Alek@DeepClean
New member
- Feb 27, 2013
- 105
- 0
A returning customer called me up this weekend. He had just bought himself another car and wanted it protected ASAP! Luckily, I had time to fit him in just 3 days later. I had already previously performed a 2-step correction and coating on another one of his vehicles, and he was eager to have the same done for his new 2011 BMW Z4 in Deep Sea Blue Metallic.
On first arrival, the car was washed and dried with ONR for a proper inspection of the paint condition. Man, it wasn't pretty. The dealership he bought this car from had obviously done some, ahem.... "paint correction" of their own. Swirls and holograms were EVERYWHERE.
I checked the paint thickness, and as expected with such significant hologramming, it was on the low side. I discussed what I saw with the owner and informed him that due to the low thickness, I wasn't comfortable being very aggressive with this car and that he may have to live with some of the deeper defects not being removed. He was totally understanding, and was glad that I was honest with him about it up front, and that he was happy to have someone who took the time to check those things. Gotta love good customers!
I pulled the car into the garage, set up my gear, and clayed the car. This thing was nasty! This is off of a 2' square section.
With the claying done, I pulled out my flex and grabbed my new DIY lighting rig.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/aildeokl/Lightingsetup.jpg
This is the first time I had used this particular setup, so I was really stoked to see how it worked. Short version is: It's amazing. The CFLs are great for eliminating shadows and giving a nicely lit work area, but I definitely need to add a couple more to have enough light output for the whole side of the car. The other light is an absolutely massive single diode LED, outputting 1300 lumens at 19w. This thing will light up an entire panel and show every single defect in it clear as day. Simply incredible.
Now that I'm done rambling about lightbulbs, let's check out this test panel.
Taped off a square and went to work. Got some seriously great results out of just one step with M205 and a white hybrid pad.
After seeing this, I basically went around the car the full way with just the single step of correction, and then spot corrected some deeper defects around the car as needed with 105 on an orange pad. By doing it this way, I was able to get some more of the deep scratches out while saving as much clear as possible, which was desperately needed on this car.
Here's the rest of the panel finished:
And away we went!
With the car corrected and the sun down, I called it quits for the day. The next morning it was time for coating! I wiped the entire car down with IPA, then proceeded to go around with Ceramic Pro's Nano Polish. For those who aren't familiar, this is more of a coating prep than anything. It removes oils, enhances shine, and helps the coating form it's permanent bond with the paint.
After the Nano Polish:
No pictures of the coating process, I stay way to busy watching my flash and recoat times to take photos. This car received two coats of Ceramic Pro 9H and 1 coat of Light on the paint, plus 1 coat of 9H on all exterior plastic, trim, and wheels.
Let's check her out!
The owner was totally floored when he got the car back. The Ceramic Pro really brought a ton of depth and shine to this beautiful Deep Sea Metallic paint, and did a lot to make the flake really pop!
As always, thanks for reading guys!
On first arrival, the car was washed and dried with ONR for a proper inspection of the paint condition. Man, it wasn't pretty. The dealership he bought this car from had obviously done some, ahem.... "paint correction" of their own. Swirls and holograms were EVERYWHERE.
I checked the paint thickness, and as expected with such significant hologramming, it was on the low side. I discussed what I saw with the owner and informed him that due to the low thickness, I wasn't comfortable being very aggressive with this car and that he may have to live with some of the deeper defects not being removed. He was totally understanding, and was glad that I was honest with him about it up front, and that he was happy to have someone who took the time to check those things. Gotta love good customers!
I pulled the car into the garage, set up my gear, and clayed the car. This thing was nasty! This is off of a 2' square section.
With the claying done, I pulled out my flex and grabbed my new DIY lighting rig.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/aildeokl/Lightingsetup.jpg
This is the first time I had used this particular setup, so I was really stoked to see how it worked. Short version is: It's amazing. The CFLs are great for eliminating shadows and giving a nicely lit work area, but I definitely need to add a couple more to have enough light output for the whole side of the car. The other light is an absolutely massive single diode LED, outputting 1300 lumens at 19w. This thing will light up an entire panel and show every single defect in it clear as day. Simply incredible.
Now that I'm done rambling about lightbulbs, let's check out this test panel.
Taped off a square and went to work. Got some seriously great results out of just one step with M205 and a white hybrid pad.
After seeing this, I basically went around the car the full way with just the single step of correction, and then spot corrected some deeper defects around the car as needed with 105 on an orange pad. By doing it this way, I was able to get some more of the deep scratches out while saving as much clear as possible, which was desperately needed on this car.
Here's the rest of the panel finished:
And away we went!
With the car corrected and the sun down, I called it quits for the day. The next morning it was time for coating! I wiped the entire car down with IPA, then proceeded to go around with Ceramic Pro's Nano Polish. For those who aren't familiar, this is more of a coating prep than anything. It removes oils, enhances shine, and helps the coating form it's permanent bond with the paint.
After the Nano Polish:
No pictures of the coating process, I stay way to busy watching my flash and recoat times to take photos. This car received two coats of Ceramic Pro 9H and 1 coat of Light on the paint, plus 1 coat of 9H on all exterior plastic, trim, and wheels.
Let's check her out!
The owner was totally floored when he got the car back. The Ceramic Pro really brought a ton of depth and shine to this beautiful Deep Sea Metallic paint, and did a lot to make the flake really pop!
As always, thanks for reading guys!
