What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

It's a common thing on these B7s. I had the devil of the time with wipers first year or so of ownership. The most common ailment is they seize through lack of linkage and spindle grease. The motor is rarely gone; just the seized wipers. Last time I had them took off and then greased the nuts later came loose. Not had an issue since that was sorted about 4 years ago. Rear wiper motor on the Avant too, that gets stuffed through water pipe leakage across the electronics; don't buy the Chinese aftermarkets like I did at first, that lasted less than 12 months; go Oem; again solid these past 4 years.
 
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well and another thing that i just now sorted out... the notorious f189 switch malfunction... it's got nothing to do with the automatic gearbox, mechatronic or gearselector under the car... nope it happens because the neodymium magnet ( the square looking one (it's rectangle though it's just encased in a piece of plastic) looses it strenght over the years...
i used this topic on audizine to figure out why it did it and after reading it was just the magnet i noted down the needed spec of it and ordered them of eBay... well i only needed one but you get a set of 10... long story short I now don't have that annoying PRNDS going full red popup anymore... now I can just put it straight into D or S and it doesn't come up with the error... PS to get rid of it i used to put it in manual mode when driving off, go up one gear, go one back and put it back into drive and it doesn't flag an error.

Now it works as it should so no more stupid red PRNDS and faults logged on the gearbox module at all when scanning with VCDS or my on the go VAG handheld scanner.
Took me a while to figure out what the actual problem was as at first i thought it might be a dirty circuit board, cleaned that made no difference, replaced it for a good working one, but that one somehow isn't compatible with the car ( eventhough it came out of a B7 and has the exact same parts on the inside, works fine on the car it came out off) so after looking about and not finding a solution I found that topic whilst using a completely different search engine than google.
 
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Not today as such, Tuesday to be exact.
I spent an hour removing the front drive shafts, and what a mess they were in, along with everything else in close proximity to them. That CV grease just gets everywhere and sticks like... you know what?
Dropped them off at the shop and just waiting for a new set , which are not Apec.

spent an hour today cleaning both front wheels etc from all that muck.
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My replacement drive shafts in ready to collect, the guy said they are giving me Rollco shafts, I have no idea on who they are or if they are any good, just going refit and see what occurs, they can’t be any worse surely.
 
My replacement drive shafts in ready to collect, the guy said they are giving me Rollco shafts, I have no idea on who they are or if they are any good, just going refit and see what occurs, they can’t be any worse surely.
All depends on the cv boot material mate... as i said before you should have mentioned J&R driveshafts... at least they are a UK based manufacturer, and as I stated before could easily make you upgraded driveshafts on request that can handle serious power.

looked Rolco up it's also a uk manufacturer but i can't see any upgraded driveshafts available though... they got like for like ( and nothing wrong with that either as) they should be able to handle your estimated power goal of around 350bhp anyway.
 
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I did look at J&R and to be honest they had a fair bit of negativity with there units and cv boot failures.
I think all aftermarket units can have issues but Apec do have serious failings with there products.
I really didn’t want to get into a downward spiral with shafts and most certainly didn’t have any plans to part ways either more cash.
I did consider going OE again but given the lower mileage I cover now aftermarket ones should be more than adequate.
I’ll give these rollco ones a go and see what happens, hopefully it may solve the long standing vibration issues I get between 55 - 70 mph that had started since having Apecs on.
 
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I wouldn't say J&R if I didn't use them myself or didn't have them fitted to the a4 myself... but yeah they had a spat of troubles too mostly because they used that same stupid material on the cv boots as Apec does..
Luckily they went back to better quality material cv boots.

But I have never gotten a bad driveshaft from them ever... all were perfect, fit and forget even the upgraded ones they made to spec for my vr6 back in the day...
 
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If these dont last then I'll look at J&R , It was just easier to let the shop retailer I purchased the Apec units from sort it out, and they have been very helpful which is more than can be said for Apec.
I didn't need to spend out any more cash, wait for a refund then start over, just a swap over for these Rollco units.
I just want a problem free drive train to be honest.
 
Im hoping to be able to crack on with some more of the outstanding jobs on the old bus, get these shafts fitted then , the oil filter/cooler swap over and oil pump freewheel fitted and then the bigger engine work.
I've finished my race bike engine overhaul , all rebuilt ready for the uprated throttle bodies and a remapped ecu , then back into the rolling chassis.
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After quite a while not having any money, due to a crisis for freelancers in my industry, I've got a new job and so I've been finally able to address my poor neglected car. Once again slowly bringing it back to snuff. Fortunately where I work there is a garage right next door, and they are very keenly priced; good; and do the work on time when they say it'll be done. The last garage I'd used for a long time, didn't and sorely let me down last time with a duff battery. This week I finally had the shot front offside wheel bearing replaced (that had supposedly been done only 2 years ago) - they charged me 100 quid including bearing; which is far better than other quotes and official google rates. Next week they are fitting a driver's window new regulator (supplied) and doing an overdue oil/filter service, for 100 quid, all in too. Then the week after, all new discs - for 145 quid. Then before Christmas; at another place very near the nearside alloys will be done (kerbed due to a van almost driving me into the roadside wall). This place properly shotblast and restore the wheels - the offside they did 2-3 years ago are still pristine.

Finally, although I did all the paint/bodywork, including new wings a while ago, and that has mostly held up, I have one issue on the driver's front wing, where the lacquer on the lip has started to come off. The body shop where they were sprayed have agreed to correct this; but they moved and it's a drag getting there and back. There's a bodyshop right next to that garage at work; so I'll see what he quotes. All in all it's so convenient, dropping in the car first thing at work, then just going next door afterwards to pick it up.

Oh I addressed various electrical issues, such as corroded ground affecting the offside rear indicator; the bonnet open sensor and software/ setting for the Xtrons sat Nav. People knock these Chinese HUs but I've had this for 6 years now - one of the first things I fitted; and with wireless Android Auto, full voice control from the steering wheel mic button plus all remotes; excellent better than OEM sound with no ground/hum noises; I've been very lucky personally with mine; and any modern sat nav is transformative on these cars - one of the main reasons I've stuck with this car for so long; very little newer, that I could afford, looks as nice, is built as well, with no DPF and other later senseless emissions controls, that would offer essential improvement, for me.
 
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I just gave the car a wash, nothing special as it was just dust collecting on the bodywork... so it was a simple 1 bucket hot water wash with a microfibre cloth ( no product in the water at all).
And i made up my mind about the wheels ... come next summer the OEM ronal S-line 18 inchers wll get re-done in high gloss black... they'll be less of a dust magnet than.
 
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Well I had problems with my BRD 170 TDI a couple of days ago. Was on my way to work and had just got onto the motorway, I put my foot down to get up to speed and it was holding back big time, looked in the rear view mirror and there was plume of black smoke. I thought, here we go again what's up with it now :s

Anyway got to work ok by feathering it and not going into the turbo. Once id finished work on the drive home every time I got to 2.5k revs it would hold back and smoke like a gooden, proper smoke screen.

Did a bit of research but couldn't really find anything to go off and I also had no fault codes to go off either when I scanned it with my obd11.

Spoke to someone who suggested it could be the asv so it thought right, even though id cleaned all that when I rebuilt the head id strip it all down including the EGR and the intake manifold. Couldn't believe how much crud had built up over a year so I completely cleaned it all out last night.

I bought a Darkside developments EGR delete last year but never got round the fitting it so thought I'd put that on today along with doing the cooler delete.

Put it all back together and crossed my fingers... It coughed and sputtered to life which it has never done before but ticked over nicely after that. I let it warm up and hoped it would be ok now and it was!

Boosting as it did before with no smoke and feels a bit more responsive.

Happy it was an easy fix. It must have been the original EGR valve had died but I didn't know cause I had no codes to go off or all the crud that had built up again.

Anyway I am very happy now and I'm going to have a few beers

Cheers
 
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Well I had problems with my BRD 170 TDI a couple of days ago. Was on my way to work and had just got onto the motorway, I put my foot down to get up to speed and it was holding back big time, looked in the rear view mirror and there was plume of black smoke. I thought, here we go again what's up with it now :s

Anyway got to work ok by feathering it and not going into the turbo. Once id finished work on the drive home every time I got to 2.5k revs it would hold back and smoke like a gooden, proper smoke screen.

Did a bit of research but couldn't really find anything to go off and I also had no fault codes to go off either when I scanned it with my obd11.

Spoke to someone who suggested it could be the asv so it thought right, even though id cleaned all that when I rebuilt the head id strip it all down including the EGR and the intake manifold. Couldn't believe how much crud had built up over a year so I completely cleaned it all out last night.

I bought a Darkside developments EGR delete last year but never got round the fitting it so thought I'd put that on today along with doing the cooler delete.

Put it all back together and crossed my fingers... It coughed and sputtered to life which it has never done before but ticked over nicely after that. I let it warm up and hoped it would be ok now and it was!

Boosting as it did before with no smoke and feels a bit more responsive.

Happy it was an easy fix. It must have been the original EGR valve had died but I didn't know cause I had no codes to go off or all the crud that had built up again.

Anyway I am very happy now and I'm going to have a few beers

Cheers
There's always something todo.... just sometimes more than others. :yes: :yes:
 
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There's always something todo.... just sometimes more than others. :yes: :yes:
To be fair I've done so much to it theres not much left to do now. Only thing that is really bugging me is rust behind the rear numberplate. Keep looking for a same color breaker but nothing decent or near to where I am.
 
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@markthenewt mweh it's a diesel if you had an active egr, that started to put the car into limpmode... I'd dismantle the complete intake and give it a complete cleanup. just remember to either run premium fuel or a good additve on cheap supermarket fuel and make sure you do the mileage needed for the car to keep it's internals clean.
 
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Made a spot decision in the middle of the night to do the Wasa motor oil pump freewheeling sprocket upgrade, oil cooler and filter housing assembly, oil change and drive shafts , and gearbox oil change simultaneously.
So, while I await the collection of the new shafts tomorrow and the car is up on axle stands, I'll make a start on draining the oil and coolant and removing the oil cooler/filter housing.
I'm awaiting a new filter housing from amazon today and some extra Fuchs oil,I will get that part done and then drop the sump ready for that job.
I'm a bit annoyed with myself, I purchased a filter housing back in March along with a new oil cooler. I found that part in the garage, but the housing has left the building somewhere. I expect it will turn up when I'm not looking for it.
I think that's me busy for a couple of hours..lol

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@markthenewt mweh it's a diesel if you had an active egr, that started to put the car into limpmode... I'd dismantle the complete intake and give it a complete cleanup. just remember to either run premium fuel or a good additve on cheap supermarket fuel and make sure you do the mileage needed for the car to keep it's internals clean.
Yeah I know that, mine gets a 40 mile run most days on the motorway. I only ever use Esso premium diesel and throw a can of whatever injector cleaner every other tankfull. Original EGR gone now anyway so hopefully I won't get the carbon buildup as much.
 
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Just a maintenance wash today, Collinite behaving well. I did use some Bilt Hamber Auto wheel today, mine weren't too bad, so just a few iron particles. The wheels come up nice, and are a bit like a B6 fat five wheel.

I'm trying to get hold of these plate holders, but Dubmeister are now closing down they said, and they don't have any left.

I've messaged a guy on ebay but not heard back, I really like them, but I think he only sells them with German plates included which I don't need or want and converted from USD to GBP they aren't cheap. There's a site in the Philippines that sells them, but they don't look as good as the Dubmeister ones.


 
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Sadly today didn't work out as I was hoping.
Amazon delivery guy has not turned up ( no change there) with my oil and filter housing so that part of today's hit list has been aborted.
I decided to use this opportunity to degrease the engine bay, under both wheel arches etc to get rid of all that cv joint grease plus generally cleanup the engine bay.
Out with the degreaser, pressure washer and blower, all done in a couple of hours.
So not exactly what I planned but not a totally wasted day.
 
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I also realized this afternoon that I don't have a new gasket for the oil return pipe on the sump and still need to organize a revised oil suction pipe.
The rev suction pipe is not that important to be honest, the original part is fine and has been problem-free for the last 104k miles if regular oil/filter changes are maintained and the suction port mesh is kept free from oil sludge and debris then blockages are very unlikely, it's not impossible but the likelihood is reduced considerably.

So, I'll order the gasket tomorrow and see what the availability of the rev part is, after all , if the sump is off then it would be prudent to change it but that would be the only time given dropping the sump on the quattro is a bigger more costly job.
 
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Made a spot decision in the middle of the night to do the Wasa motor oil pump freewheeling sprocket upgrade, oil cooler and filter housing assembly, oil change and drive shafts , and gearbox oil change simultaneously.
So, while I await the collection of the new shafts tomorrow and the car is up on axle stands, I'll make a start on draining the oil and coolant and removing the oil cooler/filter housing.
I'm awaiting a new filter housing from amazon today and some extra Fuchs oil,I will get that part done and then drop the sump ready for that job.
I'm a bit annoyed with myself, I purchased a filter housing back in March along with a new oil cooler. I found that part in the garage, but the housing has left the building somewhere. I expect it will turn up when I'm not looking for it.
I think that's me busy for a couple of hours..lol

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Im Surprised that your not fitting a Genuine oil filter housing , I fitted one to mine after reading aftermarket ones failing?
 
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Im Surprised that your not fitting a Genuine oil filter housing , I fitted one to mine after reading aftermarket ones failing?
I did see a few reports of poor units but some were down to fitting and other cheap copies.
I've not seen any bad reviews or comments to date on the Febi Bilstein items, well to be totally honest I've used febi bilstein for many parts a lot over the last few years with great success, no failures or issues at all with any of their parts....
Lemforder, SNR, SKF, Continental, Febi Bilstein (mostly), and quite a few others are actually OEM suppliers - you'll often get the same part in a different box.
 
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It's a bit like the Apec drive shaft fiasco, they have a 3 year warranty, so far both sets I had lasted less than 6 months before failing, and they set me back £350 for the pair, so much for their quality based on price.
They have now admitted that a lot of their A4 shafts have a design fault and fail within months, even after stating the problem had been resolved with a different boot supplier, it's not the cv boots at fault, it's the shaft and joint itself that's the problem.
 
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I did see a few reports of poor units but some were down to fitting and other cheap copies.
I've not seen any bad reviews or comments to date on the Febi Bilstein items, well to be totally honest I've used febi bilstein for many parts a lot over the last few years with great success, no failures or issues at all with any of their parts....
Lemforder, SNR, SKF, Continental, Febi Bilstein (mostly), and quite a few others are actually OEM suppliers - you'll often get the same part in a different box.
I have Lemforder front lower arms , excellent quality and I belive OEM manufacture?
The oil filter housing your buying is a lot less painful on your pocket, mine was £200.
 
It just made sense to go with febi, I don’t do the mileage anymore , it’s a brand I have used without issue and at a sensible price.
I’d rather put the money I saved and put it towards quality Fuchs engine and gearbox oil.
Works for me.
 
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It just made sense to go with febi, I don’t do the mileage anymore , it’s a brand I have used without issue and at a sensible price.
I’d rather put the money I saved and put it towards quality Fuchs engine and gearbox oil.
Works for me.
About the gear box, you are changing the oil? never did that on my B5 with 180000 miles, always found Audi manual gearboxes just great,
my B7 gearbox is just slick.
 
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About the gear box, you are changing the oil? never did that on my B5 with 180000 miles, always found Audi manual gearboxes just great,
my B7 gearbox is just slick.
He's refreshing all fluids and filters. Why would he not replace the gearbox oil?
 
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Definitely worth changing the gearbox oil, despite what Audi said, especially at high mileages - they weren't thinking of around 200K, they meant the 'service' life of a car, around 12 years/150K . I did mine and and it was even smoother. There was a very slight whir in sixth that completely disappeared afterwards.
 
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Life time oil doesn't exist, it will break down far before 150k... I like to change gearbox oil every 3 years..on my own cars regardless off the mileage .. and everytime I do it i am amazed by how quick the lifetime oil has gone from being absolutely perfect to this stinky sulfur brown looking mess. Note in vag manual cars I use the oem lifetime oil.

But now I got to do it every 3 years anyway because I got an autogearbox ;)
 
Made a start today on the job list.
replaced the oil filter housing and oil cooler, a nice straightforward job with no drama, that said both seals on the filter housing were leaking badly and have been for a while so long overdue to be replaced.
I spent a good few minutes with a new stanley blade cleaning the housing face on the block so it was super clean, it was pretty messy as can be seen below, but a stanley blade and brake cleaner and bungs to stop debris going in all worked out fine.
Engine oil was pretty bad even though it was changed about 3k miles ago, but it does go nasty pretty quickly to be honest.
I picked up the Rollco drive shafts, and they are so much better quality than APEC units. CV boots are super heavy-duty rubber.
Still awaiting the muppets from Amazon with my engine oil and gearbox oil, but that's only going to be a refill job done.
So tomorrow, I will refill the coolant and oils, refit the drive shafts, and then do a road test.
If I get time i may give the old bus a shampoo...lol
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I might as well change the back diff oil aswell while I'm doing all the rest, I'll order some this evening from Opie Oils.
Also on tomorrow's hit list, I'll give the K&N air filter a good wash and dry.
I have a feeling the gearbox mount is getting a bit worn too, so another job.....lol

Its all worth doing though, it just makes it that much more reliable.
:thumbs up:
 
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About the gear box, you are changing the oil? never did that on my B5 with 180000 miles, always found Audi manual gearboxes just great,
my B7 gearbox is just slick.
Mine is getting a bit notchy when cold , fine when warm though.
100k on any gearbox is due for a change , let alone from an age viewpoint.
A 17 year old car with the original gearbox and diff oils is going to be way past it's best.
When I did my TT fluids the original oil was still in the car at 120k it was like a treacle when it came out, and what a massive improvement the new oil made.

All lubricating oils have a working lifespan in miles or age, in my case its a bit of both so time for an oil change.
 
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Going a bit out of my comfort zone as well today.
I have always been a bit old school when it comes to polishing my cars, a very hands-on process, no sign of a machine to be seen...lol
So I have thrown caution to the wind and everything else and purchased a DA polisher.
Its a flippin' minefield of choices I just had a quick interwebby snoop at a few reviews, not that they can be trusted but worth a go, decided to go with this item.

Not mega expensive but will probably be way more than i need.

I may be in need of a crash course in detailing..lol :whistle2: :yes:


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all tips on usage gladly accpeted and appreciated.


Amazon guy just delivered it this evening, no flippin' oil yet though.
 
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Never ever use it higher than 2500 rpm.unless you want to burn the paint.. I have one... it's fine for cutting paint back... nothing else... I use those drill attachments on my cordless drill if I want to polish/ wax... that da polisher I only crack out for paint corrections... and only if the paint is really bad.

Needless to say it hasn't touched the audi yet..
 
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A 17 year old car with the original gearbox and diff oils is going to be way past it's best.
When I did my TT fluids the original oil was still in the car at 120k it was like a treacle when it came out, and what a massive improvement the new oil made.
It just stands to reason. The parts that gets the abuse - the bit you hear crunch when people miss-change are the softer brass synchros, not the actual gears. There is a magnet inside these boxes to collect swarf, but over time as you say Rob, all oils deteriorate; and the non-service bit was only for a much shorter projected lifespan than we have with our cars today. Fortunately we can change the oil and it is not actually 'sealed for life'. As I say made a massive difference to mine. I always very briefly pause in neutral, to give time for the synchromesh to work smoothly too. They are tough boxes - a lot have been stripped out of these cars; particularly the FWD ones for GT40 replicas in the States and elsewhere; but like anything regular maintenance will reward heaps.
 
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Well its all gone a bit pear shaped today.
I thought I was cooking on gas by lunchtime, drive shafts all on and done, coolant refilled , engine oil in etc., fired it up and all good.
Then an hour later I restarted it and the yellow low oil level lamp came on, a quick check and levels were spot on when warm.
Not ideal, I ran vcds to see what was occurring and all good, oil level and pressure all within range, no faults at all.
Jacked the car back up, off with the undertray again, disconnected the level sensor on the sump and refitted , no change, I think the sensor has failed.
It is always the same, fix two problems an then another pops up.
 
There was some mention that the low oil level sensor is connected to the bonnet catch , can anyone confirm this function.
 
I have a Rupes machine, love it. I actually used it slow the other day with a crazily soft foam pad and applied Collinite 845 insulator wax. Goes on so thin, any more is a waste, nice even coat and so easy to buff off with a soft microfibre.

Always light pressure when polishing paint works for me, let the machine balance itself and use light pressure. I move at about an inch or so a second, I've never had anything more than a hardly even mildly warm pad. Often I see my work as a deep decontamination rather then correction...but it will correct light swirls etc.

Nothing too aggressive for polish, something mid-range will bring your bus up a treat. Scholl concepts do some good polishes as do Rupes (pricey). Medium cut polish should more than suffice, and a medium pad to match. Light pressure and then wipe off polish to check your work. If you're still not happy, press a tiny bit harder...you'll soon learn what combo of polish, speed, pressure and pad works for your paint.

Some of the polishes now start off medium coarse, then break down into a finer compound as you work the panel, giving you a sharper more refined finish.

I used to use Bilt Hamber clay bar first after washing the car but my paint doesn't get contaminated enough really to warrant the risk of clay bar marring, so now I just wash, dry and wipe with rubbing alcohol spray from ebay, then crack the Rupes out....not often, maybe once a year in the summer.

Heavy cut course polish is for....the brave.
 
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I have a Rupes machine, love it. I actually used it slow the other day with a crazily soft foam pad and applied Collinite 845 insulator wax. Goes on so thin, any more is a waste, nice even coat and so easy to buff off with a soft microfibre.

Always light pressure when polishing paint works for me, let the machine balance itself and use light pressure. I move at about an inch or so a second, I've never had anything more than a hardly even mildly warm pad. Often I see my work as a deep decontamination rather then correction...but it will correct light swirls etc.

Nothing too aggressive for polish, something mid-range will bring your bus up a treat. Scholl concepts do some good polishes as do Rupes (pricey). Medium cut polish should more than suffice, and a medium pad to match. Light pressure and then wipe off polish to check your work. If you're still not happy, press a tiny bit harder...you'll soon learn what combo of polish, speed, pressure and pad works for your paint.

Some of the polishes now start off medium coarse, then break down into a finer compound as you work the panel, giving you a sharper more refined finish.

I used to use Bilt Hamber clay bar first after washing the car but my paint doesn't get contaminated enough really to warrant the risk of clay bar marring, so now I just wash, dry and wipe with rubbing alcohol spray from ebay, then crack the Rupes out....not often, maybe once a year in the summer.

Heavy cut course polish is for....the brave.
thanks for the info matt, you could always come round and do the job for me...lol , you seem to know what you are doing. :yes: :thumbs up:
 
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I'd swap a full days work for a full carbon fibre interior any day Rob....you know it! :yes: :welcoming:
 
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