# VW Passat CC - Full Detail - been a long time coming!



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Hi Guys, - *UPDATE ON PAGE 5 - BEADING PICS!*

Well since buying my car in March of this year, things have been getting in the way, and this weekend was the first chance I've had to give it a good clean/detail. My missus was away, meaning I could leave and work on the car in the warehouse at work, and drive her Mini over the weekend which was ideal.

The paint was in pretty swirly condition, and the wheels and arches were pretty grim too, lots of tar present! So the detail was done over a Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, Monday evening and Tuesday morning! It was also a great opportunity to try out the new Auto Finesse LSP products, Tough Prep and Power Seal.

So, on with it. I didn't take loads of before pictures, but the car was covered in general road grime, however each little phase does have some progress pics. Starting with the wheels and arches:





































Pretty grim on the insides with lots of old wheel weight stickies and plenty of tar! There was also lots of caked on brake dust, so on this occasion I broke out the trusty Wonder Wheels and a scrubbing brush to remove the majority of it. After thoroughly rinsing it off, I soaked the first lot with Tardis and set about removing the stickies with a throwaway plastic knife:



















I ran out of Tardis half way through an opened a new bottle of Auto Finesse ObliTARate which really did the job very well! Highly rate this stuff!

Once these were dealt with, Wolf's Deironizer was used to get rid of the final bits of contamination:



















Wheels were then dried and polished with AF Tripple:










And waxed with AF Mint Rims:










Few of the finished wheels ready to be re-fitted and properly torqued up once I'd refitted the VW badges in line with the valves!




























Arches next, sprayed liberally with Wolf's APC and agitated with a Megs all surface stuff brush:




























Rinsed and sprayed with AF ObliTARate:










This was left to dwell for a while, wiped clear and then the arches were rinsed, leaving this:










I know the hubs and calipers need sorting, but I'll have to do this in a few weeks time when I get a free morning!

Whilst rinsing the car before foaming, I managed to grab some beading shots of Mint Rims!




























Cool Stuff! Car was then foamed with ValetPro Citrus Pre-Wash through the lance



















Then thoroughly rinsed and washed 2BM with Dodo BTBM and a ValetPro Safe Wash Sponge




























The car was then clayed, but there was no contamination, I only clayed it about a month ago so I didn't bother with any pics.

I then put the car in the warehouse to dry it and set up for polishing:

I don't have a PTG but I borrowed a mates a few weeks ago to check the paint, and there was some higher readings on the bonnet but the rest of the car was around 160-185mu so no probs with some polishing. The paint is rock solid so I went straight in with Wolf's WP-5N on a Scholl Spider polishing pad on the SIM180:










Before polishing, very swirled:










50:50 after an IPA wipedown:










Pretty pleased with the level of improvement. There are still lots of RDS in the paint but with only a couple of days and no PTG present, I didn't want to push my luck, so major swirl removal was the order of the day. After the WP-5N, I refined with WP-3N on a 3M Yellow pad, in readiness for further refining with AF Tough Prep.

Few more polishing shots. I also had a new Wolf's Alpha pad to use, which gave great results with the Wolf's polishes:

Before:










After initial polishing set - yet to be refined:










Before:










After:










Before:










After initial polishing set with Wolf's Alpha and WP-5N - not much refining done here:










After refining with Wolf's WP-3N and a 3M Yellow:










Before:










Another 50:50










I wanted to reduce the scratches down so armed with a foamed Lake Country purple wool spot pad and Wolf's WP-6H, I compounded the sratch over a couple of sets

Before:










After refining:



















It's still there but I wasn't going to push it any further

Another one - before:










After:










So I carried on round the whole car with this apart from the bonnet. When Jesse from Wolf's was over in March we tested it out and even after a number of hits with WP-6H and the Alpha pad, it was hardly correcting. I need to wetsand the whole thing but didn't have the time this weekend, so I was just going to protect it and correct at a later date.

After polishing I completed another IPA wipedown, and then took the car out to rinse and remove polishing dust, giving some nice beads on freshly polished paint!










I then also went round the car with some diluted APC and an envy brush, cleaning all the panel gaps and thoroughly cleaning all the dusty bits. After pulling back inside, armed with a Lake Country finishing pad and AF Tough Prep, I went round the car again refining and prepping the paint for Power Seal. Tough Prep is superb, very similar to Rejuvenate, smells chemically so you really feel like it's cleaning the paint well. I found that it does fill a little but I'm happy with this and it does a good job:

Before on the rock hard bonnet:










50:50










Up close:










So it does do a good job. After going round the whole car again using the rotary at no more than 1000rpm, I was ready for Power Seal, on a Chem Guys Black Hex pad and the Dodo Buff Daddy DA.

I used this much to prime the pad, but after this, only 2 small blobs were needed:










Dabbed around the panel like so:










Worked in using speed 4, it melted into the paint after a couple of passes, and was so easy to buff, leaving a lovely finish:



















The whole car was done, and now the paint was finished I moved on to the smaller details such as glass/trim/engine bay/interior/tyres.

Glass sealed with Dodo Supernatural Glass Sealant










Engine bay was washed during the wash stage, left to dry naturally and then dressed with new Wolf's Blackout:



















Interior was thoroughly hoovered with Henry, cleaned with Wolf's APC and a cloth, then dressed with Wolf's Silk Milk interior dressing which I love. Smells great too! The leather was cleaned recently with AF Hide Cleanser and sealed with Wolf's Nano Hide-rophobe so I didn't treat it on this occasion:
































































Door shuts polished/protected with AF Tripple



















Tyres dressed with Wolf's Blackout:










Finally, after a very long time and plenty of elbow grease/patience, I pulled her outside for some finished shots:























































Back inside, will be left until tomorrow when I need it! Don't want to drive it yet!










(Will be doing a protection detail on both the RRS and the Mini this week too!)



















Thanks so much for sticking with it! Any comments very welcomed!

JB


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Nice work mate. looks like the AF products worked great.


----------



## pee (Apr 6, 2009)

top work i still love that interior


----------



## GJH0702 (Oct 21, 2011)

Excellent finish , think new premises look good !!!


----------



## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Massive improvement, nice job ..


----------



## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Nice work as always Jon :thumb:
As I said before I like the interior a lot


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Zetec-al said:


> Nice work mate. looks like the AF products worked great.


Thanks - yeah they did, some great stuff in their range!



pee said:


> top work i still love that interior


Cheers Pee



GJH0702 said:


> Excellent finish , think new premises look good !!!


Thanks Graham - giving the RRS the AF Treatment tonight so i'll post some pics



dooka said:


> Massive improvement, nice job ..


Thank you!



AaronGTi said:


> Nice work as always Jon :thumb:
> As I said before I like the interior a lot


Cheers Aaron, yeah, it's my favourite part of the car!


----------



## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Nice one Jon. Looks great in the afters mate


----------



## woodybeefcake (Oct 12, 2008)

Hey Neighbor!

I will have to keep an eye out for you! Your work is stunning! Can't wait to get my new car, it will be getting this sort of treatment!

:thumb:


----------



## Miguel Pestana (Feb 16, 2012)

this car is stunning, impressive work :thumb:


----------



## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job there mate :thumb:


----------



## Ns1980 (Jun 29, 2011)

Nice write up and excellent results there :thumb:

Thanks for posting


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

woodybeefcake said:


> Hey Neighbor!
> 
> I will have to keep an eye out for you! Your work is stunning! Can't wait to get my new car, it will be getting this sort of treatment!
> 
> :thumb:


Hey another Ormskirker! Where abouts are you mate? I'll keep a lookout!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words guys! :thumb:


----------



## indydulay (Apr 30, 2011)

Cracking Job there Pal, look forward to seeing the RRS & Mini


----------



## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Great write up and finish on the car Jon , thx for sharing :thumb:


----------



## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Who on earth would think red calipers would suit a car like that?


----------



## mishy (Jan 26, 2011)

Apart from the hard paint polishing mission I'm particularly impressed with how clean the leather looks. 

Good job!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Teddy said:


> Who on earth would think red calipers would suit a car like that?


I know mate, poor isn't it. It lets the car down and believe me, as soon as i can, they will be going Hammerite black!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

mishy said:


> Apart from the hard paint polishing mission I'm particularly impressed with how clean the leather looks.
> 
> Good job!


Cheers mate, Auto Finesse Hide Cleanser to thank for that, topped with the Wolf's Chemicals nano leather sealant/conditioner!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

indydulay said:


> Cracking Job there Pal, look forward to seeing the RRS & Mini


Thanks buddy, just finished the RRS a few minutes ago, will be doing the write up tomorrow. Even if i say so myself it looks amazing!


----------



## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Looks really smart.

I do like these Passat CC's.


----------



## MrHooky (Apr 9, 2010)

Great work and boy was that swirly!

Really nice car and love the interior on those Passat CCs. 

That RRS going to be a big job. Hope you've got some step ladders - they are HUGE!


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Great work and write up mate - thanks for sharing!

I was looking at these recently in the 3.6 V6, they are amazingly good value at the moment!! Such great interiors too!


----------



## Ben. (Sep 7, 2009)

Nice write up, looks like you've done a fantastic job.


----------



## BolgOfTheNorth (Dec 19, 2011)

Nice motor JB, see loads of the old Passat’s but I’ve never really seen these new ones, very smart. Like you said it just needs those callipers and hubs looking at, I can sort of understand them painting the callipers but why on earth did they paint the hubs, weird.

Damn good job cleaning it up though mate. Keep seeing good results from that Tough Coat, that’s another thing I’m going to have to add to the ‘got to try’ list.

-Dan


----------



## chch (Jan 2, 2010)

Jon, I'm envy now, you are inspiring me to finally take care of my racing tank  Thanks for sharing and waiting for the Sullivan/Wazowski writeup


----------



## Ns1980 (Jun 29, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Cheers mate, Auto Finesse Hide Cleanser to thank for that, topped with the Wolf's Chemicals nano leather sealant/conditioner!


Is that the 'Hide-rophobe' product? I used it on mine at the w/e and was very impressed!


----------



## Swell.gr (May 7, 2008)

Great work there Jon :thumb:


----------



## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Great job on CC, :thumb:.


----------



## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Great write up and a lovely car especially that interior. Nice advert for Auto Finesse's new products.


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

MidlandsCarCare said:


> Great work and write up mate - thanks for sharing!
> 
> I was looking at these recently in the 3.6 V6, they are amazingly good value at the moment!! Such great interiors too!


Cheers Russ, they are great value, i don't think many people bought the V6 ones new! I would have loved them to do an R36 version like they did in the normal Passat - i know its the same motor but the bodykit would look brilliant!



Ns1980 said:


> Is that the 'Hide-rophobe' product? I used it on mine at the w/e and was very impressed!


Yes it's Hide-rophobe Nick, it's a great product!


----------



## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Looks great mate, you should join Unphased now you've got a VAG like your brother! I'm on there!


----------



## Ns1980 (Jun 29, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Yes it's Hide-rophobe Nick, it's a great product!


It is good - leaves a great 'slippy' surface which I think will help resist wrinkling of the leather on bolsters.


----------



## Mad Ad (Feb 7, 2011)

Cracking work Jon, liking the outside shots with the sun showing up the excellent finish


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> Looks great mate, you should join Unphased now you've got a VAG like your brother! I'm on there!


Cheers Jay, ahh so do you know my brother then?! He's coming home from uni this weekend after 4 years so i reckon we're giving his Lupo a good going over!


----------



## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

JBirchy said:


> Cheers Jay, ahh so do you know my brother then?! He's coming home from uni this weekend after 4 years so i reckon we're giving his Lupo a good going over!


I don't know him personally mate, but hes on the unphased forum i go on, i think he likes my car  I like his little lupo too!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> I don't know him personally mate, but hes on the unphased forum i go on, i think he likes my car  I like his little lupo too!


Yeah he's got a thing for Beemers! He's well in to the Unphased forum, loves it! I may join but i'm not doing any mods or anything so i might leave it to him!


----------



## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

JBirchy said:


> Yeah he's got a thing for Beemers! He's well in to the Unphased forum, loves it! I may join but i'm not doing any mods or anything so i might leave it to him!


hehe! my cars on the home page as a feature this month


----------



## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Very nice finish:thumb:


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Morning guys - just thought i'd post a little update with some beading pics i took outside work this morning:














































Looks pretty impressive if you ask me!


----------



## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Cracking bit of beading there mate !


----------



## GrantB5 (Nov 6, 2011)

Love these cars glad to see one be looked after :thumb:


----------



## mishy (Jan 26, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Cheers Russ, they are great value, i don't think many people bought the V6 ones new! I would have loved them to do an R36 version like they did in the normal Passat - i know its the same motor but the bodykit would look brilliant!


There's not many, according to 'how manys left?' there's less than 50 V6's. I've only ever seen one (two single tail pipes either side) and you cant spec that engine any more on the face-lifted 2012 Passat CC. 
I did originally try to find a 2.0 211bhp TFSI engine but there just as rare and the torquey-TDI units suit the heavy car. After getting the 170 remapped to ~200bhp and still getting 52-57mpg I'm very happy.

There is an R-line version/tick-box but its not available over here which includes a bolder body kit, tinted tail lights and R-badged interior extras but no real engine/performance upgrades like people first hoped would happen with the CC.

Any more thoughts why the bonnet was so ridiculously hard to correct?


----------



## Chr1stof (Jun 27, 2012)

That looks so nice mate! I love passats but that interior and the finish on that...I want it lol


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

mishy said:


> There's not many, according to 'how manys left?' there's less than 50 V6's. I've only ever seen one (two single tail pipes either side) and you cant spec that engine any more on the face-lifted 2012 Passat CC.
> I did originally try to find a 2.0 211bhp TFSI engine but there just as rare and the torquey-TDI units suit the heavy car. After getting the 170 remapped to ~200bhp and still getting 52-57bhp I'm very happy.
> 
> There is an R-line version/tick-box but its not available over here which includes a bolder body kit, tinted tail lights and R-badged interior extras but no real engine/performance upgrades like people first hoped would happen with the CC.
> ...


Very informative there mate! The petrol engine, even the 2.0 would be lovely, but I have to say, even in this which is a 140, I don't really feel myself wanting more power. Maybe I will one day but I like it the way it is for now... However, do you know what kind of upgrade you can get from a 140?

About the bonnet, it's had a front ender at some point in it's life, more I look, the bonnet I'd a very slightly different colour. It's a good job, but damn hard paint!


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Chr1stof said:


> That looks so nice mate! I love passats but that interior and the finish on that...I want it lol


Thanks mate! I love it too!


----------



## mishy (Jan 26, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Maybe I will one day but I like it the way it is for now... However, do you know what kind of upgrade you can get from a 140?
> 
> About the bonnet, it's had a front ender at some point in it's life, more I look, the bonnet I'd a very slightly different colour. It's a good job, but damn hard paint!


I fancy wetsanding some areas of extreme orange peel but your issue with the bonnet with Jessie helping put me way off!

If I'd had known at the time I would have gone for the 140 as well(lower sticker price, tax, insurance) as the engine remaps to a tasty 180-190bhp.


----------



## athol (Oct 3, 2009)

Very nice work there matey


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

mishy said:


> I fancy wetsanding some areas of extreme orange peel but your issue with the bonnet with Jessie helping put me way off!
> 
> If I'd had known at the time I would have gone for the 140 as well(lower sticker price, tax, insurance) as the engine remaps to a tasty 180-190bhp.


Wow i may well end up mapping it then. The torque impresses me, not great at higher (motorway) sppeds but normal driving it's fine!

The bonnet will be fine after wetsanding, but i need to spend a full day on it going from 2000 grit, 2500, 3000 and 4000 to refine it and make it much easier to polish the marks out!

Haven't got time at the minute but i've got the car for 3 years so i will get round to it one day!


----------



## Poul (Apr 22, 2012)

that car looks amazing, very good work


----------



## woodybeefcake (Oct 12, 2008)

JBirchy said:


> Hey another Ormskirker! Where abouts are you mate? I'll keep a lookout!


Just near the edge, near Southport road as your leaving the area and heading towards the edge of the area! keep your eyes peeled for me! :thumb:


----------



## cleaningboy (Jan 5, 2010)

Looks really good I am Impressed. Did notice one thing wrong with the car...Steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car


----------



## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

Great work,
the car is looking stunning!:thumb:


----------



## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

Stunning car, great work


----------



## bradbury (May 8, 2012)

Good work, i like the two tone leather seats, very nice.


----------



## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Very nice work mate, lovely colour!


----------



## B&B Autostyle (Apr 4, 2010)

Looks really well Birchy,great work.

Nice big wagon those.


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Cheers guys, been away so missed the last comments! AF Power Seal still looking superb after being sat outside not moving for 10 days!


----------

