swirls, scratches and tears

[Gaviiin]

So, finally took ownership of my new S3 (mythos black) about a month ago and first things first decided to give it a clean using the following method/product's:

Pressure washed all the loose dirt off,
Washed using AG super foaming shampoo (2B method) with lambs wool mitt,
Dried with microfiber,
Clayed using farecla g3 mitt,
Polished with AG SRP,
Glazed with poorboys black hole,
Finally, waxed with poorboys nattys blue paste.

The bodywork looked like glass when I was finished... in that light, as it was nearly dark when I finished.

The next day I was looking over the work that I'd done and was ******* dismayed to find light scratching and some swirls.

What the **** went wrong?

I was so careful to remove any remaining dirt before attacking the car and any microfibers or pads that I dropped were swiftly discarded.

So, the next week I decided to give it another try to see if giving it 110% would sort this mess out.

It didn't.

So I'm at the point now of getting someone to professionally detail the car (correct those light swirls and scratches) and never do it myself again.

Any sort of help with this would be greatly appreciated as I feel like a total **** having done this to my brand new car.

And yes I know because it's black that it'll tend to show more imperfections, but c'mon it's 4 weeks old!

 

[ash-k]

Did the dealer prep the car for you as this may well have been the cause of the swirls, your method seems fine, however claying can cause marring if your not careful or it is a more aggressive grade. How was SRP applied machine or hand... is SRP not pretty much a glaze with very mild polishing properties, so should have not really inflicted any damage unless the pad was contaminated.

Probably just need a light machine polish using a proper polish like scholl s40 or s30 with a finishing or polishing pad, that's if you have a da or rotary polisher?

 

[Gaviiin]

Did the dealer prep the car for you as this may well have been the cause of the swirls, your method seems fine, however claying can cause marring if your not careful or it is a more aggressive grade. How was SRP applied machine or hand... is SRP not pretty much a glaze with very mild polishing properties, so should have not really inflicted any damage unless the pad was contaminated.

Probably just need a light machine polish using a proper polish like scholl s40 or s30 with a finishing or polishing pad, that's if you have a da or rotary polisher?

They didn't, I specifically asked them not to, so I could scratch it all myself.

Everything was applied by hand (as I don't own a rotary polisher) and the pads/microfibers were all new.

Really not sure what went wrong here but I've clearly done something daft along the way!

 

[DrEskimo]

Seems very very unlikely you have caused the swirls yourself. Are you 100% sure the swirls weren't there before hand? Could it be that you never inspected the paint as carefully before?

My immediate theory is that the car had some form of wax or sealant that was "filling" the swirls. All you have done is wash that off and now you can see them. However, you should of "refilled" since you've used a glaze and wax...? You also state that nothing was done to the paint work prior?

The only step I see you are missing is a snow foam before washing. That can be pretty crucial in getting rid a lot of dirt before you touch the surface. The only other thing may be your drying method. Try sheeting off most of the water with a steady stream, and be sure to only plot and gently glide the MF cloth over the paint when drying.

Otherwise mate, your method and steps seem spot on to me...despite what I've listed above, I would still be extremely surprised that you caused this damage in one wash...!

 

[MrSma]

With the Audi paint work tending to generally be hard I doubt you've cost this from 1 wash. What most likely happened is when the car was transported or maybe even they did wash it without you knowing. Anyway with you applying Srp it contains fillers which basically fill the swirls in so you may want to strip it off to see the real damage

 

[Gaviiin]

Seems very very unlikely you have caused the swirls yourself. Are you 100% sure the swirls weren't there before hand? Could it be that you never inspected the paint as carefully before?

My immediate theory is that the car had some form of wax or sealant that was "filling" the swirls. All you have done is wash that off and now you can see them. However, you should of "refilled" since you've used a glaze and wax...? You also state that nothing was done to the paint work prior?

The only step I see you are missing is a snow foam before washing. That can be pretty crucial in getting rid a lot of dirt before you touch the surface. The only other thing may be your drying method. Try sheeting off most of the water with a steady stream, and be sure to only plot and gently glide the MF cloth over the paint when drying.

Otherwise mate, your method and steps seem spot on to me...despite what I've listed above, I would still be extremely surprised that you caused this damage in one wash...!

I gave the car a good lookover at audi and it was fine. It is most likely me that's done this!

I feel you're probably right with the snow foam and drying technique.

Think i'll need to get someone who knows what they're doing with a polisher then never touch the car again. Ever.

Black is such an unforgiving colour.

 

[Gaviiin]

With the Audi paint work tending to generally be hard I doubt you've cost this from 1 wash. What most likely happened is when the car was transported or maybe even they did wash it without you knowing. Anyway with you applying Srp it contains fillers which basically fill the swirls in so you may want to strip it off to see the real damage

I don't want to see anymore damage!

 

[DrEskimo]

I gave the car a good lookover at audi and it was fine. It is most likely me that's done this!

I feel you're probably right with the snow foam and drying technique.

Think i'll need to get someone who knows what they're doing with a polisher then never touch the car again. Ever.

Black is such an unforgiving colour.

That's very unlucky if you did!

And yes black isn't a colour, it's a full time job! I'm currently doing a full paint correction on my phantom black A5. It's a strange one, the clear coat is ridiculously hard that you have to polish so hard to get decent results, yet, all you have to do is look at it wrong when washing it to get swirls...think there is a reason to this , but to me it doesn't make sense!

Good luck with it though mate. Hope it gets sorted.

 

[Nimbus265]

Did the dealer prep the car for you as this may well have been the cause of the swirls, your method seems fine, however claying can cause marring if your not careful or it is a more aggressive grade. How was SRP applied machine or hand... is SRP not pretty much a glaze with very mild polishing properties, so should have not really inflicted any damage unless the pad was contaminated.

Probably just need a light machine polish using a proper polish like scholl s40 or s30 with a finishing or polishing pad, that's if you have a da or rotary polisher?

I tend to agree with the claying. I'm not sure that that was needed on a new car, it would have been better to use a non-abrasive technique to remove fall out etc, such as IronX. I've never clayed my car, as I find it invasive. Everything else looks ok, less of course the lack of snow foaming, which does lift minor particles off of the surface. AG SRP would not be my first choice on a new or black car either. It does have fillers, which really shouldn't be needed on new paint, and it does leave a white residue in some of the difficult to get to areas, which can be a pig to remove 100%.

I also shy away from using a micofibre to dry. Some of the cheaper microfibre cloths are a little coarse, especially if poorly stiched edges. You may be better off investing in a few waffle drying towels, which are more absorbant, and are better laid/dragged across the water to remove, rather than rubbed. I also use a pet hair dryer to get into the knocks and crannies.

I've used Blackfire products (mostly - but not exclusively) on my Segang Blue motor since new, and although it is expensive it works very well on dark colours.

 

[Gaviiin]

That's very unlucky if you did!

And yes black isn't a colour, it's a full time job! I'm currently doing a full paint correction on my phantom black A5. It's a strange one, the clear coat is ridiculously hard that you have to polish so hard to get decent results, yet, all you have to do is look at it wrong when washing it to get swirls...think there is a reason to this , but to me it doesn't make sense!

Good luck with it though mate. Hope it gets sorted.

Thanks! I'm sure in-between the tears I'll manage to get it sorted.

 

[Gaviiin]

I tend to agree with the claying. I'm not sure that that was needed on a new car, it would have been better to use a non-abrasive technique to remove fall out etc, such as IronX. I've never clayed my car, as I find it invasive. Everything else looks ok, less of course the lack of snow foaming, which does lift minor particles off of the surface. AG SRP would not be my first choice on a new or black car either. It does have fillers, which really shouldn't be needed on new paint, and it does leave a white residue in some of the difficult to get to areas, which can be a pig to remove 100%.

I also shy away from using a micofibre to dry. Some of the cheaper microfibre cloths are a little coarse, especially if poorly stiched edges. You may be better off investing in a few waffle drying towels, which are more absorbant, and are better laid/dragged across the water to remove, rather than rubbed. I also use a pet hair dryer to get into the knocks and crannies.

I've used Blackfire products (mostly - but not exclusively) on my Segang Blue motor since new, and although it is expensive it works very well on dark colours.

Live and learn I s'pose! I'll definitely be changing drying methods once this is sorted and look at getting snow foam as well.

Anyone handy with a polisher in the Edinburgh area fancy doing a guy a favour...

 

[DrEskimo]

Shame your so far away. Would of been more than happy to help...although I would be pretty terrified to do any more damage...!

 

[ash-k]

I'm up in Aberdeen still pretty far away...

 

[Gaviiin]

I'm up in Aberdeen still pretty far away...

Surprisingly, I'm actually up in Aberdeen every so often..