1996 Audi A4 Before / After

[rasch_C]

A little background: This is my buddie's 1996 Audi A4 2.8 quattro he just bought. It has 226,000 miles on it. He had me do the exterior (he worked on it with me as I'm teaching him buffing).

The paintwork was in pretty rough shape, especially the hood. It even had missing paint on the right fender lip, which our friend did a little bit of touchup on to correct. The car is dark green, but the hood is from an S4 and is black (actually grey before I got to it ) It was sprinkling out when we started it -it was earlier this past summer.

The process was as follows:

Wash w/ Zaino Z7 & Schmitt
Clay w/ Mother's clay
Wheel wells cleaned w/ Citrus degreaser, then sprayed with HyperDressing 2:1

Compounding/Polishing:
Main paintwork:
Rotary: SIP w/ 6.5" Cyan Hydrotech pad
DA: 106FF w/ 5" Tangerine HT pad
LSP: Megs 21

Hood:
Rotary: 2 passes SIP w/ 6.5" Cyan HT pad
DA: 106FF w/ 5" Tangerine HT pad
DA: 85RD w/ 5" LC Grey flat pad
LSP: WDGPS (sample )

Black trim dressed w/ Hyperdressing 3:1
Windows done w/ Stoners Invisible Glass followed by application of RainX
Tires dressed w/ Megs Endurance Tire Gel
Rims waxed w/ Wheel Wax


Any feedback appreciated.

Outside in the rain before work started

Missing paint on fender lip

Pulled in to start work:

How clean my buddy got the rims before I got there (respectable considering the shape before:

Swirls, scratches, and other paint defects galore:

Rough condition of hood:

50/50 test spot of hood (2 passes of SIP w/ DA and 1 pass 106FF w/ DA -wasn't happy so bumped it up w/ rotary and finished w/ 85RD for final result)

Some more DA time for my buddy - now he can really take pride of ownership in his new ride!

Starting to look better:

Even that fender lip looks better (great from 5')

Final Result pictures in the twilight:

 

[Rhudeboye]

How many hours did it take? Turn around looks nice but pics are dark. I can still see a nice reflection in the fender and door shotsrops:

 

[rasch_C]

Was a 2-day deal. Just a couple guys showing some love on a new car -not the usual client job. The touch-up work on the fender allotted for a little time there, as well.

I prob. should have adjusted the brightness/color w/ Gimp a little more, but I don't like doing it too much for fear of adjusting too much, and then it wouldn't be true.

 

[tuscarora dave]

The car looks nice. You guys look pretty happy detailing in those pics. I love this stuff too.:xyxthumbs:

Have you been using the cyan pads long with your Makita? Do they stay real hard or do they soften up after a few uses?

 

[kdubski]

How did you take care of the missing paint on the fender? Looks great by the way!

 

[rasch_C]

Have you been using the cyan pads long with your Makita? Do they stay real hard or do they soften up after a few uses?

The Hydrotechs have been my staple pad for a while. I love them! I would say they soften slightly, if at all. Proper pressure when using seems to be the biggest thing with the Hydrotechs. I've taken care of these pads, and thy take care of me rops:

How did you take care of the missing paint on the fender? Looks great by the way!

Our other friend, for the most part, decided to take on the fender lip. taped off the painted section up to the no-paint area. After primer, we were going to airbrush it, but switched to just applying w/ a brush in a quick, dab-type fashion. After each application, we hit it right away with the halogen to bake. Then, repeat until level was slightly above surrounding area.

Then I wetsanded and attacked with the DA

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thank you for taking the time to put down the polishers, take some pictures and then do all the work it takes to create a write-up. I know how much more time and work this ads to the entire project and appreciate it every time a forum member does this for the benefit of others.

Thank you! :bowdown:

A Final Result pictures in the twilight:

And this is the norm... you start early, work all day and after you make the final wipe and you're ready to get some AWESOME after pictures...

The sun has gone down...

Still looks good in the twilight...


:dblthumb2: