# 97 AUDI A8 (56K?... may be not)



## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

It was high time I sorted out the write up for my car; a '97 Audi A8
"pearl Aluminium Silver". I did this a couple of months ago over the space of two-ish weeks (fitting it in with the day job like most of us). In that time I had people from my area walk by and pass all sorts of comments from "That's come up nicely" to "Fecking Hell your Nuts you are!". The later to which I replied "You should see the folk on detailingworld.com!". As some of you may know detailing a car the size of the A8 needs at the very least a full weekend and two servings of spinach, so was up at the crack of dawn literally with all the detailing gear stacked near the front door the night before.
Enjoy; all comments welcomed! not the best detail in the world but I did put my heart and soul in to it as most guys do on here. Or is that blood and tears... Anyway if I've done something wrong it all your fault as I've been learning off this site!  :thumb: 
*Products List:*










Halford lambs wool wash mitt
Sponge (sills and arches)
AG engine & machine cleaner
WD40
CD2 engine dressing spray
Silicon spray	
Chemical Guys Fast stain Extractor
Gliptone Leather Cleaner G11
Gliptone Leather conditioner G12
AG Vinyl & Rubber Care
AG Metal Polish
AG Glass Polish
AG Bumper Care
AG Intensive Tar Remover
Megs Trim detailer
Megs Endurance Tyre dressing
Megs NXT Car Wash
Megs APC
Megs Quick Clay bar kit
Megs Unigrit 2000/2500/3000
Megs Plastix
Isopropyl Alcohol
Menzerna- Power Gloss
Menzerna- PO85RD3.02 
Menzerna- PO106FF
Megs Cutting and Polishing Pad 
Klasse AIO 
Klasse DGS
Collonite 915
Megs Applicator pads
Sonus Buffing bonnets 
Megs NXT Paste wax 
Megs detailing brush plus upholstery, tooth and paint brushes
Megs Microfibre cloths
Megs water magnet
AG synthetic chamois

*Process*

*Arches:* The years of dirt and recent outer CV boot explosion on both front wheels left the wells looking sorry for themselves; it didn't help that the grease had been on there for a couple months either. They needed a quick blast with the Kerschar first to loosen up any debris. Then it was sprayed with some AG engine & machine cleaner and agitated with Halfords interior brush. This got most of the dirt and grim off but there were great big blobs of tar and asphalt stuck to paint work, lining and suspension components. Then I remembered someone on the forum speaking of WD40 so tried that, again with some agitation of a toothbrush (yes it took forever - These A8 wells are simply massive).
But the end result was worth it, I didn't even know that there were any painted surface exposed in the well; so it was a nice surprise when it came up trumps. The linings were dressed with CD2 Engine detailer which seems to last a lot longer than AG vinyl & rubber care for me, whilst the electric wires were cleaned with some isopropyl alcohol and smeared with WD40 (this incidentally cured a low speed ABS Light problem I was having).










Wasn't sure how clean this could get after 139K miles of muck.










After the pre-wash and AG engine & Machine cleaner was applied you could
still see the blobs of tar bonded to the linings, suspension arms and paint.










But with a bit of effort they came up quite decent, fronts were worse
than the rears.




























*Alloys & Tyres*: Used AG Engine & machine cleaner on these to good effect then dressed with some NXT tech wax, tyres dressed with Megs High gloss endurance tyre dressing.



















*Engine Bay*: Cleaned with AG Engine & Machine Cleaner and Megs APC (Ratio 4:1), Sound proofing vacuumed and under bonnet cleaned using Megs APC.
Radiator/condenser and Gearbox oil cooler cleaned with AG Engine and
machine cleaner rinsed and dressed with AG V&RC. Engine Covers and Trim
dressed with CD2 Engine detailing or AG V&RC. Rubber seals and hoses
dressed with silicon.









































































*Boot*: Spare wheel well cleaned with Megs APC (Ratio 10:1), carpet vacuumed then cleaned with Chemical Guys Stain Extractor (Ratio 10:1) and wet/dry extractor and trim dressed with AG V&RC. Rubber seals
dressed with silicon.



















*Interior*: Carpets and door card upholstery cleaned with Chemical Guys Stain Extractor (Ratio 10:1) and wet/dry extractor. Took out what I could from the interior and cleaned them out of the car (left bits of my car hanging from the washing line). Interior cabin cleaned with Megs APC (Ratio 10:1), and dressed with a mix of Megs Trim detailer and AG vinyl & rubber care (Spray on/ wipe off immediately). The centre console wood trim got some Megs scratch X then Klasse AIO as it had a few swirls on it.
The leather seats and steering got a dose of the Gliptone cleaner worked in using another tooth brush then topped off with some Gliptone conditioner.































































































































*Door/Boot Shuts*: Used Megs APC (Ratio 10:1), Rubber dressed with Silicon spray vinyl dressed with AG V&RC, Paint treated with Klasse AIO.










*Wash/Clay*: Car washed with NXT car wash (2 bucket method) with some areas such rubber window frames/sills badges washed with Megs APC (4:1). Clayed using 2x Megs Quick Clay kits










*Grill and black lower trim*: Cleaned with Megs APC (Ratio 10:1) and agitated with paint brush and Megs detailing brush. Dressed with AG Bumper Care(worked in with stiff brush).

*Stone chip repair*: There were some minor chips on the front of the bonnet that needed attention simply because they were annoying me so I
filled them with some primer and a touch up pen then wet sanded it with some megs unigrit. (sorry novice photographer)




























*Glass & Head lights*: AG Glass Polish with Megs polishing pad

*Polishing*: My car is old but the paint is as tough as nails; I had on a previous occasion last year used Megs DACP, Speed Glaze and DCP but
found it hard work (probably because I was using a Bosch orbital sander). So being lazy I tried out the Menzerna Power Gloss for specific scratches and two passes of PO85RD3.02 one with Megs cutting pad then 2nd with polishing pad all with a rotary. (Practised on a golf front wing I picked up from a local Body shop first)
Only the roof, bonnet and boot lid had significant swirls.










*Final Polishing*: Menzerna PO106FF with Megs Polishing pad










*Wax/Sealant*: Klasse AIO, Klasse DGS x2 24hrs apart, then a week later collonite 915 x2 24hrs apart










*Final Pics*













































































































Now like most of you I get the problems with cats jumping on to the bonnet, bird bombs and tree sap, but what I recently saw was a bit bizarre; The son in law and his very good looking wife, of one of my neighbours from two doors down walked up and commented on the condition of the car and were well impressed at how clean it was... nothing wrong with that. Then on a couple of occasions after, I noticed a figure hanging around the car for about half a minute or so but didn't think anything of it. Then one evening I had just pulled up I my ford galaxy (tints all round) with a mate but were engrossed in a conversation.
During our interesting conversation about price of fish, I noticed someone again hanging around the Audi; It was the wife of that bloke, she was stroking my car! I mean properly gliding her hand all over the boot lid repeatedly! (this explain the marks when the dew would settle on the car each morning!) What the hell is that about? I still say hi to them but its a little awkward if you know what I mean....
Thanks for looking:wave:


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## mattchubb1 (Jun 29, 2007)

great looking results and such a lot of car! must have taken a lot of work to get it all done


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## Fursecul (Sep 12, 2006)

Awesome work :thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

very impressive work!


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## ZrS (May 27, 2007)

Very cool, the little yellow Duck ! 

Great turnaround of interior, exterior and engine compartment !


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## nsanity (May 7, 2007)

Lol @ the neighbours wife 'stroking' your car 

Excellent turnaround there mate


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## dhracer (Apr 28, 2006)

what's the duck  :lol: 

nice turnaround :thumb:


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

dhracer said:


> what's the duck  :lol:
> 
> nice turnaround :thumb:


The Duck is the softest nail brush I could find to do the leather. + its really easy to get hold of its head work the gliptone in

Thanks guys for your appreciation it did take a while (I forget how many hours in total) but at least now its easier keep clean:thumb:


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## zcomputer5 (Aug 31, 2007)

Hi, I am looking to fully detail my car over say a time period of 2 weeks, just in the evenings however how do you go from one day to the next without getting it dirty? Do you wash the car every day before you start or something?


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

That is a very impressive detailed detail. Paying attention to all the little things makes such a difference. It must have been a lot of effort on a car as big as that, but well worth it. The results are fantastic :thumb:

I like your duck nail brush


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## GAZA62 (Jan 23, 2007)

Top job :thumb:


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

Excellent results all round there, it looks stunning :thumb: That woman is most odd though...:doublesho


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## Wash'n'Go (Mar 13, 2007)

Excellent work must have taken hrs or should I say days to do that detail, well worth it though looks brand new. :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Excellent job and superb finish - like that last shot!


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## quichmen (Aug 22, 2007)

Very nice job as i like.


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## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

Now that's a thorough job, especially in the wheel wells. Great to see a D2 looked after and looking stunning I might add. I know what you mean about big though, it takes me an age to keep mine looking tidy too. 

Top marks from me for sure :thumb: :buffer: :doublesho


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## quichmen (Aug 22, 2007)

*little question about your engine*

Can you tell me more about the way you clean your engine because i would like to do the same job on my A3.

Which product did you use?

thanks in advance.


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## P.M.V.Gavin (Feb 21, 2007)

im loving every bit and the duck 
lol excellent


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

quichmen said:


> Can you tell me more about the way you clean your engine because i would like to do the same job on my A3.
> 
> Which product did you use?
> 
> thanks in advance.


I removed as many of the plastic covers as I could; IIRC 7 in total and also the air box cover and ducting to the throttle body (these were cleaned off the car with AG machine cleaner and dressed with CD2- smells nice and lasts for months). I then Cleaned metalic components with a medium/stiff paint brush agetating the AG Engine & Machine Cleaner and Megs APC (Ratio 4:1) for everywhere else e.g painted areas. I left the APC and AG machine cleaner for a few mins but not allowing it to dry, Sound proofing was vacuumed and under bonnet cleaned using Megs APC. I hosed down upper areas and jet washed (low pressure) the lower parts of the engine including the removal of the sound baffle from undrneath. Hope that helps and Good luck:thumb: 
Radiator/condenser and Gearbox oil cooler cleaned with AG Engine and
machine cleaner rinsed and dressed with AG V&RC. Engine Covers and Trim
dressed with CD2 Engine detailing ( I think discontinued at Halfrauds) or AG V&RC. Rubber seals and hoses dressed with silicon.
I forgot to mention any electrical connections were given a quick spray with WD40 before hand to repelle the water; didn't really need to bag or tape things up overly.


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

V8burble said:


> Now that's a thorough job, especially in the wheel wells. Great to see a D2 looked after and looking stunning I might add. I know what you mean about big though, it takes me an age to keep mine looking tidy too.
> 
> Top marks from me for sure :thumb: :buffer: :doublesho


Thanks I can hardly remember how long it took but thats OK the Mrs keeps reminding me of how much time I spent on the car as opposed to her According to her I was up at 6am for the polishing stage and finished at around 7pm with only the Klasse AOI on there for some sort of protection.
But all this work means that a general weekly was takes just 40 odd minutes if I reallly only want to spend that long on it


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

You did a very good job there mate. The engine bay came out really nice. I love the duck brush. lol


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

That's a lot of effort gone into that mate.....especially removing the carpet trims.....car looks in cracking condition for the mileage...

I used to own one of those nail brushes when I was a lot younger.....LOL!!


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

140k and 10 year old in december!


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## Huw (Feb 16, 2007)

Quality job. Another fan of the duck brush.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Ska said:


> 140k and 10 year old in december!


Not far behind you on the mileage mate but seriously cracking condition......think I may post up what I did with my Mrs' Avant as that's a 1997 with 145k on the clock.....


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Fantastic attention to detail, good job :thumb:


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## BMW540i (May 2, 2007)

good job mate


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## phil440 (Aug 19, 2007)

top banana:thumb: quite the detail


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## topcat36 (Apr 29, 2007)

Excellent work there - u need to be speaking to the neighbour about stroking ur car tho !!!! does she not realise what she is doing :lol:


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

Thanks
Yeah I'm sure there's a law about that some where 
And for you duck fans, heres Bill::lol:


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## rapidseven (Apr 26, 2007)

very good work dude.

well done


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## dubber31 (Jan 8, 2006)

Superb work!! Must have taken an age :thumb:

Well done!


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## The Apprentice (Nov 22, 2007)

amazing looks for the milage, really got the best out of it with all your hard work :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Excellent turn around and write up!


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2007)

amazing job there looks stunning for a 10 yr old car


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Excellent work mate & great result ! U might have to start a bill fan club !  

Baz


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

wow - impressive attention to detail, especially on a barge like that :thumb:

Very nice looking car - bizarre incident with the neighbour though :lol:


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## jtfab (May 29, 2008)

my dream car !!


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## swordjo (Sep 17, 2006)

Good work mate, really like the last picture of the car too :thumb:


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Great turn around, my dad had an old volvo 850 that had paint that could shrug off pretty much anything, incredible car.

Very impressed with the condition of the alloys on a car of that age, you've done a stirling job.

Now, as for the women stroking your car? You say she's hot, offer her something else to stroke () because the finger marks on the car are annoying you


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## tromppost (Jan 12, 2008)

Top end job, First class.


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## k3v_F (May 7, 2008)

top job mate looks bang on! i bet it was a ball ache on such a big car. maybe the woman who strokes you bonnet is a machophile? if shes hot tho its not a problem. :thumb:


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## 1996a6v6 (Feb 8, 2008)

Very very impressive :thumb:


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## djcromie (Mar 22, 2007)

brilliant finish, well worth the effort


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## dubbers (Apr 3, 2006)

Excellent detail with great results. Hope the cats find another climbing frame!


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## honda-r (Mar 20, 2007)

Really good work, nice car


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## Mike V (Apr 7, 2007)

One of my favourite cars!

Look after it, one day it will be a classic!:thumb:


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## Ska (Jan 11, 2007)

MIKELSKAS said:


> One of my favourite cars!
> 
> Look after it, one day it will be a classic!:thumb:


How long must I wait, I need free road tax these days

The cat hasn't been seen for quite a while. The owners been knocking doors asking if anyones seen it... I had nothing to do with it, honest.
thanks for your comments guys.:thumb:


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