2021 Audi RS6 Detail & Coating
Fast wagons have always been cool but the Audi RS6 Avant has never been available to the US market until now. The hype is real especially since the last USA RS6 was a sedan released 18 years ago in 2003. This customer bought the car in Delaware and drove straight to the AMMO Studio for paint correction, clear bra, and coating. I must’ve caught the wagon bug because I’ve got something special delivering later this year. (Sign up for email updates via the AMMO NYC Website and stay tuned☺)
After a long drive from Delaware, the RS6 definitely needed a bathe starting with the ginormous 22 inch wheels. We put the car on our Bendpak lift to remove the wheels in addition to cleaning the suspension and undercarriage. Once the wheels were safely removed, I marveled at the massive 17.3 inch carbon ceramic brakes gripped by 10 piston calipers up front (same brakes as the Lamborghini Urus). I’ve cleaned rims smaller than these brakes! Crazy…
I filled the wheel bucket with Brute Wheel Soap, rinsed the rims while secure in a supplied wheel hanger, and then cleaned off the road grime. We clayed the wheels for a later application of Gelee Pro Wheel Coating but also because the rims would be in storage for the winter, so we wanted them as perfect as possible. We finished cleaning the wheels with another quick rinse and compressed air for the tight spots.
For the paint, undercarriage, and wheel wells, I used a 50/50 mixture of Brute Wheel Soap and AMMO Boost which is a soap additive to neutralize harmful minerals and salts. This RS6 had sat on a dealer lot near the ocean and was exposed to the salt water air so the Brute/Boost mix had the right cleaning power through the Foamer. We sprayed the wheel wheels to effectively cleanse the brake and suspension components of any salt residue. Afterwards I wiped down the soapy paintwork with clean microfiber towels and rinsed off the remaining suds. We dried the RS6 with damp microfiber towels and compressed air before moving to the polishing step.
The Nardo Grey Audi paint was in good shape but like all new cars some minor scratches had accumulated from shipping, test drives, dealership washes, unwrapping, etc. After a simple polish with the Rupes yellow polish and pad combo, the RS6 was ready for paint protection film (we IPA wiped it prior). We laid the PPF down and used hot water to help make the material pliable and easy to work with before squeegeeing into place. I left a few small pieces of masking tape as reminders to double check the film for bubbles or small imperfections.
While the clear bra was drying, I focused again on the large brake calipers, first removing the manufacturer stickers with a plastic razor blade. The remaining glue residue was removed with a microfiber towel and Rapid Remover. I then polished the calipers with the Rupes Nano, yellow pad, and Uno finishing polish in preparation for Gelee Pro (its highly heat resistant so perfect for coating calipers). I repeated these steps on all the original factory rims as well as the owners BBS winter rims.
Afterwards I lowered the RS6, torqued the winter wheels to spec, and coated the paint with Reflex Pro. The masking tape reminded me to check the Clear Bra installation which was drying nicely. With the exterior surfaces polished and protected it was time to focus on the interior.
Modern Audi interiors feel futuristic with advanced technology at your finger tips via touch screens. Unfortunately, screens are prone to fingerprints and scratches so I decided to surprise the owner by applying PPF over the various screens. We would first clean the screen, cut the PPF to size, and apply it safely with the gel before squeegeeing into place. This film is anti-microbial and designed for screens so once correctly installed, the touch surfaces are now protected and function exactly as before.
The next day Reflex Pro had cured on the paint, enhancing the gloss and clarity of this super clean wagon! The Audi RS6 looked incredibly sharp in Nardo Grey and the aggressive purposeful design was begging for a spirited drive. Per the owners request we did exactly that and the 591hp V8 started up with a sonorous bark. A couple highways pulls and thumbs up from every driver we encountered confirmed what I was thinking…Fast wagons are super cool!!! Thank you for supporting AMMO NYC and stay tuned for a crazy restoration detail of a Pontiac LeMans next week.