Duke I

Will do. Thanks. Then I'll just need my car!

Money2536

Yeah, a car would be good to go with a cover.

Duke I

V260 as of today!

Money2536

I've been slacking on updating my Journal lately. I haven't had much going on with my car. I've been patiently waiting for my M3 to arrive, and I was starting to get a little antsy about getting rid of my S4.

I'm sure many of you are like me. As soon as I set my mind to something, I can't focus on anything else. Sometimes things happen too quickly. For example, one time I told my wife we should sell our house and move closer to my office. I also told her it would take months. Well...it sold in 6 days, and we were moved 20 days later. I tend to get things done.

So last Friday, I decided I need to work toward selling my S4 since I only have about a month before my M3 gets. I don't want to be messing around selling my old car when I'm playing with my new one. I don't do well having multiple projects happening at once. Again, it's the laser focus neurosis of which I'm inflicted. I also knew I had to take the parts off and sell those, so it was going to take some time.

Well...on Sunday I took all the parts off, returned the car to stock, got the car washed and shined up, interior cleaned, photos taken, parts boxed, and parts listed on Audizine. Monday I got half of the parts sold and THE CAR SOLD! Wednesday I finished selling the remaining parts. So much for taking a month and a half to get everything done.

The only problem with this gift of personal efficiency is I am now driving my 911 every day. I even have to drive it in the rain! Can you believe that? What a terrible idea. I should have waited.

Oh well, bye, bye S4. I won't miss you. I think I've got Audi completely out of my system. Audi's are much like Android vs. iOS. The bells and whistles look attractive, but in the end it's just a hack-job. Steering is awful, the car was fast but no fun, rather than improve they make band-aids like the Sport Differential, etc., etc.

Looks and promise won't lure me again over pure function and engineering. Lesson learned. Someone is getting a well maintained car. I hope they don't die of boredom.

MJBird993

Ha, funny! When my 911 was about 2 months from being delivered, I put my S5 up for sale. Like yourself, I was not mesmerized by the ownership of the Audi, although the car was never in for service and I got a lot of compliments on it, it wasn't quite as robust as I'm used to with BMWs and Porsches, the V8 was lovely but missing some grunt and the clutch was absolutely miserable. I figured as a 2-door manual transmission very expensive car (it was a low mileage 2012) I'd have trouble selling it, and I did. It took me nearly a week! I figured on 2 to 3 months. So I had to rent a POS Chrysler until I bought the Mercedes, which was another mistake that we won't get into here.

Congrats on the quick sale!

phil996cab99

Money- love this thread. Couple questions about your cleaning:

1. Do you wash your towels, or just throw them away?
2. You mention "polishing" alot. Where does it fit into your routine, eg. every wash vs. as needed.

As for me:
1. Washing towels never worked out very well for me. Being quite OCD, I wanted to keep each group separate, ie. drying towels, waxing towels, polish towels, etc. Not having a washing machine at home was probably the real reason I quit.
2. Re: polishing, I just don't understand its role, never found a website that explained it very well.
3. Context- my concern is only the paintwork. I'm satisfied with my routine for other items (wheels, trim, moldings, etc.).

Thanks.

Money2536

I have one of those fancy high-efficiency front load washers with a steam mode. As you know microfiber has to be washed by itself. If you wash it with cotton, the cotton will clog up the microfiber and ruin it. So I put my washer on heavy duty, hot, extra rinse, with steam. I use Dreft that doesn't have any kind of softeners. Then hang to dry. I've never worried about segregating the different types. I just wash them all together. Some of my towels I've had for nearly ten years.

When I think of polishing, I think of three different stages:

Compounding for heavily scratched and swirled paint, Medium for normal wear and tear, Finish(Jeweling) for touch-ups after clay/Auto Scrib and to remove the abrasions after using a heavy/medium polish.

So lets say you pick up your car from the dealer brand new but it has been sitting on the lot and has been washed a few dozen times by a part-time employee whose job is to replenish the paper towels, fill up the fridge with water bottles, and is also head of "detailing" for the dealership.

This "new" car looks clean, great in photos, and still shines like new. When you get it out of the showroom under the sun in your driveway, you see all kinds of swirls (minor circular scratches) in the paint.

If you want to get those swirls out, you need to polish. Of course, before you polish, you need to make sure you get all of the embedded dirt of the paint. Otherwise, you be pushing around the dirt with the polish making the paint look even worse.

Now, to answer your question about routine, let's assume your paint has been cared for properly by washing/drying correctly. I only need to polish my car prior to reapplying a new coat of wax, sealant, or coating. That is about every 6 to 8 months for my cars. Since it takes me a solid day and a half to do a proper detail job, I stagger my cars so I'm only doing one every three or four months.

So it looks like this:

-Wash
-Decontaminate with Iron Out
-Auto Scrub to get the embedded stuff off the paint and strip off the remaining wax/sealant
-Polish: I usually only have to use a finishing polish to make sure I've removed any marring from washing/drying/and Auto Scrub.
-Wash
-Menzerna Top Inspection or Isoprophyl Alcohol Wipe Down
-Last Step: Wax

991999R

hi matt, auto scrub vs clay for convenience or do you find any marked benefits?

Money2536

I think clay still works better, but Auto Scrub is cleaner, easier, and faster. It works about 95% as well. I still keep some clay handy, but have rarely had to use it.

BlackBeauty

Matt - congrats on selling the S4! Whoever the new owner is he's pretty lucky to have meticulously cared for car like that. Quick question on Iron Out - given your detailing regiment are you getting a lot of benefit from it, or is it something you're doing to be 100 percent certain that the car's surface us contamination free?

Money2536

It's basically a waste of time, but it makes me feel good. There was quite a bit of iron on the car when I first got it, but there won't be much ever again. It only takes about 10 minutes to spray it down and spray it off, so I do it at every detail.

phil996cab99

Matt, thanks for that writeup. Also, for polishing and waxing, do you use a power tool (orbital) or do it by hand? Thanks.

Money2536

Definitely not by hand. I use Rupes LH21, Rupes Duetto, Griot's 3."

BlackBeauty

Too funny!! So just a quick update on the Rupes Micofiber Pad and Rupes foam pads. I've now used them all (except for the blue one) extensively on my black 991and silver Cayenne. Without going into a diatribe if you apply pressure when polishing, the foam Rupes pads last about 1 car. However, with the Rupes pad while you can't find confirmation of this other than through experience - you don't need to apply pressure. The conical shape of the pad works perfectly with Rupes' throw (I have the 15 Big Foot). With respect to the Rupes MF pads, both blue and yellow, I've found that even if you prep them with product (rubbing into the fans) -I'll attach a picture, they disintegrate after 1 panel. When you prep then with a detailing spray - you're good to go. Both the foam and MF pads not only are designed to go with the Rupes unusual throw but engineered to stay cool.

BlackBeauty

For some reason - I can't post pics - ugh - sorry.