Audi S5-Phantom Black

[mikenap]

Germans are best known for building supercars and luxury cruisers, but every now and then they will sneak in something different. This Audi S5, along with maybe a few cars sporting the AMG label, is as close as the Germans get to building a good, old-fashioned muscle car. The thunderous aftermarket exhaust, lowered stance and blacked-out grill gave this car a mean, take-no-prisoners look. The sound of this V8 is incredible, more refined than an American car but ready to growl at any second.

It was apparent the car had been neglected by the first owner, with some deeper RIDS and scratches on the hood and trunklid. Almost half the driver's side had been repainted as well. When the new owner came by for the initial consultation, it was obvious this car lacked any kind of gloss. Swirls were everywhere, as well as holograms from the body shop and probably from the detail done where the car was purchased. Wanting to keep the car clean, he had it hand-washed frequently but he was educated enough to realize these hand washes weren't being done correctly and were doing more damage to the paint. Speaking with the owner and taking into account this car is a daily driver that shares a parking garage with several other residents, we agreed that a two-step correction would be best for this car. I was hoping for defect removal in the 85% range, without going too hard on the paint. This would leave room for further correction down the road if it ever became necessary.


Since most of us know how challenging Audi paint can be, I did the smart thing....I called my good friend and excellent detailer, David Strum, and coaxed him out of his self-imposed retirement yet again to lend a hand. Together, we were confident we could get this car where it needed to be in one day. One long, frustrating day. I'd hoped to take plenty of pictures before, during and after the detail, but we really jumped right into it so I have very few before pictures.


Here are a couple of the car outside before the wash. You can see how dull the paint is. It was overcast the entire day, so no good sun shots unfortunately.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/HoodBefore2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Hoodbefore1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Exhaustbefore.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/ExhaustBefore2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Wheelbefore1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/WheelBefore2.jpg


Everyone's favorite foul-smelling wheel cleaner, Sonax, was used first to get most of the brake dust and grime off the wheels. This got the wheels mostly clean, but David went a few extra steps toward the end of the detail. I'll explain more later...

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Sonax2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Sonax1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Wheelrinse1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Wheelrinse2.jpg


The car was then foamed with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash Clear and hand washed. I know most of you are jealous of my custom, Florida Gator colored rinse bucket. Get your own.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Foambath.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Wash1.jpg


After washing and drying the car, I had my first chance to try the new Speedy Prep Towel. Bryan Burnworth recommended using it on glass for a few minutes to break it in before using it on paint, so we did. All I can say is...goodbye clay bar! I love this towel, it really moved the whole decontamination step along quickly. It didn't leave any noticeable marring, but the finish was pretty hammered anyway, so it was hard to tell.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Preptowel1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Preptowel2.jpg

Once the car was ready for polishing, we got started trying to find our best combo. Multiple combinations of D300, M105 and M101 where used along with MF pads and Megs burgundy pads. For polishing, we used M205 on a white LC pad.


Before

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Hoodtestspot.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/HoodLEDbefore1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/HoodLEDbefore2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Swirlsbefore1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Swirlsbefore2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Dullpaint.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Driverrearquarterbefore1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Driverrearquarterbefore2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Driverrearquartertape.jpg


Here is a feeble 50/50 shot on the resprayed rear quarter. Not the best quality pic, but you get the idea.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Halogen50-50.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Halogen50-502.jpg

[mikenap]

After shots are after compounding but before the final polish. Most are with LED or camera flash since the sun wasn't cooperating.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/HoodLEDafter1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Swirlsafter2.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Swirlsafter1.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2074.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2076.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2080.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2081.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2082.jpg



Back to the wheels from before-these DPE wheels have a "unique" design in that the barrel is concave in the center. As a result, after any wash or rain, there will be a ton of standing water pooling in the concave. This led to some staining on this part of the wheel. Oh yeah, did I mention that the barrels aren't clearcoated? David used Auto Finesse Oblitarate, ONR and Duragloss 501 on some old, cut-up orange pads and meticulously cleaned each barrel by hand. The results were amazing.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2087.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2062.jpg


For my part, I had the equally tedious task of hand polishing the grill. Even after a wash, the honeycombs were dull and waterspotted. I used Auto Finesse Tripple to clean and protect the grill. These were pics I took in-process. I cleaned up all the little edges afterward, but I just had to stop now and then to give my fingers a break.

Before

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Grilllowerbefore.jpg

After

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/Grilllowerafter.jpg

50/50

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/grill50-50.jpg



Finally- some after pics of this gorgeous car.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2065.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2058.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2059.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2060.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2069.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2061.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2071.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2068.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2077.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2078.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2079.jpg

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/micnap/Taylor%20S5/DSCN2066.jpg



Thanks for looking, and as always, comments and criticisms are welcome!

[maga4]

Looks great - Nicely done! Personally I would prefer a blue and red Kansas Jayhawk bucket, but I guess that one is fine ha.

[mikenap]

Looks great - Nicely done! Personally I would prefer a blue and red Kansas Jayhawk bucket, but I guess that one is fine ha.

Haha, thanks! Blue and red is no problem. I got these from USplastics dot com, and you can mix a blue bucket with red gamma seals or vice versa. I say do it!

[ENV²]

Excellent work

[VroomVroom]

Too cool for school! Saw this first in the FB DB group, and wondered if it'd be shown here. Wonderful work - 2,000 extra karma points for the grille alone!

[mikenap]

Excellent work

Thanks!


Too cool for school! Saw this first in the FB DB group, and wondered if it'd be shown here. Wonderful work - 2,000 extra karma points for the grille alone!

Thank you!

The owner is the one who recommended I post it here, so I did. You're on the DB Facebook group? PM me your name, that group blew up quick and I don't yet know everyone!

[Reflections]

Seen on the DB Facebook group as well :P The group blew up! Stunning work though!

[mikenap]

Seen on the DB Facebook group as well :P The group blew up! Stunning work though!


All the cool kids are in the group, from the looks of it! Thanks man!

[VroomVroom]

Lots of cool kids, for sure. Great group....usually I despise FB groups, but that one offers an education and a few laughs every day! I mostly lurk there...with shoulder surgery I'm on an extended break from detailing for dollars. Anyway, excellent work on this one, Mike!

[AVier]

Car looks great but a garnet and black USC bucket would be better. Gamecocks FTW!

[Beast]

Damn, the new owner got a sick car, and has to do nothing to it lol. Already has Rs5 grille and DPE Sc5, not to mention the AWE to top it off. [drool]

[mikenap]

Car looks great but a garnet and black USC bucket would be better. Gamecocks FTW!

Thanks. As an old time Gator, I might let that SC comment slide. Especially since you guys have to make-do with our hand-me-down head coaches![:p]


Damn, the new owner got a sick car, and has to do nothing to it lol. Already has Rs5 grille and DPE Sc5, not to mention the AWE to top it off. [drool]

Well, he's had the car for a little while. All those things I believe he added himself. And as much as I love the look of that grille, I still have nightmares about it from time to time...[eek]

[helix139]

Go Gators! Where did you get that rinse bucket?

[mikenap]

Go Gators! Where did you get that rinse bucket?

Go Gators! Go to usplastic dot com, then go to their plastic buckets. You'll see buckets, gamma seals and grit guards in several different colors!