jr001
Registered User
StoakseyA4 joked that if I was ever in Kent then I could work on his A4 and S4 Avant. He was deadly serious and I was able to make the long journey to Kent to develop my experience still further. Very grateful Carl!
So, the boot got packed full and I headed south to spend the night with relatives in Peterborough, breaking up the journey a bit.
Sunday morning, 7am, leaving Pborough, this passed me on the M11:
I was expecting it since I saw it at the service station about 10 miles back. It took 15 minutes to catch up with me though. Not sure if Id buy one of them then.
On arrival in Kent, first up was the solid black A4 1.9 TDI Sport, Revod to 170bhp. A nice car and it looked great in the new RS4 alloys.
It was brought out from the shade into the sun to reveal its true self. Here we are:
Wash and Clay
First time Ive washed a car in 27 deg direct sunlight with English water. It was murder. The water was drying almost instantly and the chemicals just stuck to the unprotected paintwork.
Wheels treated with Autobrites Acid Free Brite Wheels
Clay SONUS Green
Pre-Soak: Megs APC through Superspray then hose-rinsed
Lowers treated with Autobrites Tar and Glue Remover
Main Wash: Two bucket thing using Megs Shampoo Plus
Clay Lube: Megs Last Touch 1:1
Never got the chance to pat dry the car
Ridding the car of all the chemical stains proved to be extremely difficult. Megs Last Touch was sprayed on each panel to try and remove chemical residue but only got most of it.
This all lasted for about close on 3 hours.
Machine Polishing
Paint thickness measurements showed that only the roof and bonnet were factory thickness (118-140 microns), whereas all the other panels ranged from 210-468 microns.
Rotary + Megs Polishing pad +Well-Behaved Menz 3.02
Polish spread for 2 passes at 900rpm, followed by 6 passes at main working-in stage on 1800rpm, with a final two passes at 900rpm. This achieved about 95% removal of surface defects and the owner was delighted to move forward on this basis. Most panels got two hits.
Plastic bumpers got 106FF at 1500rpm.
There were lots of deeper scratches that Im convinced were not part of the top layer of clearcoat. Im sure that before the re-spraying of the panels, any scratches were left on the paintwork before the clearcoat was applied. I just wasnt going there and they were really only obviously visible upon inspection from about 12 inches.
Cleansing, Waxing and Dressing
HD Cleanse and Carbon wax. Final spritz with Field Glaze.
Wheels cleansed and sealed with JEFFS Prime Acrylic.
Windows cleansed with HD.
Tyres dressed with Poorboys Bold and Bright, left for 20mins and buffed over with sponge applicator. Second coat applied similarly 1 hour later.
I just dont have time to sort out direct before and after comparisons, so heres the general afters to show the improvements:
Hope you enjoyed,
JOHN
So, the boot got packed full and I headed south to spend the night with relatives in Peterborough, breaking up the journey a bit.
Sunday morning, 7am, leaving Pborough, this passed me on the M11:
I was expecting it since I saw it at the service station about 10 miles back. It took 15 minutes to catch up with me though. Not sure if Id buy one of them then.
On arrival in Kent, first up was the solid black A4 1.9 TDI Sport, Revod to 170bhp. A nice car and it looked great in the new RS4 alloys.
It was brought out from the shade into the sun to reveal its true self. Here we are:
Wash and Clay
First time Ive washed a car in 27 deg direct sunlight with English water. It was murder. The water was drying almost instantly and the chemicals just stuck to the unprotected paintwork.
Wheels treated with Autobrites Acid Free Brite Wheels
Clay SONUS Green
Pre-Soak: Megs APC through Superspray then hose-rinsed
Lowers treated with Autobrites Tar and Glue Remover
Main Wash: Two bucket thing using Megs Shampoo Plus
Clay Lube: Megs Last Touch 1:1
Never got the chance to pat dry the car
Ridding the car of all the chemical stains proved to be extremely difficult. Megs Last Touch was sprayed on each panel to try and remove chemical residue but only got most of it.
This all lasted for about close on 3 hours.
Machine Polishing
Paint thickness measurements showed that only the roof and bonnet were factory thickness (118-140 microns), whereas all the other panels ranged from 210-468 microns.
Rotary + Megs Polishing pad +Well-Behaved Menz 3.02
Polish spread for 2 passes at 900rpm, followed by 6 passes at main working-in stage on 1800rpm, with a final two passes at 900rpm. This achieved about 95% removal of surface defects and the owner was delighted to move forward on this basis. Most panels got two hits.
Plastic bumpers got 106FF at 1500rpm.
There were lots of deeper scratches that Im convinced were not part of the top layer of clearcoat. Im sure that before the re-spraying of the panels, any scratches were left on the paintwork before the clearcoat was applied. I just wasnt going there and they were really only obviously visible upon inspection from about 12 inches.
Cleansing, Waxing and Dressing
HD Cleanse and Carbon wax. Final spritz with Field Glaze.
Wheels cleansed and sealed with JEFFS Prime Acrylic.
Windows cleansed with HD.
Tyres dressed with Poorboys Bold and Bright, left for 20mins and buffed over with sponge applicator. Second coat applied similarly 1 hour later.
I just dont have time to sort out direct before and after comparisons, so heres the general afters to show the improvements:
Hope you enjoyed,
JOHN
