• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

[email protected] | 01256 769611

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

  • Home
  • Services
    • Paint Protection Film
    • New Car Paint Protection
    • Gloss Enhancement Detail
    • Correction Detail
    • Signature Clean
    • Wheel Refurbishment
    • Leather Renovation
    • Bodyshop Services
  • Portfolio
Autocurators

Autocurators

Professional Vehicle Detailing & Paint Protection Services

  • About
  • Articles & News
  • Contact

Extensive correction & refurbishment for Audi RS4

July 13, 2016

After 10 years of ownership, our client contacted us to arrange an extensive correction and refurbishment for his Audi RS4. Bought brand new in 2006, this rapid Audi has wanted for nothing in terms of it’s mechanical care. Boasting a full main dealer history, it also has some well chosen upgrades, such as the Miltek exhaust and MRC remap. However, nearly 83000 miles had somewhat taken its toll on the cosmetic aspects of the car. With its sale pending, a course of restoration was decided.

When the Audi RS4 B7 model was launched in 2005, it was met with rave reviews. Evo magazine summed it up like this; ‘Compared to the original model, it feels incredibly responsive, supremely controlled and also has a capacity for interaction and entertainment that its predecessor couldn’t muster. All in all, it’s pretty damn superb.’

Audi RS4 upon arrival

After popping in to see us to review what was needed for the leather refurbishment, a major correction detail was agreed. In addition to the leather refurbishment, and paint correction necessary to put life back into the Phantom Black bodywork, the wheels would also be completely refurbished too.

As always, the car needed to be completely cleaned before anything else could be done. The car lives outside, under trees, and this was evident in the state of the door shuts and engine bay.

It took nearly a whole day of scrubbing, rinsing and teasing dirt out of all the corners, shuts and gaps. The paintwork was straight forward to wash, then decontaminate with clay and solvents. This removed the build up of road tar from the lower bodywork, and other environmental contaminants from the upper surfaces.

The owner pointed out that the nearside rear door had been repaired following some vandalism, and perhaps the finish wasn’t as good as it could be. With the car now clean, this repaired area stood out like a sore thumb.

Poorly finished ‘smart’ repair

This was of course an immediate concern, mainly that such a shockingly bad finish had been handed back like this. Even worse considering it was carried out by a main Audi dealership, whom have no excuse for commissioning such a poor standard of work.

Once inside the Studio, and viewed from a different angle, the repair looked even worse! Given that it couldn\’t be left like this, the options were to either try and recover the finish through polishing, or have it repainted. So knowing there was nothing to loose, some very careful polishing was carried out and a huge improvement was achieved.

The finish wasn’t 100% perfect, but looked very good and meant avoiding the expense and trouble of painting the door.

The whole exterior of the car was dull, covered in coarse and sometimes scratches. Audi paint is known to be incredibly hard, and this was no exception. The benefit is that when it comes to machine polishing, you can make steady, controllable progress whilst correcting the paint. Approx 35 hours went into machine polishing the paintwork on this car.

During polishing, the improvement is clearly visible.

The bonnet was particularly badly marked, from looked like impacts from flying debris and attempts to remove bird droppings. As a result, the best way forward was to wet sand the whole bonnet to ‘re-level’ the paint surface. This smooths those deeper scratches out, and removes the lighter ones altogether. The picture below was taken during that process.

  • Dull and full of scratches
  • During the sanding process

Once the sanding stage was completed, the paint was carefully polished back to a beautiful, deep gloss. This is a time consuming process, this panel alone took around 7 hours.

Whilst working on the paint, other areas were getting specialist attention too. The wheels had been removed and sent to be refurbished. This involved chemically stripping each wheel, removing all the old paint and dirt in the process. Then media blasting is used to remove any corrosion, and damage to the wheel rim from kerbing is fixed too. 2 wheels were found to have small cracks to the inner edges, so the wheels were first straightened to remove the buckling (caused by the impact that cracked the wheel), then the cracks welded. Finally, the wheel is refinished in the original Audi colour using a powdercoat process. The result is wheels that look brand new, free from any damage or corrosion. They were sealed prior to fitting to the car with Williams Ceramic Coat.

  • Before refurbishment, kerb damage and corrosion
  • After refurbishment, as new

The last major area of the car to address was the interior. All the leather was first given a major deep clean to remove any dirt ingrained in the surface. The front seats, driver\’s side particularly, were showing wear to the base and bolsters. This is completely normal on a car of this age and mileage, particularly with sports seats that have more prominent bolsters.

Once the surface of the front seats had been fully prepared – cleaned, sanded and degreased – the correct colour pigment was mixed to perfectly match the original colour, before being carefully applied. This is a simplified version of the process, but as with anything, the surface preparation was vital to ensure the right finish.

When leather is refurbished properly, it should still feel like leather. Once finished, the seats in this Audi RS4 felt soft and supple, exactly as they were when new, just how it should be.

I\’ve seen many examples of refurbished seats that look and feel like cheap plastic, where far too much pigment has been applied. This leaves the surface of the leather hard and shiny, horrid to touch. The excessive pigment layer won\’t have any flexibility, will crack quickly and the repair will then have failed prematurely.

Finally, after another wash and the last stage of polishing to refine the finish, Williams Ceramic Coat was applied to the exterior of the car to offer a long term protective solution.

The finished result

If you are interested in having a similar treatment carried out on your car, please get in touch with us by clicking here.

Category: Audi, WorkTag: audi, auto curators, Avant, B7, berkshire detailing, Bigfoot, Correction Detail, detailing, enhancement detail, gtechniq, hampshire, hampshire detailing, Jackie Stewart, paint correction, polishing, RS4, rupes, Surrey Detailing, swirl marks, swissvax, Wheel refurbishment, Williams, Williams Ceramic Coat
Previous Post:McLaren 675LT New Car Detail, with full coverage paint protection film
Next Post:1980’s icon – the Ferrari Testarossa

Ready for your car to look a million dollars?

Talk to us about how we can help.

GET IN TOUCH

Find us on the ‘gram

autocurators

559

Auto Curators Ltd

autocurators

View

Jan 13

Open
As we head into the weekend and a rainy sofa Saturday, we thought we'd share our favourite 📺 YouTube channels! Follow the link to the Auto Curators website from our bio to see the latest article, and happy viewing!
8 1

autocurators

View

Jan 4

Open
As XPEL Certified PPF installers, people often ask us how we gained our accreditation and what this means for our clients. So, we thought we’d answer those questions in our latest dedicated PPF blog article; follow the link in our bio to the PPF On My Car website to read the article.
23 2

autocurators

View

Dec 23

Open
Well that’s a wrap for Auto Curators 2022, and it’s been a manic end to a very busy year. 
A selection from this month, it was a treat to detail and PPF our first BMW M2 CS. Now wearing lots of lovely Xpel Ultimate Plus, it will be a regular sight on @petrolheadtours events around Europe. 
The iconic Aston Martin DB5 had us crawling on our knees and laying on our backs, to make sure the underside looked as good as the top. Speak to Rupert at @astonadvantage, who is selling that exquisite car for the owner. 
The Ultra Blue Audi RS6 was completely covered in Xpel PPF, and the two Tesla Model Y’s, including a new ‘Performance’ model,  that is shares a driveway with, both have had PPF installed to the front ends and whole left sides. The joys of living rurally and dealing with hedges every day!
Finally, a new BMW M3 in individual Rosso Corsa red has been protected with Xpel PPF, and our ceramic coatings. 
Matt and I will be back on 3rd January, with lots to do. 
Thank you to everyone that has supported us this year, we’re always extremely grateful. We look forward to offering you more great content in 2023. 
#autocurators #audi #astonmartin #bmw #tesla #m2cs #misanoblue #rs6 #ultrablue #db5 #modelyperformance #christmas #endofyear
79 14
LOAD MORE... FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
Find Us

Unit 2 Optrex Business Park
Strouds Green Lane
Rotherwick, Nr. Hook
Hampshire, RG27 9AY

GET DIRECTIONS
Contact Us

01256 769611
[email protected]

Information
  • FAQs
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • About the Products We Use
Sign Up for News

We promise not to spam you, we’ll just send you articles and news to spin your wheels! PLUS every three months we give away a £50 Auto Curators voucher to one lucky subscriber.


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Website by Kate Coote Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT