Cleaning Avant roof rails

[PNW Avant]

I know this is detail related but I think it is MORE relevant on our avant board

When I got my avant the roof rails were hideous. There was bad staining from oxidation and what looked like water staining. This didn't come off while washing, 409 didnt get it, finishing polish wasn't enough, and neverdull wasn't really working either. I had just finished doing a two stage correction on my dads car with the M105/M205 combo, so I figured with all the praises that everyone's been singing about M105, I'd give it a shot for this task as well.

BEFORE





M105! I applied this with lots of pressure via a small terry-cloth applicator pad. I had to exert a good amount of force and repeat areas a couple times to get it all out.



AFTER!











Smooth, satin finish. I'll follow this up with M205 and wax with my porter cable when I end up doing the whole car.


Worked on the trim too!

BEFORE


AFTER

[hazMatt01]

Looks good thanks for the tip.

[SoCalS4Avant]

Looks great, PNW. I'm thinking those were definitely water spots. Liking that this worked so well, also (good to know for the future!).

[A4Avant02]

Looks good!

[Korrect414]

You are the man. I have the same problem and nothing I did helped. Thanks

[streetsoffire]

.......so when you say you had to apply with lots of pressure, you mean by hand, right? You did that with just elbow grease? How long did it take? Looks outstanding, by the way.......

[1RAudiSQ5]

.......so when you say you had to apply with lots of pressure, you mean by hand, right? You did that with just elbow grease? How long did it take? Looks outstanding, by the way.......

x2? And where do u pick up the wax?

[cleaver]

I've also found that, despite warnings in other posts, just keeping a good coat of wax on the aluminum rails keeps them clean and spot resistant. Personally, I use Meguiars Gold Class.

[PNW Avant]

.......so when you say you had to apply with lots of pressure, you mean by hand, right? You did that with just elbow grease? How long did it take? Looks outstanding, by the way.......

Thanks! By pressure, I mean by hand yes. Really had to use some elbow grease. Took me about a half hour! Once you find out what works, it goes pretty fast. Its so easy you become a perfectionist...if you see one little stain you missed you'll go back over it because results are so easy to produce. But, your thumb will HATE you and you'll be sure to have a nice blister on it the next day!

x2? And where do u pick up the wax?

It's a heavy cut polish. You can buy meguiars M105 at detailersdomain.com, among other detailing websites. Other polishes may work, so long as they are "Heavy Cut" polishes.

I've also found that, despite warnings in other posts, just keepign a good coat of wax on the aluminum rails keeps them clean and spot resistant. Personally, I use Meguiars Gold Class.

What are the warnings to waxing the rails? I did that today. Should I not have done that?

I'm almost sure they are clear-coated. They should be safe to wax...?

[whtcand]

x2? And where do u pick up the wax?

U know i think i got some in the garage. All u had to do is ask, LOL!

The rails look good. Thats why i want to swap my black for silver. Plus it will match the modding i plan in doing.

[doubleu8]

had a similiar problem with the window trim on my passat W8 . It goes away for a very short while, then..... BAM!! ... its back. I hope you found a more permanent solution.

[PNW Avant]

Well, I waxed the rails and trim so hopefully they're protected now!

[Rhynolite]

Looks good man

I do the same thing, but I use Flitz instead.

[CARTEL]

Nice little write up! for you.

[NogaroAvant]

nice, thanks for the info. Looks great

[DubJunky]

So I'm to believe that a solution has FINALLY been found for this plague? Sorry, I'm hesitant. Have they lasted through a hard rain? Several hard rains? The only thing I've found, or heard of, that takes the oxidation out is baby oil, and its only temporary. Please keep us updated, and if it lasts 30 days I'll be very impressed.

[/\G]

Thanks so much! I have to do this on my Allroad. They are terrible. I have done some research and the only other thing I came up with that worked for people was Busch Aluminum Polish. People over on AW have had rave reviews.

[rlarsen462]

Does anyone know if this will tackle the infamous cloudy, "rainbow" looking window trim issue? I have some 105 at home that I will definitely try, but I doubt it will do much for the really bad haze that happens to the window trim.

[PNW Avant]

So I'm to believe that a solution has FINALLY been found for this plague? Sorry, I'm hesitant. Have they lasted through a hard rain? Several hard rains? The only thing I've found, or heard of, that takes the oxidation out is baby oil, and its only temporary. Please keep us updated, and if it lasts 30 days I'll be very impressed.

You can actually see and feel the mineral deposits come off as you cut it with the heavy cut polish.

The hard work is done, and as long as I at the very least lightly polish and then wax the rails every few months, I don't see the spots coming back at all. It's rained several times since I did this (I live in Seattle!) and they still look good as new.

Nevertheless, I will provide pictures early in April.

EDIT: I can't comment much on oxidation, because I believe mine were only water spots/mineral deposits that had been neglected over the life of the car (I just got it a couple months ago).

[rlarsen462]

Yes, mine is far worse that what you are showing, my trim isn't just spotted like that, it's totally hazed, almost looks like brushed aluminum but with a rainbow kind of shimmer/cloudiness to it. It's hard to explain, I'll see if I can get some pictures when I begin the process to try and repair it.

[PNW Avant]

Well if the trim is truly untreated aluminum then you should be able to cut through the damaged parts to fresh aluminum. good luck! Post pics!

Mine is not exactly a mirror finish, but I'd say its closer to mirror than brushed. Mine's a little older though, too!

[rlarsen462]

Well after about 5 minutes of vigorous scrubbing by hand using a microfiber and 105, I am please to say there has been some visible improvement in the test area. I hope to determine a good masking method and will use either a dremel or Porter Cable to really get after the trim. It would be nearly impossible to do all this by hand considering the amount of pressure/effort I had to expend just to make a small difference in a tiny area.

I will report back more after I have a chance to do more. Biggest problem area will probably be under the mirrors (access).

[PNW Avant]

Well after about 5 minutes of vigorous scrubbing by hand using a microfiber and 105, I am please to say there has been some visible improvement in the test area. I hope to determine a good masking method and will use either a dremel or Porter Cable to really get after the trim. It would be nearly impossible to do all this by hand considering the amount of pressure/effort I had to expend just to make a small difference in a tiny area.

I will report back more after I have a chance to do more. Biggest problem area will probably be under the mirrors (access).

Try a more abrasive cloth. I also had to use quite a bit of force, it certainly was NOT easy.

In my experience, the PC or rotary wasn't going to help much because of the pressure necessary to cut this stuff. But maybe you can make up for that with the speed of the machine...

[Lucky736]

Wow. Very nice. Great job again on this.

[SilverThing]

Thanks so much! I have to do this on my Allroad. They are terrible. I have done some research and the only other thing I came up with that worked for people was Busch Aluminum Polish. People over on AW have had rave reviews.

The Busch Aluminum polish def works - I've used it myself (and w/o too much elbow grease) - great stuff, but may be hard to find.

[wpg2.0T]

I cleaned my rails and window trim today using Gel-Gloss





Removed all the pitting and some small scratches.

Would highly recommend.

[Recone]

Just FYI - I had my S4 Avant detailed a couple of weeks ago and the guy told me this spotting on the window trim and roof rails is from the "Acid Wash" that a lot of automatic car washes use. He says it's very common with audis and he simply buffed it out. He said if I avoid these automatic car washes it should never come back.

RB

[CZA420tAvant]

great tip guys!

[snoboarder_mike]

I cleaned my rails and window trim today using Gel-Gloss





Removed all the pitting and some small scratches.

Would highly recommend.

Did your rails come out like the above pictures? How hard did you have to work?

[BillyEUPHORIA]

+1 for the m105 tip

[allroadstomtl]

I cleaned my rails and window trim today using Gel-Gloss





Removed all the pitting and some small scratches.

Would highly recommend.

I see you rails just a couple yrs old, most likely an easy cleanup. My AR is an '03, considerably older with wear. I think Busch will do the job right

[wpg2.0T]

I see you rails just a couple yrs old, most likely an easy cleanup. My AR is an '03, considerably older with wear. I think Busch will do the job right

You are right. My rails are only about 2 1/2 years old. However, since I did them with the Gel-gloss I have not seen any indication that any marks are returning.

I guess the secret is to maintain them on a regular basis and not wait until there are some serious pitting.

[PNW Avant]

+1 for the m105 tip

Thanks man. Seattle has had a remarkably rainy spring and my rails still look the same as the day I cleaned em.

[BillyEUPHORIA]

nice, yea i ordered some right after i posted last time cus my car sat outside my dealership for like 5 months out here in arizona so my rails, my hood, and my wheels all have mad sun damage and water spots on them, the hood even looks like an ant farm now...and no i wont be applying the 105 to the hood........or will i............just kiddin, but i might try this on my oem allroad wheels

[PNW Avant]

IMO 105 would be good for anything with a clear coat. Hell, I even used it on my exhaust tips too. Worked great.

[eh4avant]

Thnx for the info. I've been meaning to clean the rails but I don't know where to start

[S4_NE]

nice work, I am going to try this out on my Avant

[dhskier2]

thanks- I need to do my rails and trim.

[617 Bones]

Looks great! Is there a good product to clean up black roof rails??

[julex]

I stumbled on this post recently and followed with M105/M203 application on my rails, chrome trim,pillar piano black parts, headlights, tail ights... bascially this stuff works on everything like a wonder...

I will give this to you to ponder about, one half of rail done with meguiar's, the other is how my rails were: