# MkII Audi TT - New car and full prep!



## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Hi folks - been a while since I posted much on here, but I do drop by now and then. First appeared with a few piccys of my new Elise last march for some advice on maintaining its gorgeous looks. Since then, my needs, usage and outlook changed a little and I recently lucked in on a cancelled order that I could still spec to my taste. Ordered on 17th Sept and collected on Halloween - none of that six month wait nonsense! :thumb:

I had specifically requested that the Dealer only remove the transport protection and not to wash / valet it. Yes, that's rather anal, but with all respect, the guys at Dealerships simply don't have the time or the super-softy-wofty gear to lavish anything but a form and function wipe over with a gritty sponge and an oily chamois. That's not necessarily their fault of course, but I've seen so many examples of shocking Dealership prep / swirling / marring that I strongly believe it's simply best left to those with more time to spend attentively prepping things

With the car safely home, the following morning saw an enthusiastic new owner heading for the garage to collect armfuls of cleaning gear and products to start the whole new car prep process. I had toyed with getting a pro-detailer to give the car the best start in life, but after gleaning much here (big inspiration from that forum God and his new pick-up truck prep!) and following some very helpful advice previously from Rich at Polished Bliss from Paul Townsend of Shine On Auto Detailing (thanks fellas :thumb, I decided to put my own experience to work and in all truth, I usually get an awful lot of satisfaction of making a thorough job of things

Here's what took place:

Day 1 (10:00am - 5:00pm)

Before shots:














































Rinse
Snow Foam & Chemical Guys Maxi Suds (75/25) soak with a Gilmour Foamaster II (Twice)










Rinse
Two bucket method wash via Sonus Lambs Wool Wash Mitt with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash (Twice)

Poly Clay with Chemical Guys Speed Detailer and Clay Lube / Poorboys Slick n Suds / Water super lube mix
Rinse
Two bucket method wash via Sonus Lambs Wool Wash Mitt with Poorboys Slick n Suds
Rinse

Dried with Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel

Wheels off for all over wash, Klasse All in One base coat buffed with another Microfibre cloth followed by 3 coats of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard via Microfibre foam applicator and buffed with another Microfibre cloth

Before:









After:









Prep wheel arches with AutoGlym Vinyl & Rubber Care:



















Day 2 (11:00am - 5:00pm)

The intense cleansing on Day 1 revealed a scuff / swipe across the front bumper section:










A quick rub with some Menzerna 3.02 and it was all but invisible and whilst doing the following glaze and wax coats, I never noticed anything again, so we'll see how this pans out

Rinse
Two bucket method wash via Sonus Lambs Wool Wash Mitt with Poorboys Slick n Suds
Rinse

Chemical Guys EZ Glaze via Microfibre foam applicator and buffed with another Microfibre cloth

Chemical Guys 50/50 Connoisseur Wax Paste via German foam applicator (red side) and buffed with another Microfibre cloth (two coats)

Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel via dressing sponge on exterior black trim, engine compartment plastics and tyres

Fourth coat Chemical Guys Wheel Guard

Day 3 (1:00pm - 4:00pm)

Rinse
Two bucket method wash via Sonus Lambs Wool Wash Mitt with Poorboys Slick n Suds
Rinse

Collinite #915 Marque D'Elegance Premium Auto Wax via another German foam applicator (red side) and buffed with another Microfibre cloth

Day 4 (12:00pm - 1:30pm)

Aerospace 303 Protectant on interior surfaces

Gliptone Liquid Leather on seats and Extended Leather parts

So, four days to clean a car..?  Well, yes and no  They weren't full days and I did take my time with plenty of tea-breaks, the odd post on TT Forum and lots of time in a daydream admiring the car! BUT, I freely admit, I am rather mad! Yep, no defence to that and the neighbours already know me as slightly obsessive when it comes to car care but now simply feel I should be committed. Whilst adding glaze and wax to the underside of the spoiler, door-shuts and front wings under the bonnet even I started to feel that maybe perhaps I'd possibly gone a step too far this time :lol:










However, I now know each and every square millimetre of my new pride and joy - intimately! I know the car has received the best possible start by having excellent prep together with effective and durable products on everything. There are of course those who'd rather hammer through the car wash and maybe splat a bit of Turtlewax on it once a year who won't relate to this at all… but they don't need to and I genuinely wish them all the best if that's their chosen bag :thumb: Will the ***** / Swissvax pricey stuff follow suit..? Possibly, but with winter imminent, I'll stick with the durability and save the top-bling for a spring refresh… maybe

Oddly enough, the sun only shone for about five minutes the whole time I did the above and the Ice Metallic really came to life. I headed out for a few piccys after completion but the light was fading somewhat
































































A couple days later brought a beautiful autumnal day under a moody sky, so I nipped out again for a few shots… all within a few miles of home


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## InSPiRE (Jun 5, 2007)

Great effort done on the car. I love your photoshoot!


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## Fat Audi 80 (Nov 8, 2006)

Lovely results on lovely car! :thumb:


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

Really nice job and awesome photos:thumb:


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Looks the nadgers fella :thumb:


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Absolutely beautiful:thumb:


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Thanks for an enjoyable read and beautifully framed photos. :thumb: 

Car looks superb too!  

Alan W


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## smoki1969 (Oct 10, 2006)

Lucky chap and a good attention to detail......

Should see you happy for a few months :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Thanks everyone, most appreciated 

Glad you're liking the photos - I'm no expert on that either, just used a £95ish Pentax Optio E10, frame up, point and click! Guess it goes to show how much decent subject matter plays in it all! :thumb:


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

Gaffer said:


> Thanks everyone, most appreciated
> 
> Glad you're liking the photos - I'm no expert on that either, just used a £95ish Pentax Optio E10, frame up, point and click! Guess it goes to show how much decent subject matter plays in it all! :thumb:


Awsome work mate, how do you do that boarder on ur photo's

:thumb:


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## david g (Dec 14, 2005)

Simply stunning :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

shane_ctr said:


> Awsome work mate, how do you do that boarder on ur photo's
> 
> :thumb:


Cheers Shane 

The frame is done in CorelPHOTO by re-sampling the original photo to 796 x 596 pixels, creating a new 800 x 600 pixel sized black background, pasting the re-sampled photo onto it, centre it up and exporting the whole thing as a jpg

Hope that helps!


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## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

Great detailed writeup and a very thorough job to be proud of. I agree some really nicely framed pics too. The pic to end on was stunning. Thanks for sharing :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

david g said:


> Simply stunning :thumb:


Thank you

I got several of the products used from you especially for the job! :thumb:

(...and gave you (and others) a plug at the end of a big huge write up on the TT Forum for guys who are new to this 'whole new level' )


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

V8burble said:


> Great detailed writeup and a very thorough job to be proud of. I agree some really nicely framed pics too. The pic to end on was stunning. Thanks for sharing :thumb:


Cheers - feeling very proud! 

The hi-res copy of that end pic is on my desktop actually


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

Well done, great results and some nice photography mate:thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

CK888 said:


> Well done, great results and some nice photography mate:thumb:


Cheers fella - I am pretty chuffed with everything surrounding this new TT. I feel that having put into practice loads of things that I have learnt here has really set the car off on a great start in life

It's great that it rewards in so many ways and I have the good people here to thank for all the do's and don'ts when it comes to new car care :thumb:


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Looks awesome :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Very nice indeed!


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## Maxym (Apr 27, 2007)

Last shot the best. Nice work. Hope the dealer gave you some compensation for allowing them to skip some prep work... Also, I imagine you got no discount on list given the waiting list and you sneaking on...?


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## Lespaul (May 23, 2006)

Very nice :thumb: 

You should try to sell that last photo to Audi for their TT brochure  

Darren


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Excellent attention to detail, fabulous job! well done!


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## Bulla2000 (Jun 5, 2007)

Looks awesome, very well done.


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

Looks like alot of work had gone into that great results.

The car is looking stunning in the after shots.


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## spectrum (Mar 6, 2007)

well done mate! Top work. Love the wheels (and the car!)


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## joe_0_1 (Apr 7, 2007)

Fantastic work, and excellent pictures, very impressed by the klasse & CG on the wheels.


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

nicee nicee. Good shots, cool car :thumb:


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## Clone (Apr 8, 2007)

Very nice, great looking car. Thats last photo is desktop worthy  Very nice photo.


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## Davey S2 (Sep 5, 2007)

Very nice indeed Clive.

Look forward to seing it in the metal at some point.

What colour interior did you go for? My brother in lawhas a new shape 3.2 TT and the interior is what can only be described as 'Dogs Nob Red'  

Alarmingly it grows on you.


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

If your gonna do something, you may as well do it right. Fair play to you mate. Although im a big wax snob, i would say get some zaino z2-pro and some zfx. It will really make the flake pop on your car and it will last ages. You can get zaino gear from www.pro-detailing.co.uk (forum sponsor). The klasse twins from polished bliss are meant to be good too, so im told.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

A cracker of a detail and write up :thumb:

A lovely finish on a very nice car


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## vpricey (May 8, 2006)

Nice one Gaffer, the results speak for themselves!! Stunning mate!!:thumb: Not a step too far at all, If I were spending 20k+ on a car I think I'd be taking my time to make sure it was done right to begin with too!!

As for the self preping and thinking it's a bit Anal, It's probably the best move cosidering the state of which some of the Audi's on here look like before correction from Stealer Prepping!!


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Simply stunning! great work bud

love the pictures :thumb:


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

excellent pictures topwork:thumb:


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Superb bit of work there Clive.

That's the best bit of new car ownership for me, the first indepth detail that you give the car. It becomes a real learning experience, getting to know the car in minute detail. I learnt so much about my Hilux during it's first detail.

A cracking write up, and some very nice photo's to compliment the post. Nice one, I enjoyed this:thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Skyliner34 said:


> Looks awesome :thumb:


Thanks! I am rather pleased


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

ahaydock said:


> Very nice indeed!


Cheers. It's been a few days since I've seen it actually…


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Maxym said:


> Last shot the best. Nice work. Hope the dealer gave you some compensation for allowing them to skip some prep work... Also, I imagine you got no discount on list given the waiting list and you sneaking on...?


Yeah, it does seem that the last piccy is the fave 

Ha ha! No chance getting anything off from the Dealer mate - didn't even get a free Audi fleece / brolly / kick in the ar5e 

No discount available - but not too bothered given the 'side door' in :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Lespaul said:


> Very nice :thumb:
> 
> You should try to sell that last photo to Audi for their TT brochure
> 
> Darren


Hee hee, yeah - but I doubt they'd offer much somehow  Besides, they tend to go for computer rendered images in their brochures in futuristic landscapes… not that I suckered any of that for a moment… no siree… much!


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

N8KOW said:


> Excellent attention to detail, fabulous job! well done!


Thank you! I try to be conscientious and thorough


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Bulla2000 said:


> Looks awesome, very well done.


Cheers!

'Awesome' has been used a few times to describe it. I'd struggle to go that far in truth, but I am very, very happy with it on all fronts :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

S-X-I said:


> Looks like a lot of work had gone into that great results.
> 
> The car is looking stunning in the after shots.


Yeah I put a lot into it, but like most on here, get a lot out of it too 

The subject matter and scenery certainly play a big part in the overall effect of the piccys :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

spectrum said:


> well done mate! Top work. Love the wheels (and the car!)


Thank you fella! The wheels definitely work for me too - they seem to echo and compliment the Mk2 design very well


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

joe_0_1 said:


> Fantastic work, and excellent pictures, very impressed by the klasse & CG on the wheels.


Cheers! The work took some effort and the photos just got lucky! 

Being barely a day old, the wheels should have indeed come up like new! Here's hoping that getting some decent product on there early will help me maintain the finish


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Thomas-182 said:


> nicee nicee. Good shots, cool car :thumb:


Thanks Thomas 

Glad you like - I certainly do!


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Clone said:


> Very nice, great looking car. Thats last photo is desktop worthy  Very nice photo.


Thanks all round 

The hi-res version of that very piccy adorns my desktop as we speak!


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Davey S2 said:


> Very nice indeed Clive.
> 
> Look forward to seeing it in the metal at some point.
> 
> ...


Yes mate - we'll definitely get to exchange a good look over each other's new rides in due course :thumb:

The interior Black Alcantara. The new TT is suffering really badly with a sagging leather issue that I thankfully knew all about before speccing and the Alcantara adds a really good blend of texture, warmth and grip - I was never going to shell out £550 for full leather which isn't as good overall (IMHO). Although having said that, I did add the 'Extended Leather' package to get black leather on the centre console, instrument binnacle and arm rests in doors - an really nice touch and way better than the standard trim in these areas










The Magma Red interior is not as pimpy as in the Mk1 and really works well in conjunction with some exterior colours - but it wasn't to my taste as something to live with

Keep in touch fella!


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

paddy328 said:


> If your gonna do something, you may as well do it right. Fair play to you mate. Although im a big wax snob, i would say get some zaino z2-pro and some zfx. It will really make the flake pop on your car and it will last ages. You can get zaino gear from www.pro-detailing.co.uk (forum sponsor). The klasse twins from polished bliss are meant to be good too, so im told.


Thanks Paddy - my thoughts exactly. Gald you appreciated it 

I do have to admit that the Zaino is really tempting me… :devil:

 :thumb:


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

GlynRS2 said:


> A cracker of a detail and write up :thumb:
> 
> A lovely finish on a very nice car


Cheers Glyn, much appreciated!

I posted a similar reply on your recent wash thread earlier this evening actually! (but of course, we are both 'slightly' biased :thumb: )


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

vpricey said:


> Nice one Gaffer, the results speak for themselves!! Stunning mate!! :thumb: Not a step too far at all, If I were spending 20k+ on a car I think I'd be taking my time to make sure it was done right to begin with too!!
> 
> As for the self prepping and thinking it's a bit Anal, It's probably the best move considering the state of which some of the Audi's on here look like before correction from Stealer Prepping!!


Thank you mate - I'm really glad I decided to take this route with the new car, but have to confess that it was a few quid over £30k I'm afraid  …but yes, even more reason not to let a Dealer 'ruin' it then eh..?


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

MatrixGuy said:


> Simply stunning! great work bud
> 
> love the pictures :thumb:


Ta very much 

The pictures do seem to have been a surprising hit!


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

saxoboy07 said:


> excellent pictures topwork:thumb:


Cheers - glad you like it


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## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

L200 Steve said:


> Superb bit of work there Clive.
> 
> That's the best bit of new car ownership for me, the first in depth detail that you give the car. It becomes a real learning experience, getting to know the car in minute detail. I learnt so much about my Hilux during it's first detail.
> 
> A cracking write up, and some very nice photo's to compliment the post. Nice one, I enjoyed this:thumb:


Very true Steve - getting intimate all round (ooo er!  ) is such a great way to learn about one's new pride and joy. How many people spend plenty on cars and know sod all about them? Lots I suppose, but hey, horses and courses and all that :thumb:

Delighted that you approve as it was indeed your good self that I tagged as the 'Forum God' in the write up after your Hi-Lux detail gave me so much information and confidence to take the task on myself 

Thank you


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