# Audi B5 RS4 2001 - Black nightmare



## Anzafin (May 18, 2008)

Hello Detailingworld.

Few weeks ago I was asked to polish this awesome car. I wasn't sure what to expect, when I heard few facts about it:
- Audi --> Rock hard clearcoat, I thought (proved to be something totally else, though)
- RS4 --> Not a very usual daily driver
- Flat black --> The most difficult colour to correct, possibly

Well, no can do…:buffer:

*Car:*
So, the car is Audi B5 RS4 2001. This one is probably the most powerful B5 RS4 in Finland, over 600hp and over 700Nm of torque. A true beast and very classy looking car. Designed very timelessly, I think :thumb:.

*Scratches and clearcoat:*
I don't know what's the correct name for the Audi's solid black, but this is the colour of the car. Then I heard the car had been repainted few years ago, and I felt relieved I wouldn't need to fight against the hard Audi clearcoat. Well, it became a fight after all. The repaint was done very nicely, though.

However, this kind of black is a colour where every imperfection will show ruthlessly. A professional detailer had polished this car only few months back, but somehow there was tons of holograms and swirls everywhere. I wasn't able to achieve a 100% swirless surface either, because the clearcoat was almost as soft as the surface of the CD!!! When wiping the clearcoat with a microfiber with just a bit of force, it was scratched. Totally hopeless. 

*Pads and compounds:*
The search for the right and most suitable combination was a big job. Everything was tested. Just imagine how many different combinations can be combined of the following products; FLEX PE 14-2 (rotary), FLEX XC 3401 VRG (orbital), Lake Country CCS yellow, orange, white, black and blue pads, Menzerna PO203S, PO106FA, PO85RD and Britemax #4 compounds. Lets add different working techniques to this. Whoa! :doublesho

The FLEX PE14-2, Menzerna PO106FA and LC CCS white and black (depending on the area) pad turned out to be the best combination for this car. The technique was lots of rpms, pressure and running the compound till the very end. If I changed to any harsher pad or compound, the clearcoat was scratched.

Because of the very soft surface, I knew I had to do another round with an orbital polisher. This was easier said than done. If I used the same very soft combination (or even softer for that matter), the paint was sratched. WTF? I think the scratches were produced before the compound was breaking down, and then the orbital polisher hadn't enough potency to correct it. So, I had to break down the polish with a rotary at first, and then quickly change the pad to an orbital polisher and run the end of it with moderate pressure and low rpms. I hope there was no holograms left behind. I cound't find any, fortunately.

Oh, I have to praise then newest weapon in my arsenal; Hyundai 6W CREE LED flashlight. Bright as the Sun (1000 lumen)! Very useful for finding scratches. Almost too good in this case. 

*LSP:*
I ended up putting Finish Kare 1000P on car.

*Thoughts:*
A total time spent was 18 hours. If I had a possibility to work around the car for a week, then maybe a perfect surface could have been achieved. But when considering the softness of the clearcoat, it would be totally impossible to keep the achieved condition. The owner was thinking about the color changing, and I recommend that. This car is worth keeping, and then repainting (or vinyl wrapping) would be worth it, I think.

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*The process:

1) Pre-wash
- Turtle Wax Super Detergent spray wash
- Bilt-Hamber Autofoam

2) Wash
- Bilt-Hamber Autofoam
- AutoGlym Intensive Tar Remover
- Two bucket method + sheepskin mitt

3) Claying
- Sonüs Ultra Fine Detailing Clay
- Bilt-Hamber Autofoam as lubricant

4) Polishing 
- Menzerna PO106FA + Lake Country CCS white polishing / black finishing pads + Flex PE14-2
- Same combination for the second round, but doing the final passes with the FLEX XC 3401 VRG

5) LSP
- Finish Kare 1000P

6) Others
Tyres:
- Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance Tyre Gel

Windows:
-IPA*

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*Pictures*

*The wash*

Foam party.


















Then backing up to the garage which was very cool!









The overall look looked nice at this point.









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*Polishing*

The roof was the only area that wasn't repainted.









All other areas were resprayed.









Here's the Hyundai's big gun!









The soft combo that was used.









There's your problem!









The difference.









The same area done.









Halogen lights were pretty useless this time.









Then some more before & after pics will follow.
Front left fender before.









Front left fender after. 









Trunk door before.









Trunk door after.









Roof before.









Roof after.









Front right corner of the roof before.









Front right corner of the roof after.









Bumper corner before.









Bumper corner after.









Right side C pillar before.









Right side C pillar after.









Front bumper before.









After.









Right front door after (only after pic sorry).









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*All done*


















































































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Thank you for watching. Any comments are welcome!

- Antti -

edit: Here's a short and slipshod video of the 50/50 situation after the FLEX PE 14-2 + PO105FA + LC CCS black finishing pad combination. You can notice that even this lame combination left some holograms. Sure they were corrected at the second phase. Lots of swirls and hologramming on the left, untouched side .
http://s469.photobucket.com/albums/rr53/Anzafin/Detailing/Audi%20RS4/?action=view&current=Fiftyfifty_afterrotary.mp4


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## davec (Mar 5, 2012)

wow! stunning results there my friend. well done.


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

Oh god, that colour looks killer! :thumb:


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

One of the most evil looking audis ive seen! If these were a bit cheaper to buy i would have bought one, insurance on them for me was dirt cheap!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic finish:thumb:


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

WOW. Nice work.


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

damn what a beauty!
nice job!


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## feck_on_a_stick (Jul 30, 2010)

Lovely job on a tasty RS4

Love the Audi rings on the garage too. I'd quite like something like that in my garage


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Lovely turn around there:buffer: loving your garage too:doublesho thx for sharing:thumb:


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## Izzy1 (Aug 15, 2012)

LOVE that car. thanks for sharing


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## Lupostef (Nov 20, 2011)

Looks stunning mate, top work :thumb:


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## FabrizioTDI (May 6, 2011)

Stunning reflection. Awesome


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## Kobeone (Dec 14, 2011)

Cracking work on black.....stunning and very mean looking! Nice work!


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

another misuse of the term "Professional Detailer" the guy who made a mess of it before you

Great finish fella,excuse the pun "finish" lol

beautiful car brought back to life :thumb:


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## hibberd (Jul 5, 2006)

What a stunning result...superb deep shine


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

Wow great work! lovely car


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Stunning car and finish achieved. :buffer: Feel your pain as our Passat is solid black and it shows EVERY mark !


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## jb93 (Apr 5, 2012)

Cracking work :thumb: .... I want one :argie:


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Cracking work even with all your problems. Paintwork looks spot on.


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## Anzafin (May 18, 2008)

Thank you all a lot! I appreciate it. The amount of work I put into this huge. Possibly not in hours, but the effort.



bigslippy said:


> Lovely turn around there:buffer: loving your garage too:doublesho thx for sharing:thumb:


This one is not mine. Shame. 

- Antti -


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## Deacon Hays (Jul 25, 2012)

Stunning result:doublesho
That black RS4 looks really really bad, love it:thumb:


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## mikeydee (May 4, 2010)

WOW..........incredible


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## elsad-140 (Dec 27, 2011)

Great work


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## whiplash (Nov 5, 2009)

that is spot on I want.


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## MK1Campaign (Mar 27, 2007)

Absolute beast. Love it!


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## octobersown (Jun 7, 2012)

I want your car! And wheel collection ha


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## Anzafin (May 18, 2008)

Thanks guys.



octobersown said:


> I want your car! And wheel collection ha


Again, not my car or garage :lol:.

- Antti -


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## MR.Q (Apr 19, 2010)

:argie::argie:MY GOD THAT'S NICE:argie::argie:


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Stunning finish Antti


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## majcas84 (Aug 24, 2012)

That's a mean looking beast of a car!!

Sounds like a tough job, but superb results in the end:thumb:


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## franjbOL (Apr 2, 2012)

pfff... its a beautiful car.... great work


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## Swell.gr (May 7, 2008)

Great car and stunning results :thumb:

mike


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## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

Stunning, Antti!

Although not yours, the car and garage are awesome


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## Mike steele (Jul 14, 2007)

Stunning looking car! Excellent work!


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## Planet Admin (Jul 11, 2009)

Great finish mate, stunning reflections!:thumb:

BBS rims look tasty!:thumb:


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## Anzafin (May 18, 2008)

Thank you again.

Note! I added a short 50/50 video at the end of the first post. 

- Antti -


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## theshrew (May 21, 2008)

Nicely done mate the car looks flipping ace from the front. Paint is great and what makes the shots is the garage id love to have one like that. :argie::argie::argie::argie:I cant even fit my car in my garage.


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Wow, end result is amazing. Great work :thumb:.


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

awesome car.nice turnaround.


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## Buckweed (Aug 27, 2012)

Wow.. What a great result. Love the pic of the alloys reflection showing on the bonnet.


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## peroRS (May 5, 2011)

Great work and pictures. :doublesho
The RS4 looks evil! :devil:


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## WEDEL.1 (Aug 11, 2009)

After all your hard work you've achieved a fantastic finish. The Audi is now just a BRILLIANT looking car.

I love the Audi rings on the back wall of the garage.

Great work!!


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## Grande_GTi (Nov 11, 2011)

Thats AMazing


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

What a car !


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## Mk2Singh (Aug 18, 2009)

Great work!

That audi is bad ass!!


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## GT_power (Mar 14, 2012)

Nice work and lovely car!!


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## Luke-Avfc (Jul 2, 2006)

Stunning finish and stunning car - I want sooooo bad !!


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## atomicfan (Jan 21, 2008)

was the colour brilliant black?


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