Full Paint Correction & Detail- Lots of Pics

[FaisalJ]

Hey Guys,

Earlier this year, after a week away at a forest holiday here in the UK, the car sustained pollen damage, mainly to the bonnet and roof. It ended up covered in quite a thick layer of pollen all over in that week in the forest, and when washed off, the car was covered in tiny flecks that had etched the surface.



The car was already coated in gTechniq crystal serum (ceramic coating) and EXO (hydrophobic layer) by the previous owner of the car, so I contacted GTechniq and ended up in contact with their MD, Rob. He suggested a few things; I tried claying. I tried a light polish. I then tried a heavier polish. There was a marginal improvement, but not much.

There was nothing else for it, I had to book in for a professional to machine polish the car. There was no doubt where to look; KDS detailing in Kent already knew the car, and have an enviable reputation over here.

Although I wasn't covered by the original GTechniq guarantee (not transferrable),Rob kindly contributed towards the work

I'm told I was very fortunate that they were so busy that Mr KDS himself, Kelly, was drafted in to polish my car. :thumb:

(Here he is in action, wet sanding an M3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxnnA7ntDUo)

I went for a gold paint correction package (15 stage wash, clay, engine bay clean and detail, interior clean and detail, wheels off to clean and coat in wheel armour, 2-3 stage machine polish), plus reapplication of GTechniq crystal serum and EXO. Rob at GTechniq sent over a batch of their latest formulation of EXO which is supposed to be more durable and less prone to water spotting than the v2 on sale at the moment.

The results speak for themselves. The car looked incredible under their spotlights when I went to collect!

I'd apologise for all the pics, but who am I kidding, I'm not even sorry haha...thrilled with the results. Pollen marks gone, and the car looks better than I could imagine a 9 year old nearly 100k motor could look.

Many thanks to Jay, Kelly and team at KDS, and Rob at Gtechniq.

Zillions of pics to follow....

DSC_0896 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0897 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0899 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0901 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0908 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0910 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0915 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0916 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0919 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0930 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0935 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0952 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_1003 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_1001 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr


Need more coolant!

DSC_0998 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0001 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0991 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0988 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0985 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0983 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0982 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0979 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0974 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0972 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0971 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0966 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0962 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

DSC_0895 by Faisal Javaid, on Flickr

[Blackstallion]

Beautiful! I liked your other wheels (looked like miro's) but I see you painted these what looks to be a close titanium match...

That interior is just fucking ridiculous - you've done a hell of a job! I bet any car newb viewing this interior would never think your car is 10 years old...

[Mr.Wrong]

^x2

Just awesome

[b6bydesign04]

God bless that interior, looks great man.

[zmw]

those euro bucket seats make me sad every time I see them...

[OscarMeyer]

Absolutely amazing finish! Car looks amazing!

[musanoadsaba]

LOVE the interior and seeing Avants makes me sad that we couldn't get them.
On another note, what is your radio reception like with the Pioneer? Mine sucks, and it seems nobody can figure out why. I always blamed it on the head unit.

[JoeyManhattan]

Beautiful car man, mine has fresh paint and doesn't shine that much-though I can't wax her yet. There's no way I could make my Silver interior that sexy either.


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[cmd4]

I hate seeing threads like this… first the avant rs4…then the euro interiorGorgeous and still drooling

[Mr. Corey]

Car looks amazing!! Interior is moneys!!!!!!!!!!

[FaisalJ]

Thanks very much for the positive feedback all!!

So as well as no avants stateside, you guys didn't get buckets either? Didn't realise that.

On another note, what is your radio reception like with the Pioneer? Mine sucks, and it seems nobody can figure out why. I always blamed it on the head unit.

It's ok, not the best, but ok. It picks up the big national radio stations over here ok, but seems a bit flakey with the local broadcasts sometimes. If memory serves, I think the installer had to put in a radio signal amplifier.




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[IronmanS4]

Bootylicious !!!!

[streetsoffire]

Jesus Christmas! It's like an Adult piece of candy! Too gorgeous.

[MTN]

Beautiful car...An avant with Euro interior!!! I just had mine ceramic coated with Ceramic Pro product which provides a lifetime warranty. It worries me that pollen can affect the ceramic coating!

Just curious, did you paint the front grill and the rings black or were they wrapped? They really go well with the car.

[dsgray16]

Wow.. just pristine. Love the stitching on the rear seats!

[FaisalJ]

Beautiful car...An avant with Euro interior!!! I just had mine ceramic coated with Ceramic Pro product which provides a lifetime warranty. It worries me that pollen can affect the ceramic coating!

Just curious, did you paint the front grill and the rings black or were they wrapped? They really go well with the car.

Thanks!

I was more than a little surprised that the coating was affected by pollen too! I like to think it was the specific coating (gTechniq EXO V2) that was sensitive to this kind of damage rather than it being a problem that'd affect all cars. I now have a different formulation of EXO which gTechniq claim won't have the same problem, and is covered by a guarantee in my name this time (as the previous coatings were not applied during my ownership of the car).

The grill is the OEM black optics option, but the black emblem was bought off good old eBay! I did initially plastidip the emblem, but wasn't happy with the finish.


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[MTN]

Thanks!

I was more than a little surprised that the coating was affected by pollen too! I like to think it was the specific coating (gTechniq EXO V2) that was sensitive to this kind of damage rather than it being a problem that'd affect all cars. I now have a different formulation of EXO which gTechniq claim won't have the same problem, and is covered by a guarantee in my name this time (as the previous coatings were not applied during my ownership of the car).

The grill is the OEM black optics option, but the black emblem was bought off good old eBay! I did initially plastidip the emblem, but wasn't happy with the finish.


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Thanks for the detail. My fingers crossed for my finish.