Dr_Pain
New member
- Nov 28, 2012
- 2,196
- 0
Finally catching up on downloading my pictures and organizing them. I had alluded to this upcoming Show and Shine in one my previous threads, and true to my word here it is!
The Subject: 2014 Black Toyota Tundra TRD (less than 8 months old)
The Story: This nice couple was referred to me after what they described as a "rather unpleasant experience with a local dealership". According to their account, they ran over a branch which kicked up and made a sizeable dent in the rear passenger quarter panel. Being that the truck was almost brand new they did not want to drive it with this big blemish on the side. They made an appointment with the bodyshop at a local dealership and had the truck repaired. The wife picked up her truck and drove it home. Upon returning from work the husband noticed horrendous swirls and immediately contacted the dealership. Long story short the body shop attempted to correct the defects on 2 separate visits, even going as far as being supervised by the GM of the dealership. Unfortunately they could not satisfy the customer and could not remedy the issues noted. As a show of good customer service the GM offered the option for the client to find a place that could take care of it to their satisfaction. After a couple of phone calls to locally owned body shop, they were given my name. This is rather weird as I have never really marketed those guys, but lets say I was flattered and excited.
I initially met with the husband who made sure to position the truck with the passenger side in direct sun light. I walked out of my office and literally took a step back at the sight even though the truck was 20 feet away in my parking lot. I wish I had pictures of the truck that day because it was both horrific and mesmerizing. Go ahead and find the worst example of rotary hologram online and it was worst. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, and the day I took the truck in was overcast, so never got a good picture. Anyway, we inspected the vehicle together discussed what needed to be done and I gave him an estimate to give to the dealership. As you may imagine, the initial contact with the dealership was not the friendliest. Because my name would be associated with this mess I wanted to make sure that it was done right! The GM asked that I only do the passenger side (since they buffed from the rear quarter to the front fender to "blend") and only wanted to be charged for that work. I explained to him that I could not in good conscience only do 1/2 the vehicle, since this project would now be linked to my name and reputation. It was explained that I did not have a problem taking on the liability of fixing the defects ONLY if I was allowed to make the whole truck perfect. After a few exchanges he did reluctantly agree to pay for a full correction on the full vehicle (because his mishap did open him up to liabilities). A few days later I did swing by the dealership to pick up the payment, met with the GM, discussed what I do and how I do it, and even dropped off some coating literature (I know funny!!). The wheels were in motion!!
First step was to take PTG readings. The truck averaged about 90 microns, but had readings as low as 57 microns. You can also see the thickness of the repair and repaint
So what did the paint look like?? I do not have the full hologram view of that day but I do have a few pics and a video under the LEDs. Under normal shop lighting things did not look too bad, but under LEDs (the no-lie lights) it was BAD!!!!!
Note on the pictures that you have a combination of scratches and swirls, rotary hologram and some weird speckling/scuffing. You can also see the the body lines where HAMMERED!!! I guess they don't tape them before putting the rotary/wool on!?! The 50/50 was pretty dramatic but left a nice DA haze behind
You can see in the reflection that I was using my Flex 3401 with a Meg MF + FG400, finishing with my Rupes 21 + black LC flat pad and Reflect (for the win)
The finish product after removing the tape and before the final wipedown
The client selected a paint sealant as the LSP, the main reason was that the agreement with the dealership was for the polishing work ONLY and that anything else was on their dime. So here are the glamor shot AFTER!!
In all we invested close to 18 hrs in this truck and cannot begin to tell you how thrilled the couple was. Unfortunately for me the GM had no desire to see the final results, so I can only hope that he gets a chance to visit my FB webpage and sees the result for himself. I am not diluted in thinking that I will be flooded with work from the dealership because I do charge a premium for what I do (compared to their hourly detailing guys), but you never know
Thanks for looking! I can't wait to see what you guys have to say
The Subject: 2014 Black Toyota Tundra TRD (less than 8 months old)
The Story: This nice couple was referred to me after what they described as a "rather unpleasant experience with a local dealership". According to their account, they ran over a branch which kicked up and made a sizeable dent in the rear passenger quarter panel. Being that the truck was almost brand new they did not want to drive it with this big blemish on the side. They made an appointment with the bodyshop at a local dealership and had the truck repaired. The wife picked up her truck and drove it home. Upon returning from work the husband noticed horrendous swirls and immediately contacted the dealership. Long story short the body shop attempted to correct the defects on 2 separate visits, even going as far as being supervised by the GM of the dealership. Unfortunately they could not satisfy the customer and could not remedy the issues noted. As a show of good customer service the GM offered the option for the client to find a place that could take care of it to their satisfaction. After a couple of phone calls to locally owned body shop, they were given my name. This is rather weird as I have never really marketed those guys, but lets say I was flattered and excited.
I initially met with the husband who made sure to position the truck with the passenger side in direct sun light. I walked out of my office and literally took a step back at the sight even though the truck was 20 feet away in my parking lot. I wish I had pictures of the truck that day because it was both horrific and mesmerizing. Go ahead and find the worst example of rotary hologram online and it was worst. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, and the day I took the truck in was overcast, so never got a good picture. Anyway, we inspected the vehicle together discussed what needed to be done and I gave him an estimate to give to the dealership. As you may imagine, the initial contact with the dealership was not the friendliest. Because my name would be associated with this mess I wanted to make sure that it was done right! The GM asked that I only do the passenger side (since they buffed from the rear quarter to the front fender to "blend") and only wanted to be charged for that work. I explained to him that I could not in good conscience only do 1/2 the vehicle, since this project would now be linked to my name and reputation. It was explained that I did not have a problem taking on the liability of fixing the defects ONLY if I was allowed to make the whole truck perfect. After a few exchanges he did reluctantly agree to pay for a full correction on the full vehicle (because his mishap did open him up to liabilities). A few days later I did swing by the dealership to pick up the payment, met with the GM, discussed what I do and how I do it, and even dropped off some coating literature (I know funny!!). The wheels were in motion!!
First step was to take PTG readings. The truck averaged about 90 microns, but had readings as low as 57 microns. You can also see the thickness of the repair and repaint
So what did the paint look like?? I do not have the full hologram view of that day but I do have a few pics and a video under the LEDs. Under normal shop lighting things did not look too bad, but under LEDs (the no-lie lights) it was BAD!!!!!
Note on the pictures that you have a combination of scratches and swirls, rotary hologram and some weird speckling/scuffing. You can also see the the body lines where HAMMERED!!! I guess they don't tape them before putting the rotary/wool on!?! The 50/50 was pretty dramatic but left a nice DA haze behind
You can see in the reflection that I was using my Flex 3401 with a Meg MF + FG400, finishing with my Rupes 21 + black LC flat pad and Reflect (for the win)
The finish product after removing the tape and before the final wipedown
The client selected a paint sealant as the LSP, the main reason was that the agreement with the dealership was for the polishing work ONLY and that anything else was on their dime. So here are the glamor shot AFTER!!
In all we invested close to 18 hrs in this truck and cannot begin to tell you how thrilled the couple was. Unfortunately for me the GM had no desire to see the final results, so I can only hope that he gets a chance to visit my FB webpage and sees the result for himself. I am not diluted in thinking that I will be flooded with work from the dealership because I do charge a premium for what I do (compared to their hourly detailing guys), but you never know
Thanks for looking! I can't wait to see what you guys have to say
