark and I haven't been flashed yet. They'll switch to dipped in lit areas but as soon as you pass that last streetlight back into the darkness, they 'swoosh' back on and seeing them track and dance around other cars is very impressive indeed), the excellent seats, the golfball pattern mirror downlights on BOTH sides and illuminated handles all round - often only on one side, 3-zone climate and heated steering wheel as standard, Adaptive Cruise Control and Travel Assist (which is also quite impressive, though I don't fully trust it yet) and you see that VW have stuck plenty of stuff in that would very often be optional on similar priced cars and, of course, the Mk.7.5.

Above all that, it's a Golf GTI. Possibly the last 'proper' Golf GTI with the push towards EVs. It's a car that's about the experience of the drive and by jove, it has that in bucket-loads!


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Gave the ClubSport his first clean today after almost 3 weeks of exited, new car fun - I have 1,200 miles clocked already! :driver:

I am quite new to detailing and the car is ceramic coated, so it was only a basic job, but I am learning as I go.

Rinse with Nilfisk C110
Snowfoam with Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam & AutoBrite Foam Lance
Rinse
3-bucket contact wash using CarPro Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incredimitt & Incrediflair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies & Envy Detailing brushes
Rinse
Towel-dry using Klin Korea Evo 
Quick Detail using FeynLab Detailer (matches my coating), Costco yellow MF cloths & Klin Korea Zero finishing cloth to buff
Exterior glass clean with AngelWax Vision & In2Detailing Korean Waffle Weave Glass Cloth

I left it quite late in the day and, being somewhat of a detailing newbie, took longer than I thought, so ended up struggling for light and had to streamline my planned regimen on the fly. Ideally I wanted to use my new BLO AIR-S dryer, wanted to AngelWax H2Go the windscreen and wanted to polish up the exhaust tips with Auto Finesse Mercury but, alas, I was beaten by the sands of time.

*Some thoughts...*
The GSF went on well, once I had played around with the nozzle and mixture screw - it wasn't that thick but clung & ran off nice, though I felt it really didn't have the cleaning power. I know the GSF isn't going to have the oomph that other foams have, as the clue is in the name....or maybe it was my mixture screw setting, as I only used just around half of the litre bottle on the whole car. I will give it another go next time and see how it fairs.

On the other hand, I found Reset to be brilliant. Whilst doing my research, I have seen lots of people raving about it and now I know why. It suds up great, it glides the mitt across the paint and the grime that was concerningly left behind after the foam and rinse came away with barely any effort. Very impressed.

The Incredimitt, IncrediFlair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies & Envy brushes all worked great, although getting even the medium Wheel Wooly (small one isn't long enough) into the barrel of the front wheels (18s), past those ClubSport big brakes, was not happening. I will need to see if I can get a thinner brush.

The Klin Korea Evo drying towel. What a bit of kit this is! Using pat-drying on the horizontal surfaces and gentle wiping for the vertical ones, it dried the whole car, no bother, no wringing out, in a few minutes. Highly recommended. Just get one!

FeynLab Detailer. Used it because it's the same brand as my coating. Goes on nice, buffs up nice, adds a nice gloss and it smells great! Applied with Costco specials and buffed off with the Klin Zero, which seems a really nice finishing cloth.

With very little light remaining, I gave the exterior glass a wipe down with AngelWax Vision glass cleaner. To be honest, I probably should've left this, as I was unable to see if there was any streaking, but hey ho, lesson learned. I'm not sure about the cloth. Ok for the first wipes but when flipped over to buff off, it really felt overly grabby. I will give it another go in better conditions and maybe look for a different one to compare it to.

So, as I was out of light, I was unable to get any photos as I needed to pack away my kit (Booooo!) but I will try to grab a few in the morning before I head off to work. All-in-all, I felt I did a decent job but definitely learned some lessons along the way. Hopefully I can improve next time.

I will add some photos tomorrow, if it isn't raining in the morning.


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

That looks like a cracking motor! Enjoy it dude and your comments in post #22 are spot on. Sound logic and reasoning as to why this car is a belter.

Interesting what you say around the controls but the amount of tech on the car is nuts! Again not the biggest fan of the wheels but it would be boring if we all liked the same thing.

I look forward to seeing more write ups and mini product reviews on here, nice to see people getting into detailing and taking note of what they like and how they behave.

Have a look at this video mate, will help with the glass, it is a great video as are all of Jims.


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

bluechimp said:


> That looks like a cracking motor! Enjoy it dude and your comments in post #22 are spot on. Sound logic and reasoning as to why this car is a belter.
> 
> Interesting what you say around the controls but the amount of tech on the car is nuts! Again not the biggest fan of the wheels but it would be boring if we all liked the same thing.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bluechimp. I'll have a look. With regards to the glass, I was rushing quite a bit and couldn't really see with the failing light, so maybe the cloth and I will fare better next time. And yeah, it's a bit daunting, first getting into the detailing thing, but having this place with so many folks to knowingly and unknowingly teach newbies like myself is a godsend and it's much appreciated.:thumb:

As promised, a few pics.

I managed to grab a quick couple of shots in the morning and then got a decent one as I came out of the petrol station last night.


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

I know some folks like a good beading shot...


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Full detail today - inside & out.

Being only a month old, the inside only needed a hoover. I did the interior glass with AngelWax Vision as I could see where the dealer had used a manky rag to do the windscreen before me  and did the interior plastics with Auto Finesse Spritz to get rid of some light dust, fingerprints and to add a bit of UV protection.

Exterior was fairly dirty - not so much on the front half but was especially filthy up the rear bumper and hatch - the Golf really seems to get extra dirty back there - and so got a full maintenance wash. I also got to use some new kit that I picked up this week:-

*-* MTM Hydro 22.2 Foam Lance
*-* Direct Hoses Quick-Release Short Trigger with 10m replacement hose

*Method*

*-* Rinse
*-* Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam & MTM Hydro 22.2 Foam Lance
*-* Wheel clean using separate wheel bucket, CarPro Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incrediflair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies & Envy Detailing brushes
*-* Rinse
*-* 2-bucket contact wash using CarPro Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incredimitt & Envy Detailing brushes
*- *Rinse
*- *Towel-dry using Klin Korea Evo
*-* Blow dry of panel gaps and other water traps with BLO AIR-S dryer & MF cloth
*-* Quick Detail using FeynLab Detailer (matches my coating), Costco yellow MF cloths & Klin Korea Zero finishing cloth to buff
*-* Exterior glass clean with AngelWax Vision & In2Detailing Korean Waffle Weave Glass Cloth

*Some thoughts...*

Still feeling my way round this detailing thing and learning as I go. After leaving my last wash too late in the day, ending up losing light and having to drop steps from my method on the fly, I made sure to start earlier this time. The weather was perfect, if a little cold, and I remembered to put on my splash-proof pants and jacket this time. Definitely need to get some better suited footwear, though.

First up, the Short Trigger and 10m replacement hose set I got from Direct Hoses is an utter game-changer! My standard Nilfisk lance and 4m hose set has been chucked in the shed and I don't think it will see daylight for a long time. The 10m hose allows me to get round the whole car without having to reposition the pressure washer, plus it doesn't get twisted up anywhere near as easily, thanks to its construction and the swivel on the short trigger - though I definitely need to pick up some of those 'hose roller' thingymajigs that go underneath your tyres to stop the hose from snagging as you manoeuvre round the car. Quick-release is heaven and being able to quickly twist the nozzle to get the best angle for each panel is so handy. If you're debating getting one of these quick-release short triggers, just do it!

Last time around, I struggled a bit with the foam step - having too thin foam for my liking (which I thought was partly down to the Koch Chemie GSF) and ending up with over half my mixture left. This time was a completely different story, using the MTM Hydro 22.2 instead of the AutoBrite lance - which has now joined the Nilfisk lance & hose in the shed - and having swapped to the smaller orifice - which I figured was the right thing to do, as I am only using a Nilfisk C110 - and I was getting some crazy-thick foam. So much so, that I had to back off the mixture screw quite a bit, due to it burning through mixture way too fast. The MTM Hydro cannon is a brilliant bit of kit, though it's quite pricy and I am sure some will say "X foam cannon is just as good at half the price". That said, if it lasts me a couple of years, I will definitely feel that I have got my money's worth, as it is great at its job. Pretty sure I have found the sweet spot with regards to getting the right foam consistency now, although, I am still not seeing great results from the GSF with regards to cleaning power. I know that it's not supposed to be the best at breaking down traffic film and the like, due to being gentle, but I was expecting a little more than I am getting. I am thinking I should add a couple of cap-fulls of Koch Chemie Green Star to the mix to give it a bit of extra bite, but I am not sure if that will affect my ceramic coating. Suggestions and advice welcome.

Contact wash. Incredimitt & Reset. Brilliant! Job done. Enough said.

Drying off with the Klin Evo is a dream and I finally got to use the BLO AIR-S dryer to dry out the water traps, mopping up with a MF as I went. Although I am sure it _could_ be used for a complete dry on a ceramic coated car, I feel that it would take too much time and so I don't think I will ever use it to do so, as it's just so much quicker using the towel on the panels and then following up with the dryer. Maybe once I have become a bit quicker in completing my regimen, I will give it a go. One thing I did notice is that the Golf 8 seems to trap quite a bit of water in the rear door shuts and it pours out when the door is opened. I will need to remember this when drying off next time, as I only found out when I opened to door to drop my window during the glass-cleaning step.

Quick Detailing - Using FeynLab QD as it is the same brand as my coating. It seems to be good stuff and it smells amazing but I will need to pick some more up soon. I am down to around 2/3 of a bottle after only two washes. Maybe I am using too much? Not sure. It's not easy to tell with a white car. I am doing 2-3 squirts per panel with 2-3 on each half of the bonnet, the same on the roof and 2 squirts on the spoiler. I wipe on evenly and then immediately buff with a separate finishing cloth.

Whilst going round with the QD, I noticed I am getting some tar spots here and there. I found around 8-10 in total at various locations. Maybe the next wash or the one after will need a decontamination phase, though I will need to look into how best to do this whilst not messing with the ceramic coat. I have some Tardis, some Iron-X, some ValetPro Bilberry wheel cleaner as well as some CarPro Reload to use as a topper, so I will see where we're at, next wash.

Finally, I wanted to treat the tyres to a going over with TufShine Tyre Appearance Kit and wanted to dress the exterior plastics to some AngelWax Enigma Corona but, by the time I had done the exterior glass with AngelWax Vision (which went better than doing it in failing light last time), it had started to lightly hail/sleet (crazy weather at the moment!) and I was informed that a Domino's was on the way, so I decided to leave it until the next one and set to cleaning and packing up my kit.

All-in-all, I feel like I was more efficient than my last wash - helped greatly by the quick-release trigger & longer hose, despite doing interior and using the blower as well - so I feel like I am making progress and learning more as I go. I definitely need to get the hose roller guide wotsits and I reckon I need to get a decent kneeling mat as well. I am 42 and these things aren't as bearable as they once would've been!

Due to the looming Domino's, I again forgot to grab some pictures! :lol: I will try to get some tomorrow and will post them up.

As said earlier, any tips, tricks, advice or suggestions are very much welcome! Thanks for reading and I hope my documenting my foray into detailing helps someone out in some way.

See you next time!


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

Awesome mate, can totally relate to the 10m hose and quick release, brilliant isn’t it.

I’ve noticed that I can speed up drying time by literally blow drying for 2 mins tops, to disperse the water, towel dry, open all doors, boot etc. Blow dry traps and mop with MF. Seems to work brilliantly for me and sped up the process loads.

Looking forward to seeing more pics!


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

bluechimp said:


> Awesome mate, can totally relate to the 10m hose and quick release, brilliant isn't it.
> 
> I've noticed that I can speed up drying time by literally blow drying for 2 mins tops, to disperse the water, towel dry, open all doors, boot etc. Blow dry traps and mop with MF. Seems to work brilliantly for me and sped up the process loads.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing more pics!


It really is great. Not only the convenience of the quick-release and the extra hose length, but the quality of the hose makes it so much less cumbersome to move around the car. Definitely a must-have bit of kit for anyone who regularly washes their own car, in my opinion.

So you use the blower first, for a couple of minutes, to get rid of as much as you can, and then go at the rest with the towel? Hmm, that's essentially doing it the opposite way to me but it does make sense as well. Maybe I will try that method next time. :thumb:


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

No detailing done since the last wash I posted about and I am working this Saturday & Sunday, so likely won't get to do anything until Wednesday, but I did have a couple of packages arrive today.

*Detail Guardz* - Looking forward to trying these out. They will hopefully help shave a little time off my wash regimen as well as saving my aging back by allowing me to not have to bother too much about where the pressure washer hose is when going around the car.

*EZ Detail Brush* - I have a set of Wheel Woolies which are great but the large one doesn't quite fit between the brake disk and the barrel of the 18s, so got one of these as the shaft is thinner. Hopefully the bristles don't counter that too much and I can get it in to give the barrels a good clean.

*Swissvax Interior & Leather Brush* - Wanted a really gentle brush for dealing with the Alcantara panels on the Art Velour seats. This seems perfect.

*500ml CarPro Inside Interior Cleaner* - Again, for the Art Velour seats. Wanted something gentle to try on the Alcantara panels but will also work for all the other seat materials and other soft-touch surfaces.

*Auto Finesse Mercury* - Gotta have shiny tips!

I also have a *Tuf Shine Tyre Kit* sat waiting to be used, as well as some *AngelWax Enigma Corona* - So my tyres and exterior plastics should be protected and looking good. It's all in the details! 

I'll post up after my next session and I will do my best to remember to grab some pictures this time!


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

Another session today. Pretty much the same as my last one but with a few differences.

Maintenance wash. I also got to use some new kit that I have been wanting to try:

Detail Guardz
Auto Finesse Mercury
AngelWax Enigma Corona
EZ Detail Brush

*Method*

Rinse
Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam & MTM Hydro 22.2 Foam Lance
Wheel clean using separate wheel bucket, Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incrediflair Wheel Mitt, Wheel Woolies, EZ Detail Brush & Envy Detailing brush
Rinse
2-bucket contact wash using CarPro Reset shampoo, Microfibre Madness Incredimitt & Envy Detailing brushes
Rinse
Towel-dry using Klin Korea Evo
Blow dry of panel gaps and other water traps with BLO AIR-S dryer & MF cloth
Quick Detail using FeynLab Detailer (matches my coating), Costco yellow MF cloths & Klin Korea Zero finishing cloth to buff
Exterior glass clean with AngelWax Vision & In2Detailing Korean Waffle Weave Glass Cloth
Exhaust tips polish with Auto Finesse Mercury
Exterior plastics dressed and sealed with AngelWax Enigma Corona
Tyre dressing using Tuf Shine Tyre Kit

*Some thoughts...*

Still learning but I definitely feel as though I am becoming more efficient with my regimen. Today I used my new Detail Guardz and I have to say they work brilliantly. Not having the PW hose snag under the wheels really helped speed things up and allowed me to be more focused on the job. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.

I have now found the sweet spot for my snow foam lance and mixture with the Koch Chemie GSF. Didn't end up adding some Koch Chemie Green Star to the mix to give it a bit of extra bite, as I am still not sure if that will affect my ceramic coating. Suggestions and advice welcome. Attacked the wheels whilst the foam was dwelling. Tried out the EZ Detail Brush and, thankfully, it fits easily between the brake disks and the wheels - which the Wheel Wooly wasn't able to - so, impressed with that!

Contact wash. Incredimitt & Reset. Brilliant! Job done. Enough said.

After a good rinse, I then attacked some of the tar spots by spraying a little Tardis on a MF and dabbing the individual spots, leaving it for a little while and then giving them another wipe with a clean MF. This worked well and despite having to give a few of them a bit of a 'fingernail scratch' from under the cloth, it was definitely preferable to a full decontamination session - though, I will do one in a couple of months or so.

Full rinse after the Tardis and dried off with the Klin Evo and the BLO AIR-S dryer to dry out the water traps. This time I remembered to open up my doors during the drying phase and ended up grabbing a MF cloth and doing a full job on the door shuts and jams, which felt nice.

Quick Detailing - Again used FeynLab QD as it is the same brand as my coating. After feeling that I was going through this too quickly, I used it much more sparingly this time and still ended with great results. A little definitely goes a long way. Lesson learned.

Exterior glass cleaned up with AngelWax Vision and a waffle glass cloth. I also filled up my washer reservoir with AngelWax Clarity. Whilst the In2Detailing cloth gives clean and streak-free glass, it grabs quite a bit more than I like on the second pass, using the dry side. I am currently looking at getting one of the diamond weave ones from The Rag Company, which are meant to be much better in this regard.

Finally got round to treating the exhaust tips to a going over with Auto Finesse Mercury metal polish. This is really good stuff. It goes on as a paste and then you buff off with a clean MF. It brought the tips up a treat using just elbow grease and I discovered that the large exhaust tips on the ClubSport are just the perfect size that I can wrap a MF round my fist and give the inside rim a good polish as well! _Oo err, missus! _ I am going to try and make sure that I use this every wash now, so that I keep on top of them.

Next, I managed to treat all the exterior plastics to a going over with AngelWax Enigma Corona. This stuff isn't cheap but it cleaned up, dressed and Sio2 coated all the blacks. Applied with a MF applicator and then buffed with a MF cloth. Doing the honeycomb grille was a bit of a pain but, luckily, the holes were big enough for a good portion of the applicator to fit through, so I managed to get it done without it taking too much time and the product left everything looking a shade deeper black than previously, as well as leaving them with a matte, factory-like finish. Looks nice!

Lastly, I got to use a product that I have wanted to try for ages. The Tuf Shine Tyre Kit. It's advertised as a semi-permanent tyre dressing. You get a tyre brush, a bottle of tyre cleaner, a bottle of tyre clearcoat and an applicator sponge. First, you spray the tyre cleaner around the tyre, agitate with the brush and the product immediately foams up brown as you work it in. You leave it for one minute, rinse off and then repeat the process until the cleaner foams up white when agitated. For me, each tyre took 4 applications of the cleaner until it was going white. - _I am guessing there was dressing used by the dealer on there._ The clearcoat is a very runny, milky substance. You basically dribble some onto the applicator sponge and then have to work it in with a finger, or else it runs down your wheels. I found that dabbing the sponge round the wheel at first and then rubbing it round the tyre worked best. It goes on milky which seems a little concerning at first but this isn't the case once dry. After the first coat, the tyres had matte finish with no sheen. I left them to dry and then applied a second coat and this one was more like a 'new rubber' finish and was much more to my liking, so I felt that I didn't need to go for a third coat. I don't like really shiny tyres and two coats was perfect. The results were good and, apparently, topping up the clearcoat after a wash, every few months, is all that is needed. If it does what it claims, I will be more than happy.

As the sun was out today, I started the session fairly late on and so, by the time I had packed up, there wasn't much in the way of light left, so I didn't get any good daylight pic's. I did get a couple when I went to grab a McD's for my tea, though...



















I will try to get a couple more in the morning.

As said earlier, any tips, tricks, advice or suggestions are very much welcome! Thanks for reading and I hope my documenting my foray into detailing helps someone out in some way.

See you next time!


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

Awesome work buddy, you are doing a great job of keeping it looking clean and new.

A couple of things, i’m sure tardis says on the bottle not for machined alloys, so bare that in mind if you needed to use it on them.

Coat your exhausts in FK1000p which is a high temp sealant or even a trim or wheel ceramic and they don’t need anywhere near as much effort to clean.

Again great work dude and fantastic detail on the write up.


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## Brocky36 (Nov 23, 2013)

bluechimp said:


> Awesome work buddy, you are doing a great job of keeping it looking clean and new.
> 
> A couple of things, i'm sure tardis says on the bottle not for machined alloys, so bare that in mind if you needed to use it on them.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bluechimp. I have to say that it kind of feels a bit like cheating, posting about working on a brand new car on a forum where folks are bringing cars back from the dead. I'm just looking to keep the car looking as good as possible and also I can hopefully learn some stuff about this new hobby of mine, along the way.

I wasn't aware of the Tardis thing but didn't use it on the wheels anyway. I do have a bottle of Bilberry to use on the coating when the time comes for a decon session. I will have to check that will be ok, before I use it. Thanks for the heads-up.

I will have a look at FK1000p but you mention even using a trim ceramic. Would a going over with AngelWax Enigma Corona suffice?


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## wrxmania (Apr 15, 2007)

Lovely looking car. 

I did spec up a Golf R to a similar spec to my car and made £50k+ without wheels and exhaust upgrades!


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