# Golf GTi Mk6 Tornado Red - First attempt at detailing (Before and after pics)



## Mat_GTI (Jul 24, 2017)

Having been a long time unregistered lurker on Detailing World I thought I had better actually sign up to say a big thanks for all the hints I have picked up and to share a few pictures of my first effort at detailing I have been doing over the past week or so :buffer:

This is how it looked when I picked it up just over three months ago, took me a long time to track down the exact car I wanted, a Golf GTi Mk6, one owner, 56k mile, full VW history with 9 stamps, unmarked heated leather, Tornado red, 2yr warranty and completely standard 210bhp :car:

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First thing I did was swap the stock alloys for some brand new 18" Santiagos and fitted 'Uniroyal Rain Sport 3' tyres. Unfortunately less than a week after buying it I found the throw out bearing on the clutch and air con compressor were both noisy. Thankfully I can honestly say JCT600 dealt with it spot on, full new clutch kit including DMF and a new shiny air con compressor fitted, just under £3k including parts and labour, thankfully all done under warranty. Only other thing I have had done mechanically is paid for the timing chain tensioner to be replaced with the latest revision for my own peace of mind.

Since then I have been really happy with pretty much everything about the car and it's not missed a beat but one thing that has been niggling me is the paint. No nasty scratches but it just looked really dull and flat as you can see in the first photo and under direct sunlight the swirl marks were absolutely everywhere... its only had one previous owner but he/she must have put it through the car wash 4 times a day to attain the world record for most swirl marks on a five door hatch lol!

It really detracted from the rest of the car, I couldn't justify £700 + vat to pay for a detailer to do the work so after a few days of research I bought this full kit, a clay bar, some decent cloths, two sponges, two buckets and a paint depth gauge and after watching a few (hundred) YouTube tutorials and lots of reading up on here I set to work.

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All told it's taken almost five hours a night for five nights of hard graft but after 22 hours I'm absolutely chuffed with the results, genuinely looks better than a new car, dripping deep red shiny gloss, and after pouring over every inch with a Lenser P7 and halogen lamp I can find no swirl marks, scratches or scuffs.

Routine I followed for each panel was mark off 2ft x 2ft, wash, clay bar, wash again, dry, dual action machine polish stage 1 with the renovation paste and pad to get rid of the most severe scratches, dual action machine polish stage 2 paste and pad for fine scratch removal to refine the clear cote, then machine polish with stage 3 finishing polish until perfect.

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The rear quarter, doors and boot were especially swirltastic so I hit those first… it took some doing! Before and after:

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Roof and spoiler next, the roof was worse than I thought once I got it under the light but is now perfect…. before and after

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Bonnet and bumpers, bonnet needed a lot of work but now it looks so good, just two stone chips I need to get sorted professionally as soon as I get chance.

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All done, it was sat waiting for a some wax this morning to finish and seal, I tried Meguiars Ultimate Paste rather than the usual Classic Gold mainly in the hope that with it being synthetic it will last for a while longer.

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Then went around all the external plastics with Meguiars Back to Black, cleaned the glass with XL, polished both tail pipes with TCut and metal polish and gave the tyres a light coat of Meguiars tyre dressing.

Finally, all done, aching arms, aching back, broken finger nail and a garage covered in masking tape and worn out polishing pads but it was all worth it, car looking unbelievably glossy, not a swirl in sight and beading like a dream after this afternoons down pour 











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The interior is genuinely pristine already but I gave it a full valet, two coats of Meguiars leather treatment on all the seats, replaced the passenger door black trim insert as it had a scratch I couldn't polish out and added the GTi seat handle inserts.



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I thought I was finally done for now… but then some LED sidelight bulbs I had ordered arrived and after installing them (amidst much swearing due to my fat fingers) they highlighted that the one part of the car I had not corrected…. the headlights! The new bright white light showed up a myriad of swirly nonsense! :wall: Soooo after another few hours in the garage (you cant imagine the scowling looks I was getting from my wife at this point lol!) the headlamps are now crystal clear too 

P7241472

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Next up will be the engine bay which is clean but needs to be cleaner :lol: as well as a couple of mods I have planned for the exhaust and some very subtle lowering.

Thanks for looking!


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## bense556 (Mar 14, 2017)

That is seriously impressive for a first attempt, and the dedication to being out every night is on another level. Never been a fan of the Golf personally (or any small hatchback for that matter) but that is nice. 
Might be worth looking at a coating for the alloys depending on how bad the dust is, as it will make it easier to clean, and protects them as well.

Enjoy it!


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## jon3sy (Jul 15, 2017)

I must say what a fantastic job you have done there looks amazing your a credit to your car  would love my car to look like that but wouldn't know where to start lol 









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## chris.t (Jan 18, 2014)

Top job:thumb: thats a great turn around bet you was well chuffed


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## adamf (Feb 5, 2006)

Very nice work and lovely shine.

Have the same car myself with tartan seats. 
Went for the 18" Watkins Glen wheels off the Ed35 on mine as wasn't keen on the 18" Monza's.

Fingers crossed yours is more reliable than mines been. Had quite a few issues with mine.

Planning on getting a mk7 R in the near future so hasn't put me off the Golf...


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## Mat_GTI (Jul 24, 2017)

Thanks for the kind comments all, much appreciated 



bense556 said:


> That is seriously impressive for a first attempt, and the dedication to being out every night is on another level. Never been a fan of the Golf personally (or any small hatchback for that matter) but that is nice.
> Might be worth looking at a coating for the alloys depending on how bad the dust is, as it will make it easier to clean, and protects them as well.
> Enjoy it!


I don't know about dedication but I certainly burned through quite a few podcasts to keep me going lol! That's a good point about the wheels cheers... will have a look at some wheel sealant online tonight.



adamf said:


> Very nice work and lovely shine.
> 
> Have the same car myself with tartan seats.
> Went for the 18" Watkins Glen wheels off the Ed35 on mine as wasn't keen on the 18" Monza's.
> ...


Cheers Adam, yeah the ED35 wheels are very nice  This is my seventh GTi, they are pretty much all I have driven for the last 20 years lol.... Its low mileage, I have updated the chain tensioner and the other bits were sorted under warranty so hopefully shouldn't be too many issues now but if anything crops up I have 22 months of VW warranty left


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## Mattwilko92 (Aug 4, 2008)

Wow nice work! I have a MK7 GTI, so far only 1 minor issue with dealer sorted without question. Just recently gave my wheels a full decon and sealed them + the calipers with Gtechniq C5. Would recommend.

If you don’t mind me asking, what did the car cost you? Im curious about the residuals of a mint Golf GTI thats all.


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

Lovely jubbly, nice to see a red car on here, nice work too.


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## Jdm owner (Jul 11, 2016)

Nice detail there..
What future mods are planned?
Springs wise I'm running Vwr on my Mk7 Gti gives a nice drop.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

You've done a stunning job there - looks absolutely brilliant 

I've sealed my wheels with the Raceglaze Nano Wheel sealant - dead easy to use and protects them very well and adds some nice depth / gloss to them


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## Hawkesybaby (Jun 17, 2016)

Stunning! The red looks amazing when its all scrubbed up!


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## Mat_GTI (Jul 24, 2017)

Cheers all... I have always kept a very OEM look to all my cars and Im planning on keeping this for many years to come so there wont be any 'bling' mods lol... I'm looking at some genuine VW sports driver gear springs which look to drop about 20mm which should be nice an subtle and keep the ride quality decent.

Only none OEM mod Im looking at is a Miltek exhaust, just umming and ahhhing over resonated or none resonated 



Andyblue said:


> You've done a stunning job there - looks absolutely brilliant
> 
> I've sealed my wheels with the Raceglaze Nano Wheel sealant - dead easy to use and protects them very well and adds some nice depth / gloss to them


Thanks Andy... I've taken your advice and ordered a 250ml bottle of raceglaze.. saves me trawling reviews  Much appreciated.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Absolutely cracking job. Your hard work has really paid off. You definitely need a beer or two after that.

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## wrxmania (Apr 15, 2007)

Amazingly good job. Well done!


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Mat_GTI said:


> Thanks Andy... I've taken your advice and ordered a 250ml bottle of raceglaze.. saves me trawling reviews  Much appreciated.


That's good news, it's dead easy to apply, clean wheels and dry, spray (more of mist) on, wipe over and buff to a squeak, leave an hour and re-apply, then gives you about 6 months protection...

I've attached a shot of one of my wheels done with it :thumb:


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## mike90 (Jan 30, 2016)

Absolutely mint that top job  on a lovely car.

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## Mrmojorisin007 (Aug 19, 2016)

Looks awesome, giving me inspiration to take things to the next step.


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## Cy-Zuki (Feb 9, 2015)

Brilliant job! What a great job, you just gotta keep it swirl free now :thumb:


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## Dan (Feb 22, 2007)

Great work! Some serious commitment too.


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## maigrait (Mar 4, 2013)

Great job. Those alloys really make the car. Great choice there. Happy motoring. 


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## RomanDan (Jul 17, 2016)

Great job mate , I got my first DA at waxstock and after seeing your pics can't wait to get started.


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## dhali (Mar 12, 2006)

That looks fantastic. Well done ,your hard work has definitely paid of :thumb:


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## RonanF (Mar 27, 2016)

Fantastic job! 

I've had a Mk6 GTi for the last two year and love it. I also had a noisy release bearing, thank Christ the warranty covered it! 

How much was the timing chain tensioner replacement? I haven't had mine done and it's a bit of a monkey on my shoulder at this stage.


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## Mat_GTI (Jul 24, 2017)

Thanks everyone, very much appreciated 



Andyblue said:


> That's good news, it's dead easy to apply, clean wheels and dry, spray (more of mist) on, wipe over and buff to a squeak, leave an hour and re-apply, then gives you about 6 months protection...
> 
> I've attached a shot of one of my wheels done with it :thumb:


Perfect thanks... should be here Saturday so I better get it done early before the good lady wakes up or I'm in for some grief if she catches me polishing AGAIN lol!



Cy-Zuki said:


> Brilliant job! What a great job, you just gotta keep it swirl free now :thumb:


Cheers... thats the challenge now.. I gotta stick to the two bucket plan lol!



maigrait said:


> Great job. Those alloys really make the car. Great choice there. Happy motoring.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks  I got 15% off retail from the VW dealership by way of apology for the clutch they had to put right so was very happy with them too 



RomanDan said:


> Great job mate , I got my first DA at waxstock and after seeing your pics can't wait to get started.


Look forward to seeing how you get on mate... brace yourself for an aching back lol 



RonanF said:


> Fantastic job!
> 
> I've had a Mk6 GTi for the last two year and love it. I also had a noisy release bearing, thank Christ the warranty covered it!
> 
> How much was the timing chain tensioner replacement? I haven't had mine done and it's a bit of a monkey on my shoulder at this stage.


Thanks Ronan... I was very lucky, release bearing whooped every time I reversed under load so easy to demonstrate to the dealer, I know some people its very intermittent so a pain to get the warranty to sort if you cant demo it to service.. glad you got yours sorted too 

I had tensioner done at Midland VW, £350 all in inc new sealant, bolts, lower cover and latest revision tensioner.. they were absolutely spot on. I was getting paranoid about it so was worth every penny to put my mind at rest... become one with the monkey :lol:


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## Stu Mac (Aug 18, 2014)

Stunning job and finish mate, well worth all your hours of hard work. What a difference those wheels make, stunning &#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339;


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## siradamrees (May 3, 2011)

Fantastic turn around, you must be over the moon with the finish? I have recently been purchasing Carbon Collective products as my products run out. Platinum Wheels is great really easy to use, im happy with the result and the protection it gives. I cant wait to try out their other products.


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## muchoado (Dec 5, 2016)

gorgeous car bud


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## sshooie (May 15, 2007)

Great car and a real credit to you know.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great job :thumb:


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## Mat_GTI (Jul 24, 2017)

Thanks again all... greatly appreciated :thumb:



siradamrees said:


> Fantastic turn around, you must be over the moon with the finish? I have recently been purchasing Carbon Collective products as my products run out. Platinum Wheels is great really easy to use, im happy with the result and the protection it gives. I cant wait to try out their other products.


Sounds good, I'll have a look thanks. The RaceGlaze should be here tomorrow so looking forward to giving that a go


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## bazz (May 15, 2007)

great job fella and I am too scared to go at my paint work with a polisher


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