Tips and advice for Euro paint

[S-Force]

I have an `01 Audi S4 Silver, and i would like a few tips to do the best job i can when i wash/polish/Wax and what not.



1. what special considerations do i need to know about my Euro paint when i care for it?

2. How do i really make Silver paint POP! its funny how sometimes it looks the same all the time, clean or dirty, lol

3. off topic wheel question. how do i get that Wesleys clean on my tires without the using something that will etch my wheels?



Thanks

[imported_Neothin]

1. your paint is rather hard so be extra careful when doing anything with it because defects will with a royal PITA to get out! Well, if your doing it by hand/pc that is...

2. AIO/UPPx3 durability + flake pop

[Accumulator]

S-Force- Welcome to Autopia!



We`ve somehow had quite a few `00-`01 Audis in my family, all silver, and we currently have two of them. As Neothin said, the Spies-Hecker paint is very hard. Not hard enough to resist marring, just hard enought that the marring is hard to correct. I`d look into the threads on foamguns; I wouldn`t wash without one.



I too like UPP on Audi silver, but if you get the finish perfect there are a lot of LSPs (Last Step Products) that`ll look great; my wife thinks Pinnacle Souveran is the best on that color. It can be tricky to inspect that paint as it sorta hides marring. But get the lighting right (and/or use magnification) and you`ll see any imperfections. Get rid of those and you`re 90% of the way to a great finish. The marring makes light refract instead of reflect, and IMO that tends to mute the pop of the metallic.



FWIW, I use other, milder products to clean my tires. Usually stuff made for cleaning rubber. I`ll sometimes use some kind of barrier held against the outer rim of the wheel to keep the rubber cleaner off the wheel (so it doesn`t attack the LSP on the wheel) and some other times I wipe the cleaner on with a sponge. But I never use any product on my cars that might cause damage because, well, [stuff] happens.

[Smoked Tails]

That`s what LSP means. I looked in the glossary and everything. Thanks for mentioning that one.



Mine would have to be washing my friend`s mom`s Grand Am every weekend for a summer with Dawn and whatever was handy and dry to dry it. That or using the Turtle Wax "Zymol" on my Paseo. I wish I had that car knowing what I know now. It was metallic black. Truly, one of the most awesome finishes I have ever laid eyes on. It popped even with my my total naivete. (Like going through a coin-op without actually touching the paint at all and using an absorber to dry.)

[S-Force]

i need to learn an all new forum shorthand, lol



UPP??

Marring??

[imported_Neothin]

UPP = four star`s ultimate paint protection polymer sealant

marring= defects in the paint, aka swirls, scratches, waterspot etching, etc

[S-Force]

Thanks.

The paint on my car is in pretty good shape, not too many swirls (i dont think the previous owner ever washed it..) and i was planning on claying it soon also.



So suppose i used the AIO and then the UPP, do i need an extra wax? and if so which is best for the hard paint?



Are the German products better for the German cars?

[imported_Neothin]

where a product was manufactured doesn`t really matter. german products can go on american cars and vice versa, like i said, products arent picky.



You can apply a wax after applying UPP, but I wouldnt really think that that is necessary. You can if you want though.

[MrLEXUS2u]

SFORCE - I have seen german cars come out lookin` great with both Megs and Poorboys products.