RIDS, swirls, scratches, etching and more. :(

[gonz0]

I`m delving into my first complete detail with correction on my 2003 Audi A4 and I`m struggling. I began by cleaning the car and claying it with Sonus green clay which gave good results and from a distance the car looks fantastic.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/clay1.jpg



It`s frightening to think the car had been clayed just three months ago... although 80% of the vehicle was contaminant-free, the trunk and rear bumper was riddled with gunk.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/clean1.jpg



I took it inside at this point, taped everything up and let the halogens tell the story.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/lights1.jpg



OMG! This car has been in terrible shape since I bought it, I can only imagine that the original owner used the trunk as a workbench.



For correction I`m using a Meguiar`s G110 with 4" pads, Menz SIP and 106FF. Here are the results after two passes with SIP/orange and one pass with 106FF/white.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/polish1.jpg



Quite a bit better but there is this horrible `pitting` throughout the paint that is really ruining the finish. I`m worried about taking too much clear to remove them... does anyone have any experience with this type of paint damage? I attempted a 4" yellow pad with Meg`s Diamond Cut 2.0 but the yellow pad was very disappointing and started to shred with little working time. I`m going to try and allocate a PFW pad with Meg`s 105 and see if it offers a little more umphta.



Any other ideas? Should I just ignore it and focus on correcting the swirls and RIDS?

[imported_Luster]

does anyone have any experience with this type of paint damage?



I did an A4 a few months ago... It was MUCH WORSE than yours. Also it was a 200,000 mile daily driver that hadn`t been washed or waxed in (years???)...?



Anyway, I found the paint to be pretty easy to work with. Of course you never know how thick the clear is, but I got good correction from an LC orange pad, with SSR2.5 on my PC at speed 6. Followed with LC white pad, ZPC speed 5.



It took out 90% of the swirls and pits..... customer was happy. (sorry no before pics!)



Turned out like this...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/bluster/Beemer/DSCF0651.jpg

[imported_Luster]

Here`s the link to my article about the Audi Detail...



http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/116321-200-000-mile-audi-a4.html

[gonz0]

I did another test on the quarter panel, same method but different pressure and slightly more speed with the orange foam pad. The results came out much better with all of the water spotting/etching gone now and 99% of the scratches taken care of as well. The pitting seems to be the worst on the trunk lid, so I may be able to correct a majority of it as well elsewhere on the car.



Before:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/day2_1.jpg



After:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/detailing/b6a4_pitting/day2_2.jpg



I`ve ordered Meguiar`s 105 Ultra-Cut Compound and Meguair`s 205 Finishing Polish as well as a 4" Purple Foam Wool pad. Hopefully it does a bit more for the worst of the scratches and the pitting without killing my arms like working the orange foam + SIP has been. The right product can make all the difference.

[wannafbody]

M105 is probably the best choice. Remove as much as you can and live with the rest. Chances are you won`t get all the pitting out.