Hi folks,
I've been lurking on here for a while, but haven't created a user until now. I'm from Denmark, living near Aalborg in Jylland.
I read german pretty well, but I'm not so good at speaking it and especially not writing it - so bear over with my english.
Okay, to the case.
After seeing that Optimum updated their coating line, I wanted to try Gloss-Coat to see what it's like to use and maintain over a longer period of time. I'll be maintaining the A3 for around a year from now on, so I won't be able to see it through, but I should be able to get a clue if Gloss-Coat is a worthy update of OC2.0.
The car is a daily driver, which explains the rather large amount of dirt build-up on it. But as it has been washed carefully through the most of it's life - there was close to no wash marring. It's two years old now, so pretty good. Please bear in mind that the car had never been polished before. Just regular washing done by me, and a spray on product or quick detailer here and there.
General condition at arrival:
Wash:
I began by washing wheels and wells, using Sonax Felgenreiniger PLUS and SX MultiStar and various brushes:
Diverse børster blev derudover brugt til at gøre hhv. fælge, dæksider og skærmkasser rene:
Efterfulgt af en grundig afskylning til sidst:
The product setup for washing the exterior of the car. SX Multistar through a Gloria CleanMaster CM12 pump-sprayer for pre-washing, and Sonax Gloss Shampoo for hand washing.
Rinsing the car down, before soaking it in Sonax MultiStar:
Handwash:
Removing tar:
And iron deposits:
After this, the car was rinsed again and a clay-towel was used for removing the rest of the accumulation on the paint:
After last rinse and dry:
After decontamination:
Paint was in really good condition - except the piano black super-soft trim and a few other spots. The trim was swirled up by the dealership when the car was new.
Piano-black trim a bit worn:
Covering up the car:
Paint correction and polishing:
After giving Sonax EX a go on the hood, we settle for this as the go-to product. My buddy began polishing while I had other things to take care of:
Nasty bird etching on the hood:
The area was wet sanded via the Rupes mini and Mirka Abralon (2k and 3k). After this compounded with Sonax CutMax on a Rupes MF pad:
After this, I began using Sonax EX as well on the rest of the car:
Rear lights polished:
Piano-black trim of doom:
Getting handy around the badges:
Not so bad - a bit of flake pop:
After the paint was corrected, it was wiped down with a silicone remover in order to remove anything left behind.
Coating the paint, and some finished shots:
Mit freundlichen grüßen,
Ebbe