I have a customer who ordered a brand new Jaguar. She picked it up fresh off the truck and told the dealership not to wash it.
She sounds like she reads this forum or at least has read this article,
DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!
The drive home are the only miles on it, but it did get in the rain. She wants it coated, but doesn't feel that it needs any paint correction. It sounds like mainly a cost issue as she is generally pretty picky with her vehicles finish. I know as well as you guys do that 95% of even brand new cars could benefit from at least a light one stage paint correction. I have also never heard of applying a paint coating WITHOUT correcting the paint first.
In the above paragraph you thoroughly laid out the what the customer wants and what you know about professional detailing. Succinct and to the point.
Then you asked three questions...
1. Has anyone ever done this?
2. Is it OK to do?
3. Does the correction process have anything to do with prepping the paint for the coating?
Then this thread turned into segments with forum members answering you and segments discussing or arguing about all other topics some related, some not with one forum member talking to other forum members in what I would consider a demeaning manner as is his norm on discussion forums.
She is bringing the car tomorrow morning so anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Not sure where you're at with this project since posting this thread but let me take a stab at your questions...
1. Has anyone ever done this?
Yes.
There's no law against it so it's up to your judgment based upon your individual knowledge and experience PLUS the feedback you receive from other sources of help like this forum.
3. Does the correction process have anything to do with prepping the paint for the coating?
Yes
IF
A: If the paint
needs correcting, key word being
NEEDS.
B: If the customer wants the paint corrected or polished and is willing to pay for the time and process.
Here's the
only example I could find of a car that I coated without using either a compound or a polish. I
DID use a dedicated paint cleansing lotion to prep the paint for the coating that is manufactured by the same company that makes the coating meaning there is a
Synergistic Chemical Compatibility between the prep product and the coating.
SEE STEP 4 and also read what I did to the paint on this brand new car in steps 1, 2 and 3.
Since I've noticed some people don't click on links and read the referenced material I've copied and pasted the how-to article below.
How to detail a 2014 Corvette Stingray
Actually, how to
coat a new Corvette Stingray. Most people
outside the forum world don't know what a paint coating is. They do understand what a
car wax or
synthetic paint sealant is but not a
paint coating.
See my article here for the differences between car waxes, synthetic paint sealants and paint coatings.
3-Categories: Waxes, Paint Sealants and Coatings
Process
Step 1: Wash and dry car or wipe car clean
The owner washed his Corvette the night before and then next morning drove it to Autogeek. During the 3 hour trip to Stuart, Florida he hit a few showers and wet areas of the highway so after moving the Stingray into the garage we wiped it down using Detailer's Waterless Autowash.
Step 2: Inspect paint for swirls
For this we used the new Flex Swirl Finder Light. This Corvette is brand new and has been carefully hand washed by the owner using products purchased at Autogeek. There were no visible swirls or scratches in the finish.
Step 3: Inspect for above surface bonded contaminants
For this we first inspect using our clean, bare hand and felt no contamination. Next we used the
Baggie Test and even with the baggie test we only felt nominal and sporadic contaminants. Not enough to justify claying or some other mechanical means of decontaminating.
Step 4: Chemically clean and polish paint to prep it for a coating
I used the Black Label Surface Cleansing Lotion on all the paint, hard smooth plastic and glass. Product was applied to the entire car at one time using a 5.5" Lake Country Black Flat Pad on the 5 speed setting of a Porter Cable 7424XP.
Step 5: Hand apply Black Label Diamond Paint Coating
For this step we wore black nitrile gloves and applied the coating using Lake Country Coating Applicators. We applied to all body panels at one time.
Step 6: Hand apply Black Label Diamond Glass Coating
For this I used round foam applicator pad.
Step 7: Hand applied Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating
For this we used the Gold Wax Finger Pockets.
Step 8: Removed coatings
After applying the last coating, (wheel coating), we carefully and methodically wiped the coatings off following our path of travel used to apply the coatings. That is start wiping off first where we applied first.
Here's a few pictures from this project...
Taping off Trim
There's some coarse or rough textured plastic trim pieces on the car as well as a few rubber gaskets that I would recommend covering with painter's tape to prevent staining them with any type of compound or polish.
Prep paint for coating
Here you can see the residue covering the car everywhere the Surface Cleansing Lotion was applied by machine. For a few of the tight ares like the fresh air intake louvers on the hood, around the tail lights in the back and the vent areas on the sides of the car.
Smoothing over a rock chip
The was a recent rock chip in the front clip. The edges were jagged and sharp. The owner asked if I could wetsand the chip out and I said "no" as the chip had penetrated past the clearcoat and the basecoat. He asked if I could sand the area to smooth over the jagged feel to the edges and I said "yes".
I then proceeded to lightly sand the area with a 3 inch 3M Trizact #5000 Sanding Disc and then removed the sanding marks using Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover, (Medium Cut Polish), and then re-polished to maximize gloss and clarity using the Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish, (Fine Cut Polish).
Polishing work to remove the sanding marks was done using the Griot's 3" Mini Polisher and some small, thin 3.5" foam polishing pads. I found the paint on this new Corvette to be
very easy to polish.
I recommended to the owner to get some factory touch-up paint and dab a tiny amount into the now cleaned out and smoothed over rock chip.
After pictures...
So to answer your questions,
1. Has anyone ever done this? YES
2. Is it OK to do? YES
3. Does the correction process have anything to do with prepping the paint for the coating? YES
Going by your description of what the customer wants, your evaluation of both the customer and the paint, then I would say if the paint is similar to the paint on this Corvette that I coated without doing either a dedicated compounding step or a dedicated compounding step followed by a dedicated polishing step then I'd say use your best judgment and if you think you can prep the paint using some form of chemical stripping process to match the application of the coating of your choice then go for it.
Make a profit, have fun and make your customer happy. Let her know you're looking for more work in case she has any friends she can refer to you.
Hope that helps...
