This is a flat Black Audi A3 corrected by myself and Tony from Cherished Car Care.

[R1KK1 BFG]

Owning a flat colour, especially black, can be tough but rewarding. Today`s correction detail was on a flat black Audi A3 that was in dire need of help and improvement. The owner wanted the right finish as a base to enjoy looking after and maintaining.



This was no easy task, plenty of scratching and marring of all kinds.



The flat black finish proved a difficult challenge, with a long period of testing to finally get the best pad/polish combination. It was a long day, but we got there eventually.



Today`s correction and polishing was carried out using a Clarke rotary polisher, Makita rotary polisher and various compounds and polishes by 3M, Autosmart and Menzerna.



We also used -



Autosmart grey detailing clay

AutoRae-Chem Bright Wheels wheel cleaner

Collinite wax

AS Glass Clear

Megs Detail spray

AS Autowash

And various brushes and microfibre cloths etc.













The car on arrival -









http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/1-49.jpg









Some of the scratching, marring, swirl and bird etching...









http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/comp1.jpg











Pictures from the days work, with some before/after views and then the finished work.











http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/compilation.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/comp2.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/comp3.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/comp4.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/comp6.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/7-39.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/8-37.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/9-37.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/10-35.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/11-32.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/12-31.jpg





http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/Tonyd_2007/13-29.jpg











Thanks for reading.

[Tony@Cherished]

Hi Ricky, think I`m getting old mate, feel like I`ve been beat up this morning after that :waxing:

[Thomas Dekany]

Excellent work guys!:goodjob:goodjob:goodjob

[KC@detailien]

keep them coming

cool

[imported_boostwagon]

this is not flat black at all.

[Tony@Cherished]

this is not flat black at all.



Why ?

Over here, a black that has no flake/metalic is usually called " flat "

[REVNU]

Looks like "Flat Black" to me.



I think boostwagon is confusing "Matte Black" with "Flat Black", which we use interchangeably here in the states.



Great job on the detail, the car looks 100x better.

[vtec92civic]

slick guys. car came out looking wonderful. The gloss is back and the swirls are gone!

[TLMitchell]

Why ?

Over here, a black that has no flake/metalic is usually called " flat "



Flat black on this side of the pond is a frequent term for matte black. Buy a can of "flat black" spray paint and matte is what you`ll get. I jumped on this thread wondering what the heck you were going to do to detail what I consider "flat" (ie, matte) black? :har:



Nice work just the same!



TL

[Tony@Cherished]

Ahh, I see the confusion.



Thanks for all comments.

[dmw2692004]

looks great, nice work!

[tonyS]

I too saw "flat black" and got a boner, only to leave with blue balls.

[mini1]

Flat black in the American body shop world means flat, no gloss. There is flat, semi-gloss, and gloss. I thought I was going to see a matte black car too, and was wondering how you would do any correction on a matte black car (normally they are single stage paint).

[focus2069]

http://ilovesubstance.com/images/cars/flat_black/flat_black_audi-r8.jpg





this is "flat black" over here......





great job on your "regular" black Audi though !!!

[R1KK1 BFG]

Thanks for the comments guys.