GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Tint/Ceramic

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
I had signature/royal mix on my Gti. Signature k28 30% dar on all windows, then on top of it, my rear windows had H20 40%. Both of these are Signature series. Royal is two films of premium. I just put two films of Signature lol.

This was more for looks than heat rejection. But the double film helped.

On my current car I have Stature. X25(30%) in front and X05(60%) in the back. I like the staggered look and this time went for Stature.

I could not get the staggered look using Signature by using A darker shade on teh rear windows as the color isnt the same. Hence the 30% all around to first get the outer film to look the same all around, followed by a darker on top of it, to increase darkness, but not affect the look :)



Not a rip off. Premium and Super premium exist with different wordings. You need to know the code for the particular tint. Example - My dad had premium VK40. So once you know which films they use, you can read about it on the website.

Packages are definitely different, but thats just marketing 101.

Thanks a lot Mukul, I went to Vkool on Saturday and installed the X15 film 50% darkness and 70% heat reduction, i was worried at the beginning about the 50% darkness level but the sales guy mentioned that since this film color is light; it equals to 40% darkness in other films, so hopefully i won't get pulled over :D

I thought about doing clear tint for the front, but heard somewhere that its not recommended as in case of accident the windshield is most easiest place to evacuate the passengers so putting tint there will make the glass 3 times harder to break, but not sure that is true

anyway i'm quite happy with how the car looked at the end and i can actually see a huge difference in the inside temperature of the car after adding the tint

thanks a lot for the help and advice :)
 

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
Prestige detailing uses gtechniq. To be on a Gtechniq website you need to be a certified installer for "ONE" of their products, which is Crystal Serum. Once this coating is applied, the only way to get it off is using sandpaper. This requires training by gtechniq and costs a ton.

Prestige offer Crystal Serum Light, which is 90% the same as Crystal Serum but easier to work with and does not need to be sanded off. They also offer C1. All are good.

Crystal serum works best with a top layer of a product called "exo". Basically a two part system.

As for not applying a cloth on the car, thats a marketing gimmick. The only way to wash a car is by applying some form of agitation. I do this weekly and my car is ceramic coated. I pressure rinse, foam, pressure rinse and do a 2 bucket wash (safest method, read about it). Before the two bucket I can still see a ton of dirt still stuck to my car. Water and foam removes the loose dirt, agitation with a wash mitt and soap removes the stuck on dirt.

Don't fall for this nonsense of Only water is enough. Ceramic coating makes cleaning easier, but doesn't eliminate it. yes it repels water, but even a wax repels water. Keep your car outside for a week - then do the method they say, pressure rinse, foam, pressure rinse, air dry. Once fully dry look at the cars paint in sunlight - it will be miles away from clean :p

Hope that helps.

P.S. if you live in an apartment - look up rinseless washing. I do this in summers when its hot. Look up rinseless wash garry dean method. It might look daunting and scary - but based on my research and 3 years of use, I find it even safer than a traditional wash with water,soap and pressure(2 bucket) etc. I have yet to find a single scratch on my paint. Do it properly and nothing happens to the paint. My friends in California can only do rinseless washes as its not allowed to use running water in California to wash a car.

A leaving note: 90% of scratches are swirls are caused due to improper washing techniques.

All the best.

Many thanks for the feedback and information, much appreciated; I'll visit Prestige detailing on Saturday and let you know how it goes, hopefully they wont keep the car as much as AMCC was requesting for 6 days

I've checked the garry dean method and it looks actually quite good and convenient to use in case of living in apartment with no water access,

but i've seen they put in the bucket a specific type of soap/cleaner for rinseless washing, any idea from where to get it? or any Megguier/ArmorAll cleaner will do the trick?
 

Wing R

New member
Location
Dubai
Many thanks for the feedback and information, much appreciated; I'll visit Prestige detailing on Saturday and let you know how it goes, hopefully they wont keep the car as much as AMCC was requesting for 6 days

I've checked the garry dean method and it looks actually quite good and convenient to use in case of living in apartment with no water access,

but i've seen they put in the bucket a specific type of soap/cleaner for rinseless washing, any idea from where to get it? or any Megguier/ArmorAll cleaner will do the trick?

thanks man tell us how prestige detailing goes.. and btw dont worry if you put 15% tint they wont pull you off .. if they do you can prove it to them as they can double check it themselves
 

Wing R

New member
Location
Dubai
Guys so A friend of mine got a new clubsport and he was wondering till what mileage should he drive it slowly before going fast?? .. As i know around first 1,000km or so new engines should not go full throttle.
 

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
Guys so A friend of mine got a new clubsport and he was wondering till what mileage should he drive it slowly before going fast?? .. As i know around first 1,000km or so new engines should not go full throttle.

I took it easy first 1000 km not to rev it over 4000 rpm and not to brake too hard and not to use sport mode, of course there was couple of situations where i had to do that to overtake or avoid hitting something but that should be fine, then after 1000 km i started to gradually push it and started to use sport mode
 

Wing R

New member
Location
Dubai
I took it easy first 1000 km not to rev it over 4000 rpm and not to brake too hard and not to use sport mode, of course there was couple of situations where i had to do that to overtake or avoid hitting something but that should be fine, then after 1000 km i started to gradually push it and started to use sport mode

thanks man will have em informed.... Btw how did prestige detailing go?
 

mukuljuria

Ready to race!
Many thanks for the feedback and information, much appreciated; I'll visit Prestige detailing on Saturday and let you know how it goes, hopefully they wont keep the car as much as AMCC was requesting for 6 days

I've checked the garry dean method and it looks actually quite good and convenient to use in case of living in apartment with no water access,

but i've seen they put in the bucket a specific type of soap/cleaner for rinseless washing, any idea from where to get it? or any Megguier/ArmorAll cleaner will do the trick?

Meguiars just discontinued the best Rinseless product on the market. No one knows why, but thats meguiars for you. Armor all is a POS....don't go near it. It was formulated for the average joe. The only thing I would say is fine is their glass cleaner as its Ammonia free a.k.a tint safe.

Don't worry though. Go to Xtreme Motor works in Al Quoz and pick up Optimum No Rinse (ONR).This was made for Rinseless washing Get a gallon size and enjoy. It's the closest rinseless wash product you can find to the Meguiars one. A little goes a long long way. Like 2oz to a Gallon or something like that is the ratio (2oz of ONR in 1 Gallon of water!!) Its gonna last you ages. You can't use regular soap as rinseless soap does not foam up, but at the same time it is wayyyyy more slick and concentrated than car soap. So don't worry if your water does not have bubbles. Its normal.

Plus, it has many uses, which you probably won't use it for. Stick to rinseless with it and overtime when and if you get into detailing we can touch base on the other uses :D

Apart from that, you will need good Microfiber Towels....That's the second biggest step in car cleaning. For Rinseless specifically check out "Eagle Edgeless 400gsm" 16 x 16 size from The Rag Company.com. These are the best towels for rinseless washing. Scout the forums and you will be reassured.You need about 6-8 towels for an avg car. Apart from that you also need good Drying towels or 2 and Microfiber soap. Good drying towels should also be nice plush microfiber.

You can get both the towel types from The Rag Company. Just get good Korean Microfiber and you should be safe.

I get them shipped through Aramex Shop and Ship as I do with all my detailing stuff.

For the Microfober cleaner, once again Xtreme in Al Quoz carries 3D Towel Kleen. 1oz in one full load, again will last you ages.



P.S. Did you drop a white Gti Clubsport at Prestige? They posted a video of them applying Crystal Serum light to one :p
 
Last edited:

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
thanks man will have em informed.... Btw how did prestige detailing go?

It went quite well actually, i dropped the car last Tuesday evening and got it on Saturday, their detailing work is quite good but i'm yet to test the hydrophobic water effect on it, they said not to wash it for 3 days. but i can notice that the car doesnt get dirty easily now; it kinda keeps its clean form for longer time now.

It was a bit difficult to find their workshop at the beginning but that wasn't an issue eventually, they were also quite generous to offer a lift back home when i dropped the car and offered also a pickup on the collection day.

Overall i'm quite happy with the work they have done and cost vs benefit was quite good.

I'll be visiting them next weekend to do black wrapping for the roof.

Many thanks Mukul for advising us about them.

They posted some pictures on their facebook page, i haven't yet got the chance to take some pictures myself

https://www.facebook.com/prestigedetailinguae/posts/1211376218955289

https://www.facebook.com/prestigedetailinguae/videos/1212205155539062/
 

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
Meguiars just discontinued the best Rinseless product on the market. No one knows why, but thats meguiars for you. Armor all is a POS....don't go near it. It was formulated for the average joe. The only thing I would say is fine is their glass cleaner as its Ammonia free a.k.a tint safe.

Don't worry though. Go to Xtreme Motor works in Al Quoz and pick up Optimum No Rinse (ONR).This was made for Rinseless washing Get a gallon size and enjoy. It's the closest rinseless wash product you can find to the Meguiars one. A little goes a long long way. Like 2oz to a Gallon or something like that is the ratio (2oz of ONR in 1 Gallon of water!!) Its gonna last you ages. You can't use regular soap as rinseless soap does not foam up, but at the same time it is wayyyyy more slick and concentrated than car soap. So don't worry if your water does not have bubbles. Its normal.

Plus, it has many uses, which you probably won't use it for. Stick to rinseless with it and overtime when and if you get into detailing we can touch base on the other uses :D

Apart from that, you will need good Microfiber Towels....That's the second biggest step in car cleaning. For Rinseless specifically check out "Eagle Edgeless 400gsm" 16 x 16 size from The Rag Company.com. These are the best towels for rinseless washing. Scout the forums and you will be reassured.You need about 6-8 towels for an avg car. Apart from that you also need good Drying towels or 2 and Microfiber soap. Good drying towels should also be nice plush microfiber.

You can get both the towel types from The Rag Company. Just get good Korean Microfiber and you should be safe.

I get them shipped through Aramex Shop and Ship as I do with all my detailing stuff.

For the Microfober cleaner, once again Xtreme in Al Quoz carries 3D Towel Kleen. 1oz in one full load, again will last you ages.



P.S. Did you drop a white Gti Clubsport at Prestige? They posted a video of them applying Crystal Serum light to one :p

Many thanks Mukul for the detailed info, its quite good to understand the difference between the normal soap and the rinsless one, but i could see in some of the videos that they add as well a sealant, does it add value? which one do you recommend?

the main issue is the amount of dirt our cars get in UAE, in one week the car gets quite dirty as if it went through a sand storm, does rinsless washing in that case effective especially with wheels and tyres covered in brake dust? or a visit to the automatic car wash can be handy prior to self rinsless-washing the car?

Yes thats the one, got it done last week, i was quite happy with the result and the work they have done, many thanks for advising about them

Unfortunately the day i got the car from PD on the way back i got a small stone chip on the edge of the hood (like a pencil dot) its not obvious but knowing its there kinda irritate me, in your opinion do you advice using a VW touch pen or something like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0dW_-TThKs) & (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D389ZHE/ref=twister_B01D38587U?_encoding=UTF8&th=1) to fix it (to avoid rust?) or shall i just ignore it for now as i believe stone chips might be yet more to come :) and later i fix all together every year for example?
 

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
here is it

 

mukuljuria

Ready to race!
Mabrook on the coating, did you do only Crystal Serum Light or Crystal Serum + Exo v2?

Another essay for you lol, sorry, I'd rather put all the details in one go rather than go back and add stuff later...:p

Stone chips suck, my Gti had plenty on the hood and front bumper. I just popped by VW in Rashidiya one day and they touch up for free. You know its there, but after the touch up its barely noticeable.

As for Rinseless washing - a little explanation. Rinseless refers to the post washing step of rinsing off the soap. So...in effect...its okay to spray down the car with water before a rinseless wash to remove loose dirt but not after. I do that in summer, when its too hot for a full wash and its too dusty/dirty for a rinseless wash. So technically, yes an auto wash would be okay before your rinseless wash because, most of the water runs off the paint in the end when those massive turbo size dryers work their magic, just make sure to go real slow under them to get most of the water off. I only recommend this if the car wash place is right next to your house. If not...whatever water is left on the paint while you go home, will become a water spot when dry and will remain on the paint. A reason I would not recommend it is because they use cheap petroleum based soap which is shit quality and does more harm than good and they use recycled water, which has more minerals in it, increasing your chances of having dry water spots.

Apart from that, rinseless is quite safe for a weeks worth of dirt in Dubai. To make it safer, I have a garden pump sprayer of 2litres. I pre-soak the panel before touching the paint with the cloth + solution.

Step 1. Fill bucket with 1, 1.5 or 2 gallons depending on how much you need. I started with 2. Start with more and work your way down to the amount you need. This comes with practice. ( I still continue to use 2 for the reason in Step 2).

Step 2. Fill your pump sprayer with the same ratio solution. Tip: If you fill 2 gallons, you will have some left over solution after washing the car, put that into the pump sprayer for next time :D This is ofcourse if you plan on using it in a week. Longer than that I would make a fresh solution.

Step 3 (Done ONLY AFTER you finish with paint). Spray down your wheels and tires, and purchase a dedicated black wheel cloth/towel/sponge and use that to clean the wheels. Ofcourse do not wash this towel with your paint towels.

What I do is, Once I am done with paint, I empty a decent amount in the sprayer for next time and leave a little in the bucket. I use this balance solution for the wheels. This way, the nasty dirt from wheels never gets on the paint as you rinse the bucket after each wash (DUH!)

However, once every month or so I do a full wash. That's just how I work...This full wash is about 2-3 hours and is a proper detailed wash with brake dust removers, chemicals and all.

I use this method for my Rinseless washes :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws59CEYUpC0

As always, if done right Rinseless is actually safer for paint than even the 3 bucket wash method....yes theres a 3 bucket wash method as well.

Tip 1. Never use the same side of the towel once you have made your pass over the paint. Always flip to a clean side. I use an even more advanced method where I can use the same side 3 times (skip to 37:20 in this video to see how I use the same side 3 times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lXFn1KG9k ) Also see this post (http://dellingersdetailing.com/waterless-rinseless-washing/ scroll down to Rinseless process. AND, also see this post for a more detailed instruction of how to get more uses of one side of a towel http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?55773-The-Garry-Dean-Wash-Method-Finally/page2 - I only suggest this after you get a hang of rinseless :p

Tip 2. Once done with a panel ( I would use two sides of a towel per panel, 3-4 for hood or roof), Use a clean side of the towel and do a final wet wipe on the paint before drying. This step makes sure any tiny possible dirt left over is removed.

In total, you would have 8 sides to a towel if folded correctly.SO you fold a towel in half and then half again. You do this before putting your towel in the bucket to soak.

For your question about sealant :

Its not a sealant per se, its more of a detail spray. This is more of a booster for your protection of choice. I use it for lubrication purposes as my paint is soft, and not so much for protection as the car is coated. The protection is just an added benefit. However, the science is that, if you put a spray sealant on top of your coating, the spray sealant is now your sacrificial layer of protection, essentially prolonging the life of your coating. The downside is....you see the protection properties of the spray sealant/wax and not the coating. I am okay with that, because I would rather not have drying scratches on my soft paint while my coating lasts longer. I use the detailer version of Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax(its available in ace hardware) as my spray sealant/wax, or the correct term for its use in my case... a drying aid. This is called D156 in the detailer line and I got it from the Meguairs dealer in Sharjah. Its much cheaper, and is a gallon size. Make sure its ultimate quik wax and not ultimate quik detailer, both are different products in almost identical bottles. Most of these sprays last 1-2 weeks tops which is why I use it after every wash during my drying stage.

VW paint on the other hand is hard, so its your call. You have crystal serum so you don't need to worry about prolonging the life of your coating lol. My coating life is 3 years so it might help.

Check the image below...you will see that rinseless is perfectly safe for a dirty car, as long as its not caked on mud like my car is now lol as i havent washed my car in 4 weeks.

washsolution2.jpg
 
Last edited:

Moez

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Dubai, UAE
Mabrook on the coating, did you do only Crystal Serum Light or Crystal Serum + Exo v2?

Another essay for you lol, sorry, I'd rather put all the details in one go rather than go back and add stuff later...:p

Stone chips suck, my Gti had plenty on the hood and front bumper. I just popped by VW in Rashidiya one day and they touch up for free. You know its there, but after the touch up its barely noticeable.

As for Rinseless washing - a little explanation. Rinseless refers to the post washing step of rinsing off the soap. So...in effect...its okay to spray down the car with water before a rinseless wash to remove loose dirt but not after. I do that in summer, when its too hot for a full wash and its too dusty/dirty for a rinseless wash. So technically, yes an auto wash would be okay before your rinseless wash because, most of the water runs off the paint in the end when those massive turbo size dryers work their magic, just make sure to go real slow under them to get most of the water off. I only recommend this if the car wash place is right next to your house. If not...whatever water is left on the paint while you go home, will become a water spot when dry and will remain on the paint. A reason I would not recommend it is because they use cheap petroleum based soap which is shit quality and does more harm than good and they use recycled water, which has more minerals in it, increasing your chances of having dry water spots.

Apart from that, rinseless is quite safe for a weeks worth of dirt in Dubai. To make it safer, I have a garden pump sprayer of 2litres. I pre-soak the panel before touching the paint with the cloth + solution.

Step 1. Fill bucket with 1, 1.5 or 2 gallons depending on how much you need. I started with 2. Start with more and work your way down to the amount you need. This comes with practice. ( I still continue to use 2 for the reason in Step 2).

Step 2. Fill your pump sprayer with the same ratio solution. Tip: If you fill 2 gallons, you will have some left over solution after washing the car, put that into the pump sprayer for next time :D This is ofcourse if you plan on using it in a week. Longer than that I would make a fresh solution.

Step 3 (Done ONLY AFTER you finish with paint). Spray down your wheels and tires, and purchase a dedicated black wheel cloth/towel/sponge and use that to clean the wheels. Ofcourse do not wash this towel with your paint towels.

What I do is, Once I am done with paint, I empty a decent amount in the sprayer for next time and leave a little in the bucket. I use this balance solution for the wheels. This way, the nasty dirt from wheels never gets on the paint as you rinse the bucket after each wash (DUH!)

However, once every month or so I do a full wash. That's just how I work...This full wash is about 2-3 hours and is a proper detailed wash with brake dust removers, chemicals and all.

I use this method for my Rinseless washes :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws59CEYUpC0

As always, if done right Rinseless is actually safer for paint than even the 3 bucket wash method....yes theres a 3 bucket wash method as well.

Tip 1. Never use the same side of the towel once you have made your pass over the paint. Always flip to a clean side. I use an even more advanced method where I can use the same side 3 times (skip to 37:20 in this video to see how I use the same side 3 times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lXFn1KG9k ) Also see this post (http://dellingersdetailing.com/waterless-rinseless-washing/ scroll down to Rinseless process. AND, also see this post for a more detailed instruction of how to get more uses of one side of a towel http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?55773-The-Garry-Dean-Wash-Method-Finally/page2 - I only suggest this after you get a hang of rinseless :p

Tip 2. Once done with a panel ( I would use two sides of a towel per panel, 3-4 for hood or roof), Use a clean side of the towel and do a final wet wipe on the paint before drying. This step makes sure any tiny possible dirt left over is removed.

In total, you would have 8 sides to a towel if folded correctly.SO you fold a towel in half and then half again. You do this before putting your towel in the bucket to soak.

For your question about sealant :

Its not a sealant per se, its more of a detail spray. This is more of a booster for your protection of choice. I use it for lubrication purposes as my paint is soft, and not so much for protection as the car is coated. The protection is just an added benefit. However, the science is that, if you put a spray sealant on top of your coating, the spray sealant is now your sacrificial layer of protection, essentially prolonging the life of your coating. The downside is....you see the protection properties of the spray sealant/wax and not the coating. I am okay with that, because I would rather not have drying scratches on my soft paint while my coating lasts longer. I use the detailer version of Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax(its available in ace hardware) as my spray sealant/wax, or the correct term for its use in my case... a drying aid. This is called D156 in the detailer line and I got it from the Meguairs dealer in Sharjah. Its much cheaper, and is a gallon size. Make sure its ultimate quik wax and not ultimate quik detailer, both are different products in almost identical bottles. Most of these sprays last 1-2 weeks tops which is why I use it after every wash during my drying stage.

VW paint on the other hand is hard, so its your call. You have crystal serum so you don't need to worry about prolonging the life of your coating lol. My coating life is 3 years so it might help.

Check the image below...you will see that rinseless is perfectly safe for a dirty car, as long as its not caked on mud like my car is now lol as i havent washed my car in 4 weeks.

View attachment 12634

PD did apply 2 coats of Crystal Serum Light then 2 coats of Exo v2, i went yesterday for a roof wrap which turned out to be really great and they did a full thorough wash for the car, i have to say they are quite professional and passionate about their work.

Thanks a lot Mukul, its really quite helpful to get to know all this information, I've put an order on the rag company and should be receiving it this week, i'll start applying this method starting from next weekend, and once a month i can do a full wash at PD, but from now on definitely no more petrol stations wash :D
 

mukuljuria

Ready to race!
PD did apply 2 coats of Crystal Serum Light then 2 coats of Exo v2, i went yesterday for a roof wrap which turned out to be really great and they did a full thorough wash for the car, i have to say they are quite professional and passionate about their work.

Thanks a lot Mukul, its really quite helpful to get to know all this information, I've put an order on the rag company and should be receiving it this week, i'll start applying this method starting from next weekend, and once a month i can do a full wash at PD, but from now on definitely no more petrol stations wash :D

Awesome. Exo on top of CS or CSL is just amazing! Your plan of washing is great and close to what I do too.

Enjoy! :D

I rarely come on here, seeing how I haven't owned a Mk7 for a year now lol, so if I can help with anything please drop me a direct message so I get notified by email and then can come on here :)

All the best.
 
Top