Preparing your new car to a professional standard whilst providing long term protection and ease of maintenance.
BMW X3 – Ceramic Detail
Having not indulged in a great deal of motoring press recently I was a little surprised when my customer brought this in for a New Car Detail. I was expecting the more “boxy” smaller version of the X5. So a note to myself to keep more abreast of the updates to models!. This new X3 is more what I would describe as an estate on steroids – appearing longer and lower, yet having quite a high bonnet profile.
It was agreed with the customer that his new vehicle would have my standard ceramic detail package, which judging from what others are doing in the trade is a little more than “standard”. Well it’s my standard, so will stick with it! 1 day for preparation and 1 day for the ceramic coatings will see most new cars sorted.
Day 1
After a good wash outside it was time to bring the car inside and have a really close assessment. One day a brand new car will come in and it will be a relatively easy job – but as usual I could see potential extra time to correct the paintwork more than what I would have expected.
Of course at this point I could have just panel wiped the car down ready for the ceramic coatings but that’s not what I do here at The Gleaming Car Co. Its about taking genuine pride in my work and producing the best results possible in that given time. Most clients are probably blissfully unaware of all the processes and time that goes into having their car professionally detailed, which is fine by me and I wouldn’t expect them to, but I can sleep at night knowing that I have done everything I can to go beyond expectation.
Most of that first day was taken up by correcting the paintwork – removing the swirls that had most likely been caused by a bad wash process. Once I was happy with the results it’s time to ensure every part of the exterior is free from any polish residue and absolutely squeaky clean. If the paintwork or any other area isn’t free from any previously applied polishes, dirt etc etc then the coatings will not bond correctly resulting in loss of protection probably a few months down the line. This is another key advantage of having your car detailed indoors in a controlled professionally lit environment.
Day 2
Coatings Day. Yipee – my favourite bit. I always start early on Day 2 – usually a 7am start. This allows me a bit of wiggle room should I decide with fresh eyes that a bit more prep is required on certain areas or just to have a buffer of time as applying ceramic coatings is precise and time consuming. With professional grade ceramics they need to be applied to small sections at a time. I have separate formulations for the paintwork, glass and wheels which are all coated as (not that word again) standard! My ceramic coatings need a 4hr cure time prior to rain exposure – so I work towards having the car coated by lunchtime and ready to collect by close of business that day. On this particular day the heating was working overtime to maintain an ideal temperature for curing.
After 2 days and snow blindness this lovely new shape X3 was ready for collection. The customer was extremely happy with the visual results and I always get the customer to gently feel the paintwork…….should be as smooth as silk and glass like in appearance. It was of course and was very happy to receive another 5* review for my efforts.
