B7 Paint quality??

[ferrariyellow44]

I have a 2006 A4 with 48K miles in black. (unsure of the name) Anyways, im quite concerned with the paint quality. The car is covered in relatively deep swirl marks, lots of front end stone chips and SCRATCHES!!! I only take the car to hand car washes, when Im not washing it, yet I still have a ton of swirl marks. So far, I have used a swirl mark remover (which temporarily lasted), Glaze and a high quality carnuba wax. The swirl mark remover completley eliminated the swirl marks....until the next wash [>_<]. The glaze helped remove some of the swirl marks, but didnt totally fix my paint. I also have a lengthy scratch going half way down the car, how should i attempt to reduce the appearance of it? I could really use any suggestions!!!! Ive done a lot of research and tried mostly all of the ideas however none of them have cured my problem.

By the way, is this paint just shit quality??? I have a Merc CLS500 with 95k miles and the paint is in far better condition with very limited swirl marks and fewer stone chips.

Any ideas to rid the swirl marks would really help!

[rowyourown]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/73-Detailing-Forum-hosted-by-Detailer-s-Domain

read all of that.

[beantown]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/73-Detailing-Forum-hosted-by-Detailer-s-Domain

read all of that.

^^ This. Also, OP I can tell you that as far as clear coat goes, Audi uses the hardest and best in the industry.

[ferrariyellow44]

really? I just cant seem to see that....both of my cars have had the exact same treatment since new and the Audis paint looks far worse. The mercedes does get a little more highway driving then the Audi if that has anything to do with it...

[mr shickadance]

dont take your car to handwash car washes....try to stick to touchless car washes.....that could be culprit with your issue

[clemsongt]

Is the Merc also black?...

[beantown]

dont take your car to handwash car washes....try to stick to touchless car washes.....that could be culprit with your issue

Definitely a good possibility. If the place uses shitty microfibers or Terry cloths, that could easy be causing swirls.

I love the touchless washes...hit it up once a week during the winter.

[Mc Suly]

"Touch-less washes"

you mean like at the gas station those huge car washes?

[ferrariyellow44]

Yes the merc is black. The hand car wash I go to uses micro-fiber mitts. What exactly is a touchless car wash??

[A4A4A4]

Wash it yourself. Two bucket method + grit guard. Dry with clean microfibers. that is, unless you want to be getting your car professionally detailed every six months.

[Korrect414]

If you don't wash your car yourself then the culprit is the car wash you take your car to. Swirl marks just don't happen on their own. It's more than likely the car wash you take your car to. Audi paint is not known to be of poor quality. From the description of your paint it sounds like you just need a good detail and someone that can do some paint correction. If your car is black and you don't have any experience with paint correction then you should probably find a reputable local detailed to do the work. Once you do that you should read up in the detail forum and get yourself a solid kit to maintain your paint.

[mr shickadance]

touchless car wash is exactly what it sounds like.....nothing ever touches your car except water, soapy water, high pressure water, and air to dry out your car.....its not a long thing u find at a gas station they are about the length of your car, and big swing arm comes out and circles your car spraying different things at it each time it passes by, first pass is water, second pass poofs out foamy soap all over your car, third and 4th passes are usually high pressure water, 6th pass is optional and covers ur car in rain-x (which is baller) and then u roll your car up to a bunch of fans that dry your car off about 80%

they are cheap, they dont do a great job, but in the wintertime when it is way to cold to be in your driveway cranking out 'here i go again on my own' and sudsing our favorite set of wheels, the touchless car wash is the way to go, no risk of scratches

[ilPadrino05]

All touchless car-washes do is shoot recycled/reclaimed water at your car at high speed, embedding dirt. You need to get yourself a clay bar and some spray lubricant (quick detailer) and go over the car after you hand wash it. Then you need a polish to take out the swirls. All your swirl mark remover, glaze and carnuba wax dad was temporarily fill in the scratched, not remove them. After you polish, you can glaze, seal, and wax to your hearts content. I hope I've helped. Any other questions, just ask.

[mingamells]

In agreement with Beantown, my A4 has 70k miles and looks great.

Seems to me 2 possiblities for your trouble:
1. The previous owner wrecked the car and the after market paint was poor quality.
2. One really bad wash with dirty mitts left your paint simply damaged. Maybe you could get it buffed out.

[50morlan]

Has anybody looked into getting a car wrap? Like this http://www.totally-dynamic.co.uk/go/colour-change

It's expensive, but in Norway at least it's cheaper and faster than getting a new paint job :)

[dA4n600rr]

Xpel.com has products that prevent rock chips and car wash solutions also..