DA on a respray panel?

[Sponger8]

I recently purchased a Black 2006 Audi S4 (which I absolutely love) and it looks like the right rear panel was repainted and blended into the rear passenger door. It doesn't have the clear image like the rest of the paint does. I'm new but I think it's called DOI? The overall paint on the car is badly scarred by swirls and holograms and straight scratches from maybe a women purse being placed on the roof behind the sunroof and on the trunk.

So heres where I need your help. I've been on here reading and searching for answers but nothing specific to my situation. I ordered my Porter Cable DA 7424XP and some pinnacle product. I've been watching Mike's videos and reading about the process of using the different pads and products to correct some of those superficial scratches and swirls and get this paint looking as good as possible. Im not looking for show car quality just because it's just not realistic.

How do I approach the repainted areas? Is it any different? I wanna assume its like a single stage paint where there isn't a clear coat and any buffing I do is going to remove black paint off the car and onto my pad. Or is it possible that some noob did a horrible buffing/polishing job that clouded the paint and makes it look like a repaint?

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. And keep in mind I am a complete noob compared to you guys. I have been using the 2BM when washing my cars and applying turtle wax ice liquid wax 2x/year on my other cars for the last few years and have clayed once before. Only washed my Audi with Pinnacle shampoo that came with my autogeek detailers bag. (don't laugh) And I dont have anymore money to be buying new product at this time. I'll give you a list of what I will be working with, and maybe tell me how you would approach the overall car and more specifically the repaint section. Thanks AGO community in advance.

Supplies:
Porter Cable 7424XP
Dual Action 5 Inch Flexible Backing Plate
1 CCS Orange 5.5 inch Light Cutting Pad
1 CCS White 5.5 inch Polishing Pad
1 CCS Gray 5.5 inch Finishing Pad
12 oz. XMT Fine Swirl Remover #2
12 oz. XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze

Autogeek Quart Foamaster Foam Gun
Sheepskin Wash Pad
Daytona SONAX Wheel Kit
Forever Black Tire Gel Kit
1Z Einszett Industrie-Reiniger Industrial
16 oz. Pinnacle Leather Cleaner & Conditioner
XMT 360 Spray Wax
Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo
Diamondite Perfect Vision Glass Cleaner

Plenty of MF towels. Brushes for interior detailing and wheels.

Thinking of adding some iron-x to the bagFeed back please

 

[Sponger8]

I'm surprised no one wants to take a stab at my question. Did I post in the wrong section? Or am I just asking the wrong question?

 

[ShinyRex]

I've never had the chance to work on a repainted panel but I thought you just had to do a seperate test spot on it and not assume that what works on the factory paint will work one this panel.

If it was done by a reputable shop then I don't think the repaint would be single stage if the rest of the car is clearcoated. If you get paint transfer on a foam pad then you know it is single stage.

after all it could have been repainted them hazed up at the body shop

I'd wait to hear some other responses but as long as the paint is cured and you take Mike's tips on the least aggressive approach to heart you should be good to go.

Do you have any pics showing the condition?

 

[Meticulous-Detail]

Some suggestions:

Start with least aggressive method on repainted panels. If you think it is ss paint then do a test spot by hand and see if any black paint rubs off onto the applicator. If it is ss then I would clay, light polish, glaze and then seal by hand.

If it is 2 stage still do a test spot, but you can go progressively more aggressive with products and pads.

Take your time and test and tune your methods and products until you find what works.

Without using a paint meter there is really no other way to tell what will work well.

 

[Sponger8]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll definately be doing a test spot, I might have forgotten about that. I have to work on patience sometimes . And I'll see what I get from the applicator to determine the SS or clear coat.

I was gonna try to take some photos but I've been busy. I'll take some tomorrow morning and upload them on here.

 

[Sponger8]

Straight on shot of the possibly resprayed panel

Straight on of the front door (notice the clarity difference?)

and a 50/50 of both sections

And some more shots of just the overall paint condition. It needs some TLC and I hope me and my new Porter cable 7424XP can handle the job.:buffing:
icture:

 

[Sponger8]

I think someone tried to do a quick buffing job and didn't know what they were doing and you can pretty much see the pattern they did in the holograms. I believe that is what you call marring?

 

[DaveT435]

I think someone tried to do a quick buffing job and didn't know what they were doing and you can pretty much see the pattern they did in the holograms. I believe that is what you call marring?

You might be surprised at what you can do with that paint. Here are some pics of my son's first detail on a 2007 Audi in much worse condition. Before and afters. As far as the repainted area IMO whatever works on the rest of the car should work on that. You may want to do a test area with something a little less aggressive on that area just in case the paint is a little softer.

 

[DaveT435]

On that car the swirl marks looked like they were made with sand paper. lol We used a medium cutting pad with Meg. 105 followed up with a light cutting pad with hyper polish then Meg ULW

 

[BTLew81]

OEM on that car is hard paint. I'd go for the Meg's MF system. Pretty quick results and will have that car looking great quickly. Nice car!

 

[Sponger8]

yeah I was just reading Mike's review on the pinnacle products for a lexus and he said "pinnacle is great if there are very light defects" and I think it might not be aggressive enough for what I need to accomplish. I hear a lot of ppl using Meg's 105 205 and what not. And forgive my noobishness but what is Meg's MF? I'm pretty sure it's not microfiber...

 

[DaveT435]

They are microfiber pads. They have cutting pads and finishing pads. I'm pretty new to this too. I used them on some of the tighter parts of the car because they are 5.5 inch pads and gave me more control over the 6.5 inch pads. They work quite well. I have 3 inch backing plate and pads coming tomorrow. If you don't have those I would recommend investing in them. It's amazing how many small areas there are.

 

[TimmyG]

The rear passenger quarter panel looks to have significantly more orange peel the the other photos of the car you uploaded - which, to me at least, makes me think you might be correct about that part of the car being resprayed. Do you have access to a PTG? That will give you a better idea of what happened.

Getting back to your initial question, the Porter Cable should be able to get correct a good amount of those defects. Some blemishes may require wetsanding, but I would deal with that if and when that time comes.

Nice car!

 

[ShinyRex]

They are microfiber pads. They have cutting pads and finishing pads. I'm pretty new to this too. I used them on some of the tighter parts of the car because they are 5.5 inch pads and gave me more control over the 6.5 inch pads. They work quite well. I have 3 inch backing plate and pads coming tomorrow. If you don't have those I would recommend investing in them. It's amazing how many small areas there are.

agreed, a good range of pad sizes will make life easier.

 

[Sponger8]

as for the megs mf kit is it best to just invest in the $89 kit on here or piece it together? I want to do a pretty good job the first time around and if later there are some RIDS I can readdress those areas.

 

[DaveT435]

If it were me I would just order two or three of the microfiber pads. You've got the other pads. That way you can see which you like the best. Some like the foam better others like the MF.

 

[ShinyRex]

personally i really like the megs mf for cutting then following up with foam.

 

[Sponger8]

personally i really like the megs mf for cutting then following up with foam.

That might not be a bad idea. Do I have to use Meg's MF compound/polishing product on their MF pad or can I use Pinnacle or any other brand?

 

[ShinyRex]

If you search around some people have had success using other compounds besides d300. I've never tried anything else with mf disks so I can't provide any insight there.

 

[Sponger8]

Okay partial results are in folks. Spent the majority of my day on this new hobby/obsession of mine.

foamed with 1Z W99. brushed crevises. Rinsed.
Washed with Pinnacle body shampoo
Clayed with Mothers
Washed again with Pinnacle
Dried.
Taped
Test spot square. Orange pad with XMT light swirl remover. (had to this in my Garport so no real lighting to check results. flash light kinda worked)
then white pad with XMT glaze. Since I couldn't easily move my car into the sun I decided to at least do the half of the hood and see how I did.

I wasn't sure what to expect since I couldn't tell any difference at all in the garport, But once I pulled it out into the sun I had the biggest smile ever. I'm not saying the results were perfect, but at least I'm heading in the right direction.

If I could only find a friend with a Big garage and the same passion for cars as me I'd be set.

Here's some pics. I didn't get around to the Respray section of the car. That will be next week and maybe some nice new wheels for your viewing pleasure as well.

Remember the starting point

Now a 50/50

All swirls

No (less) swirls

Front view with a tiny little sun for reflection

And another view

Let me know what you think. And also what can I do differently next time