HELP!!! Water / Acid Rain Etching: New Black Audi!!!

P

pparrett

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Any help would really be appreciated here, I'm kinda freaking out that my new ride is toast.

It rained in the early morning and then was hot sunshine all day. I was near a tree and I think that some of the sap/fallout from the leaves may have mixed with the rain and sat on the paint all day. I got it home and washed and the mineral deposits came off. There is no effect on any of the glass, but there are rings or spots etched into the clear coat on the hood, roof, and trunk. I can't feel them at all (fingernail) but I can see them clearly under garage lights. I've tried this so far on my Porter DA with about 4-5 passes each medium pressure alternating directions each pass:

Prep:
1. Washed
2. Quick Detailer and Dry
3. Diluted Vinegar and DI water: No change

Correction:
1. Menzerna Final Finish w/ Light Green CCS Polishing Pad: No Change
2. Menzerna Intensive Polish w/ White Polishing Pad: Removed the few very light swirls I had! But no change to spots.
3. Meg's Ultimate Compound w/ Orange Light Cutting Pad: Small amount of change but still there
4. Another 6-7 Passes with UC: Starting to remove the spots. I have to get get them into the reflection of the florescent garage lights to see them but they are still clearly there.

I curious how much polishing I can do with the UC before I risk getting through the clear coat? The car is brand new and never been polished before. If I take it to a body shop, would they let me use their PTG?

Is this abnormal for just one day of rain and sun??? Is there possibility that the paint is defective? It was sealed with CG Jetseal109 and Pinnacle Sovereign about a month ago. I'll take some pictures and post them in an hour when I get home.

I'd appreciate any advice!!!

Thanks
 
Pictures help us give you a remedy. :dblthumb2: :Picture:

Water spots have different levels of difficulty when it comes to removal. Take some up close shots for us.
 
Will do. I'll bust out the macro lens as soon as I get home.
 
I dont think one rain would do it. I bought a SAAB convertible a few years ago that had it from sitting on the lot for a few months. I had to get it wet sanded. Try the new Megs DA MF system before worrying too much. I am not a Jet Seal fan. After you fix it, try Opti-Coat 2.0 or CQuartz to prevent recurrence. Just my $.02 FWIW.
 
Yes I used claybar before any polishing.

Here are a few pictures of the damage. I took it to the dealer this weekend and they were very helpful. They agreed that a single rain should not effect the clear coat this way. They asked that I bring it back this week when the service department is open. I hope they can fix it. I'll keep everyone posted on the correction process.

1.JPG

2.JPG

3.JPG
 
pparrett said:
I took it to the dealer this weekend and they were very helpful. They agreed that a single rain should not effect the clear coat this way. They asked that I bring it back this week when the service department is open. I hope they can fix it. I'll keep everyone posted on the correction process.
Click to expand...

NOOO! Your lucky the service dept. was closed, Don't take it to them! Unless they have an outstanding reputation for having a "real detailer" in the shop, otherwise it will be some dope with a rotary and a compound, he will
1- leave holograms
2- give nonuniform material removal
3- hide the defects he causes with a glaze
4- something else negative.

I think Jetseal doesn't have the best durability, if I recall correctly. Souveran is a show wax with very little durability. I would bet that after a month, most of your sealant/wax was gone which is why those water spots are so bad. Your Audi clear is very hard, so that's why its hard to correct. Don't worry too much about polishing off all your clear, yes it's very thin but those etchings are VERY shallow. All of those polishing passes didn't make it past the etching, your good.

My advice is to do this yourself. Maybe try an AIO like XMT 360 (I could send you a sample), the cleaners along with the light abrasives may help. But you will be able to get it done with the polishes you have. Once you get it all cleaned up, get a different sealant like Wolfgang DGPS, DP or Menz and a wax like Collinite 845 or Autoglym HD Wax. These are much more durable and will protect your finish much better. :dblthumb2:
 
I agree with the above poster. If you take it to the dealerhip, they will most likely do something wrong. They will probably take the most aggressive approach, and leave you with compound swirls.

A light polish should be able to clean those up no problem. Something like 205, even on an LC white pad would clean that up nicely. Those are very thin water spots.

I also agree with the poster above that you would be better off tackling this yourself. :dblthumb2:
 
pparrett said:
Correction:
1. Menzerna Final Finish w/ Light Green CCS Polishing Pad: No Change
2. Menzerna Intensive Polish w/ White Polishing Pad: Removed the few very light swirls I had! But no change to spots.
3. Meg's Ultimate Compound w/ Orange Light Cutting Pad: Small amount of change but still there
4. Another 6-7 Passes with UC: Starting to remove the spots. I have to get get them into the reflection of the florescent garage lights to see them but they are still clearly there.
Click to expand...

For the moment, don't take it to the dealer otherwise you'll have more to fix..

Let's take this one step at a time looking at the correction. Unless you typed them in the wrong order you started with the finest, least aggressive polish and finished up with a course compound.

Menzerna Final Finish - 2.5 cut & 4.5 gloss
Menzerna Intensive Polish - 3.3 cut & 3.0 gloss
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound - 4.0 cut 1.5 gloss

Noted in your post the only change you saw was with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound which tells me you need to work the product longer until the spots are gone. The clear coat on Audi's is reported to be very hard and may require more effort to properly correct the defects.

Lets try working a small section until you've come up with the right combination that removes the defects then using this on the remainder of the car.


  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Meguiar's Ultimate Compound - Orange Pad
    • Tape off a 2 X 2 section to gauge progress
    • This product needs to be worked longer than Meguiar's M105
    • Ensure that you're applying enough pressure to keep the pad rotating
    • Speed 5.5
    • Perform 4 or 5 crisscross patterns
    • Watch for the product to breakdown
    • Check progress
    • If corrected move forward
  • Menzerna Intensive Polish - White Pad
    • Ensure that you're applying enough pressure to keep the pad rotating
    • Speed 5.5
    • Perform 4 or 5 crisscross patterns
    • Watch for the product to breakdown
    • Check progress
    • Finish should be glossy
  • Menzerna Final Finish - Gray and Blue Pad
    • Ensure that you're applying enough pressure to keep the pad rotating
    • Speed 5.5
    • Perform 4 or 5 crisscross patterns
    • Watch for the product to breakdown
    • Check progress
    • Finish should have a mirror shine
Isopropyl Alcohol wipe-down

Sealant

Wax
 
Bobby,

I tried your recommendation and indeed the UC after several passes on the Orange pad was making a small difference. I'm confident that If I kept at it, I could get it all out. However, doing only 2x2 sections like this to correct the large area of defects on the entire trunk, roof, and hood would take me too long for the time I have available.

You guys are right, this clear must be REALLY hard. For reference, I taped off a section where I had been using the UC (which now has lots of compounding marks under focused LED light) and tried the Menzerna Intensive Polish on White and then the Finish Polish on Green. It didn't do a thing. I had to move the Finish Polish to a White pad before I saw any changes.

Don't get me wrong, I love detailing my cars, but at a certain point a professional is required. I took it to Audi and explained my situation to the service manager and the techs and they were very understanding. They agreed that in order to get the marks out and keep the level of perfection I'm looking for that it needed to be done by a full time detailer.

They've contacted a local Audi Approved detailer here in the area and requested that I drop the car this coming Monday with the owner to be corrected at Audi's expense.

Any suggestions of things to ask from the detailer when I drop the car with him Monday? I'm thinking of the following:

  1. Let him know that I am very particular about the car and paint
  2. Show him the areas i've tested and explain the products I've tried
  3. Request that he makes the correction with the least agressive method possible
  4. Ask that he does not touch the interior (It's brand new)
  5. Request that he use my sealant and wax???
 
Should I ask if I can pay the difference out of pocket to get something like Opti-Coat?
 
pparrett said:
Any suggestions of things to ask from the detailer when I drop the car with him Monday? I'm thinking of the following:

  1. Let him know that I am very particular about the car and paint
  2. Show him the areas i've tested and explain the products I've tried
  3. Request that he makes the correction with the least agressive method possible
  4. Ask that he does not touch the interior (It's brand new)
  5. Request that he use my sealant and wax???
Click to expand...

You can impress upon him how meticulous your are with your car. Show him the defects and also the area's you worked on showing him the progress you've made.

I'm sure that he's very experienced and like everyone will develop his own plan of attack or approach using the products he's most comfortable with. I wouldn't mention the least aggressive, let him use his professional judgment and rely on his experience.

You could ask him to use your sealant and wax but listen to what he's offering as he'll be responsible for the finish results.
 
Excellent points. I will indeed spend some time talking with him so he can get a feel for my level of expectations. I'll post some pictures next week when I get the car back. Can't wait to see what products they end up using and the results.

Also, here's a picture of the Audi. I'll take some sunshine shots after I get her cleaned up. Thanks from us both!

-P
 
I still think you should consider Opti Coat or Cquartz. You wont have to worry about acid rain etching again. You can apply either after the pro corrects the clear. Just my $.02 FWIW1
 
I can't wait to see the results. I have a brilliant black Audi myself, and I have not yet had the guts to attack it. The clear coat is rock hard. Once I do, I plan on applying the new Opti Coat after touching up the few rock chips with Dr. Colorchip. Please let me know how the dealership handles the detail. BTW, are those rs4 rims? Is that an s-line? Looks great.
 
pparrett said:
I took it to Audi and explained my situation to the service manager and the techs and they were very understanding. They agreed that in order to get the marks out and keep the level of perfection I'm looking for that it needed to be done by a full time detailer.

They've contacted a local Audi Approved detailer here in the area and requested that I drop the car this coming Monday with the owner to be corrected at Audi's expense.
Click to expand...

Nice! Gotta love getting good customer service! Looking forward to seeing results from the detailer.

I might even ask the detailer to not apply wax, sealant or any LSP at all. That way there is no chance that potential defects could be covered up. Just tell him "I want to try out my new Wax" or something, which is probably true anyway.
 
The Audi has a cerami-clear coat. Hard as nails. Try the Menzerna PO203:
Power Finish PO203 3.5 cut 3.8 gloss with a yellow pad.

The PO203 is designed for cerami-clear coats.
 
I got the same problem with my daughter's 2011 Jetta. The more I think abut it the more I believe this problem is becoming more widespread and might be related to the new water based paint systems, but this is just conjecture on my part. I highlighted some of the issues and the solution in this post: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/33538-protection-detail-2011-jetta-many-pics.html

I did notice that the spots on the Jetta did not come off where I had applied a paint sealant as a test so if your car is sealed the sealant might have to be removed first. Go to your dealer's body shop manager and see if he can help.

Best,

Jose
 
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