Virgin Paint Correction - Any advice

[opaz57]

Hi there fellas - Long time listener, first time caller. All the info on here is great. :up. Well my 2005 Audi A6 3.2 was totalled by the insurance company 2 weeks ago after a fender bender. I still owed some money on the car, so I got a couple of grand back and had to go out and get a car. I know the owner of the local Porsche/BMW/Audi dealership and he gave me a screaming deal on used 2007 3 series. And Certified Pre-Owned on top of that, with 23k miles on it.



Anyway - on to the paint. The paint has a couple of pretty decent scratches on the body. None that I get my fingernail caught in, so that's good. I've learned here that's the litmus test. Historically, I've never used anything heavier than a Menzerna Final Polish II (P087) on my Audi. But, I'm gonna have to go a bit more aggressive to get some of these scratches out.



I've picked up some Menzerna PowerGloss and also some Super Intensive Polish. I plan to use them with an Orange Lake County CCS pad, and my Flex 3401 VRG. I guess I'm a bit nervous about doing any damage to the paint and having not gone that aggressive before, I'm looking for some words of wisdom (and maybe some encouragement . I've got 1400 watts of dual halogen lighting, and the garage is prepped for a Saturday work session.



Any advice would be helpful! My plan is to start with the SIP, and keep the PowerGloss in reserve, just in case I can't get 'er done with the SIP.



One dumb question that I did have, is if one if doing paint correction with those types of products, do you only use them for the *affected* area, or do you have to use them on the whole car? Not thinking about the PowerGloss per se, but more the SIP.



Thanks!

Omar

 

[craigdt]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Just use the SIP like you do the finer polishes and you wil be fine.



Definitely start with the least aggressive means first.



Now, in response to your last question, you probably need to use the SIP over the whole car. UNLESS you are just looking to remove a few assorted scratches. SIP isnt THAT aggressive, so dont be afraid to use it over your whole vehicle.



Also, you may (probably) need to to follow up with a finer polish since you are using an orange pad. Best wishes!

 

[opaz57]

Thanks Craigdt for the comments. I plan on following up the SIP, with some Menz Final Polish (PO85), and then even throw some finishing glaze on it. Once I get the scratches out, on goes the Zaimo, and I'm back in business.



Good to know that the SIP isn't that aggressive. I won't be super worried if I've got to take a couple of passes with the PowerGloss to the most affected areas. The Flex should help as well.