shane@detailedreflections

Honestly if you’re just doing your own stuff, the Adams is great. It’s similar to a Rupes and they stand behind the product. Not that Rupes doesn’t stand behind it, but you pay significantly more for it. If money is no factor in the decision, Rupes are fantastic machines for any user. Private or business. But if you’re looking at the wallet, you can’t go wrong with Adam’s.

For personal use the Adam’s SK is the best bang for the buck. We use Rupes polishers, but we use them pretty heavily. We have seven of them hanging on the walls and they haven’t failed us. We do keep brushes on hand and backing plates. We haven’t replaced brushes on any of them yet, but they’ve all been through backing plates...a lot. But we go through pads like crazy too and are constantly changing them and then cleaning them. So the Velcro just wears out. I think the Adam’s SK is the best bang for the buck for a consumer user.

If it’s used a lot, check the brushes. Or it’s possibly a bad trigger.

We may have differing opinions here a bit. And I don’t think either of us is “right or wrong,” but for the sake of business discussion, let’s expand. The best thing a detailer can offer is quality service that meets the needs and expectations of their clients. That’s not derived through any single product or process. It comes from listening to a client and setting realistic expectations, then exceeding them. Think...underpromise and over deliver. As far as air fresheners go, the approach that makes sure everyone’s needs are met is to offer it as a complimentary treatment that they can select when they pick up their vehicle. It gives them the discretion to say yes or no, and doesn’t feel like they’re missing out if they say no. Also having a few different scents can help them to have the “power of choice.” To add air fresheners at the time of pickup adds less than one minute to the service and they’re happy. If they’re smell sensitive, they’re still happy. If you have regular clients that you know like air fresheners and particular scents, note it and do it automatically. Then when they pick up you can say “I know you usually like ________ scent, we’ve gone ahead and already applied that for you.” It creates a sense of personal attention and that you remember them as a client (and not a customer). Anyway, it’s something to think about. You all know your customer/client base and what has been working for you. Just trying to provide another view.

Welcome. A properly installed ceramic coating should last longer than six months. So there’s no need to reapply that soon, especially with proper maintenance. The number one reason coatings “fail,” isn’t failure at all. It’s contamination. Ceramics are not maintenance free, which you seem to get. We encourage our clients to come back yearly for maintenance service. Some come back more often for an abbreviated service. We will always clay the vehicle. Depending on the coating and condition we will polish and reinstall a top coat (many pro level coatings are a multiple part application). But your plan sounds solid and should make your coating last for years. Clay treatment on your vehicle is vital to keeping your coating functioning.

Before you use air fresheners, make sure your client is okay with it. We have one client in particular that doesn’t like scents due to a hypersensitivity. We actually use different cleaners than we commonly use to avoid leaving an odor in her vehicle to accommodate her needs. On the flip side we have a client who always ask for different air fresheners and likes to pick one each time. Something to think about.

Look what showed up today! Means next week they’ll be able to start wrapping the car! More pics to follow... PS - I hate the fluorescent lights since they don’t show the color shift well at all.

Welcome. Both of those colors can be something special when they’re polished out and layered up!

Update time...well, more of a stay tuned. I dropped the Lotus off at ACI Dynamix in Seymour, Connecticut today. The materials are ordered. My car was scheduled for April, but I have a client who’s stuck with the Cornonavirus stuff impacting work for him so we swapped appointments moving me up! In a week or two (probably closer to two), we will go down to see it. We are going to coat it right in their shop so it doesn’t need to be prepped again and while they have the wheels off. The wheels and calipers will be freshly powder coated and painted so it’s an easy prep. Then it just needs some inside love quick and will be ready for photos. I will post pics as I get teasers from them!

If you’re going to do the effort of a ceramic, you’re better off doing the two steps if that’s what your vehicle needs. Any single step polish or all in one is built on compromises. Compromises tend not to work well in the case of ceramics.

A one step polish will leave some sealant or wax behind. It really isn’t an ideal product to prep for any kind of a ceramic product. In a perfect world you want to truly polish the vehicle, remove any residues and then apply your ceramic over the top of that. This will help allow the strongest bond and best finish.

To expand on what @BRZN said, if they’re clear coated you can also use tar remover on them. We have some pretty strong stuff that if you let it dwell a bit works wonders on tar. There are products available out there for the purpose. Otherwise, treat them like paint. Uncoated wheels are rare because they’re a lot of effort to keep looking nice. And when they look bad...they’re really bad.

You can link LED shop lights off a single outlet. I got them inexpensively on amazon. We have a ton of them, but I think you can link six or eight of them in a row.

You’re welcome @falcaineer I’ll work on a follow up post this week when I have some time to write.

Try revive hand polish. You can machine polish vinyl with a finishing polish. Just be cautious of heat buildup and pressure applied. Without experience, vinyl isn’t the place to learn though.

That makes two of us. Need to let them get through the NYC auto show...

So here it is...after going to ACI and playing with films, this is the plan. The color is Matte Sunset Shift from Avery Dennison. It’s an orange that shifts to almost a gold at one end, and red at the other depending on viewing angle. This will save the jams and sills from being attention. Since the film is matte, it will bring out the contours of the body quite a bit. The image is under fluorescent lights. Outside it comes to life. We are going to do gloss black on the roof, a posts and mirrors. We are also adding the lower accents of what would be the Lotus Black Pack. So the lower splitter, the lower rockers. You can see what the black pack is on this image. The calipers will be done in some color on the film spectrum. They are going to be painted and have black lettering. The wheels will be powder coated gloss black and I’ll have new gloss black lug nuts. All emblems will be replaced with black ones of the same. The hood emblem and wheel center caps will be black/silver logos. To top it off, it will get a Viny/PPF specific coating from another manufacturer. Two layers on all matte film. A single layer and a gloss layer on the gloss films. And lastly wheels and calipers coated in a single layer (maybe two depending on time). Just have to wait for the NYC auto show and my car is first scheduled when they come back from that!

What’s your thoughts on Langka versus Dr. ColorChip? We haven’t used them but would be open to it.

The calipers will be done to compliment the color of the car. The car is coated currently. It makes it more difficult to get a wrap to stick. We did help them out by compounding the car before it goes there to rough it up a bit. The wheels won’t get wrapped. Some people do that, but I wouldn’t. I don’t think it’s durable enough for that. The wheels will be powder coated. @Nickfire20 you’re welcome to come check it out when it’s done. If I recall correctly, you’re local to me?

Just an update...going down to ACI tomorrow to check out some films. I have a few ideas rolling in my head. I just need to see what they look like on the car and what I can see myself living with. Ordering the black badging and emblems this coming week. The appointment is technically the end of April, but they may get me in earlier so I want to have things ready to go. By the time the wheels are powdercoated, calipers painted and car wrapped it’s a big project. Then when we get it back it needs a coat or two of ceramic on it to really top it off. I’ll post progress pics as I get them when it happens and I’ll document the ceramic process for the forums! Possibly shoot a nice video reveal when it’s done...

Honestly, you’re not going to take care of those by hand. You’ll never generate the speed you need to polish that out effectively. The general rule is that if you can catch a nail on the scratch, it needs a body shop to fix it. You might reduce it with polishing. If you can’t invest in the equipment, reach out to a detailer in your area and see what they can or will do for you.

You’re very welcome. We still learn as we go. I will use the seal act lightly, but my intent isn’t to bring it level entirely. Polishing will do that. You could do the same process with a color match paint chip bottle from the manufacturer as well. We’ve never had an issue with waxes/coatings over the top of repairs before. As for how long it takes to cure, if you go thin with the layers and use a heat gun, it’s pretty quick. What you don’t want to do is put a big blob of paint in where the exterior is hard and the inside is soft. It’ll rip right out with polishing. We get the kits from color chip so the client has something they can use on their own. But any color match paint will do with the paint writer.

Sounds like a multi part metal flake. Some paints use a base color. Then clear coat. Then metal flake (or metallic). Then more clear coat. You might have found a layer of metal flake. We did a custom painted Indian motorcycles. Ask me how I found out about that??? Went through and created what looked like an oil spot in the paint. Ended up getting it resprayed by the artist on my dime. You live and learn.

Sure. Waxes generally have fillers in them that will help. You can get color specific waxes to help even more. My guess is it’s got damage that needs a body shop to be repaired correctly. The best you can do is minimize it safely.

Is it a metal flake paint?