Generally, When someone calls us with questions on protecting their new investment – we educate them on the technologies we offer over about a 25-40 minute phone call. However, we understand that not all people have time to make that phone call, so we will do our best to explain it here.
First of all congratulations on your purchase, and we’re so glad that you have made it to our site. This means that you are looking for a solution to protect your car, greater than the solutions that were either offered at the new/used car dealership. You can quickly sink just as much if not more into a fast, warranty type “paint sealant” offered by others - that do not provide a lasting value to the customer. Most, if not ALL dealers can suggest these types of services to the customer, they are expensive, done very quickly, and do not last. They are selling you a warranty, peace of mind and not a product that performs.
What we do differently
The car that you have purchased needs protection in a few different ways to keep it looking like new. There are two main types of automotive paint protective technologies that you need to know about : Paint Coatings or “Ceramic Coatings” and Paint Protection Film or “Clear Bra” .
These two different technologies protect your paint in very different ways. Lets start with Paint Coatings.
PAINT COATINGS
Paint Coatings are TRUE protective sealants that are 100% inorganic and cure as hard as glass. Literally, we have chunks of cured Paint Coating that are very very hard and crystal clear. When these coatings are applied to your paintwork, they DO not oxidize. Which means your paint will not oxidize. It also makes cleaning your paint very very easy, because the surface is extremely hydrophobic. Because of it’s hardness you will also notice that your paint does not accumulate scratches/swirls as easily as it did prior to the coating. The paintwork will also have a beautiful shine/glow that will last for years.
We use the absolute most durable solution to protect your paint literally offered in the entire world – Modesta. It’s not like we have just stumbled upon this manufacturer either. We have been using protective coatings for years and our research has led us to them. Why? In a nutshell – they produce the highest content / most pure “Silica-Quartz” or “SI02” coatings in the world. They are a Japanese Coating Manufacturer and have been around really since the birth of ceramic coatings almost 20 years ago. Through our own independent testing we have recognized Modesta as the top performer over many other Ceramic Coatings. Installing this coating is no wipe on wipe off walk in the park either – we spend hours preparing the paintwork and installing the coating, making sure that the paint is flawless before installing, and carefully apply it panel by panel under high powered inspection style lighting. Basically the Coating Installation Process goes like this:
(And if the other guy you are considering can’t explain this then……)
- Washing / Degreasing / Decontamination: When we pull the car into our wash bay we deep clean the entire vehicle. Which means we degrease the engine bay, jambs, wheels & wells / Rockers, Use wheel safe wheel cleaner on the barrels and faces, hand wash the entire vehicle, pressure wash, then carefully decontaminate the exterior. We use a process very similar to “clay barring” to remove surface contaminants to make the paint baby-butt smooth, removing everything that is embedded into the paint, preparing it to be polished. Once the contaminants are removed, we rinse again and dry using high quality microfiber drying towels and compressed air.
- Paint Correction, Polishing & Primer Installation: The next step we have to take before installing the coating on your vehicle is perfecting the paint. Now, its important to understand that not all paint is the same, and some vehicles may require additional polishing time to reach perfection – but we will go over that with you when we assess your car and schedule your appt. Once the vehicle is completely dried, we tape off all of the plastic trim on your vehicle, to be protected during the polishing process. We assess the paint condition and choose a polish, pad & machine that we believe will produce the results that we need to prepare the surface for installation of the coating. We then replicate this process panel by panel until the vehicle paint has been perfected. Once perfected, we use STRAIGHT Isopropyl Alcohol to fully strip the surface of all remaining polishing oils. (Polish is suspended in water, mineral oil …. Etc..) We want to make sure the paint is completely virgin and nothing interferes with the chemical bonding process of paint coating to paintwork. Once the paint is completely virgin, we install a Modesta Primer. The modesta primer is a lot like a High gloss finishing polish, but infused with SI02. This primer is best described as a magnet that intensifies and thickens the bond between paint and paint coating making it even more durable and long lasting. This is a crucial step that most coating installers DO not do which is one of the reasons the Modesta product and installers have such long-lasting results. Once the vehicle is primed, 180 minutes need to go by (cure time) , then its time to install the coating.
- Installation of the Coating: The installation process is a little different than most ceramic coatings in the fact that its not simply, wipe on, wait for the product to flash, then remove the excess and check for high spots. We actually have to activate the product by misting a solution on the paint & applicator – then evenly distribute the product via eyedropper (a hefty amount as well, about 4x more than traditional coatings) on the panel. Removal of the excess coating is with a slightly damp towel after its set time & multiple towels are used to ensure a perfect finish. Once every panel has been coated, we use a SHORT WAVE IR lamp to bake each panel. About 15 minutes @140 degrees cures the coating to be even more durable and long lasting. This step requires investment in IR baking technology that many detail shops don’t do. The baking process takes time, and it doesn’t necessarily make an immediate change in gloss, so many skip it – but we have found it makes the coating much more durable and last longer. Its all about creating a “hard” protective candy shell on the exterior of your vehicle, That hard candy shell is maximized by the baking process. Once we are finished baking, the finish receives it’s final wipe with an special blended topper product produced by Modesta (which we stock).
Caring for your new coating
If you desire a perfect show car finish with no swirls scratches or imperfections, then you need to take exceptional care of it regardless of what protective coating is installed on your paint. You cannot expect to go through an automatic carwash once a week for a year and have a swirl/defect free finish. Your finish will still be protected and glossy, just not swirl free. Because you have a ceramic coating, models will likely not be able to sit on our vehicle’s hood without creating marring. Lastly, if you think that now you will be able to slide across your hood smokey and the bandit style without consequences – you are mistaken.
If you want to maintain a perfect finish, you need to wash your vehicle by hand, using the right materials, and wipe it down properly with a high quality clean microfiber towel. And truly, over any other protective sealant product – Modesta will keep your finish beautiful for years.
Paint Protection Film
Paint Protection Film is similar to a Paint Coating in the fact that it protects the paint from oxidation, but is so thick (150 microns of of an inch thick) that it protects the finish from flying debris, chips & anything else that may impact your paint. If you plan on driving your vehicle and not setting it on a shelf, it is basically required. Most all new vehicles need some form of PPF or another. It really depends how much of the front of the vehicle is painted, how much of the rocker / tire area is painted and how you will be driving it. For example, if you have purchased a new 911 or Tesla, you would want to wrap the entire front end because the cars sit so low to the ground, that the entire front end is an impact area. Areas that are also receiving chips are rockers and rear wheel well areas because of the stones that are thrown up by the tires. These are also commonly wrapped areas. On the other hand, an SUV or truck could be fine with just wrapping the painted bumper and 6” of the hood, because they sit so high up, it is less likely for anything else chipping the hood. The idea is to wrap any areas that can be chipped from the car itself or from anything in front of it that could be throwing debris at you. We have a variety of commonly wrapped packages put together for you so you don’t have to guess. An added benefit from modern clear bra and PPF is that it is self healing. Self-Healing nano-topcoated films like the ones we install are beautiful, glossy and have no texture. The self-healing aspect also ensures that you wont ever see any swirl marks. So your paint finish will stay flawless even if you like to wipe it down religiously with your California Car Duster.
Essentially, You will need to decide on what is important to you and how much protection you desire. It is all about how the car will be driven and taken care of. Hopefully this article clarifies some of the confusion shared between the two topics mentioned above.
Thanks for Reading,
Your Detail Guy Drew
drew@polishworksautodetail.com
260-415-2202
