Audi paint, hard or soft?

[ride5150]

Im going to be doing a paint correction on an Audi SUV over next weekend, is the paint hard or soft? my most coarse stuff is m105 on a orange LC pad using my GG DA polisher. I told the guy that all swirls will come out and most scratches, should this do the trick or should i get something coarser like a yellow LC pad?

[Mike Phillips]

I'd say it could be at either end of the spectrum or somewhere in the middle, you're test spot should let you know.

Audi Soft Paint - Making Generalizations about Hardness and Softness

[Flannigan]

I work on two black Audi's on a regular basis (A5/S5) and both of those have paint that is very hard, and very scratch sensitive. As for other colors, I haven't done enough to really make a recommendation.

[Elite Pro]

I've got a 03 A4 Champagne color with concrete clear....from what I've read most Audi's have hard paint

[Mike Phillips]

I work on two black Audi's on a regular basis (A5/S5) and both of those have paint that is very hard, and very scratch sensitive. As for other colors, I haven't done enough to really make a recommendation.

I concur. The black Audi's I've worked on have had paint that was like case-hardened steel.

As a habit, I wait to determine if a car's paint is hard or soft after I've worked it and done some testing.

[RaskyR1]

All of the ones I've worked on have been hard to very hard. M105, DA, Orange LC should do OK on the light stuff, but deeper defect will likely require a more aggressive method if it's anything like the cars I've worked on.

I think this test panel I did on an S4 was M105/Cyan LC via Flex 3401 using heavy pressure....I ended up using a rotary and M105 with PFW pad as I wanted more correction than what you see below.


Before



After

[Mike Phillips]

I've got a 03 A4 Champagne color with concrete clear....from what I've read most Audi's have hard paint

That's what I've always read and experienced till I worked on this Audi...

Photos Courtesy of MeguiarsOnline.com



Soft as butter....

[bigaizsosexy]

I've yet to work on a dark color Audi, but have a client with an 08 White S4 that is soft. My assumption is the clears they use on different colors, or if the car was repainted by a 3rd party.