Audi paint correction advice

[Audios S6]

I recently did some paint correction on the hoods both of the Audi's I had mixed results. All work was done with the GG RO 1st gen. on speed 5.

On the 99 A6 with light silver metallic paint:
LC HT cyan with 3M medium cut compound, 8 passes - remove all the light swirls and medium swirls, left compounding haze, deep swirls and RIDS.
LC HT Tangerine with 3M perfect-it swirl remover for dark paint, 6 passes - removed compounding haze, left halos and some light cloudiness (not really haze though)

The 3M compounds have very short working time, dust like crazy and cake the pads after 2 sections (8-10 square feet)

On the 02 S6 with light silver metallic paint:
LC HT cyan with M105, 8 passes - removed very light swirls, finished LSP ready
LC HT Tangerine with M205, 6 passes- no noticeable improvement in clarity (seemed like a jewelling step)

The Megs compounds were very workable, some dusting, no caking after the whole hood (20+ square feet)

Compared to Mike's videos I'm moving my RO very slow, 2.5 hours to do the hood.

Should I be stepping up to something like 3M extra heavy cut to improve the compounding results or even just reduce the number of passes?

Any thoughts on going with the 3M extra heavy followed by M105 or M205?

What is everyone else doing with really hard audi clear coat?

[tuscarora dave]

I vote no on the Extra heavy cutting step. Id suggest just sticking with your M-105 and 205 and try tweaking your process a bit. Have you ever looked into the Kevin Brown Method where he uses wetting agents with M-105? I find his methods a very useful technique especially on hard clears like on Audi paint. The 3M compound line is very abrasive and is intended for the professional using rotary polisher and will just create more work with a DA and you'll be removing more clear in the end.

[crxman2010]

What about pressure with the M105? I never tried to remove swirls on my silver A4, but I would have thought M105 would have been more capable then just removing light swirls.

[Audios S6]

I do prime the pads with product prior to using them (KB method) but I haven't read any info about other wetting agents, got any examples?

[tuscarora dave]

Sorry, tried to edit but took too long. Copy and paste edit.


Edit: To further explain the problem with using 3M heavy compounds with a DA polisher. The large sized abrasives (rocks in a bottle) in 3M heavy Duty compound are designed to break down efficiently using a rotary polisher at high R.P.M., so essentially with proper rotary use the abrasives cut very deep and heavy for the first pass or 2 and then begin to break down into smaller abrasive particles during the next few passes creating a more level but swirled finish. These compounds are designed for just a few passes to cut heavy defects quickly and the abrasives will not break down sufficiently to finish with so the work time is quick and then it's time to move on to the swirl removal step.

The problem with using these products with a DA is that the DA doesn't create enough efficient movement over the paint in order to create the friction needed to break down the abrasive particles so the abrasives essentially stay the same size or close to the same size through the entire DA compounding process. This causes the larger sized abrasives to deeply scour the paint rather than to smoothly level the paint. By the time you switch to a DA approved product to level down the heavy scouring caused by the heavy compound you will have removed more of (if not all of) the clear as the clear is very thin. I'd stick with something that works well with a DA such as 105/205 and just shrink down your work area. It takes longer in the end but is much safer for your paint. I hope this helped, TD

[tuscarora dave]

I do prime the pads with product prior to using them (KB method) but I haven't read any info about other wetting agents, got any examples?
google "kevin brown wetting agents" it may bring you to page 3 of his paper on this subject but it will nonetheless get you to where you need to be to read all about it. I suggest you read it and give it a try. I did and haven't turned back. It cut hours off of my defect removals on hard clear.