As fall slides in, it's time to prep the cars for winter. I did a wash on my 2016 Audi. The clear coat surface had been rough ever since I bought it but it always look nice after waxing and repelled water.

I decided to try a clay bar to get the contaminants out of the clear coat and smooth it out in the process.

I used mothers speed clay 2.0, actually a synthetic material attached to an ergonomically shaped fits the palm of your hand substrate. With lots of soap and water to keep it lubricated, it took me 3 hours to cover the entire real estate of the vehicle. This includes windows.

The whole trick to it is to let it do the work. Just enough pressure to keep it on the surface and lots of lubrication.. some Maguire's premium wax, a whole mess of hand buffing later, here are some indoor pictures. I have not yet pulled it out of the garage.


Goofy overhead lighting


Not sure what I was trying to do here

Hood reflection


No I didn't start the swap but I did use my time wisely.

 

Anything to get out of doing the swap, huh? It looks good, buddy, but you really need to get on that swap done before the cold weather sets in. Trust me, lying on a cold concrete floor for any period of time sucks. I keep a couple of large pieces of cardboard for such emergencies, but they only deflect the cold for so long. I also have a mechanics creeper. Sometimes getting the car high enough to get under it with the creeper is a pain in the neck too.

 

Very nice, this is one reason your cars last so long while living in the NorthEast.

 

Thank you.

97 pulled into garage tonight.

Fluids come out tomorrow, hood comes off.

4 Jack stands as high as stable.
Creeper for underneath.

Not terribly difficult. The 1/2 axles freak me out but will be fine once I get at it.

 

Daytime pics, near dusk.

 

Audi looks awesome, derf. I need to do that to my Kia, but, well, it's a Kia! LOL

 

Thx.

This is the nicest it will ever look while I own it.

Now it gets to sit out in the driveway while I work on the swap. A little extra incentive to get it done faster.

And there's no reason not to do it to your Kia. Except if I remember correctly that's an SUV so there is a lot of real estate to cover.

 

No, my Forte is a mid size sedan. I'm just too damned lazy.