# Polished Bliss: RS4 on 20s - guess the LSP!



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

With our six month waiting list causing the odd bit of grief with both new and existing customers, and Marsha now happily in post and tackling the orders, I guessed it was about time I should ease myself out of my chair and dust the cobwebs off my Makita... roll on a summer full of weekend details.

First up, a nice RS4, recently modified with a nice set of arch filling 20s of off an S5...



















I'd inspected the car a month or two back and booked it in for a minor correction detail, as in the sun it didn't look to bad at all. Big mistake, but I'll come back to that later. First of all, the wash process, starting with setting up the waste water collection bund...










Hot foam at 60oC does a marvellous job of removing traffic films and the like, but bug splattered front ends and dirty trims always benefit from a pre-soak with P21S Total Auto Wash...




























as do door shuts...










and engine bays...










After a little light agitation with microfibre wash mitts and several brushes. I rinsed the whole lot off at 60oC, and then switched the lance into hot foam mode...










With the foam soaking, I set about the wheels, finding that only normal suds were required to bring them up 100%...










After rinsing off again at 60oC, I then used Autosmart Tardis to remove any remaining bug splatter and tar spots. This product is best applied neat, and should then be left to work for a minute or so before being wiped gently with a microfibre work towel - this ensures any stubborn residues are removed. A top tip is to bin the towel after use, as if you try and wash it it will stink out your machine...










After another thorough rinse off, I rolled the car inside and clayed the glass and bodywork using Meguiars detailing Clay Mild and Last Touch as the lube...










Then it was back outside for a final rinse before drying off with the leaf blower. Just at this point the sun made an appearance, and this is what I could see - pretty much the same as when I had first inspected the car. Menzerna 106FA and a polishing pad it was to be then - hurrah!



















However, this turned out to be a hasty assumption. Inside, under the 500W halogens numerous other defects started to appear... including some nasty random scratches on virtually every panel. Hmm, maybe 106FA won't cut it after all...

*Bonnet Before*










*Bonnet After*










The final process needed here was 1 x 106FA @ 1800rpm on a 3M High Gloss Polishing Pad, 2 x RD3.02 @ 1800rpm on a 3M High Gloss Polishing Pad, and finally 1 x 85RD on a 3M Ultrafina SE Finishing Pad. Fantastic... the dream of an easy single stage process was well and truly out of the window. Here's me finishing off the bonnet...










The roof required just 1 x RD3.02 @ 2000rpm on a 3M High Gloss Polishing Pad, and finally 1 x 85RD on a 3M Ultrafina SE Finishing Pad. But then the bootlid reared its ugly head, and when I saw this...










...out came the big guns. 1 x 3M Fast Cut Plus @ 1800rpm on a 3M High Gloss Polishing Pad and then 1 x 85RD on a 3M Ultrafina SE Finishing Pad gave me this...










Why not use a compounding pad? Well, some of the curves on the RS4 are a pig with harder pads, and Fast Cut Plus seems to work very well even with a soft pad, so why make life harder? This panel set the process for much of the rest of the car... but by this point it was 7pm, so time to call it a day with just the bonnet, roof and bootlid fully corrected.

Total work time for day one = 11 hours.

Day two dawned with me feeling somewhat unwell - a bad headache and the constant feeling of wanting to throw up, so the whole day ended up being a rather testing experience. Each side took around 3 hours to fully correct and the bumpers took another hour each. The rear bumper was the worst of the lot, looking like this before....










and this after 1 x RD3.02 on a Lake Country CCS Light Cut Spot Pad at speed 5 on the G220 (I'm still not inclined to rotary bumpers, as I have a tendency to like to work the rotary hard, and heat remains an issue!)...










With the correction done by just after 4pm, it was time to dust off all of the polishing dust (mostly generated by the Fast Cut Plus) using one of our new wool dusters - great bit of kit, a third of the price of others on the market...










Then in quick succession, I cleaned out all of the shuts (hoover, then Last Touch wipe down), dressed the engine bay with 303 Aerospace Protectant, cleaned the exterior glass with Meguiars Glass Cleaner Concentrate, dressed the tires with Blackfire Long Lasting Tire Gel, shampooed the boot with Brisk and the help of Charles (the wet & dry hoover) and finally polished the large rear exhaust tips with Raceglaze Metal Polish. All of this took around two and a half hours. Here are the finals...





































Hang on a minute!

Sorry, I forgot the wax! And the poison for this detail? Blackfire Midnight Sun, for a little jetting of the colour and a dash more reflectivity...










Well, okay, as it turned out it made very little difference to the overall finish, which just goes to show that a few extra hours spent with 85RD on a finishing pad makes all the difference between a good finish (i.e. that given for example by RD3.02 when properly finished down) and a stunning finish to which LSP's add little if anything at all. Here are the proper afters, with the indicator lenses also put back in!














































Total work time for both days = 23 hours.

:thumb:


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## astra-bertone (Mar 16, 2007)

feck me i want that car - cracking finish on it rich


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

hoooo yaa....

Thats gorgeous!!

Nice to see you do a write up too ...been a while, Very nicely done it was too.


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## BioHzrd (May 27, 2007)

Car looks stunning after great job


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Its nice to seeing you detailing again Rich. My order should be here tomorrow, can't wait to get started. Great write up and great job! The RS4 needs some coilovers then it'll look perfect :thumb:


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## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

what a car! looks amazing excellent work :thumb:


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Superb work, it looks lush :thumb:

BTW, do you guys ever slip up on that water balloon thing? the foams dwelling and your off cleaning the wheels.. i can see myself slipping and breaking my neck lol.


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## swiftshine (Apr 17, 2008)

Absolutely gorgeous.:thumb:

And a nice wee ad for good measure:lol:


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## Macmini (Aug 9, 2007)

blackfire midnite sun truely is an awesome piece of wax 
great job, rich


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

re-instates the fact that preparation is key to a good finish.
fantastic work as always pb


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

That looks fantastic. Well done, Rich. :thumb:


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## k3v_F (May 7, 2008)

i love it!


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## silver bmw z3 (Apr 30, 2007)

Nice to see you doing some work for a change Rich  :thumb: Seriously though, I can now see visually what you meant in your email re: lots of work this weekend. Amazing finish, that colour looks stunning.


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## 1996a6v6 (Feb 8, 2008)

Wow, a terrific amount of work has gone into that car, I hope the owner was blown away ?

Great pictures and write up and goes without saying, awesome detailing :thumb:


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## wrx man (Apr 18, 2008)

Looks excellent - :thumb:


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## stuupnorth (May 30, 2006)

Stunning work Rich as always
Great colour!!!:thumb:


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Nice one Rich.

Great to see you back detailing and not stuck in the PB office, hopefully we will get to see more of PB's excellent work.


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## A20 LEE (Feb 20, 2007)

nice work, no matter how many times i've polished Audi paint work am still surprised every time how hard it is.


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## rockape (Feb 18, 2007)

stunning :thumb:


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Youve still go it mate. Awesome afters.


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

excellent Rich... good to see you back in action:thumb::thumb:


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## dsolds (Feb 13, 2008)

You da man!!! But I do worry seeing you with that feather duster 

Awesome stuff mate and a gorgeous colour too. Looking exactly as a car of that calibre should look.


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## RB320~067 (Apr 7, 2008)

cracking job as usual,love the car and the colour


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## Slangwerks (May 10, 2006)

That's an awesome finish and no mistake, stunning!


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## hus55 (Apr 23, 2008)

great work rich:thumb:

did you use menz final inspection at all?

my G wagens paint is pretty much in the same state rich:doublesho, so it seems i know what i need now!


as for the backfire midnight sun....well my clk's black paint seems to 'flicker' as if on fire


rgds hus


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Superb job, the finish is second to none :thumb:


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## Mattieuk (Oct 26, 2005)

Wow what a car and great detail.


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

allways love reading a polished bliss write-up , this one didnt disapoint  really good to see a different take on the photograpy and write up too. carlooks sweet in the afters :thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

nice to see you still got it Rich top class, beats answering emails and calls eh mate.


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## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

sweet car :argie: and good job there :thumb:


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## KnightUnit (Dec 31, 2007)

Looks cracking, nice job


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Superb! Pete (type r) also swears by that wax rich!


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Nice work Rich, really finishes down well 85RD

Love the extra inch on the rims too, makes it look even better


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## Glider (Jan 10, 2006)

Great work, glad to see you back in action, see what a hard days work does, hope your feeling better now.


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Top work, IMO LSP dont do alot looks wise but more to lock in what is created with the polishing as you say spend a little extra time and you get it spot on 

Good to see some pics of you working rather than Clark hogging all the glory :lol:


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

fan-t-tastic fella

nice to see you back..rotary in hand:thumb:


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Feeling ill after just one day of manual work, hmm. You have obviously spent far too much time wearing a skirt in the office 

How does it feel to get the chance to get back to it?

The pictures tell us you still have the touch mind:thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> Feeling ill after just one day of manual work, hmm. You have obviously spent far too much time wearing a skirt in the office
> 
> How does it feel to get the chance to get back to it?
> 
> The pictures tell us you still have the touch mind:thumb:


lol aye Ange def wears the trousers there.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Gavb said:


> lol aye Ange def wears the trousers there.


Well from what I've read it's certainly not Clark

:lol::lol::lol:


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## Mossman (Jan 10, 2008)

W O W !

Stunning job on one of my all time fave cars and what a colour! Simply superb


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Why thank you gents, it was nice to get back to walking the walk rather than talking the talk for a change. As for feeling knackered, well, I doth my hat at all you chaps that do this day in day out every single day - it is very tiring if you aren't fully conditioned! And as for Ange wearing the trousers - very true.  



Mr Singh said:


> BTW, do you guys ever slip up on that water balloon thing? the foams dwelling and your off cleaning the wheels.. i can see myself slipping and breaking my neck lol.


Yes! 



hus55 said:


> did you use menz final inspection at all?


Not on this one, pushed for time and no obvious smearing, so I went straight to the wax after taking the mock final pics.



Wheelie_Clean said:


> Feeling ill after just one day of manual work, hmm. You have obviously spent far too much time wearing a skirt in the office


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Very nice Rich indeedie When I see them look that good I wonder why I gave in and didn't get one!!! cracking work glad to see u back in the hot seat!


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

awesome work and finish :thumb:

that'll be my everyday car once the lottery win gets in the bank :lol:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Mr Singh said:


> Superb work, it looks lush :thumb:
> 
> BTW, do you guys ever slip up on that water balloon thing? the foams dwelling and your off cleaning the wheels.. i can see myself slipping and breaking my neck lol.


The winter time is the worst when the water freezes in minutes, i've given the offices across the way a laugh a few times, noticeably one time when i fell flat on my ar$e and took a bucket of water with me!

Cracking Job Boss - i think you should take the pics of ALL our details now with your super duper camera


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## Sandro (Mar 16, 2008)

good to see you back in the saddle rich  good work too! without a doubt my favorite colour on my favorite car! looks lovely now!


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

That looks awesome!


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

when my Audi grow up it wants to be an RS4 :lol:

Good tip re the side repeaters - how do you get these out on the Audi's?

Thanks
Adrian


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Excellent work, Rich! Looks like you've got the hang of that Nikon a bit sharpish too ! :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

cheekeemonkey said:


> when my Audi grow up it wants to be an RS4 :lol:
> 
> Good tip re the side repeaters - how do you get these out on the Audi's?
> 
> ...


They just push forward and un-clip


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

well done Rich. The day two illness in any way associated with the day one workload?


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Don't think so... I was quite tired by the end of day one, but Ange has also suffered the same since (headache), so maybe it was a bug/virus of some kind? I worked through it though, and towards the end of the day felt a lot better.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Mark J said:


> Excellent work, Rich! Looks like you've got the hang of that Nikon a bit sharpish too ! :thumb:


Aye, read the manual a few times and set things up to work how I want them (and understand them), and so far so good! So much to learn, but I already love it completely. :thumb:


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## mikecc (Dec 10, 2007)

Nice work matey. Perfection everytime.

Mike.


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Clark said:


> The winter time is the worst when the water freezes in minutes, i've given the offices across the way a laugh a few times, noticeably one time when i fell flat on my ar and took a bucket of water with me!
> 
> Cracking Job Boss - i think you should take the pics of ALL our details now with your super duper camera


Next time wear flip flops


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## asjam86 (Mar 23, 2007)

Fantastic car and great results. 

Forgive me if this has been asked before as I haven't the time to read all the pages. But...
If you went out and gave your customer a price which was agreed upon and you finally get the car to find it needs alot more work than previously anticipated or quoted for, do you phone the customer and inform them the price has gone up or do you carry on the work for the agreed price? 

Please forgive me if I sound like I'm being obtuse I mean no offence in any way I'm just curious and its something I've never really thought about before but I guess it can happen.

Well done on the car though absolutely fantastic results.

jam


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Excellent work the car looks fantastic!:thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

asjam86 said:


> Fantastic car and great results.
> 
> Forgive me if this has been asked before as I haven't the time to read all the pages. But...
> If you went out and gave your customer a price which was agreed upon and you finally get the car to find it needs alot more work than previously anticipated or quoted for, do you phone the customer and inform them the price has gone up or do you carry on the work for the agreed price?
> ...


Good question - we always take it on the chin. We work to a fixed pricing structure based on the type of detail requested. Quite often we run over, either due to the car being worse than expected or us being picky and striving for maximum correction, but we don't charge for the extra time. It might sound crazy, but in the long run it pays off.


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

stunning work rich - good to see you still have the magic!

funny, just eating lunch on day 2 of current detail - an RS4! better make sure its a good job after reading that lol! :thumb:

Matt


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## TeZ (Oct 28, 2007)

Amazing work. 

Nice to put a face with a name to. 

TeZ


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Very nice Rich 

Lovely piece of work and those 20" rims really do fill them arches  sweeet


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## NickJ (May 9, 2007)

Thats looking amazing! I am pretty jealous I dont have the car or the skills.


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## mattjonescardiff (Dec 12, 2006)

Great write up and Detail. Thanks for posting.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That is just sex on wheels! :doublesho

Another cracking job mate, love the colour! :thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Nice work Rich, looks like Clark has some competition.

Great car, smashing write up

:thumb:


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## Reflex Tuscan (Nov 12, 2007)

Those after pictures do you real credit,fantastic results.


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## Mucky (May 25, 2006)

KKM said:


> Nice work Rich, looks like Clark has some competition.
> 
> Great car, smashing write up
> 
> :thumb:


but clark takes better pics :lol:


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## Tone Loc (Aug 22, 2007)

Stunning results, as always.

Beautiful car too, love RS4s.

Tony.


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Mucky said:


> but clark takes better pics :lol:


he he :doublesho


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Give me a chance! First weekend with my new camera, think I did okay! But, have to agree, the lad has an eye for angles and how to make cars look ace, and all with a cheap compact too. Talented for sure. :thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

WX51 TXR said:


> Give me a chance! First weekend with my new camera, think I did okay! But, have to agree, the lad has an eye for angles and how to make cars look ace, and all with a cheap compact too. Talented for sure. :thumb:


nothing wrong with your camera skills Rich the :buffer: is not to shabby either.

PS i will be in by for a duster later this week


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Very Good Rich and nice to see you "back at it"


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Cracking work Rich!

Nice to see a write up from you too :thumb:

More of that please sir!


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## Petrol-head (May 26, 2008)

Top write up Rich and love those pics!

Looks like you have an awsome setup there


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## range rover dea (May 27, 2007)

nice ,lost for words as said good to put names to faces:wave:


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## 6FIEND (Mar 9, 2008)

Hi Rich - absolutely stunning finish on that car! (and I love the "oops - forgot the LSP!" twist at the end)

...I know that you use both the Blackfire Wax and Raceglaze 55 products regularly - would you mind giving a brief pro/con between the two and you find them? (both in terms of application, finish, and durability) 

Or are the two products too vastly different to really compare?


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## Mucky (May 25, 2006)

WX51 TXR said:


> . Talented for sure. :thumb:


well he did win x factor:lol:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

6FIEND said:


> Hi Rich - absolutely stunning finish on that car! (and I love the "oops - forgot the LSP!" twist at the end)
> 
> ...I know that you use both the Blackfire Wax and Raceglaze 55 products regularly - would you mind giving a brief pro/con between the two and you find them? (both in terms of application, finish, and durability)
> 
> Or are the two products too vastly different to really compare?


I was asked this by another DW member the other day by e-mail, so to save me typing it all out again, here is the answer I gave him...

Tough call between the Midnight Sun and the '55'. My feelings are as follows...

_The advantage of using Midnight Sun is that you not only get great wetness, but also a sharpness and clarity to the finish that pure waxes cannot match (this is down to the additional synthetic polymer content in Midnight Sun). Thus, in many ways, Midnight Sun is a product that gives the best of all worlds; decent wetness and gloss, coupled with great clarity and reflectivity. However, it isn't perfect. Durability is around 3 months per coat in our experience, which is okay, but not as good as pure waxes with higher carnauba contents. Also, the beading isn't quite as tight, simply because a major component of the product (the polymers) is not reactive to moisture variations, meaning the coating doesn't swell so much when wet. It is these very downsides which would be positively addressed by switching to '55' - you would get around 4 months of durability per coat, and the beading is very tight and tall. But, the downside is that the absence of polymers in the wax matrix means that reflectivity is tempered and a little clarity is lost... although in fairness the final finish is maybe just a touch wetter looking than that produced by Midnight Sun.

So, a tough call; keeping it simple, I would stick with Midnight Sun if reflectivity is important to you, but maybe consider the '55' if you want a smidgy more wetness and durability. _

:thumb:


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Beautiful detail* AND* photos. What camera did you get if I may ask???


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Awesome Rich, nice to see you 'out of retirement' so to speak, lovely piece of work.


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

what a car,superb finish.looks like it has just come out of the showroom


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

tdekany said:


> Beautiful detail* AND* photos. What camera did you get if I may ask???


Nikon D300 + 16-85VR lens. It's going to take a long time to get fully used to it and get the best from it, but it made sense for me to jump in at the deep end this time round. :thumb:


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## Mr Mike (Oct 2, 2007)

WX51 TXR said:


> I was asked this by another DW member the other day by e-mail, so to save me typing it all out again, here is the answer I gave him...
> 
> Tough call between the Midnight Sun and the '55'. My feelings are as follows...
> 
> ...


Hi Rich I met you on Monday afternoon around 5pm-ish when i came in by for some spot pads and tardis and then i come home to see a pic of you on this thread, so again nice to put a face to a name.

Quick question about the Midnight Sun, the ultimate blackfire finish being after wet diamond, just curious as to why you did not use this first?

Cracking job by the way, now i see where your time went on this one.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

The basecoat of Wet Diamond adds more reflectivity and durability to the finish. However, in this case, I wanted wetness and gloss over reflectivity, and durability isn't an issue, as the owner has his own tub of Midnight Sun and will be applying regular coats. :thumb:


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## boxstaman (Jun 25, 2007)

Amazing finish and stunning car.


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## djcromie (Mar 22, 2007)

deadly work, good to see the boss pitchin in :thumb:


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## Piratez (Jun 28, 2008)

Ah PB standart!!!! always very superb work on detailing!!!!!!!:thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## newcomer (Nov 5, 2008)

astra-bertone said:


> feck me i want that car - cracking finish on it rich


i want that car too. btw. excellent work mate.look' s good on blue too this rs4


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## baseballlover1 (Sep 25, 2007)

looks good guys! I havent seen a new write up from you guys for a few weeks!


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## Sveneng (Apr 20, 2008)

That looks amazing, I know it's an old post but still worth mentioning how good it turned out.


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## Needs a clean (May 24, 2008)

Oh dear. This thread is away to cost me money! I am watching a set of RS4 Alloys on Ebay now. Thanks very much!!!! :lol::lol:

Cracking finish on the Audi though. Must be my ultimate car!!!!

I WILL HAVE ONE IN 2 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

















If the Mrs will let me.


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## Drew (Apr 12, 2006)

Wow. really like the car. Geat write up and amazing results!


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## G105ALY (Dec 6, 2006)

Love this colour and this car!


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## byrnes (Jul 15, 2008)

Stunning! Fantastic colour!


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## supercharged (Feb 1, 2008)

simply amazing!!!


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## polsonm87 (Jul 20, 2006)

good write up! awsome car


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## SevenW (Sep 19, 2008)

Gorgeous colour, gorgeous car, fantastic job.


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## Mat430uk (Sep 17, 2007)

awesome !


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## stuupnorth (May 30, 2006)

*wow*

WOW!!!!! amazing as always


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## notsosmall (Sep 13, 2008)

that is an great car and looks just perfect now :thumb:


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## MrLOL (Feb 23, 2007)

baseballlover1 said:


> looks good guys! I havent seen a new write up from you guys for a few weeks!


thats because its not

this is from June mate !


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## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

Aint been on here for a while but good too see you getting time to get back into the detailing side Rich, RS4 looks stunning.


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## audi2k40 (Dec 17, 2008)

A truly stunning car!:doublesho :thumb: Could not believe it was that swirled after the outside shots!


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## O`Neil (Aug 13, 2007)

I can only echo what`s already been said, awesome car with an awesome finish :thumb:


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