Audi A4 S-Line - Paintwork Correction Detail

Dave KG · 07-13-09, 03:28

The owner of this Audi A4 Sportline, in black, contacted us when he was concerned with marks on the back of his car and that machine polishing didn't seem to be making them better... It was only on a few section, mainly the rear 3/4s where some scratches had been removed, and you could see the dullness in the paint in natural light:

You could also see lighter general swirls on the rest of the car...

The region of the more faded looking grey paint was covered in holograms from previous machine polishing...

Back to the general swirls...

Onto the hologramming first of all, and even the 500W halogens were showing them up which means that in terms of hologramming it was quite bad (more on that a little later

)...

Correction of the holograms was carried out using Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish applied by a Meguiars W8006 polishing pad as follows, the aim of the IP was to knock back some deeper marks also present in the paint:

Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm until the residue is evenly spread
Work at 1800rpm for two or three minutes until the resiodue is clear, medium pressure throughout lifting off on the end passes

The finish was then refined using my personal favourite finishing polish, Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish, as follows on a Meguiars W9006 tan finishing pad:

Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements to evenly spread polish
Work at 1500rpm for a couple of minutes with medum slow passes, and medium pressure
Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure, slow machine movements
Burnish at 900rpm, very light pressure (supporting the weight of the rotary by holding from the underside), slow passes

Under the 500W halogens, this left a good looking finish...

I'm afraid I dont trust 500W halogens however when it comes to assessing the finish, so the Sun Gun was used to ensure the finish was hologram free and crystal sharp...

Dave KG · 07-13-09, 03:32

Why do I not trust 500W halogens? The example of the boot here will show quite clearly why...

Here we have the bootlid, with RDS in the finish which you can see best using the strip lighting in the unit (bright lights mask RDS)...

Swirls under the Sun Gun...

Correction with Intensive Polish got rid of the swirls...

But what the Sun Gun does not show are the RDS, the strip lights however highlight them better - look carefully at these pics:

3M Fast Cut on a cutting pad was then used on this panel to clear up the deeper marks, now leaving the finish RDS free:

Nice gloss after Fast Cut...

Under the 500W halogens, the finish looks perfect, I think you'll agree...

But do not be deceived here... this finish is far from perfect as the Sun Gun shows!

This is why I dont trust 500W halognes for assessing the paint finish - they are great work lights but for me that is where it ends, for assessing the true quality of the finish you should be very wary of the use of these lights...

Clearing up the finish using Meguiars #205, and now it looks as it should under the Sun Gun:

Nice glossy boot...

After pictures on the rest of the car...

Lusso Revitalising Cream was used on the paint as a cleanser following an IPA wipedown (to add a little wettness to the black), followed by Collinite 845IW for protection

Glass with Autoglym Glass Polish.

Rubbers with Meguiars All Seasons Dressing.

Tyres with Meguiars Hot Shine.

Wheels with FK1000P.

We were greeted with full sun for our after pictures, yes we do get sun on the east coast of Scotland!

The afters...

Another enjoyable detail, I love black cars!

Apollo_Auto · 07-13-09, 03:34

Sweet job Dave! Nice to see you got some sun out there!