clown-baby

Ever since i got my A4 a few months ago, my analmeter has been off the charts! My family's cars have never been treated as well as my A4, but I've become really bothered by light scratches on my paint from cleaning and waxing. I'm sure they're on our other cars as well, but they never seemed to bother me b4. Anyways, when I first got the car, the paint was flawless...no scratches at all, obviously. Now, 3 months later, I have surface scratches ALL over the car. Car looks great when it's not underneath the sun or under flourescent lighting at night. Ever since i noticed this, i've been checkin out the cars on the road...and they all have these light scratches from washing and whatnot. So r these scratches/swirls unavoidable? Am I just too ****?? It REALLY pains me to know that just 3 months ago, my A4 was flawless, now it's got light scratches all over(mind u, the scratches run front and back...cuz i know not to work sideways or in circular motions). Actually, its really just apparent on the hood and trunk lid. So am i expecting too much? I would like to get some clarification about this...If i find out that they're inevitable, at least i can rest assured that I've done everything i can. Please help me out guys! Thnx!

BTW, some of you may have heard me say this b4, but Audi's paint is REALLY soft!!<p>2000 1.8tqms Santorin/Ecru
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johnsa4

I have owned mine 00' for 5 months now, and I only handwash it myself with the best fake wool wash met and dry it with synthetic chamois. I throughly wash/detail my black car every 2 weeks and yes, there are light hair line like "swirls" I wouldnt say they are scratches, but these are easily removable with some quality wax. But, I havent wax the car yet, because i think new cars come with some sort of protective coating, and I wont wax it until its 8 month or a year old. However, I think Audi did a great job with the paint, i also bought a black 00'Maxima prior to the A4 and the A4's paint look much better and it gives a lot more shine! When it comes to car appearance i can challenge anyone on this board, that I'm more meticulous and obsessive about it, so if even i can let those small scratches go, u should too

John.

EdP

I use a porter cable random orbital buffer with 3M imperial machine glaze once a year, and one grand blitz wax every month. Look a few threads down to see the results. Impossible to screw up.

clown-baby

It's not the washing with the mitt or the drying that leaves the scratches. It's when i did the meguiar's 3step process. I know this because i had washed the car a few times before i did my first wax, and the paint did not have these scratches on it before i waxed. I was going to wait at least 6 months before i did my first wax, but a damn bird did it's business on my hood and it left several etches in my paint! So i had to do the waxing to protect the paint. Guess what. Had another bird crap on my car a few days after my first waxing...etched again!! Geez.....

Anyways, the scratches i have are left from the the polishing and waxing....and i used those small terry cloth applicators to apply, then used soft 100% cotton towels for the buffing. GOD!!!! It's really pissing me off!! What am i supposed to do??! I just dont want to look at the car when it's sunny out cuz it breaks my heart!!<p>2000 1.8tqms Santorin/Ecru
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clown-baby

<p>2000 1.8tqms Santorin/Ecru
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Andy Hedin

<i>But, I havent wax the car yet, because i think new cars come with some sort of protective coating, and I wont wax it until its 8 month or a year old.</i>

Never heard of this. When you pickup your car from the dealer, tha paint has cured and you're OK to wax right away if you'd like. Some folks recommend waiting a month or two more. But 8 months to a year is too long to wait, IMHO.<p><a href="mailto:andy_hedin@hotmail.com"><img SRC="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/A_Hedin_Sig3.gif" BORDER=0></a>

EdP

with a (no flames please, I learned my lesson)self service car wash deep in alabama. That machine should have been advertised as a paint stripper

Anyway, I didn't thnk I had anything to lose, so I got it. Needless to say it's so safe (the key is the 3M imperial glaze), that I run it FULL SPEED and even bear into it, and NO burns, or any damage. The particular buffer is made to keep a constant RPM no matter how hard you bear down on it. The glaze is specifically made for random orbital buffers ONLY. Will NOT work if used by hand. The material is too fine, unless you using for hours. It smooths all of the subtle bumps, and makes the paint look like it was hand finished between coats. If I can get my buddy to eport out an AVI, I'll see about posting a sample of me using it.

EdP

Forgot to mention - I use 3M imperial MACHINE glaze, not HAND glaze.

clown-baby

<p>2000 1.8tqms Santorin/Ecru
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clown-baby

cuz, honestly, the car was almost scratchless before the clean, polish, wax procedure...afterwards....scratches/swirls EVERYWHERE!! I dont know what im doin wrong...i've read the articles on carcareonline...as far as i know, im not doing anything out of the ordinary....so i dont know what's leaving the scratches.

My first clean, polish, wax for example....car was essentially scratchless.... after 7 HOURS!!...car looked good (it was in my garage, at night)...next morning under the sun, light scratches everywhere!! The scratches run from front to back because that's how i worked it when i was doing the 3-step process. Can anybody tell me if this is normal??? The car looked A LOT worse after the clean, polish, wax...albeit the car was shinier, it was all swirled....and from the look of the scratches, it is obvious that i had gone back and forth, not side to side or circles when waxing. Is this normal?? Geez....this car is quickly becoming a real headache...i love it, but it's like she's been scarred....
I should've bought a casa white instead of the santorin.....<p>2000 1.8tqms Santorin/Ecru
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