The Season Opener: 2014 Tesla Model S

richy

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What a way to start my detailing season...a brand new Tesla Model S! The customer contacted me and was eager to get it done quickly so I had to do some juggling to get it to work, but I wanted to do it as badly as he did! I think these cars are the ultimate in cool and I'm so grateful that I finally got a chance to work on one. He was considering Opti Guard, but I steered him toward CQF and I think he'll agree that his Tesla will never look better. Anyway, let's let the pictures do the talking....



First up as it arrived:


























First of all, I must make a few acknowledgements to a few people who helped me on this job. First up and most importantly, is Hamza. This car came from Toronto and Hamza was originally going to coat it. He deferred the job to me and recommended my services to this owner who had never heard of me. Hamza, once again, thank you! Next up was the invaluable advise from Ken and Wes who have done hundreds of Tesla's between them. I had questions like how to keep the door handles ajar to polish and coat behind them, etc. I also ran the plan of attack by each one and they agreed with my game plan. Now, this job was to be a one step polish and then coat paint, glass and wheels with CQF and the windshield with Fly-By-30.
The wash stage consisted of intense wheel cleaning (the barrels were exceptionally dirty for such a new car!) as well as the tires and the wells. The paint was washed, then washed a 2nd time with IronX paste and finally was clayed using the CarPro foam block. The paint was in pretty good shape and I wanted a combo that would amp up the gloss, magnify the flake and correct any small issues. The winning combo was CarPro Reflect with a white B/S pad and my Flex 3401. There were a few light scratches that were attended to with my TB black wool and M100 that was followed with the above step. That was followed up with a green B/S pad and Squeaky Clean. 2 coats of CQF were applied to the paint, wheels, lights and all glass except for the windshield. Oh, and one other thing got coated.....let me remind you of Seinfeld's "sponge-worthy" episode for a minute. Never in all my years of doing this have I ever had a key fob (sponge) worthy of being coated. The Tesla key is definitely sponge-worthy! Check it out with 2 coats of CQF on it as well:




The windshield as mentioned, got Fly-By-30. The handles were coated both inside and out. The tires were shot via air gun with DG Wet Shine. The exterior trim was coated with Americana. The interior was given a quick vacuum as a courtesy. The customer was very happy and commented that he was really glad he got this colour now that he had seen it done with CQF. I was very pleased to hear that.


Here is the finished product:
























































It has been one very long winter and I'm so glad to be back in the game!! Thanks for looking!
 
Fantastic work (like usual), Richy!

Actually, I just saw my first Model S this past weekend. They are phenomenal cars, indeed.
 
Nice way to get back at it! Nice stuff Richy. Love the color :props:
 
Hey Richy,

Those Tesla's are a beautifully designed car and I hear they're fun to drive! The after photos are outstanding and I agree, I'm glad winter's in the rear view mirror now....:props:
 
Amazing Job Richy . Good to see you back in action. Love those Tesla's
 
Beautiful work Richy !!! What a way to kick off the season :)
 
Awesome!!!!!

Sent from my XT1030 using AG Online
Thanks so much!

What a way to start the season indeed.

Fantastic work Richy!
Thank you. It's gonna be a hard act to top, LOL.

amazing work.. and what a nice ride!!
Thanks and I totally agree!!

Great work Richy!
Thanks for the kind words!

Fantastic work (like usual), Richy!

Actually, I just saw my first Model S this past weekend. They are phenomenal cars, indeed.
Thanks a lot! I love seeing them at night; the LED"s just rock on those!!

Nice way to get back at it! Nice stuff Richy. Love the color :props:
Thanks Flash! I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Hey Richy,

Those Tesla's are a beautifully designed car and I hear they're fun to drive! The after photos are outstanding and I agree, I'm glad winter's in the rear view mirror now....:props:
Thanks Bobby!! Amen to that, brother, Amen to that!

Amazing Job Richy . Good to see you back in action. Love those Tesla's
Oh, Ron, does it feel great to be back! (Although the break is very invigorating and good for my body to recover).

Beautiful work Richy !!! What a way to kick off the season :)
Thanks Pat! I am glad to be back at it for sure!
 
One heck of a way to kick off the season indeed!

As always Richy the car looks Flawless.
 
Nice work there. I never get tired of looking at these beauties. Those brown MSs are a rare breed, but still reflect with the best of them once coated.
 
Impressive!
Thanks very much!

One heck of a way to kick off the season indeed!

As always Richy the car looks Flawless.
Thanks Tim (and also for the shameless plug, LOL)

Nice work there. I never get tired of looking at these beauties. Those brown MSs are a rare breed, but still reflect with the best of them once coated.
Kevin, thanks! Nice beauty you've got there yourself, mister!!
 
It looks like a nice start to the season. I have never seen one in person but how is the paint job on the Telsa's?
 
Hey Richy, I saw where some "old dog" posted this on another forum. Nonetheless, nice work bud!
 
It looks like a nice start to the season. I have never seen one in person but how is the paint job on the Telsa's?

The paint jobs appear to be a widely discussed but minor problem with the car.

The problems range from "soft" paint that easily scratches and etches from water to unacceptable orange peeling (at least for a $90k car). Most people, including myself, who complain about the paint are more on the OCD side.

The good thing about the MS paint is that it does tend to correct easily. I've been able to get most swirls out with m205 or SF4000. Others have required m105 or IP2000. Did a spot with FG400, but not sure if it was really that bad (I was more interested in trying out the FG400).

Most agree, however, that coating the Model S is better than putting a sealant or wax on the car because of the "soft" paint. Most people on the Tesla forums are looking for Opticoat, CQF or Gtechniq C1/EXO. A few out there with 22PLE that I know and others with Modesta. The rest of the vocal owners went for Xpel.

Either way, no matter how you correct and "seal" the paint, it shines quite nicely!
 
It looks like a nice start to the season. I have never seen one in person but how is the paint job on the Telsa's?
Thanks Al! The paint was pretty nice on this one. I have heard horror stories on the black ones. I did have one scratch to remove that was not very deep or bad. The paint on this colour I found to be on the hard side b/c a yellow B/S pad did not touch it with M100. I had to step up to black wool to get it to vanish.

Hey Richy, I saw where some "old dog" posted this on another forum. Nonetheless, nice work bud!
My friend I welcome your input wherever I am!!

Indeed! Nice work Richy!
Thanks very much Nicholas!
 
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