Correcting Audi paint

[wifpd4]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

great majority of the paintwork is original

Oh...are your problems all over, original paint, repaint...? The car has been yours for four years or you are a new owner of a four year old car?

Don't get cranky yet, I think we need to get the details worked out yet on your situation. Thanks,

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Absolutely excellent! Thanks to you all for posting and for the salient information. Its just before 4 am in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and I am temporarily awake. I will try to be as informative as possible.
I have a DAS pro 6 random orbital polisher with the following Xpert products - 1000, 1500, 3000 (jewelling polish) and Titanium sealant all of which I used on my own silver coloured Audi A5. The car has been garaged by myself from new, is pretty much a garage queen, and has been washed by hand only and that at least once a week and waxed probably every 2- 4 weeks from new until it was 'Glared' with Glare micro finish and Glare pro polish topped up regularly with Megs Ultimate Quick Detailer. BTW if I ever caught anyone running the car through a car wash I would have their b...s!
The detail of my car - application and mixes of Xpert products together with polishing speeds etc were very kindly informed by a professional detailer in Australia and the clarity of the final paintwork (to me) looks superb. Nevertheless, the purchase of the polisher and products was undertaken to achieve the best finish I could get and undertaken purely for my own satisfaction. Finding a lot of scratches in the hard coat, no matter how fine or how difficult to see in normal light is disappointing and I strongly suspect points to shortcomings in my machine rather than the products used. I am hoping that a successful work around will be the future use of the Megs 101 followed by use of my Xpert products.
I am going to attempt to detail my future daughter in law's car this coming week and am waiting for delivery of Megs 101 and Gtechniq Panel Wipe solution. As a consequence of my experience of finding scratches on my own car I am proposing to use the former on her black Audi A5 3+ year old paint which contains easily visible swirls. Additionally, unless I obviously damage her paintwork in some way the car will look 400% better, she will be happy, and I will have been able to try out a solution for my own car's scratches at no risk!
I bought the Xpert products from America which cost me a fortune and cannot afford to use the remainder on her car. As a consequence, I propose to:
Clay bar fairly extensively
Apply Megs 101
Gtechniq panel wipe
A combination of Xpert 1000, 1500 and 3000 as a one step
Followed by Glare micro finish followed by
Glare pro polish (which is a sealer and of which I already have a whole stash)
Hope this helps - it is now nearly 5 AM and I am going back to sleep. I will read your comments to-morrow.

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Apologies I did not address this point. I have not noticed or can not see any other fine scratches on my car which I would conceivably wish to correct. The only ones are on the bonnet (hood). Both cars are cabriolets. I do not think that there are any on the boot (trunk).

[Eldorado2k]

If I were you I'd skip the panel wipe.. They didn't label M101 Mirror Glaze Professional Compound with the intention of temporarily filling in defects..

You're going to mix 3 Xpert products and still follow that up with 'micro finish' and finish off with another 'pro polish' sealer? Why not skip the trio shot of Xpert? Seems like a bit overkill of steps?

What the heck is a Cabriolet? Lol:p

[The Guz]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

It looks as if the tool you are using is a typical DA. In that case you should follow the write up of using speed 4 with the MF cutting disks. Your arm movement needs to be a little slower with MF. If you want to finish with foam try a polishing pad with M205 on speed 5. Forget all of this jeweling. M205 will give you enough gloss. Then seal with your favorite wax. You should also shrink your area to something around 16x16 or 12x12. Clean the pad often. Working clean is the only way to get some correction.

On top of that, silver won't give you that wow factor like black,dark colors in general or bright colors like red. You can only do so much with silver or even white.

I posted this previously. No need to do all this jeweling and mixing products. Keep it simple. I am not familiar with those products.

This is the typical 5 step. If you have done steps 1 and 2 then proceed to step 3 or 4. Do a test spot to see which method works for your paint. Always start with the least aggressive product.

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Compound
4. Polish
5. Seal

M101 is a compound. Compounds have no fillers or oils. Polishes contain either of them.

What products do you actually have?

Again no need to use panel wipe after using M101 or even after M205. You are not going to be using a coating.

A good thread to read

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/31186-miscible-immiscible-wax-paint-sealant-bonding.html

If I were you I'd skip the panel wipe.. They didn't label M101 Mirror Glaze Professional Compound with the intention of temporarily filling in defects..

You're going to mix 3 Xpert products and still follow that up with 'micro finish' and finish off with another 'pro polish' sealer? Why not skip the trio shot of Xpert? Seems like a bit overkill of steps?

What the heck is a Cabriolet? Lol:p

I agree. See my above comments.

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Thanks again. I have read the posts which are very informative.
Just to recap the 3 things which I was trying to determine were:
Is use of Megs 101 with MF cutting pads and an orbital polisher likely to be effective on the Audi paintwork ?
Is there a significant danger of me damaging the car's paintwork with this combination i.e. marring or haze?
Does 101 contain any oils or fillers which might interfere with the water based products with which I am intending to finish or 'step down' the cut?
If I do end up marring or hazing the paint how do I fix it and what type and colour of pads should I use?
I am fairly content that these aspects have been addressed in your replies as far as is practicable.
To answer some of your queries:
Cabriolets are the name given to retractable car soft tops in Europe.
Glare pro polish sealant gives an absolutly excellent shine and glaze over the car as if there is a separate clear coat floating over the paint. I bought a stack of it a year or so ago and would like to make use of it. Glare is a glass polymer which to bond properly requires the paintwork to be new or completely clear of previous waxes etc. You can get round this by using either an ipa or a product like Gtechniq panel wipe which is much superior or Glare micro finish which will clarify the paint further and prep it for application of the pro finish.
Use of the Xpert products which contain no fillers or oils seems a more attractive proposition rather than using 205 which I have read is loaded with both - the oils of which are particularly difficult to eradicate and which could inhibit the successful application of the Pro polish (sealer).
Additionally it is my belief that use of the Xpert polishes to finish will provide more clarity to the paint than 205.

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

As per my first post I had intended to use 205 to finish but I consider that using the water based products will more directly inform any future detail of my own car.

[Eldorado2k]

I've got a good friend who swears by M100 on microfiber pads, so much that it's all he works with now. I've never used M101 and havn't spoken to many people who have but I wouldn't have any worries about using it..

Use the Yellow Meguiars polishing pads.

I know what a cabriolet is, I was only joking about that
Good luck, sounds like you've got a good plan of attack.

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Using MF pads Gary Dean undertook a video comparison between Megs 101,105 both old and new and I think the MF m300. He seemed to think that 101 was god like but I recently came across another video of him spouting on about the more recent M100 which sounds like it could be even better! Meguiars are some company! Typical of me to have ordered the 101 before seeing his comments on the 100. Nevertheless, M100 seems to be used for some serious correction which I am not completely sure that either of the Audi's warrant.
Detailing is turning out to be a very wide and quite interesting topic
Thanks for the reply.

[Eldorado2k]

Ha, I remember Michael Stoops telling us that funny story about Gary Dean saying that if Jesus was a compound, he'd be M101. Lol.
And while I was doing a quick search to find out some info about M101 I actually saw that thread way back in the archives..

And I believe I too have seen the vid you're talking about. It's the 1 where he tapes off the rear quarter panel of a black car into 4 small sections right? Yea I remember that vid.. And hey, Gary Dean knows detailing, thats for sure, so if he vouched for it enough to call it Jesus than it must be some pretty good stuff! Lol.

Take some good pictures for us.

[Christopher.Brown]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Is use of Megs 101 with MF cutting pads and an orbital polisher likely to be effective on the Audi paintwork ?

Yes, however its is among the top of THE MOST AGGRESSIVE forms of correction. Depending on the polisher it has to potential to easily burn through paint if too much pressure and time over area are applied.

Is there a significant danger of me damaging the car's paintwork with this combination i.e. marring or haze?

M101 with a Cutting Disc will definitely marr or haze the paint... that combination is for SEVERE defect removal... Would need to be followed up by a finishing pad and M205 to provide a more clear finish.

Does 101 contain any oils or fillers which might interfere with the water based products with which I am intending to finish or 'step down' the cut?

All compounds M100, M101, M105, D300 and Polishes, such as M205, contain carrier oils which help the product spread and provide the lubricity for the products working time on the paint. Therefore, if you are worried about potential filling and want to wipe these oils away i suggest wiping down each compounded section with a mixture of 15% IPA and Water solution.


A NOTE ON HEAVY CORRECTION:

Heavy defects in paint require more consideration that moderate imperfections. Cleaning a pad frequently is a MUST, in this way the removed paint residue will not gum up the pad and end up re-scratching the surface.

Also, Make sure the pad or discs are FULLY primed.. meaning ever square inch of surface area of the pad [this includes ALL INDIVIDUAL STRANDS OF MICROFIBER] are coated with the correcting liquid before beginning. Also, when dealing with heavy defects i have found more product is necessary for extra cut and for moving away the spent paint of correction. I would say anywhere from 20-40% more for heavy imperfections.

Slow DOWN... move slowly over the areas as more time over a defect will lead to more correction. However, beware of the heat of the panel as you work and remember that different substrates such as plastic and bumpers and such can heat much more quickly that metal.

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

Present company excluded this is by far the most relevant reply to a post that I have received since I started detailing some10 weeks ago. Thanks very much for the information especially re the oils in the Megs 101.

[davey g-force]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

All compounds M100, M101, M105, D300 and Polishes, such as M205, contain carrier oils which help the product spread and provide the lubricity for the products working time on the paint. Therefore, if you are worried about potential filling and want to wipe these oils away i suggest wiping down each compounded section with a mixture of 15% IPA and Water solution.

I completely agree with this ^^

Any compound or polish can potentially fill to some degree, but that is not the primary purpose of the oils they contain.

[szladob]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

I would also caution against going so aggressive with the products, as our phantom black audi paint (A3) has responded fairly well to just Ultimate Compound on Megs yellow foam pad (I use Meg's 220v polisher) on a test area I played with - max 4 passes, and the normal microfiber cutting disk (not the new ultracut) with the D300 on the silver audi paint was achieving excellent results (in terms of swirls being removed), so I wouldn't assume that the black A5 will necessarily need such aggressive compounds... I really love the MF+D300, as with slow speed and pressure, it appears fairly aggressive, while if that aggression is not needed, you can back of the pressure, do larger areas, and get quick but nice results...

The problem area on your silver car - was that already covered with any of the more permanent type coating - Glare pro polish - you mentioned?

[TheMac]

Re: Correcting Audi paint

I would also caution against going so aggressive with the products, as our phantom black audi paint (A3) has responded fairly well to just Ultimate Compound on Megs yellow foam pad (I use Meg's 220v polisher) on a test area I played with - max 4 passes, and the normal microfiber cutting disk (not the new ultracut) with the D300 on the silver audi paint was achieving excellent results (in terms of swirls being removed), so I wouldn't assume that the black A5 will necessarily need such aggressive compounds... I really love the MF+D300, as with slow speed and pressure, it appears fairly aggressive, while if that aggression is not needed, you can back of the pressure, do larger areas, and get quick but nice results...

The problem area on your silver car - was that already covered with any of the more permanent type coating - Glare pro polish - you mentioned?

No I have used Xpert Titanium for the sealant which should last from one to one and a half years and is deemed to be better than Glare although similar in nature.
Thanks for the post. I have noted your comments.