Finally tried out AutoGlym HD on my GTI!

I was waiting for spring to do an exterior detail on my GTI...but it was so nice outside yesterday (sunny and 65) that I went on ahead and did it then. And I was really eager to try out the AutoGlym HD I had picked up at Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago. I was going to do a wheel/wheel well detail also but I might be tracking my car sometime soon so I figured I'd wait till after that before I cleaned the wheels and all. I know I've posted a couple threads on my GTI already but it's the only car I can truly take my time on and make look as good as I want it. I didn't wash the wheels and tires and stuff because I had just cleaned those two days ago, and only drove the car a total of 9 miles since then

Products used:

Cheap fertilizer sprayer from Lowes
Raceglaze brushes
DI sheepskin mitt
Grit guard
Short-handled brush from Wal-Mart
Vroom drying towels
Orange CG MF towels
Costco MF towels
Zymol applicator pad
AutoGlym applicator pad
Vroom dressing applicator
Zep Citrus
Megs Gold Class car wash soap
ONR (clay lube)
DI fine clay
IPA, 1:1
Menzerna Powerlock
Autoglym HD
Stoner Invisible Glass
303 Aerospace Protectant
Eagle One Never Dull wadding polish

Onto before pictures and procedures, no befores of the exterior were taken as the car was washed only a couple days previously to this. Photos taken with my iPhone.

First thing I did was engine bay, hosed down and then sprayed with Zep Citrus 4:1. Agitated with various brushes, dried with leaf blower and then engine left to run for 10 or so minutes. Dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant, sprayed on and then buffed for a matte finish.







Started out the wash with a pre-soak with Zep Citrus in a cheap fertilizer sprayer, seemed to make a dent in the Collinite 845 that I had on there before.

Next I went around and cleaned all the black plastic trim with Zep Citrus 10:1 and a Raceglaze brush, same for all other trim areas and crevices where dirt was starting to accumulate.





Rubber trim around windows and windshield cleaned degreased with Zep Citrus 4:1.

Onto the wash, washed with a mix of Megs Gold Class soap and Zep Citrus to help strip the 845. Two-bucket method with grit guard and DI sheepskin mitt.



It did a decent job of stripping the 845 too, kind hard to see but left side washed, right side not.



For once I'm glad to not see any beading!



I don't like drying cars, it's the one part of detailing I'd rather not do. But of course it's a necessity so the car was partially dried and crevices blown out with leaf blower, all remaining water wiped off with Vroom drying towels. I really don't like drying cars with no LSP...it makes it that much more difficult.



Next I went to clay it, I tried out the DI fine clay that I ordered a while ago, with ONR as clay lube. More stuff came off the hood and roof than I thought, but not much off the sides and back. I was more concerned with getting the 845 off than anything, as there was still some beading evident on the car even after the wash. I liked the clay, I didn't notice any new marring but on a heavily contaminated car I'd want something more aggressive. After the car was clayed I did an IPA wipedown. IPA diluted 1:1. Hopefully all that took care of the 845, it certainly put up a fight!



After hood and roof, there was more on the clay than this picture shows.



Now onto applying the LSP! I decided to go with two coats of Powerlock and then one coat of HD. The only applicators I have right now are the blue Zymol ones, which don't seem to work too well with the Powerlock. I finally figured out a method though, I got the applicator very damp and it spread much easier. Buffed off with the orange CG MF towels.









While I was letting the second coat of Powerlock cure for a bit I went around with a foam brush and dressed the window rubber and the area around the wipers with 303 Aerospace Protectant. I used the Vroom dressing applicator to dress the lower black plastic trim, again with 303. Finally it came to the front honeycomb grilles...I used an old paintbrush to dress the fog grilles. To get into the honeycombs of the grille, I wrapped a Costco MF around one finger, and applied dressing into each honeycomb. It took a while but it turned out nicely.





Finally it came time to try the AG HD. The applicator pad was pre-dampened, and I found that I only had to dampen it once more while applying. I always seem to apply wax really thin so I only used a small amount. It went on like butter, one of the easier waxes I've used so far actually. I used the included MF to buff it off, and that's where I ran into some issues. It would cure relatively quickly in some areas, but in others it didn't want to cure at all. So buffing the wax off was a bit difficult but I got it in the end. Even so, out in the sunlight today I noticed that all the wax didn't seem to be gone...there was a very very light film I couldn't buff off in a few areas...it just smeared around. Any thoughts?





HD curing on the hood:



Finally I went and cleaned the windshield with the Stoner Invisible glass and a Costco MF; there was clay lube overspray on it.

This morning I went and polished the tailpipes with the Eagle One Never Dull wadding polish...I think I need something more aggressive. Gonna order some P21s polishing soap soon It was late when I finished last night so I don't have any good photos from then...but I got it out this morning and got some better pictures with my crappy digital camera. It does a horrible job with red in the sunlight, the car looks much better in person. I was really happy with how it turned out, the red is so much deeper with the HD than with anything else I've used so far (admittedly not a lot but still). Only issue is with how there's still a light film of wax on some areas, not noticeable at all unless you look right at where the sun is reflecting off the paint and see the streaks.

After:



















This took a total of 6.5 hours or so and I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks for reading :thumb:

Clark

 

Awesome job dude, looks great. I have a couple packs of those blue Zymol apps. and agree they aren't the best. They tend to break apart after awhile..

 

nice work!

 

Looks good, I've been meaning to pick up some HD from walmart when they had it for dirt cheap. I doubt it's still there though. For an OTC wax, would you rate it up there with the "boutique" style waxes such as poorboys, swissvax, etc. etc?

 

Your car looks excellent, and you take great pictures .
Even under your hood is nice and glossy!

 

Looks good, great job!

 

how do you like those vroom drying towels?

 

Looks great! You will love P21s polishing soap...... its worth the money.

 

But you can't deny that OPT Metal polish is a must have as well While I do have both, polishing soap is easier to do to clean crud, but as for the final gloss and shine. OPT is just the killer product for me.

Great car btw! Sadly, I have to live with what my parents let me drive. Insurance is a b**** here in Canada at 16-24 years of age.

 

Looks great!

 

Thanks to everyone for all the kind comments so far :thumb:

One question. I was out driving the car today, and noticed when the sun hit it I could see fairly clearly a light haze of wax, that once again would not buff off. I'm probably the only one who will notice it but it bugs me. Since I've already driven the car, should I just wait till the next time I wash it and see if it comes off with the wash? Or try using quick detailer (ONR is all I have for now) on it...there is a very very small amount of dust on it from driving today but I do NOT want to cause any marring, obviously.

I honestly wish I could answer that question...AG HD is probably the nicest wax I've actually used so far.

I haven't really had anything to compare them to, but I really like them. I've not noticed them inducing any marring and they're still soft and absorb water after many many washes.

The thing is I always get the nasty cars, so most of my work is cutting crud

Trust me...if I were paying for my car and insurance...I'd be driving that Beetle you see in the background :thumb:

 

Nice work! I got 2 cases of the AG HD wax in Walmart... I took the last ones lol! $20 bucks each.

 

You could wait until the next time you wash. It sounds like it might be from not putting the HD on as thin as possible. This can happen with some waxes, if you put them on too thick. You could try a QD that might help remove that haze.

 

I never thought of that but that sounds right. And here I was thinking I had it on too thin to begin with...you can hardly even tell I used any wax from the pot.

 

How long did you wait after applying before you removed it?

 

Very Nice work man. I am quoting myself try this method of application next time it worked great for me I also let it cure for 30 minutes then removed it came of very easy.


"Since the pads come pre-moistened in a bag and knew after the first panel it was going to dry up. I though what would be the best way to keep the pad moist, so I just filled up my extra bucket with about 1 gallon or less of hot water so I could keep the pad moist during the entire application. The hot water helped make AG HD spread easily. I would just put the pad in the water and soak it up and then squeeze out all the excess water just so that it was moist not dripping wet. Then I would swipe the pot twice and then apply to the panel. Each panel or half a panel I would re moisten the pad. "

 

I waited about a half an hour before removing it.

I actually remember reading that when I was looking up stuff about AG HD, I bought it on a whim since I'd heard people on here talking about it so I did a bit of research after I bought it. I'll try that next time and see if it works out better for me, thanks :thumb:

Oh, I also went ahead and let the pads dry out, because I know that if I tried to get them to stay moist, with my luck they'd get moldy

 

It's not just you. I used AG HD on the front fenders/bonnet of my wife's car a week or so ago, and even though I tried to apply it thin (difficult with this wax and supplied applicator) I still could see where I had waxed afterwards after wiping it off (which was not easy) about 15 minutes later.

I'm going to reserve this wax for light metallic paints only going forward. On dark, non-metallics, it's just too much hassle and I cannot be bothered.

 

I find it's a lot easier to use the round foam applicators then the ones supplied with the wax. 15 minutes isn't long enough. I would let it sit at least 30 -60 minutes. The longer it dries, the easier it will come off. I've used this wax in 80F and recently in 44F and not had issues getting it off. Hope you give it another shot.

 

Ken nailed it^^^^^^ , also I really work the wax in with pretty firm pressure and of course use a very small amount. After I let it sit I do an initial wipedown with distilled water moistened finish microfiber towels, then a second wipedown with cold distilled water sprayed on the finish then wipe and no sweating for me so far.

I also use a 100PPI foam applicator as I did not like the applicator that came with the wax,, this wax looks good over Powerlock and BFWD too.