jahummel

So, it turns out that what I thought were paint defects are actually etchings in the clear coat caused by tree sap.....Nasty Stuff. The etchings are only on top portions of the car. The car was a left over '16 and sat in the back lot for about 6 months. I have photo documented, with painters tape, about 8 to 10 spots. Anyway, I am dropping the car off at the service center on the 18th and the dealer is taking it to their certified body shop where the defects will be wet sanded and polished. I am not sure how long they will have it, but the dealer is covering all costs, to include having my guy re-install Xpel Ultimate on the hood. I am also getting a loaner while they have my car. Although I am apprehensive about what comes next, I am confident that the dealer and body shop will be sure to make it right. Anyone ever had any wet sanding and polishing done to their Audi?? Stay tuned.

Psy Wagon

I would be curious as to the clear coat depths before and after they sand it. Body shops don't typically finish down paint correctly and tbh I would be nervous especially if you plan on keeping the car long-term.

You can get incredible correction with a proper 2-step process. Sanding nowadays is not needed much in the right hands... and the clear on my paint wasn't that deep to begin with believe it or not so the few things that *maybe* could have been sanded I skipped.

I would also steer away from XPEL. It's not that great of a film anymore.

After my correction and film install...

jahummel

Thanks for the info. The paint shop does custom work as well as day to day paint jobs so I have to trust that they will do it right, once they see the problems. The service center said that it would need to be wet sanded and that was based on what their lead detail guy said.
As far as Xpel, the guy that does mine has been in the business for almost twenty years so I have to trust his experience on this, as well. I do appreciate your comments, Psy Wagon.

Psy Wagon

GL! post up some photos if you get a chance!

Direwulff

I've got a bird crap stain on my hood, I was able to reduce the stain using an orbital and Meguiar's car polish, but the stain is still there and I'm afraid the paint is damaged. Do you think this would be a good candidate for the two step process you mention, or is the paint probably damaged? Can you tell me the product/process you used?

Thanks

cleex024

most of the time bird droppings and tree sap does not eat that far into the clear coat where a good compound will not take care of...however if it does go down far enough then some sanding might be required. I highly doubt it ate all the way through to the paint. recently what i did to take care of some scratches where compound alone wouldnt rid of was to wetsand with 1500 grit twice, then 3000 grit twice, compound with 3m or meguiars 105 (removes 1500 grit marks), compound from blackfire, polish with blackfire.

that took it out completely and looking better than new lol...i did this to my entire car minus the wetsanding except to just the scratches and 99 percent of swirls and scratches were taken out. about 15 hour process but really worth it. havent had any problems with clearcoats being too thin or whatnot so whatever you do should be fine...also i did all this using a rotary and not an orbital.

sorry about the rant, but getting back to the op the body shop should do a pretty good job, but as mentioned previously they will most likely not finish it down to a completely with an ultra fine polish so you might want to mention that.

jahummel

So I should have mentioned that I am going to have the car "paint corrected" and Opti-coated when I get the car back. The guy I am going to use said he will probably spend three days on it and it is not going to be inexpensive. He will come to my house to do the work. Rather than attempt it myself, I prefer to hire a professional who has the experience in such work.

jahummel

[QUOTE=Psy Wagon;25005584]I would be curious as to the clear coat depths before and after they sand it. Body shops don't typically finish down paint correctly and tbh I would be nervous especially if you plan on keeping the car long-term.

You can get incredible correction with a proper 2-step process. Sanding nowadays is not needed much in the right hands... and the clear on my paint wasn't that deep to begin with believe it or not so the few things that *maybe* could have been sanded I skipped/QUOTE]




I went and looked at the car today, which is awaiting Xpel install. The certified Audi paint and body shop was able to polish all of the etchings out of the paint and it looks great. No sanding required.

While my go to guy for ppf has it, he is going to install film over the piano black console trim, which appears to scratch just by looking at it the wrong way. He makes a template prior to install and says that it will mask any existing fine scratches and make the console much more durable. The Xpel Ultimate has a "self-healing" property which should take care of any marks that the area might receive.

I am excited and cannot wait to get the car back.

Psy Wagon

Try Jescar Compound with a Meguiars microfiber pad... then Sonax perfect finish with a yellow rupes pad.

mhoran89

I just had two-step intensive paint correction done by a shop and then they did Opti-Coat Pro Plus on the entire vehicle. I have done two and even three step correction details on many vehicles, most only need two to finish down 95% or more.

A more or less PERMANENT paint sealant like OC is the way to go, unless you have $6K + sitting around to do a clear film on the entire car. Even if you want to do a "consumer" grade paint coating they look great for 12-24 months minimum and protect against this type of thing (bird sh**, sap, brake dust, squashed bugs, etc.).

At least we are lucky enough to have hard paint compared to many other cars like Porsche, Tesla, Subaru... those are some of the worst known to detailers, they swirl if you look at them wrong.