Over the past few days, I worked on my dad's 2004 VW Phaeton W12. As you can see in the pictures, the condition was quite bad with swirls and fine scratches including a key job. This was my first time working with a Porter Cable so I was a bit worried that I would not get the results I was hoping for, especially given that it is black and you can see every imperfection.

Well, I consulted with Phil at Detailer's Domain over the course of several PMs and he set me up with some great products. I watched the videos on his site that show proper technique for the PC and went to work on Sunday....I finished the paint on Tuesday and the interior on Wednesday It was a great learning experience and thanks to Phil's recommendations, I came out with results that I am very, very happy with. Thanks Phil!

Also, I wanted to note how much nicer the high quality mf towels work than the cheaper, generic ones you find at Sams or Costco. The difference is especially seen when buffing out the polishes and wax. The cheaper ones would build up much quicker with polish and leave streaks where as the towels Phil sells could be used effectively for greater duration. It was a good test because both were brand new.

I will have to get some pictures of the finished result (i.e. entire car, wheels, interior) in the coming days. It was rainy and cloudy during most of the detail so the only lighting I had to work with was from inside our closed garage. All of the pictures below were taken during the process, but you get an idea of how bad the paint was compared to how it is now. None of them were taken with the Glanz on and some are right after the SIP, hence the haziness. I am extremely impressed on how well the polishes worked out the key job. The body shop quoted us $1000+ to repair it (repaint the entire rear quarter panel, etc). My dad was particularly happy with that one


Paint:
-Washed with Dawn and Shmitt Wash Mitt
-Clayed lubricated with Meguiar's Detail Spray
-Menzerna SIP with Lake County orange pad - some panels twice
-Menzerna 85rd with Lake County white pad
-Einszett Glanz Wax applied by hand

Wheels:
-P21S wheel cleaner agitated with boar's hair brush
-Adam's Metal Polish #1 and #2 on the lips
-Einszett Glanz Wax on the painted centers

Interior:
-Einszett 1Z Plastik-Reiniger
-Einszett 1Z Cockpit
-Einszett Leather Care 'Lederpflege'
-Special formulated dry cleaning powder/agent for the carpets - messy, but works - looking for something better/easier

 

Good job Matt....that's a huge difference.

 

Are the photos loading properly for you? I was having some problems with photobucket...

 

Yes...I can see them just fine.

 

Very nice looking always loved the pheaton.

 

wow great work Matt!

 

how deep was that key mark? my car was keyed and they want $700 to do the repaint when the key mark looks to only be in the clear.

 

Wow, that's a quarter panel scratch, right? That's expensive.. Nice job, you had it remove buy some detailing work. That's really wrong to key someone's car, especially a car that a person enthusiast at. They got you where it's deep... right in the heart...

 

Definitely try to polish it out first! I really had no idea how much I was going to be able to fix, but amazingly it is almost all gone.

 

WOW, great job. I am going to do my Dad's A8L soon. About how much time would it take. He has alot of swirls. Can I do it in two days or is the car simply to big for this ammount of time?

 

Two days might be enough if you are willing to work at least 6 hrs each day. Check out these videos if you haven't used a PC before as they are very helpful to see the proper technique. I would honestly set aside a third day just so you don't rush yourself. I was careful to take my time and not skimp on breaking down the polishes.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...on=Custom&ID=3

 

nice job man

 

Thanks, I am actually using a rotary so the should cut the time down a fair ammount. I think I might just do one 12 hour day.

 

yea it is amazing.