# DA vs Audi paint = no chance with current setup, suggestions much appreciated!!



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Good Evening Everyone.

Could really do with some advice on removing some minor swirls & RDS on MY63 Ice Silver A1. I purchased the car as an ex demo with 5K miles and I want it to look the best it can. Obviously poor washing from the dealer has inflicted this but they are not obvious considering the colour of the car.

When I got the car I gave it a full decontamination followed by Carlack Twins which on silver always look very good IMO. Now I'm really happy with this combination but would like to apply some C1 & Exo, so correcting the minor defects first is the optimal solution.

Today I decided to correct a test spot on my bonnet. But after working through the products I have, up to the most aggressive I could not remove some very minor RDS, by minor I mean I can't feel it with my fingernail!

What I have at hand is the following items.

Das 6
Menzerna White, Orange and Yellow pads
Menzerna FG500, PF2200 and FF4000

At first I considered I wasn't working the polish long enough, so after 6 passes with FG500 and the White pad I spritz the pad and continue to work for another 6 passes but still nothing.

I did notice that the edges of the RDS did apear somewhat rounded after this combination but no where near gone.

Could anyone kindly recomend some pads polishes that would improve the level of cut, if possible I would like to utilise what I have but don't mind buying some additional items if necessary.

I've noticed that Menzerna now do a microfiber pad would this help my cause.

Obligatory it's not true without a picture.....



Many Thanks In Advance. 
Mark


----------



## Amos91 (Jan 9, 2014)

Did you try fg500 with the orange pad?


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Amos91 said:


> Did you try fg500 with the orange pad?


Yeah I tried it first hoping the paint was softer than most, considering what I've read on DW.

Orange pad PF2200 then with the same with FG500. With this combo I didnt even touched the swirls.

The white menzerna I have is the most aggressive and even with that I had no luck.

Thanks


----------



## Workhorse (Apr 24, 2014)

Meguiars microfibre system would sort out vag paint via da


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Workhorse said:


> Meguiars microfibre system would sort out vag paint via da


But for £80 do I really need to buy the MF system?

Surely there must be an additional pad or polish I can add to my arsenal to get results, even if it's only 80/90% correction.

Thanks for your input


----------



## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

How deep are the RDS's you're trying to take out?
FG500 should be pretty effective on a white pad. Unless Menzerna have changed their colouring system?

Did you refine down afterwards as using a highly abrasive polish on a firm pad can introduce it's own haziness? 
Megs microfiber pads are very good and work well with other polishes not in the Meguiars system. You can just buy a pair of cutting pads.


----------



## Workhorse (Apr 24, 2014)

You could try many pad/polish combos which may or may not work with a da. The one system I have always seen work with da is the meguiars mf system regardless of the paint. If your not wanting to go down that route, scholl concept polish and chem guys hex pads have worked well on my Audi paint htp


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

scratcher said:


> How deep are the RDS's you're trying to take out?
> FG500 should be pretty effective on a white pad. Unless Menzerna have changed their colouring system?
> 
> Did you refine down afterwards as using a highly abrasive polish on a firm pad can introduce it's own haziness?
> Megs microfiber pads are very good and work well with other polishes not in the Meguiars system. You can just buy a pair of cutting pads.


I have the old Menz system white, orange, yellow. Not sure if this changes much?

I didn't refine afterwards purely because I could still see a few RDS and I was only testing to get a feel for the paint. In all honesty I couldn't see a difference post to prior albeit some rounding of the edges.

Without sounding ignorant surely there is another supplier/combination that will tackle my paint?

Thanks


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Workhorse said:


> You could try many pad/polish combos which may or may not work with a da. The one system I have always seen work with da is the meguiars mf system regardless of the paint. If your not wanting to go down that route, scholl concept polish and chem guys hex pads have worked well on my Audi paint htp


But as an example would the Megs MF system not remove too much too fast, or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks


----------



## vwgolfmk5 (Jul 4, 2013)

I have a golf 5 and my goto combo is fg400 and a cg mf pad on.my flex3401.
And i work with cg hex and lake country flat pads both work great.


----------



## superd (Sep 23, 2013)

I have 2005 a4 and I used scholl s17 and s40 with serious performance mf compound and polishing pads


----------



## hansen123 (Aug 11, 2013)

If the scrathes are really deep, i would go for some 2000 grit wet sand, and just take it from there.

Chances are (in my experience with my folks audi) the paint is hard. It ain´t that thick so you can remove a massive bunch.

They had some minor scrathes (not catchable with my nail) i needed to sand it down just some to get em out. I was working megs 105 forever with my lake country pads just to give it the slightes change.


----------



## Workhorse (Apr 24, 2014)

mark238 said:


> But as an example would the Megs MF system not remove too much too fast, or am I just being paranoid?
> 
> Thanks


No you just adjust the polish and/or pad to get the desired cut. I think it would be hard to completely burn through with a da so I wouldn't worry too much


----------



## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Where do you live mate, could someone drop a couple of MF pads round to you?


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

mark238 said:


> But as an example would the Megs MF system not remove too much too fast, or am I just being paranoid?


No & yes, you are being paranoid. I would try some MF pads before moving onto other products. You could also try shrinking the work area from 18" to 12" and see if that helps


----------



## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

I would also try some MF pads. They get great results in a quick time too.


----------



## greymda (Feb 16, 2014)

today i've been working with MF cutting pad (flexipads) and Megs Ultimate Compound.
fantastic results.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Thanks to everyone for there useful input, reading all the posts it looks like MF pads are the way to go. 

Now my only choice is which ones do I stick to the menzerna one or buy the Megs ones just incase I need to use there compoung at a later date. 

Assuming the products I have will finish down ok after correction.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Buy whichever MF pads are easiest to buy. As suggested above, the Serious Performance pads are great value for money. I would suggest who makes them is not critical. Some have talked about some fancy Buff & Shine MF pads but I have no idea if they are on sale in the UK


----------



## greymda (Feb 16, 2014)

i have serious performance MF cutting pads. but i believe they are manufacured by Flexipads. buy them with confidence, Alex (Serious Performance guy) is a very nice chap!


----------



## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

Might be worth having a read of some of the excellent posts by Dave kg if you don't mind me saying.
With the equipment you already have, correction should be no problem. Not saying it will be easy or quick but rather than splashing out more cash, I would try and hone my skills some more. IMO
I started out using the silver line orange da, then the mac allister one, lc pads and a selection of Menz and the 3m system. Kept my work area small I.e 3 x pad dia square as a general guide.
Done a tt, a4 and merc 180 with the stuff mentioned before I stepped upto a rotary.


----------



## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

I used the Sonus SFX1 (yellow light cutting) and SFX2 (white polishing) pads with Menz PowerGloss and Intensive Polish.

Silver Audi TT, red VAG, black BMWs.
Seem to do the trick and never left me wanting more cut to be fair.
All done with Porter Cable dual action.


----------



## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

I was going to say, how much practice do you have with a DA, how much pressure are you using. I find you can get some great correction from a DA by using a bit more pressure. Check out some of DaveKGs guides as said above as even with very hard paint you should be able to remove faint marks.

BUT the Microfiber pads are awesome, so may be worth adding to your kit anyway. I think the optimum ones from CYC your car are the best. Im going to try the Rupes ones as they are made in one piece and therefore shouldn't come apart.


----------



## Robson3022 (Mar 10, 2014)

I had some issues with the flexipads MF pads coming apart and didn't seem to cut as well as the megs ones. I would say the megs ones are worth the extra outlay.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Thanks again to all who have shared there knowledge, in the end I went with the Serious Performance MF cutting and polishing set at the price for 4 pads it was a steal. Let's see how I get on and I'll post the results.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

So as promised heres an update on how it's going with the Serious Performance MF pads. 

Tonight I decided that I would attempt the bonnet with the new pads, and unfortunately I've not had much luck. After working my way up through the polishes I have I quickly arrived at FG500 and the MF cutting combo. 

Taking on board everyone's useful comments I kept the work area small, approx 12 x 12 inches and worked the polish for at least 6 passes sometimes 8. Moderate pressure, using a line drawn on the backing plate to count approximately 1 oscillation per second. 

Now my dilemma even after 2 full sets on the same small area is I'm struggling to achieve more than 60 - 70% correction. Speed on the DA was at first #4 but then I bumped it to #5 after the lack of results on the first set. 

Could anyone kindly advise on next steps please, this is some seriously hard paint. 

I was considering trying either FG400 or Megs 101?

Cheers 
Mark


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

So I've been reaserching and reading alternative solutions and the Scholl Poilshes seem to be another viable option. 

S17+ and maybe some S3 gold?

Anyone have any experience of these 2 compounds?

Thanks
Mark


----------



## superd (Sep 23, 2013)

Patience mate you keep going until you're happy with the results


----------



## smegal (Aug 14, 2009)

Or move on to a rotary


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

superd said:


> Patience mate you keep going until you're happy with the results


:thumb: it's the time I need matey, as do we all.

Seriously though I really need some extra cut, if I can correct the defects in one hit I would be happy, then finish off with another set happy days.

With the items at my disposal I estimate it will take me 8 hours just to do the bonnet ha.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

smegal said:


> Or move on to a rotary


I have around 25 hrs experience with the DA to be honest and 20 of those were spent practicing and correcting my previous car which was a Vauxhall. The paint on that was much easier to work with, I've done a lot of reading before I started on the Audi and read the paint was like stone but never expected it to be like this.

I would consider moving to rotary but would like to exhaust all options with the DA first, something more aggressive etc.

Cheers
Mark


----------



## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

mark238 said:


> So as promised heres an update on how it's going with the Serious Performance MF pads.
> 
> Tonight I decided that I would attempt the bonnet with the new pads, and unfortunately I've not had much luck. After working my way up through the polishes I have I quickly arrived at FG500 and the MF cutting combo.
> 
> ...


smat polish (the m101 or m105) and MF pad. Google Kevin brown method. 

It'll take time, you must have patience!


----------



## superd (Sep 23, 2013)

mark238 said:


> :thumb: it's the time I need matey, as do we all.
> 
> Seriously though I really need some extra cut, if I can correct the defects in one hit I would be happy, then finish off with another set happy days.
> 
> With the items at my disposal I estimate it will take me 8 hours just to do the bonnet ha.


Lol it took me 3 Sundays to do my bonnet to get it to the stage where I was ok with the way it looked...but not happy scholls s17+ and s40 worked for me


----------



## DeepImpactAaron (Feb 13, 2013)

mark238 said:


> But for £80 do I really need to buy the MF system?
> 
> Surely there must be an additional pad or polish I can add to my arsenal to get results, even if it's only 80/90% correction.
> 
> Thanks for your input


£80.00??

Just grab yourself a bottle of the Correction Compound (£22.95 on CYC) and the Cutting Pads (£16.95 for 2x 5.5 in.) then apply a finishing polish, IPA wipe down and apply the C1 and Exo V2 :thumb:


----------



## Leebo310 (Sep 30, 2013)

You just need a twin pack of the megs mf cutting pads and a bottle of fg400.
Have used that combo to great effect on both our A6 and Golf via a DAS6 pro.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Just ordered a bottle of scholl S3 gold and a spider pad after doing some additional reading of previous posts. Touch wood this will will save some considerable time on correction and I can finish down with what I have.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Another update, got in from work today and had a parcel waiting from CYC, so this means the Scholl S3 and spider pad have arrived!

Decided I would do a test section on the bonnet and see how I get on with this combo, I am happy to say that this works really well for the rock hard paint on my car, much better than the MF pads with FG500. 

Taped up a small square approximately 3 times the size of the pad and worked the polish for six passes at speed 5 with moderate pressure then a further two under the machines own weight at speed 2. 

Quick IPA wipe down and upon inspection I estimate around 75% + of defects have been removed and the finish looks impressive

Thanks to everyone for there input I think I've found the combo needed to correct my paint.


----------



## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Just to confirm, are you still using a random orbital machine?


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

stangalang said:


> Just to confirm, are you still using a random orbital machine?


That's correct just a standard DAS not the pro version.


----------



## mark238 (May 8, 2007)

Additionally I tried the Serius Performance NF cutting pad with the S3 gold and it gave similar levels of cut slightly more maybe than I was getting with the FG500 on this pad, although I didn't like the heat it put into the paint. It didn't seem excessive but the spider pad was just a lot cooler.


----------

