HELP... new to detailing

[rhcpcjg]

Hello all, this is my first post. Ive always been interested in detailing, watched all this videos etc... but didn't have the space to actually detail a car, finally I bought a house and have a garage all for myself. Now Ive ordered a TORQX, Chemical guys Orange, green, white and black pad, V32, 34, 36 and 38, and a few other waxes and sealants so I can do a proper Wash and detail soon... Now Id like your input regarding this issue, i found the hood of my car has some scratches. What polish and pad do you guys recommend. here are some pictures. by the way, its an Audi a6 2016 also sorry for the drops of water, its been raining. Thanks!
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[Calendyr]

Very difficult to judge scratches from a picture.

Do you know how they were done?

So the first thing you should do it try to see how deep they are. The easiest test is to try to grab the edge of the scratch with your fingernail. If you manage to do it, it usually means the scratch is too deep to repair and a re-paint is needed (or touch up paint).

If your can't catch the edge then there are plenty of things you can do. Usually scratches require wet sanding to remove them unless they are very light. If so a compound could remove them. But unless you can test the depth of your paint, there is a risk you could go through the clear coat and hit the color coat, if that happens you will have to re-paint the panel.

I don't know what to suggest to you, when a client comes to me with a problem like yours I test the paint and see if there is enough to work with or not. Maybe some of the other guys would have helpful info to give you. Audi being a german manufacturer probably have pretty hard paint on their cars, but I don't know if in general they apply thick or thin paint coats.

In order to remove the scratches, you have to level the paint to the lowest point of the scratch, so that means taking off quite a bit of paint. I don't feel confident to give you answers since you are new to detailing and this is a risky and touchy process. Maybe Mike could give you advice, he has a lot more experience than I do and probably have been asked this question 10,000 times already

 

[JimmyH5]

agree with Calendyr, can't tell much about scratches by picture, but 1st picture doesn't look too bad; never used CG products but would be wise to start with the least aggressive compound/pad choice and go from there. I'd try polish with a polishing pad; if that doesn't get it, try polish with a more cutting pad, if not good, try compound with polishing pad, if no go, compound with compound pad... you get the idea.

 

[GSKR]

Hello all, this is my first post. Ive always been interested in detailing, watched all this videos etc... but didn't have the space to actually detail a car, finally I bought a house and have a garage all for myself. Now Ive ordered a TORQX, Chemical guys Orange, green, white and black pad, V32, 34, 36 and 38, and a few other waxes and sealants so I can do a proper Wash and detail soon... Now Id like your input regarding this issue, i found the hood of my car has some scratches. What polish and pad do you guys recommend. here are some pictures. by the way, its an Audi a6 2016 also sorry for the drops of water, its been raining. Thanks!
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Those are pretty shallow.Compound is needed to melt them down. Sanding is the way to go for quick results but if your not experienced enough stick with the compound on a wool pad or foam pad compound.

 

[GSKR]

I sanded down a trunk lid with 500 than 1000 on a bow. St Lucie auto spa on FB for before and after pics.

 

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

You should have come here before you bought those Chemical Guys polishes. They make some very nice products but their polishing line leaves a lot to be desired. Their marketing machine, however, if best in the business ;-)

Your scratches don't look that bad to me. I would look to Menzerna polishes to make quick work of them. Menzerna Medium Cut Polish 2500, one step polish, swirl remover, finishing polish, car polish, german car polish, menzerna polishing compounds, power This is a great polish that removes a good amount of defects and leaves the surface ready for wax or sealant. Use it with a white pad or an orange pad.