First paint correction job... tips?

Hi all. The paint on my 97 Audi A4 (brilliant black) has been frustrating me since I purchased the car a year ago and I've finally decided that I want to do something about the swirl marks. I picked up the Griots/Adams kit from Phil (http://www.detailersdomain.com/Grio...Orbital-Polisher-Adams-Machine-Kit_p_693.html) and am really looking forward to using it, but I keep reading about different combinations of speed, pad and compound. Using the products in this kit, what would you recommend that I start with for moderate to semi-severe swirls and marring?

I will be practicing on my brother's black Honda Civic beforehand to get a hang of things since he's having it repainted next week, but from what I understand, Audi tends to use a much harder paint/clear than Honda, so I don't think it's a very safe comparison.

Just some background: I typically foam, 1-bucket wash with a mitt, rinse, dry, clay, wash again, and between washes or at car shows I just hit it with Meguier's Gold Class Premium Quick Detailer and a clean MF.

 

I'd switch to a 2-Bucket method with Grit-Guard. From a fellow B5'er thats the cheapest insurance I've had on my Brilliant Black paint. Mine will be going under the orbital sometime next week!

 

When you foam do you then rinse and then wash with 1 bucket method or you foam then use the mitt to wash using clean fresh water in the 1 bucket? If you only have 1 bucket you can use the hose to rinse the mitt after each panel is washed. After you clay there is no need to wash again if your polishing, any marring would be removed by polishing.

Start with the least aggressive and work your way to most aggressive based on desired results. You really need to do test spots and see what the outcome is. Try starting with orange pad and polish and see if that removes the defects, then go to yellow. If that doesn't give desired reuslts then go orange with swirl and haze remover, then yellow if that doesn't do the job............etc.

Griots is a nice DA, I like it better than my PC. I like to spread on setting 2, then kick it up to 4 or 5 for sections passes and then kick it back down for the last section pass. It all depends on what the paint likes. Go slow and use 10 to 15 lbs of pressure.

 

Do you pre rinse?

Don't wash a car dry, either spray it down with the hose, or a foam gun........ it really makes a difference. If you do not want to invest in a foam gun, then make sure your shampoo and water have enough lubricity, and make sure you are using a proper wash mit, or sponge, the uber sponge is one of the best, its super soft, and has a tight cellular structure making it very difficult for debris to embed into the sponge.

 

I always pre-rinse with the hose, then foam the entire car, then wash using a mitt and a bucket of fresh water and rinse the mitt with the hose. After it's all clean I use the sheeting method to rinse again then dry with MF cloths.

As for the buffing, I started practicing with my left-rear door since this was the worst of the four. The results are incredible and I couldn't be happier. I started with a cutting pad, then polishing pad, then finishing pad and finished with the waxing pad with Adam's Buttery Wax (which smells delicious by the way). The door looks better than it has ever looked and I'm super excited to do the rest of the car.

I'll post pics as soon as I can but here's one for now.

Left side is the front door (untouched) and right side is the rear door after only the cutting pad. The two big marks you see on the right are reflections, not dings.

 

I would switch to ONR or something similar. A pre-rinse is only needed are extra-dirty cars, otherwise, it's much better IMO.

 

After the wash and clay I would start your paint correction on the trunk. Put the yellow pad on the Griots and apply some product to the pad. Spred the product with the Griots on speed 2. Once you've spred the product evenly turn the Griots up to speed 4 or 4.5 and work the product in. You can stop when the product begins to becomes clear. Wipe the area down with a MF towel. This is your most important step! Take your time and it will make life a lot easier ;~)

Sent using my thumbs on Tapatalk 2

 

Oh really? How is that?
last thing you want to do is start moving around grime and dirt even if you have suds on your sponge, its a sure fire way to mar the paint. even during a maintenance wash, at least pre soak or rinse with water.

 

awesome, pretty much how I do it.......

 

Have you tried ONR? When used correctly, I believe it's superior to the traditional wash method for marr reduction during washing, and only when the car is very, very dirty does it require a pre-rinse. As far as I go 95% of the time is to spray some ONR on the panel before I begin to wash it.

 

yes, I have tried it and I do not like it, i have addressed that many times.

I may give it another try, but to me it was not the marring, it was just a mindset based on personal experience. Even in a scenario such as being to cold to wash a car I have a heated garage that I use, so to me I've never considered it as more then alternative for people who cannot wash their cars year round.

plus I drive a lifted truck and ONR is not feasible to use on a regular basis.

maybe on a small sedan yes.

 

Personally I give the car a quick pre rinse, foam, rinse then 2 bucket wash.
Clay, polish, wash and wax/seal.

Good luck, at least your car is black and you can visibly see the defects in the paint.

 

Thanks! It's great when it's clean and clear, awful once it gets dirty, but what can ya do?

So this might be a dumb question, but if I'm getting a lot of splatter, does that mean I'm just using too much product? I've been spreading it evenly along the door/panel/whatever, then add a little extra to the pad, then have at it, but the first pass tends to splatter all over the place. I think I just need to use a little less but I'm afraid of not having enough.

Hope you can help!

 

Splatter is too much product or you didn't spread it around before turning up the speed, OR your pad is too wet (primed).
What I do is I put appropriate amount of polish on my pad, spread it around then turn on my flex at speed 3, spread it. Then turn up the juice

 

Thank you, I will have to try that. I was spreading and then just going at it at full speed (or whatever speed that particular compound/pad required) rather than spreading it at a low speed first.

One last thing... what is the best way to clean the pads after using them? Should I just hand wash them in soap and water? Do they even need to be cleaned?

 

Yes, they need to be cleaned.
You should switch pads often so they don't get gummed up and lose their effectiveness.

I let mine soak in the sink with dawn, after a bit of soaking I'll agitate them with my conditioning brush and then knead the pads till im confident they're clean.
Rinse with clean water and ring them out.

 

Great, I will try that tonight and get them cleaned up. What is the life expectancy of these pads, and how often should I be purchasing new pads? Can the same set of pads be used for multiple cars if they are cleaned?

 

I'm not sure about life expectancy, If you maintain them they should last a few years.
Yes you can use the same pads on different cars.

 

Great, thank you all for your help and answers. Much appreciated!

 

Anytime!