snagitseven

For many years, I've been somewhat lackadaisical about doing my own car detailing, hiring others once a year and using car washes (god help me). As I now have more time on my hands in semi-retirement and have my shiny new A6, I've reverted back to my previous ****, DIY behavior on detailing the car myself.

So, I thought I would share my process. While most of you, if as **** or more so than me, already have your own methods and products you deploy, I thought it would be fun to share mine, especially for those that have been as lazy as me in the past and want to do more for their new Audi.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for extra effort required or muscle pain that may result for those wishing to embark for the first time on a similar program. Use these directions at your own risk.

My Every Other Sunday Wheel and Car Cleaning (and Waxing) Regimen

1) Rinse wheels only with hose
2) Spray each wheel with Sonax Wheel cleaner
http://www.autogeek.net/sonax-wheel-cleaner.html
3) Watch the color of the Sonax change to red after a few minutes
4) Clean as much of the wheel as possible with the brushes, especially the insides of the rims
http://www.detailedimage.com/DI-Brus.../Full-Size-S1/
(I find that I use the smaller brush more often than the larger one. A caution is to be careful when shoving the larger brush into the interior of the wheel. It can catch on the rotor shield or the brake cables. No issue so long as you're gentle when shoving the brush into the wheel openings).
4) Using a wheels-only dedicated microfiber mitt or cloth, wipe all the wheel spokes and crevices
5) Rinse wheels thoroughly with hose
6) When washing the car from top down with a sheepskin mitt and 2 bucket/grit guard method, wash the wheels last with the car soap
http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-car-wash.html
http://www.autogeek.net/grit-guard.html
7) Rinse the whole car thoroughly with hose
8) I use original California Water Blade to remove most of the water on the car (does not scratch the finish; mine is 12 years old).
9) Dry with quality absorbent microfiber waffle towels using the drag method
10) Optional: Every two or three washes, wax car and wheels with Optimum Spray Wax (Great stuff and very fast and easy to use; it's not a detailer spray but it's a real wax); I use two dedicated microfiber cloths to wax one section of the car at a time
http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-spray-wax.html
11) Vacuum and wipe down car interior as needed; wipe down interior door frames and sills
12) Clean windows with Sprayway glass cleaner (no streaks, also really great stuff; doing the inside windows takes some time, especially the rear window which requires a contortionist's skill set)
http://www.autogeek.net/sprayway-glass.html
13) Clean brushes with a hose; place all cloths/mitts in one of the buckets and give to wife to use washing machine using microfiber detergent; dry on lowest heat setting (don't include wheel mitt; rinse off mitt by hand in garage sink); reward wife somehow
14) Get appropriate snacks and go watch the game (optional)
http://www.nfl.com/

The whole process takes between 1.5 - 5 hours depending on how **** I want to be on the detailing; the Optimum waxing portion takes only about 30-45 minutes; (watching the game adds about 3.5 hours).

Note: The links above are for illustration only. I don't work for any of these retailers or products and as a consumer, I buy my stuff from Autogeek, Detailer Domain and other reputable retailers depending on who has the best deal at the time.

s5blitzer

snagitseven - YOU ROCK!!!

manishaudi

Thanks for the detailed breakdown!

Here is a product I use for making cleaning of the inner windshields easier.

Go to Bavauto.com and enter "GMP7601" in the search field. It'll ask you to specify a model (anyone will do). it is the "Glass / Dash Cleaning Kit". It is $15.

Replacement cloths for it (part: GMP73003) are $5.95


I bought it when I had my 3series, and it made that task a bit easier.

s5blitzer

Have great success with Diamondite auto glass cleaner.

http://www.diamondite.com/product-li...aner-pump.html

They have other products too.

Ltdplus9

SnagitSeven - Once again, thanks for taking the time and sharing this. I'm putting in a christmas request for a detailers all-inclusive kit. Leaning towards the Adam's products right now. They have an "essential kit" that looks to be pretty comprehensive for $175 minus 10%. Unfortunately, I think I missed an opportunity on Black Friday/Cyber Monday to start building up my detailing products collection.

Dr.Aronis

Where in MA are you?

I'll be by. I'll bring the coffee and donuts. You can show me the right way to detail a car....

I'll need about three lessons though, I'm a slow learner.

Mike

DKYC

snagitseven, thanks for the detailed post. Very useful information (which I've copied and pasted to a separate Word doc for future reference)!

MileHighJC

15) For next 3-4 days, irritate wife by taking the long way home to avoid driving through the water running across road from neighbors sprinkler system.

s5blitzer

I thought I was the paranoid one.

salvadorik

You are not the only one It seems there is something magical about this car. I owened many cars before A6 and never was obssessed about them. Boy did I lost my mind after purchasing A6. When i see this beauty everyday I just wanna keep it like that for as long as possible. My gf is being pissed all the time that i devote too much attention to my car rather than to her.

Thanks for sharing the detailing techniques. Very useful.