Discussion
abidr500 said:
Any PPF recommendations in SW London/ Surrey area.
I want the front end of my 6RS done and would like someone who has good experience with similar cars.
Many thanks
Auto Protek in Ascot. They do a lot of the cars for McLaren Ascot and were recommended to me by another PH'er who had his 997.2RS and 991RS fully PPF'd. They have done my 991GTS and it was a superb job. I want the front end of my 6RS done and would like someone who has good experience with similar cars.
Many thanks
Original post asked if detailing is worth it.
I had my Boxster gtechniq'd with serum and evo last September. Yesterday a bird dropped one on the rear spoiler and despite the fact I wiped it off within a few hours it's left a stain.
I've contacted the detailer to find out the appropriate remedy but haven't had a response yet.
I thought the ceramic coating would make this a trivial wipe off job so I'm now in two minds if it was worth it.
I had my Boxster gtechniq'd with serum and evo last September. Yesterday a bird dropped one on the rear spoiler and despite the fact I wiped it off within a few hours it's left a stain.
I've contacted the detailer to find out the appropriate remedy but haven't had a response yet.
I thought the ceramic coating would make this a trivial wipe off job so I'm now in two minds if it was worth it.
you would have thought it would have protected it from bird poop. But I know it can be highly acidic. I have two tiny marks on the boot of my Hellcat from bird poop that was on the car less than half an hour. I'm sure they will come out but I am not willing to do it myself and screw it up by going through the clear coat. A little T-cut and polish has improved it but not perfect. One of my cars has been protected with serum and something that is supposed to be better than exo. It was done prior to me buying the car and I have asked them to quote on the Hellcat. I'll let you know what the quote is
mdianuk said:
Ceramic won't protect the coating from bird poo, but it will protect the lacquer and paint underneath, so it did its job perfectly. Might just need a machine polish out and recoating, but at least that won't require taking any layers from the lacquer and paint.
Is it possible to be so accurate with machine polishing to only remove the ceramic and not go through the lacquer and some paint?SRT Hellcat said:
you would have thought it would have protected it from bird poop. But I know it can be highly acidic. I have two tiny marks on the boot of my Hellcat from bird poop that was on the car less than half an hour. I'm sure they will come out but I am not willing to do it myself and screw it up by going through the clear coat. A little T-cut and polish has improved it but not perfect. One of my cars has been protected with serum and something that is supposed to be better than exo. It was done prior to me buying the car and I have asked them to quote on the Hellcat. I'll let you know what the quote is
T Cut? Eep!Generally bird dirt stains are caused by heating of paint around the bird dirt causing the paint to expand and contract at different rates, which is generally why they happen worse on a sunny / hot day.
Sparkyhd said:
Is it possible to be so accurate with machine polishing to only remove the ceramic and not go through the lacquer and some paint?
Serum will still be there after some localised polishing to remove the etching from the coatings surface. Exo will need to be reapplied over the area and job will be done.cheers
Chris
Sparkyhd said:
Is it possible to be so accurate with machine polishing to only remove the ceramic and not go through the lacquer and some paint?
Yes, quite possible to get pretty accurate with amount of ceramic or any other layer removed, providing done by a professional detailer of course. I'm not one btw, just used many before.Pro detail is always going to better DIY. The biggest problem with a pro detailed car is that I can no longer deal with stuffs and minor scratches (in the lacquer) myself without needing to get pro detailer to re protect.
I had Modesta applied to my BMW but within weeks some moron managed to scuff the finish and any attempt to reduce removed the ultra glossy finish and dust and water settled on it differently in that patch.
My gfs 718 is not yet detailed - but prob will be - but for now I've been able to remedy marks quickly and easily with no worries about the finish. It still looks great and I'm of course using modern products like GTechniq C2v3 to keep paint looking glossy with advise from my detailer. It looks far better than when it left the OPC! But I expect at 10-20% improvement if it gets a pro detail (chap in Altringham too even though I live in Essex)
I would echo that the ceramic coats don't prevent damage but respond well to good washing and my BMW has a deep glossy shine after two years. But it's not to say it doesn't need maintenance either.
I had Modesta applied to my BMW but within weeks some moron managed to scuff the finish and any attempt to reduce removed the ultra glossy finish and dust and water settled on it differently in that patch.
My gfs 718 is not yet detailed - but prob will be - but for now I've been able to remedy marks quickly and easily with no worries about the finish. It still looks great and I'm of course using modern products like GTechniq C2v3 to keep paint looking glossy with advise from my detailer. It looks far better than when it left the OPC! But I expect at 10-20% improvement if it gets a pro detail (chap in Altringham too even though I live in Essex)
I would echo that the ceramic coats don't prevent damage but respond well to good washing and my BMW has a deep glossy shine after two years. But it's not to say it doesn't need maintenance either.
shost said:
Pro detail is always going to better DIY. The biggest problem with a pro detailed car for me is that I can no longer deal with scuffs and minor scratches (in the lacquer) myself without needing to get pro detailer to re protect.
I had Modesta applied to my BMW but within weeks some moron managed to scuff the finish and any attempt to reduce removed the ultra glossy finish and dust and water settled on it differently in that patch.
My gfs 718 is not yet detailed - but prob will be - but for now I've been able to remedy marks quickly and easily with no worries about the finish. It still looks great and I'm of course using modern products like GTechniq C2v3 to keep paint looking glossy with advise from my detailer. It looks far better than when it left the OPC! But I expect at 10-20% improvement if it gets a pro detail (chap in Altringham too even though I live in Essex)
I would echo that the ceramic coats don't prevent damage but respond well to good washing and my BMW has a deep glossy shine after two years. But it's not to say it doesn't need maintenance either and its reccomended a top up every year to keep perfect.
I had Modesta applied to my BMW but within weeks some moron managed to scuff the finish and any attempt to reduce removed the ultra glossy finish and dust and water settled on it differently in that patch.
My gfs 718 is not yet detailed - but prob will be - but for now I've been able to remedy marks quickly and easily with no worries about the finish. It still looks great and I'm of course using modern products like GTechniq C2v3 to keep paint looking glossy with advise from my detailer. It looks far better than when it left the OPC! But I expect at 10-20% improvement if it gets a pro detail (chap in Altringham too even though I live in Essex)
I would echo that the ceramic coats don't prevent damage but respond well to good washing and my BMW has a deep glossy shine after two years. But it's not to say it doesn't need maintenance either and its reccomended a top up every year to keep perfect.
Its so true that your car is clean for the 5 mins while you look at it before you drive it in anger and then it's filthy again. Perhaps consider an oscillating polisher and some waxes for about 160 quid from Polished Bliss see here http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/kestrel-da...
Also I have just bought my first ever white car, a GT4 and you can't see any swirl marks on a white car. It might get a bit dirty but the paint always looks flawless.
There are so many people out there now from detailers to paint protection fitters making an absolute fortune out of basically scaremongering people into buying 'protection' for their cars, cue shining the bright light at such an angel that it catches swirl marks for the camera when in normal conditions you'd never notice them. The odd detail to aid cleaning as Chieb says is fine but a lot of it is completely over the top in my view.
Also I have just bought my first ever white car, a GT4 and you can't see any swirl marks on a white car. It might get a bit dirty but the paint always looks flawless.
There are so many people out there now from detailers to paint protection fitters making an absolute fortune out of basically scaremongering people into buying 'protection' for their cars, cue shining the bright light at such an angel that it catches swirl marks for the camera when in normal conditions you'd never notice them. The odd detail to aid cleaning as Chieb says is fine but a lot of it is completely over the top in my view.
Edited by Fokker on Wednesday 12th April 13:07
hixster said:
Correction detail and ceramic coat care of All that gleams in Chilworth - very happy indeed, all swirl marks gone and the paint has that super deep shine now. Pics don't fully do it justice as overcast, but looks amazing in the flesh.
How have you found cleaning car with ceramic coating?Edited by hixster on Wednesday 29th March 19:38
Mine had the Williams coating, quite good but now got some swirl marks. Annoying as the car is always washed pre/post rinse, two buckets, micro-fibre pat dry etc.
If there's some serious paint correction to be done a pro is best unless you're exceptionally skilled. Also, with Gtechniq if you leave any residue after application it needs wet-sanding to get rid of it. Defo a pro job.
I'm not bad with a Porter Cable but a two-stage machine polish (and attention to multiple tiny stone chips) made a big difference:
Beyond my capability.
I'm not bad with a Porter Cable but a two-stage machine polish (and attention to multiple tiny stone chips) made a big difference:
Beyond my capability.
A good paint protection detail doesn't just make the car look great when you pick it up, but also keeps it looking great for months, while making it much easier to wash.
My cars go to Valet Magic - had full Getechniq protection details done on both recently and the results were great. The Focus went in a couple of weeks after pickup and Robbie said the paint was in surprisingly decent condition for a new car.
Alas the same can't be said of the Cayman R - despite telling my OPC not to wash it when it went in for a service, it was 'washed' anyway, with what appeared to have been a Brillo pad or something similar :-( It'll be going back to Robbie for a machine polish next year to get it back to tip-top condition, but it's not looking too bad right now anyway.
Personally I think it's money well spent, but each to their own.
Cayman R at Valet Magic after its Getechniq detail
Focus RS after its first wash having been detailed a month or so earlier.
Also top up with this stuff occasionally - really easy to apply and keeps the shine and beading intact.
My cars go to Valet Magic - had full Getechniq protection details done on both recently and the results were great. The Focus went in a couple of weeks after pickup and Robbie said the paint was in surprisingly decent condition for a new car.
Alas the same can't be said of the Cayman R - despite telling my OPC not to wash it when it went in for a service, it was 'washed' anyway, with what appeared to have been a Brillo pad or something similar :-( It'll be going back to Robbie for a machine polish next year to get it back to tip-top condition, but it's not looking too bad right now anyway.
Personally I think it's money well spent, but each to their own.
Cayman R at Valet Magic after its Getechniq detail
Focus RS after its first wash having been detailed a month or so earlier.
Also top up with this stuff occasionally - really easy to apply and keeps the shine and beading intact.
Edited by MDT48 on Friday 14th April 11:17
SV_WDC said:
How have you found cleaning car with ceramic coating?
Mine had the Williams coating, quite good but now got some swirl marks. Annoying as the car is always washed pre/post rinse, two buckets, micro-fibre pat dry etc.
Hey SVWDC, havent had to clean it yet as only had a few runs since coating - it will need a clean in a week or two so i'll report back soon.Mine had the Williams coating, quite good but now got some swirl marks. Annoying as the car is always washed pre/post rinse, two buckets, micro-fibre pat dry etc.
Overall though I'm really happy with the correction work that was done - there were loads of swirls and I have none now.. Great job by All that gleams.
hixster said:
Hey SVWDC, havent had to clean it yet as only had a few runs since coating - it will need a clean in a week or two so i'll report back soon.
Overall though I'm really happy with the correction work that was done - there were loads of swirls and I have none now.. Great job by All that gleams.
You're going to be amazed at how easily the dirt slides off it when you do wash it, especially if you snow foam it :-)Overall though I'm really happy with the correction work that was done - there were loads of swirls and I have none now.. Great job by All that gleams.
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