Audi A3 Full Car Detail

Project Goals

This Audi A3 in high gloss pink wrap was booked in for a detail this week.

Unfortunately, the client had been using a few cheap car washes mainly for convenience, and as a result, the wrap had lost all of its gloss, leaving it looking dull and flat.

My job, therefore, was to significantly restore the gloss levels and install a protective coating to give the car maximum protection from any future damage.

My client also asked me to treat the windows with a hydrophobic glass sealant to improve visibility, machine polish the piano black B posts which were heavily scratched, polish the alloy wheels, and finally to detail the interior and protect the leather seats and carpets with leather and fabric protection.

Firstly the car was given intensive decontamination with a citrus pre-wash and iron/fallout remover, before being washed and brought into the studio to have the protective coating installed.

Vinyl wrap is completely different to paint, so a regular ceramic coating would be of no use on this Audi as the coating needs to be flexible due to the structure of the vinyl wrap.

The same applies when coating PPF (paint protective film). So, I protected the car with a fantastic product from Gtechniq called HALO.

Halo enhances the performance of wrap and PPF.

It’s a chemically bonding, ultra-dense flexible film that becomes the permanent surface of the wrap or PPF. The density of the film and its low surface energy also significantly improves the dirt and water repellency of the wrap and it will also prevent future staining and dirt ingression and reduce yellowing caused by UV rays.

Overall it makes it much easier for people to keep their car clean but more importantly, it really puts the gloss back into it.

For anyone looking for a product to protect their wrapped car, Halo is suitable for satin, matte and gloss vinyl wraps. As a vinyl wrap protective coating there isn’t anything better available in the market today!

Treating the windows

Next, it was time to treat the windscreen and side windows using Gyeon Q2 View.

There are numerous hydrophobic coatings available in today’s market, but none of them compares with this truly incredible product from Gyeon. It will last, even on the most intensely used windscreens, for 12 months, with the side windows lasting up to 36 months and will offer water and dirt repellency that is quite simply in a league of its own.

It also increases the transparency of glass improving driver vision no matter what the driving conditions are.

The rear windows were coated with Williams 10H Ceramic Plus.

Polishing the alloys

Next up was the task of polishing the alloys to get them looking nice and glossy again and then the interior received a deep clean with the leather upholstery being cleaned and conditioned, then protected with a Williams leather protector and the carpets with Williams fabric protection in case of any accidental spills. Water will now pool, rather than soak into the carpets making wiping it up much easier indeed.

To complete the whole detail, the tailpipes were then polished and all trim and tyre walls were dressed leaving the whole car looking incredibly glossy and spotlessly clean

The owner was over the moon with the level of gloss the car now has and was absolutely mind blown with what happened when I poured a watering can of water over the car and it immediately all slid off onto the floor leaving the wrap and glass completely dry to the touch.

In all seriousness, I think we have created one of the most hydrophobic cars on earth!