# Black Audi A3 Full DA Correction and some Collinite 915



## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Last Saturday and Sunday saw the correction of a mates Black Audi A3 8P. Unfortunately time was tight so there are not loads of correction pictures, and after 10 hours of achieving a near perfect finish dark clouds rolled in and the heavens opened which meant I only got a few after shots and even they are not very good as you cannot see how much better the paint looked for it.

The car is about 4 years old and other than swirls and the odd RDS the paint was in good condition, except the rear bumper which someone had driven into. So he asked whether I could tidy this up and remove some of the scuffs and RDS down the near side along with a general polish. After 10 hours, the bumper came up well, although most of it was either too deep or actually a crack in the paint and all but one of the RDS came out of the near side.

So on with the Detail - here are a few pictures of the car before showing how dirty it was:























































The first thing was to tackle the wheels and arches.

1. The wheels were soaked in Megs Wheel Brightener cut 4:1 then PW rinsed off with my Karcher. They were then soaked again with the Megs and agitated with my EZ Detail Brush and a dedicated mitt for wheels, using the 2BM and Dodo Born to be Mild. The tyres were also soaked in Megs APC cut 10:1 and scrubbed with a Tyre Brush:

A Wheel Before:










A Wheel and Tyre During:




























A Wheel After (sorry for the poor light):










2. The arches were then soaked in Megs APC cut 4:1, agitated with a (dedicated) bog brush before being rinsed with my Pressure Washer. They then got another clean with a Noodle Mitt and some Shampoo.

3. The car was then soaked in AB SSF using my AB Foam Lance and Karcher, left to dwell for 5 minutes whilst I filled up my buckets:










4. After rinsing the car I then used my SP Mitt and the 2BM with Dodo Born to be Mild shampoo. Halfway through 'arclight' (from CYC) came along to lend a hand. He brought along a load of his goodies including his Sonus Mitt, which I must say was great to use as not only did it clean well it seemed to insulate my hands keeping them warm.

5. The car was then PW rinsed off and ready to be clayed.

6. Both of us set to work claying the car (I didn't realise I had no Tar Remover left so had to skip this stage) with a combination of clays from Parc Ferme, which was very hard and aggressive, Megs and the trusty old Sonus Green with Chemical Guys Clay Lube as the lube. The Roof and the Bonnett were heavily contaminated and took several hits before they were fully contamination free. The rest of the car was not that bad surprisingly:










7. The car was then soaked in foam again, left to dwell, PW rinsed before using a Miracle Drier and some Megs LT. This was the first time I used the Miracle Drier and again I was very impressed on how easily it dried the car - certainly was quicker than my Sonus Der Wunder.

8. Once the car was dried off it was moved into the garage ready for a machine polish and taped up with 3M 3434 tape. First of all was to take some paint thickness readings which averaged at a very health 200 microns all over - so no major worries here:










9. After experimenting with various combinations, and being rock hard Audi paint I settled on a Megs Cutting Pad using Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 with my Megs G220. Arclight had never used a machine before, although he had read the guides. We split the bonnet in half and I focused on one side whilst talking him through it and letting him watch. Then it was his turn to have a go, and he did a top job on the other half of the bonnet and the entire roof!

10. I was concerned about time and knew my mate wouldn't fully appreciate the finish if I refined with the likes of 106FA, so whilst ensuring the Menz IP was fully broken down to reduce the marring I opted for refine the finish with Dodo Lime Prime on a Megs Polishing Pad for its reduced working time and top finish. Set at a medium speed for several passes to get the best out of the abrasives this did a great job of refining the finish ready for waxing.

Here are a few shots from the correction:

Drivers Door Before:










Drivers Door 50/50:










Drivers Door After:










The Rear Bumper Scuffs Before:










The Rear Bumper Scuffs After:










The Near Side Rear Wing Before:










The Near Side Rear Wing After (one RDS left, but other than that all gone and this was only really obvious under the Halogens):










Getting in the hard to reach place with Lime Prime and a Sonus SFX Applicator:










11. The wheels were sealed with Zym0l Wheel Sealant which again was a new one on me. Very easy to use - just spray on, leave to dry then buff off.










12. The tyres and trims were dressed with CG New Look Trim Gel.

13. The car got its first coat of wax, which was Collinite 915 to give a good durable base and then about 2 hours later a coat of CG 50/50 Limited Edition Connoisseurs wax to finish it off (I would have layered the Collinite had I had the car longer).

14. All glass was cleaned with Megs NXT Glass Cleaner, and then treated with Rain-X.

15. Finally the exhaust was cleaned with very fine wire wool then polished with Megs NXT Metal Polish.

So here are the afters and as I said earlier I am disappointed that the weather was so bad, as the finish was very pleasing. I think you can tell from the few photos below and the 50/50s how much deeper it looked (let's hope it stays nice for the DB9 I have coming up at the end of the month):














































Some Flake:










...and some colourful Flake with the beads:





































Thanks for looking and a big thank you to arclight for letting me use some of his products and helping me out.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Superb transformation Alex, some cracking 50/50 shots :thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Stunning work as always Alex! Great work on the bumper scuff - I always find plastic tricky to work on.


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## beardboy (Feb 12, 2006)

Great work Alex :thumb:

Top work there.

As above, good work on the plastics - they're a right bugger IMO! :lol:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks guys :thumb:

Yeah plastics can be a bit of a pain


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Fantastic work mate! :thumb:


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Great job, lovely flake :thumb:


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## dubbers (Apr 3, 2006)

Excellent work! Love the beading photo!


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

Cracking work alex:thumb:


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

Nice job cant wait for the DB9, I see your EZ brush did the same as mine!


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## Brisa (Aug 9, 2006)

Good job, nice car that too.


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2008)

Nice work Alex, looks spot on


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks People.



tmlvaleting said:


> Nice job cant wait for the DB9, I see your EZ brush did the same as mine!


Cheer mate - looking forward to the DB9 also (its belongs to a mates Dad) - just hope the weather stays nice as I can only do it outside.


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## Petrol-head (May 26, 2008)

Excellent work as always and great write up :thumb:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Fantastic finish to a lovely car. Great work. Love the shot of the flake. It just sparkles. Great days work and well written. well done Alex. top man :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Brilliant correction there, just goes to show what a DA is capable of in the right hands, well done :thumb:


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## Mush (Jan 13, 2008)

Great transformation Love the beading shot


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Stunning turn around mate :thumb: Top job


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

what polish did you use?rotary i suppose, on paint that hard, or am i wrong?
pretty severe scratches, really nice work getting them out!! respect..


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## spooj (Mar 29, 2008)

top results mate.very impressive as per usual


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Great transformation Alex.:thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks Guys :thumb:



Dave KG said:


> Brilliant correction there, just goes to show what a DA is capable of in the right hands, well done :thumb:


Cheers Dave - it took its time though :lol: Maybe when I have some spare cash I will finally get that Rotary.



shabba said:


> what polish did you use?rotary i suppose, on paint that hard, or am i wrong?
> pretty severe scratches, really nice work getting them out!! respect..


Thanks I used my Meguairs G220 DA Polisher with a Megs Cutting Pad and Menz IP 3.02, then refined with a Megs Polishing Pad and Dodo Lime Prime :thumb:


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

ahaydock said:


> Thanks Guys :thumb:
> 
> Thanks I used my Meguairs G220 DA Polisher with a Megs Cutting Pad and Menz IP 3.02, then refined with a Megs Polishing Pad and Dodo Lime Prime :thumb:


hmm, thanks mate really astonishing how the g220 removed the deep scratches


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

nice work, looks brilliant


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

shabba said:


> hmm, thanks mate really astonishing how the g220 removed the deep scratches


No probs and with a bit of patience and the right products the DA is just as effective as a Rotary IME. That said had I used a Rotary here the job wouldn't have taken quite as long.


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## CupraRcleanR (Sep 2, 2007)

Wow. fantastic. great 50/50's and final shots look better than new. top work on that bumper scuff too.


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## elloelloello (Nov 1, 2008)

nice work there:thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks guys.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Nice job mate! I'm getting more and more tempted to get some clay are seeing that.


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Good job Alex, really like the beeding shot with coloured flake 

Baz


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

Stunning work buddy:thumb: love the flake popping picture:argie:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

very nice work again Alex :thumb:

great photos as well.


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## phil440 (Aug 19, 2007)

great correction you must have the patience of a saint to use a da for full correction, I'm a rotary man unless its a fibreglass i.e lotus,TVR etc etc


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## Safi (Aug 11, 2008)

great work!


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Wow! Fantastic work, love the way you've made the flake pop!:thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks for the comments guys.


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Fantastic work indeed!!!! Great job!​


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks mate.


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

Very nice mate. It looks fantastic in the afters. Nice 'n' wet. :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

ayrshireteggy said:


> Very nice mate. It looks fantastic in the afters. Nice 'n' wet. :thumb:


Cheers mate - I think it was wet as it was raining (well spitting) lol :lol:


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## RobA3 (Jun 14, 2007)

Awesome work there mate


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks mate :thumb:


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## iceman98 (Mar 8, 2008)

love your writeups really need to work on my own layout.

great turnaround that flake was really popping after 

great work as always


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## Planet Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Great work mate.

Like the new addition of the garage shelves


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## Bigears (Feb 5, 2008)

Another top job mate. I love the bead/flake shot! :thumb:


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Super job Alex,love the flake shots:thumb:how did you find the cg new look trim to work with?ive noticed with it, that after all trims have been giving a coat it then needs to be be buffed with a mf to remove the excess


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

suoperb as always Alex:thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks guys.



QUIXXMAN said:


> Great work mate.
> 
> Like the new addition of the garage shelves


Cheers, makes it much easier to work in since you were round last.



paulmc08 said:


> Super job Alex,love the flake shots:thumb:how did you find the cg new look trim to work with?ive noticed with it, that after all trims have been giving a coat it then needs to be be buffed with a mf to remove the excess


Thanks fella. Agreed a light buff with a MF helps with the CG :thumb:


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## nudda (Oct 28, 2008)

wow nice .
loving the 50/50's too


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## Mr Face Jr (Feb 20, 2009)

Nice work! Great beading and flaking!


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks for the comments.


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