# Polished Bliss: stepping into Clark's boots!



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

My word, what a week... and it's not over yet! Clark has been off sunning himself abroad somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic this week, so yours truly had to step into the very big boots he left behind and do some detailing for a change. No pressure then...

The car: brand new Audi TTS with delivery mileage on the clock, in for a full new car preparation detail and a coat of Vintage ready for the winter. Audi were asked not to prepare it in any way, but even so it was handed over with the wraps removed. The initial inspection revealed no major problems, other than some etching from fresh bird's droppings, a few minor scratches and some wash marring. I assume this was from the factory, as the level of grime in all of the shuts suggested that the dealership had indeed done nothing to it.

*Before*
































































*During*

Firstly, all of the shuts were washed with P21S Total Auto Wash and a Meguiars Slide Lock Detail Brush before being rinsed at pressure at 40oC. The engine was also given a once over in the same way, and blown dry with a leaf blower. The exterior was then foamed using Meguiars Hyper Wash at 40oC and left to dwell for five minutes or so before being rinsed off. The wheels were then cleaned using both Menzerna Gel 7.5 and Autosmart Tardis; the latter was required to remove adhesive traces from virtually all of the spokes, presumably from the transport wraps. The bodywork was then washed with Meguiars Shampoo Plus using the two bucket method and rinsed once more. The car was then moved inside for the claying stage. Work time so far - 3 hours.


















































































Unsurprisingly, the bodywork and glass were quite heavily contaminated; initially it felt like overspray, but the colour change of the clay suggested that industrial fallout was the more likely culprit. Meguiars Detailing Clay Mild was used, with Meguiars Last Touch as the lubricant. With the paint now properly clean, it was time for the minor correction work. I started out using Menzerna 85RD on a 3M Ultrafina Pad, and this proved perfect for the wash marring, but in areas affected by etching and minor scratches, I had to step up to Menzerna 106FA on a 3M Polishing Pad. In a couple of cases I opted to correct small scratches by hand with Menzerna RD3.02, as there was simply no need to waste time changing pads on the machine. The lighting clusters were all corrected in the same way, using Menzerna 85RD. With the polishing done I went home to bed (another 11pm finish!). Work time so far - 15 hours.








































































































































The next day, I started out by dusting down the bodywork and then doing a Menzerna Top Inspection wipedown. Vintage was then applied to the bodywork, and left to cure while I worked on the interior and the engine bay. The interior plastics were dressed with Werkstat Satin Prot, which is unbeatable on Audi plastics, and the leather was fed with Raceglaze Leather Balm. The glass was cleansed and sealed inside and out with Werkstat Prime Strong. The engine bay was dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant, and all of the shuts then waxed with Vintage. Whilst I had been doing all of this, Marsha had sealed the wheels with Poorboys Wheel Sealant and dressed the tyres with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel; she's a natural, and will be trained up further in the future. The final step was to buff off the Vintage, seal the exhaust tips with Blackfire All Metal Sealant and then a couple of hours later do a final wipe down with Meguiars Last Touch to remove any rising oils. Total work time - 20 hours.




























*After*






















































































































Oh dear... looking at that last picture, I think it is high time that I give the VTS a wash!


----------



## MATT87 (Jul 30, 2008)

very nice car mate, id be pi**ed if that was mine and got it delivered in that state.
good job mate


----------



## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Lovely work Rich.:thumb:


----------



## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

very nice mate, superb pictures 

refilled the vintage then?


----------



## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

nice stuff rich lovely car as well. Clark who!!


----------



## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Superb job!! :thumb: What a stunning looking machine :argie:


----------



## jimmas (Jan 24, 2007)

great job as always from polished bliss :thumb:


----------



## Chris_4536 (Sep 20, 2006)

Fantastic work.

Really like that car!

I would buff the trye dressing personally. That's just my choice - but I'm not the owner of a brand spanking PB detailed, Vintage wearing TT 


Top dollar! 


Chris


----------



## joe_0_1 (Apr 7, 2007)

Super job there :thumb:


----------



## scoobyc (May 29, 2006)

good too see a write up from you rich.
Sorry I never introduced myself better when i was in at your place 2 weeks ago (rs4, beers for clark and looking for directions to ellon!) but was in a huge rush so its nothing personal! Hopefully get a chance to speak next time we come past though, cheers sc.


----------



## loo_goblin (Jun 11, 2008)

love the new TT's in all shapes and form, none better than that one, top marks


----------



## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That looks lurvely! Cracking job mate. :argie:


----------



## rfmatt (Aug 9, 2008)

Lovely job there as always. Great reflections


----------



## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

Lovely work rich on the audi:thumb: fantastic photo's


----------



## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Nice work Rich.

Must be a TTS thing going on at the moment.

Robbie


----------



## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

I think you filled the boots quite nicely, sir! Crackin'!


----------



## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

very nice work:thumb:


----------



## Scud (Jun 30, 2006)

You filled them boot well Rich, cracking job and good to see you back at it.


----------



## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Lovely work Rich, looked much better in the flesh.

looks like Mr Aiken has some competition!! lol


----------



## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

Nicely done as ever Rich! :thumb:

Things have progressed a little for me detailing-wise since the early excellent advice you gave me for my Lotus in early '06! Funnily enough, as does seem to be the case here recently, I've been pampering a similar machine: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=85065


----------



## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Superb work :thumb:


----------



## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Top work Rich :thumb:



MATT87 said:


> very nice car mate, id be pi**ed if that was mine and got it delivered in that state.


they did ask for it not to be touched......


----------



## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Very nice Rich 

I see Clark has some competition then  maybe you should take up this detailing lark full time :lol:

TTS must be the car of the moment, how many have we seen this week alone on DW.


----------



## Janitor (Feb 14, 2006)

ads2k said:


> Very nice Rich
> TTS must be the car of the moment, how many have we seen this week alone on DW.


Indeed ads... but then again, it's a relatively new model that only started to show up from July... add in the new 58 plate and that probably explains the recent spate of the beautifully common things! :thumb:

Either that or they're making a BIG impression


----------



## Pad (Jun 27, 2006)

that is spot on!! Nice work.


----------



## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Beautiful ! & excellent pics 

Baz


----------



## Sandro (Mar 16, 2008)

awesome stuff rich! very nice car indeed! lovely finish.


----------



## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

Very nice indeed, Rich. And those photos are stunning.

Aye, you lads are a good team alright. :thumb: :thumb:


----------



## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

You've not lost your touch Rich! :lol:

Superb attention to detail, cracking paint finish, great photos and write-up on a superb car! :thumb:

Alan W


----------



## giblet (Feb 26, 2008)

the boots have been filled nicely, great work, theres something rather tasty bout the front end on the new tt's, vastly superior to the old ones


----------



## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

excellent work Rich! :thumb:


----------



## M7 ATW (May 21, 2008)

Lovely job on a lovely car!


----------



## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

Rich

You've still got the magic touch and some great photos too to show off your work

thanks for sharing

:thumb:


----------



## uberbmw (Jan 31, 2006)

wow thats stunning!


----------



## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Great job mate, The pics and write up are exactly on par as they always are spot on, and so is the car


----------



## matt_mph (Jul 26, 2006)

Amazing work mate


----------



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Cheers for all the positive feedback folks, much appreciated. Doing a brand new A4 at the moment, and it's got twice as many problems to contend with; huge amounts of fallout and overspray all over it, plus numerous defects on most panels. Oh the joys...


----------



## fluffy (Sep 8, 2008)

Excellent work :thumb:!!
As a newbie it's a pleasure reading write-ups like this, nice to get a glimpse of how the pro's do it.


----------



## wrx man (Apr 18, 2008)

Gr8 Work :thumb:


----------



## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Nice work Rich :thumb:


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Very nice results there Rich, good write up too


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Stunning detail, write up and pictures. How you getting on with the D300 now? Spot on? 

Nath


----------



## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Still got the majic touch Rich. Good job!


----------



## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

Nice work Rich, good to see the Boss mucking in.......... for a change!  

Alex :thumb:


----------



## extreme-detail (Nov 7, 2005)

nice job there rich had a few TTs in the last 2 weeks now

did you put anything on the hood to protect it ?


----------



## 911fanatic (Sep 10, 2007)

Great work Rich!!


----------



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

N8KOW said:


> Stunning detail, write up and pictures. How you getting on with the D300 now? Spot on?
> 
> Nath


Pretty good; it's a complicated beast, but I've mastered the basics. Picture quality (particularly exposure) will improve further once I get sufficient time to learn how to process RAW images, but I'm pleased with recent results. I am also over the moon with the new product photography in the store; the store now looks like it should have done from the outset... 



EliteCarCare said:


> Nice work Rich, good to see the Boss mucking in.......... for a change!
> 
> Alex :thumb:


I know... I'm a lazy bugger you know. 60 hours a week, all sat at my desk! 



extreme-detail said:


> nice job there rich had a few TTs in the last 2 weeks now
> 
> did you put anything on the hood to protect it ?


No, didn't need to; the hood was beading like crazy after the final rinse, no doubt due to the OEM treatment applied to the fabric during production. We will assess it again in the spring when the car is next in, and if needs be add additional protection then. :thumb:


----------



## nmdbase (Jul 13, 2008)

Very nice, I bet the owner will be pleased:thumb: agree on the tyres, bit too shiny for me but it's personal preferance.

Good Job


----------



## Stew (Jul 9, 2007)

Rich is a busy boy. I saw him headed to the office this morning about 7.30!

Nice detail, a suntanned Clark 'Shane Ward' Detailer will be back soon so you'll get a break!


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

I know. Great job Rich. Where did clark go on hols?


----------



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

Great work Rich!


----------



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Stew said:


> Rich is a busy boy. I saw him headed to the office this morning about 7.30!
> 
> Nice detail, a suntanned Clark 'Shane Ward' Detailer will be back soon so you'll get a break!


No rest for the wicked; another 20 odd hours of work over a weekend. 



N8KOW said:


> I know. Great job Rich. Where did clark go on hols?


I'm not sure, and no doubt neither did he until he got there. His other half arranged the whole thing, he had no clue, and even texted me once he was there to say he would be a back a few days later than he initially thought as he had only just found out when they were flying home lol! To cap it all, I am now wondering if he travelled with XL. Good job I left a few days spare in the diary due to me being away for the rest of this week!


----------



## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

Brill!


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Also Rich, just wondering was the D300 your first SLR?


----------



## Jochen (May 21, 2007)

That car looks insanely amazing!


----------



## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

*You are an excellent artist as well.!!!!*:thumb::thumb:


----------



## Glider (Jan 10, 2006)

Bet it feels good to be away from the desk  Cracking job, you nearly used every product in the shop on that one.


----------



## Angus Martin (Aug 27, 2007)

As usual nother other than amazing work at Polished Bliss :thumb:

Must be such a satisfying job. I'm jealous


----------



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Cheers for all of the kind words folks, much appreciated. 



N8KOW said:


> Also Rich, just wondering was the D300 your first SLR?


Yes, I plunged in at the deep end, despite the advice of some on here to go for a lesser model such as the D80. However, in fairness I have a fair bit of past experience with film SLR's, so a lot of the basics came back to me very quickly... still got a lot to learn though, but happy enough with the standard already achieved. :thumb:


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

I noticed you've jumped into the deep end. I was chatting to the guy in a photography shop in Bristol and he's suggested the Sony Alpha 350 for me. So I'll start off in the slightly shallower end! Any more write ups coming?


----------



## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

S5 new car detail this weekend, so should have the write up done on Mon/Tue next week. Steeling myself for more hellish contamination and defects... plus this one has already been to the bodyshop! :doublesho


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Oh dear. I'm just cleaning the 18" S-Line rims to put back on my A3 for the winter (19"s coming off). Washed/Clayed/SRP'd then 2 coats of Poorboys. They were HEAVILY contaminated. Have a nice weekend, working and earning


----------



## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Looks great Rich.
I have one of these to look after thats the complete opposite but am slowly winning the "you need paint corrrection" battle!


----------



## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Tim your brush is amazing thankyou!


----------

