# Audi A3 - Paint Correction for Car Show



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

This detail was carried out by Gordon and I a couple of weeks ago to prepare an Audi A3 for the Ultimate Dubs show. We wer contacted by Kenzie, the owner, who was interested in a full paint correction detail to get the car looking as good as possible ready for the day of the show. Owing to a delay in the bodyshop where the car was receiving a new front end (updated 2009 front on a 2004 model year car…), the car only arrived with us on the Thursday night before the Saturday of the show. So this detail was carried out overnight on the Thursday night and through the day on Friday to get the car ready for leaving Friday night to head south! A long shift, but we reckon well worth it 

The car on arrival was looking pretty clean and a very tidily modified A3 TDi… After the washing and the claying stages were complete we started to investigate the condition of the paintwork - this car was going to be a "game of two halves" with the front end respray work, and you could see a clear difference in the level of defects that were present in the paintwork!

We'll start off with the front of the car - no real swirls or major defects here from washing or general wear, but there was evidence of machine hologramming and a subtle cloudiness to the finish that was robbing the appearance of a little gloss… Starting with the bonnet:









































































After assessing the paint finish by starting with the lightest combination and working up through the grades of pad and polish we came to the conclusion that Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish was the required polish, applied using a rotary polisher and a Chemical Guys White Hexlogic polishing pad…

1) Spread the polish at 600rpm

2) Begin working the polish at 1200rpm to build a little heat in the panel and evenly spread the residue

3) Work at 1800rpm with steady machine movements and moderate pressure until the residue turns clear, then lightening the pressure for three or four final passes

No refinement passes were carried out at this stage as this was saved for the dedicated finishing polish stage - which was carried out using Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish on a blue 3M Waffle Finishing Pad, applied as follows:

1) Spread the polish at 600rpm

2) Begin working the polish at 1200rpm to build a little heat in the panel and evenly spread the residue

3) Work at 1500rpm, light to moderate pressure until the residue goes clear

4) Refine at 1200rpm, three or four passes with light pressure

5) Burnish the finish at 900rpm, two or three slow passes with light pressure

The end results of the correction and finishing stages in the unit lights…










And checked for finish quality under the Sun Gun following a wipedown with panel wipe and a short pile microfiber (which I find better for wiping down without smearing with multiple passes)…









































































The two sides at the front - wing and doors - were showing the equivalent levels of marring which is not surprising given all these areas were recently resprayed at the same time by the same bodyshop (who did a good job of the paint finish). Befores of the front end:












































































































































































And after the correction and refining process described above for the bonnet:



















































































































































































































































Moving onto the rear of the car and we are now dealing with the original Audi paint which was showing a few more defects, deeper RDS.

















































































































































The combination of Intensive Polish on a white polishing pad was enough to remove a lot of the swirls and many deeper marks but still left a few marks behind as well…




























The unit strip lights did a good job of highlighting the deeper scratches in the finish on the rear…










These marks were corrected by stepping up to using Intensive Polish on a green Hexlogic polishing pad and using a technique which "regenerated" the Intensive Polish to lengthen its work time yet further and maximise the cut from it…

1) Spread the polish at 600rpm

2) Begin working the polish at 1200rpm to build a little heat in the panel and evenly spread the residue

3) Work at 1800rpm with steady machine movements and moderate pressure until the residue turns clear

4) Redue speed to 1200rpm and make two or three light pressure and slow passes, and the residue will flash back slightly

5) Increase speed and pressure to 1800rpm and work again until residue clear

6) Repeat 4) and 5)

This resulted in the following level of correction (before refinement):



















Some deeper marks required attention with Fast Cut Plus on a 3" 3M Green Compounding spot pad… for example, on the C-pilar:



















After spot correction: two hits of Fast Cut Plus resulting in an average removal of around 10um (which was deemed to be the maximum removal rate for the vehicle to still allow safe future polishing of the finish):










End results on the rear of the car after refining with Final Finish as well as describe above:

















































































































































Once the paint correction was completed after a full night shift and a morning of polishing from both Gordon and I, we fell into our finishing routine: paint protected (Duragloss 105 - durablility), wheels protected (Finish Kare 1000P), tyres dressed (Espuma RD-50), arches dressed (Meguiars All Seasons Dressing where no carpets), glass cleaned (Stoner Invisible Glass), trim dressed (Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel), exhaust tips polished (Briliant #1 Metal Restorer and steel wool, followed by #1 on a microfiber followed by Briliant #2 on microfiber).

The end results of the detail, taken inside the unit…














































The beauty of doing a night shift is that the car is generally finished in daylight hours!  … so outdoor after shots as well :thumb: :




































































































Overall a very enjoyable detail and good fun preparing a car for heading to a show  … Our efforts were judged to be worth it, as the owner texted us on the Sunday after the detail to tell us the car had come second in the Best Audi, and will apparently be getting featured in Golf Plus mag in the future … so we're pretty chuffed! :thumb:


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## pdv40 (Sep 11, 2008)

Excellent work on the paint, although the car is a bit marmite. Looks like the bonnet isn't aligned correctly, nor colour matched.


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

I'm not an Audi fan but that is really nice. Excellent work you two:thumb:


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## -Ally- (Mar 6, 2009)

Great writeup and detail as usual. The car is not my cup of tea though. 

Ally


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## drka-drka (Nov 1, 2007)

Yummy

good work guys, really like the porker wheels its on


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## Dipesh (Oct 12, 2007)

Awesome work Dave, and that car is gorgeous!


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## John-Cupra_TDI (Apr 13, 2009)

Nice work!!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Cheers for the kind words guys 

As always with a car that has been modified, the vehicle will be to the owner's tastes which of course may or may not match our own  The bonnet should be colour matched to its surrounding panels (it was in the flesh) as they were all sprayed at the same time, same paint - hard to tell a colour that "flips" from photographs though.


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## TUBS (May 9, 2006)

As per Usual Dave, first class !!! :thumb:


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## tony2 (Jan 31, 2010)

pdv40 said:


> Excellent work on the paint, although the car is a bit marmite. Looks like the bonnet isn't aligned correctly, nor colour matched.


Wicked work Dave,

But as above I dont like the mix's of colour and why not change the porsche badges??

Not sure its the bonnet or the bumper thats out of sync???


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## P4ULT (Apr 6, 2007)

i gotta be honest i think the car is very nice and great work too by the way


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## duffy02 (Mar 6, 2009)

excellent work as usual.. missed a few licence plates though.. haha


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## Warwickshire Detailer (Oct 11, 2009)

Lovely looking A3. Saw this at UD. Great work.

A few photos showing it off at the show (I hope you don't mind me posting them up) :thumb:









-


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Nice work guys, great correction achieved and the result at the show must fluff your feathers, well done.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Warwickshire Detailer said:


> Lovely looking A3. Saw this at UD. Great work.
> 
> A few photos showing it off at the show (I hope you don't mind me posting them up) :thumb:
> 
> ...


Thanks for taking time to post up much appreciated, as are all the kind comments. :thumb:
Gordon.


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## ross-1888 (Feb 22, 2009)

great write up. 

first calss as always


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## 03OKH (May 2, 2009)

Excellent write up :thumb:


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

Good work.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Nice work guys, but you've missed half the pics with the reg plate still showing in the windscreen.


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## alx_chung (Aug 13, 2006)

Nice!! Good write up as always!
Alex


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## Brian. (Sep 21, 2009)

Superb you pair  I recommended Gordon to do my mates 206 which is getting done in May. Any time I have seen either of your work it's shown to be nothing short of outstanding. Needless to say this car is also looking pretty awesome


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Great work as always:thumb: Loving that look, but that bonnet needs sorting out.


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

I don't see the point of the car. Very good work but if you can afford to waste money on sticking a new front end on an old car, surely the amount that the parts would cost would be enough to just buy the later car? Not to mention the fact he's spent all that money and it's got halogens which IMO look pisch in that headlamp, compared to the xenon counterparts.

Another example of pointlessly modified, IMHO! Especially as it's a boring Diesel.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Many thanks for al the kind words guys 

As said above, modified cars match the taste of the _owner_, which as one would expect, will not match the taste of everyone else - thats is the point of a modified car after all, something a little different rather than something the same as everyone else drives - whether you like it or not, please try to remember when commenting that you are commenting on someone's pride and joy :thumb:


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## p3asa (Aug 26, 2009)

Another night shift guys?!? You'll either be burnt out in a couple of years or can do your detailing work in the Caribbean 

Great work and write up as usual. I don't know where you get the time.

The car does it for me.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

stunning mate!

loving the "detailed" sticker! I'm wanting one!


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## dazzyb (Feb 9, 2010)

love the colour of tht car, not so sure bout the wheels maybe with audi badges instead of the porsche ones would be better for me, but great work on the paint tho :thumb:


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## felondnb (Nov 6, 2009)

Great work & a nice A3. :thumb:


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

great work,cant wait till mine gets done.


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## Davie G (Sep 28, 2008)

I really like that, great work guys! I also think the styling is spot on.

Do you ever get to sleep at the weekends??


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

p3asa said:


> Another night shift guys?!? You'll either be burnt out in a couple of years or can do your detailing work in the Caribbean
> 
> Great work and write up as usual. I don't know where you get the time.
> 
> The car does it for me.


Yup - another night shift! We're keeping busy these days, thats for sure 



Davie G said:


> I really like that, great work guys! I also think the styling is spot on.
> 
> Do you ever get to sleep at the weekends??


Sleep - occasionally! :lol::lol:

Many thanks for the kind words folks


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Brian. said:


> Superb you pair  I recommended Gordon to do my mates 206 which is getting done in May. Any time I have seen either of your work it's shown to be nothing short of outstanding. Needless to say this car is also looking pretty awesome


I was wondering where the recommendation came from.
Thanks alot Brain and much appreciated. :thumb:

I have it maked down as a 205 thou. But this might have been my mistake. :lol:



p3asa said:


> Another night shift guys?!? You'll either be burnt out in a couple of years or can do your detailing work in the Caribbean
> 
> Great work and write up as usual. I don't know where you get the time.
> 
> The car does it for me.


Although it would be nice to detailing the Caribbean. The sand would play havoc with my sets. :lol: I amafraidd I am here to stay.



Rick74 said:


> great work,cant wait till mine gets done.


Will not be long now M8. Looking forward to seeing you on both days again.



Davie G said:


> I really like that, great work guys! I also think the styling is spot on.
> 
> Do you ever get to sleep at the weekends??


Nope no sleep at the weekend. (Couple of vampire) and not much likely hood of any this weekend either. Nice Porsche Cayenne in all weekend.

Its the mid week ones that are a killer. With the normal Mon - Fri routine to contend with after a late night. :lol:


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Awesome.Lovely colour,amazing work as usual


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb detailing and stunning results. :thumb:


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## b3n76 (May 16, 2009)

fantastic paint correction and write up chaps.
Nice subtle mods on audi too :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Looking good :thumb:


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## Big Bru (Apr 27, 2008)

A3 looks spot on:thumb: Whats Duragloss 105 like to use? never seen any one post up that they have used it before.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Big Bru said:


> A3 looks spot on:thumb: Whats Duragloss 105 like to use? never seen any one post up that they have used it before.


It is very similar to most sealants. Apply and remove the same way as you would with zaino or 111. Apply nice and thin. Leave to haze over and buffs off extremely easy.

The reason this product was used was down to the fact the car had just recently left the bodyshop and 105 has the ability to let the solvents out gas from the paint.

Duragloss is not mentioned much on here. But for value for money and the size of the bottles you cant really go wrong.

Very slick and ultra smooth finish, with every good durability.
Gordon.


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

What microfibre's are you using to wipe the duragloss off ?


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

If I remember rightly on this one it was a couple of Dave's Pakshack towels for first buff, followed with CG Sasquatch towels.
The Sasquatch towels are a great finishing towel, much the same as the Euro towels but heavier density and larger in size.
Gordon.


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## stewartmak7 (Oct 26, 2009)

i was in buying stuff the day they finished the car and can i just say the pictures dont do the guys work justice!! was absolutely amazing what can be done to paint.


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