A couple of questions I have for you george.
I have a2001 black a4 and wanted to know what would be the best steps as far as what order and what kind of cleaning, polishes, claybar, waxes, I should use,Im really getting into trying to really learn and properly care for my car.I do a good job as it is with my meguirs but I just want to step it up another level of car care.

Also I have like 50 dollar orbital cleaner that i have from pep boys A)Is this really helpful or do i actually need a porter cable. I know the porter is better but is using the cleaner i have better than by hand is what im asking. B)If the orbital is fine what kind of bonnets should i purchase.

I know Ill have some more questions for you but ill just get started off with these so far
thanks alot,

bill

 

Bill - Great questions. I'd like to hear more about the condition of your vehicle (specifically the imperfections, like swirl marks, water spots, scratches, etc.) before I can properly give you the best recommendations for your vehicle. Typically the lesser expensive buffers are fine for applying a glaze, sealant or wax, but are ineffective at removing imperfections. What happens is that the cheaper buffers will bog down under pressure or will not generate enough heat to properly break down an abrasive polish, which is what you need to have happen to get the most out of polishing. If you are content with the condition of the clear coat, then you'd be fine with what you have. If you're trying to correct the imperfections, I'd recommend investing in the PC.

One of the problems with certain buffers is that you should use a seperate pad for each product, and sometimes the proprietary pads that are sold on some of the cheaper buffers are expensive and hard to find. This is another major benefit the PC has over other buffers, you can purchase a velcro backing plate, and use a wide variety of pads available.

Once I hear a little more about the condition of your vehicle and what you are trying to accomplish, I'd be happy to put together a package to best fit your needs. Also, let me know which of the following traits are most important to you... results, ease of use, value and time saving.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

George

 

Need help.

Hi, I used the clay bar and mothers pre wax cleaner to get rid of quite a lot of the oxidation. Can you please tell me what I should use next (specific product, procedure) to get rid of the rest of the oxidation. Hood is smooth, but quite a bit of oxidation remains.

Thanks

NB

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Next step would be to use a light abrasive polish. First thing you'd want to decide on is if you want to tackle this by hand or with a quality buffer, such as the Porter Cable 7424. If you go by hand, I'd recommend trying Meguiars ScratchX which can be found locally at PepBoy's, AutoZone, etc. If this doesn't do the trick, you'll want to step up to a more aggressive product / pad combination, in which I'd recommend looking in investing in a quality buffer to do the job. Let me know if you'd like some more information on that.

George

 

Hey George,

I read your instructions on how to detail and I was eager to detail my newly purchase A4. I was going to be ordering from Detailed Image but wanted to have the products in my hand as I wanted to try our your methods right then and there. I used some other brands but the same methods that you described in your instructions ... and I must say that the results were incredible!!! I couldn't believe that the shine and mirror like finish was possible, especially for a first timer!

I'll definitely be ordering from you and I love the detailed instructions on your site!!! Many thanks and below are some pictures of how my A4 looks

 

hey guys..nice job...i have a quick question for u... i run a detailling shop too and a lot of times cars come infrom auctions with dried waxall over the rubbers and trims....i used all kinds of products some work some dosn't but im not sure cuz a barely have time to check them days later... whats the best way to get it off completely?? i'll post some pics of my shop later..thkns

 

flipkid - great work! This just goes to show how much more important the process is over the products used. I like to think that 70-80% of the results is due to using the proper process and techniques while the other remaining 20-30% can be enhanced by higher quality products, all depending on your detailing goals and objectives of course. I'm glad you found our website helpful. If you'd like any suggestions when you are ready to try some new products for your black Audi, I'd be happy to give them to you, just say the word. Which steps were done in the pictured detail? Great to hear from you and thanks for sharing, I enjoy hearing back from our readers.

a4BRZLowrider - I usually use a mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol and water (50:50), sometimes if that doesn't work, I'll mix in some degreaser too. Some areas may need agitation from a soft bristled brush. You can always try the old peanut butter trick too, hehe. Looking forward to your pictures of your shop.

George

 

Hey George,

First I did the wash and dry - using the two bucket method. I only had
one sheep skin mitt, so I used a regular car washing sponge as well. I
used some terry cloth towels along with some microfiber towels to dry.
After the wash and rinse, I applied a liquid clar bar then rinsed it off.
Then I went ahead and applied a polish and buffed it out using a
microfiber towel. After the polish I put on a wax and buffed the wax
out until there was a nice shine.

I started to notice the shine come through after rinsing the clay bar off,
and it progressively got shinier with each step.

One thing about the detailing was that after the mirrorlike shine comes
through you start to notice more imperfections on the car - such as small
dents, scratches, etc. How would one fix these minor imperfections?

Also, for cleaning the windows of the car, what would you recommend?

I appreciate your help! Thanks again!

 

I have a 2001 black f-150 and there are a few problems with the paint that i hoped i coulf fix but i dont know how...but i am willting to try pretty much anything. I dont have pictues now but i can get some. One of the main things is the hood there are what i think to be cracks in the clear coat and they kind of like spider webs. the only thing i have been able to do is cover it up with a colored wax. The clear coat on the roof is also coming off there are big spots of clear coat flaking off i dono if i can do anything about that short of getting it re clear coated. and the last thing is there was an incident with a power spayer that took a prety big chip out of clear coat. and i dont know if i can just clear coat that spot or what i can do. so any ideas you have would be greatly apreciated. i can get pictures when it is light out tommarrow.

 

here is a picture of the problem that i was talking about on the hood of my truck.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...0601071206.jpg