Audi A6 3.2 Quattro + Menz 3.02 and Zymöl Concours

[Tiauguinho]

So got to finally take care of my parents in law car. Car was swirled and looking a bit dull due to non proper washing techniques and usage of the swirlomatic. That all changed when I moved to NL a few months ago, but only now did I finally had the opportunity of correcting the defects that were inflicted during the car first months of life.



I started off by giving the engine a fast wash, since it had some minor dust and dirt. So out with AG Engine Cleaner and a toothbrush to get to the harder areas.



After rinsing and letting it dry for two hours (I already had the car inside the garage by then), I applied two layers of Sonüs Motor Kote to protect all the components.

After the engine wash, I foamed and washed the car. I had washed the car 3 days before so there wasn't much dirt on it anymore, therefore didn't took any pictures of this. After washing I proceeded to clay the car with Sonüs Green and Last Touch as lub.

After removing all the contaminants of the paint, I re-washed, dried and rolled the car inside the garage, ready to be taped.



My first approach to machine polish was to go with 106FA and a Polishing pad, but paint didn't show much correction (damn Audi hard paint!!). I upgraded to 3.02 and a Cutting pad and worked my way with it, doing 2 hits and working 3.02 through making it LSP ready as much as possible.

There was a higher amount of swirls under the mirrors and all around the upper waist of the car.

I was glad to see that the light flake of the paint was popping a bit and that the reflections were good.

I was very satisfied with the results! Although it took me ages to machine the whole car, the effort left me very happy



Took out HD Cleanse and did one panel at the time. Afterwards out with Z Concours and applied by pad. It was close to midnight when I finished buffing the wax, so left the car resting in the garage until next day for better pictures. These were the final results:

Hope you enjoyed the write up and the work achieved I can tell you that I won some bonus points with my parents in law after this one

 

[ericgl]

Great job! I have an A6 also and I can't figure how a clear coat can be so hard to correct, yet so easy to mar.

 

[.VorteX.]

Great correction and writeup.

 

[IanB]

absolutely stunning, I am in the process of trying to correct my paint, WOW it is some very hard paint. Burned through one 4" pad on just the hood, and it was brand new, and it isn't even 1/2 way corrected. Using 1Z extra. Sad, I might need to go Menzerna SIP.



Thanks for the great shots!

IB

 

[BLKSWAN]

excellent job...i like the color too

 

[Accumulator]

Tiauguinho- Hey, that turned out great! I sympathize with you regarding the hard clear, but *man* do I love that color (originally tried to get my S8 in it). Bet your in-laws are really happy.



Oh, be careful around the aluminum trim- once you compromise the clear anodizing it's all downhill (and fast). I've taken to taping it off whenever I polish.



ericgl- IMO people underestimate how fragile *any* auto paint really is, at least compared with the abrasiveness of the dirt that gets on it. The good news is that once you get your wash technique sorted out, an Audi can go a long, long time without any polishing; I've come to really appreciate that hard clear.



IanB- Yeah, Ultra by hand/PC is a slow, slow process on an Audi all right! Still, it's probably about as good as you can do without a rotary, at least IME. H-T EC might work a little better; I kinda like mixing a little of the Ultra in with the EC to increase the work time, it's a combo you might consider sometime.