S4 Bonnet

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heli_madken

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Hi All looking for some help with my bonnet as it seems whatever I do I cant get the shine I want.

I have tried various polishes and waxes latest attempt being clayed, cut back with Menzerna 85RE polished with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing polish and last night topped off with Blackfire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax but I am still not happy.

There is absolutely no surface marring on the bonnet it just doesnt have the depth of shine I want, looks kind of hazy. I have also tried meguiars tech wax and poorboy's but nothing seems to bring the bonnet up, rest of the car is great.

The bonnet gets very hot but I dont think its heat damage as the haziness is very uniform across the bonnet.

Any ideas?

PS PolishedBliss web site is great, loads of good advice and I could easily spend a fortune!!
 
Have you got access to a PTG? Where abouts in the world are you? Sure someone who's local could lend you a hand..

It's possible that the hazeyness is down to a poor respray?! (trapped underneath the clearcoat maybe?)
 
Cheers, no I havent got a PTG, I am in Liverpool. Car had only done 17k when I bought it and no sign of any crash damage so dont think its been resprayed.

As it was my first time with a dual action polisher I didnt go too hard with it perhaps I could try again with a more aggressive compound what do you think? Apart from getting out the usual swirl marks the whole process made no difference at all to the depth of shine

Thanks again
 
Can you post pictures of the bonnet/haze in question? How do you best describe what you see? Ghosting? When you move your head side to side, does the 'haze' move with it?

What pad did you use with the DA? 85RE hasn't got the biggest cut too it.. it's more of a refinement polish - the sort you'd use after heavy compounding with the likes of PO85RD 3.02 (Menz Intensive Polish)

It might be that the defects/haze you speak of aren't being touched by the 85RE. If you do opt for a more aggressive combination, be sure to back track with a finishing polish (85re/85rd) in order to refine it further (taking out possible defects caused by the compounding)..

HTH?
 
All good points raised above, my immediate thoughts are poor quality respray or deeper in-depth marring that needs compounding back using RD3.02 and harder Menzerna pads (polishing or compounding). A couple of good quality images under bright lighting might be useful at this stage... also, you could maybe nip and see Matt at Off Your Marks for a professional opinion...

www.offyourmarks.co.uk

:icon_thumright:
 
Jimmeh said:
Can you post pictures of the bonnet/haze in question? How do you best describe what you see? Ghosting? When you move your head side to side, does the 'haze' move with it?

What pad did you use with the DA? 85RE hasn't got the biggest cut too it.. it's more of a refinement polish - the sort you'd use after heavy compounding with the likes of PO85RD 3.02 (Menz Intensive Polish)

It might be that the defects/haze you speak of aren't being touched by the 85RE. If you do opt for a more aggressive combination, be sure to back track with a finishing polish (85re/85rd) in order to refine it further (taking out possible defects caused by the compounding)..

HTH?
Click to expand...

As above....maybe you're not working the polish enough to allow it to completely break down??
Audi paint is blinkin' hard,and i've found i've had to work it quite aggresively to get even light swirling out,and only when i've seen the polish go clear will i then wipe down and inspect. Any slight hazing - micromarring(unnoticeable without halogens) will reduce the shine...an A/B comparison after final finishing (again under halogens) will show a marked difference,and you should have the shine you're looking for.

I'm only a beginner,but have noticed these effects.
 
Thanks everyone,

I used lake country light cut pads, perhaps I do need to go a bit harder using RD3.02, being my first time with a machine I was being cautious.

I will try and take a photograph weather isnt too good at the moment

Jimmeh, I reckon the haze possibly does move, the side of the car gives an excellent reflection, whereas the bonnet has a ghost appearance as you say.

Oh wel feels like another order coming on!

Thanks again everyone for all your help.
 
It sounds like the polish hasn't been broken down properly in that case causing holograms. As "fast, not furious" states, make sure you're working the polish suffiently in order to break the abrasives down. (before removing the polish residue, make sure it has gone lear; this is an indication that things have been well worked)

Typically, an area no bigger than 18"sq should be worked - the key to a good finish is to work on a small area at a time. (allowing abrasives to fully breakdown etc...)

Phew. Hope this helps.
 
Hi Everyone, still working hard to get the results I want this is what I have done to the bonnet this time round -

Washed with WerkStat
2 Applications with Menzerna RDS3.02 and worked till clear with Lake Country 165mm Light Cut pad - speed 4 on my Kestrel DAS-6
2 Applications of Menzerna 85RE and worked till clear with Lake Country 165mm Polishing pad
2 Applications of Blackfire Gloss Enhancing polish again with Lake Country 165mm Polishing pad
Couple of coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection worked in with a Lake Country 165mm Glazing pad and topped off with a couple of coats Blackfire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax (girlfriend thinks I am nuts! and still waiting for her car to be washed)

Results below -

Bonnet
DSC_0052.jpg



Boot
DSC_0046-1.jpg


Photos arent very good as its getting dark but what I am trying to show is the clarity of the reflection which doesnt come out very well here but there is definitely a difference in the vibrance you can see, look closely at the pointing in the brickwork

Also I stll have some orange peel especially on the boot lid, if I go through the process I used on the bonnet will this reduce it?

Any ideas would be great but I think I might have to take it somewhere for advice as suggested

Cheers
 
Repeating the process on the bootlid may knock back the orange peel a tiny bit, but to do this properly you'd need to wetsand it first and then polish out the haze hard using a rotary polisher. Looking at the bonnet image, I can see exactly what you mean, and to my eyes it has the look of a panel that has been resprayed to a less than satisfactory standard. I may be wrong, but it is almost the only explanation I can think of given the process you have done and the results posted above. For the time it will take, I'd pay a visit to Matt at Off Your Marks and ask him to take some thickness readings and cast his beady eye over it - at least this will confirm one way or the other whether a poor respray is too blame. :yes:
 
Thanks Rich, I think I will take your advice and pay Matt a visit, the car is on an 05 plate, I have had it a year. There are no signs of any accident damage at all but of course something else may have happened to the bonnet such as vandalism, would I have any recourse with Audi?

Wet sanding eek, dont think I am that brave!

Incidentaly I wrote to you about Gloss It Gloss Enahancer and on your advice decided to try it, I have never used a quick detailing spray before what a fantastic product absolutely brilliant results, thanks
 
Cheers for the feedback! Aye, see what Matt says - at least you'll be able to know for sure whether it's seen paint or not. With regards to the warranty, if it's seen paint then the warranty will be with the bodyshop, from what I am led to believe. However, paint done well is no big deal - I get the front end of my cars resprayed every 18-24 months to keep them looking chip free, and selling on has never been a problem when this is explained. :icon_thumright:
 
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