As the saying goes "It takes six months to build a Rolls-Royce and 13 hours to build a Toyota"

Why is that? Simply put - because quality takes time. Our fast paced lifestyles have caused a shift in most industries and it isn't for the better. It has gone from who can do it right? To who can do it right now in the fastest amount of time for the least amount of money? Ever wonder why the cheeseburger that used to be delicious and take 5 minutes to cook now only took 1 minute but was cold? Why does company A cost 3 times as much and take 3 times as long as company B? The answer is simple - We demanded it. We wanted the same product in less time for less money and in most cases only one thing really changed - The Quality.

Why does our "single-stage correction" service take 8 hours while a dealership can do a "6 stage buff" service (whatever the heck that is) in 2 hours for 1/4 the price? Quality - the tools, the products, the experience, and even the service itself is different. Yes, this bugs me and it bugs me for a reason. Quick shops have made this the new standard of detailing and it shifted the industry for the worst. I ask one question for anything I purchase. It's not "why is that so expensive" but "how in the heck are they so cheap." In most cases the client just really doesn't know and this is no fault to themselves. It is just the simple fact that nobody has ever explained what the real beneficial differences are in A vs B.

The post below is meant as an educational one as we take a repainted vehicle with a very quick "buff" and turn it into a paint job worth noticing.

This is the story of an Audi S4 that belongs to a long time good friend of mine...

After an unfortunate snow incident his Audi was left severely beaten and in need of a new paint job. Not wanting to spend more than the car is worth on a paint job, he enlisted a smaller shop to perform the paint job. After a couple weeks in the elements and sun, he started to notice his paint job wasn't exactly the finish he was looking for. As the fillers started to wear down the real issues at hand started to show.

When vehicles receive a "quick buff" they are left with fillers in the paint which mask swirls, marring, and rotary burn marks. Fillers do exactly what it sounds like, they fill in the voids in the clear coat making damage look less noticeable. Then after a couple weeks of rain or car washes you are left with a finish that may look even worse than when you took it in.

Have no fear!

We performed a full decontamination wash to rid the paint of all forms of compounds, waxes, sealants, etc which can give us a better picture of what we are truly dealing with. We found out it was going to take more than we expected and required our "multi-stage correction" service. This is where we start with a heavy - medium cut compound and finish with a fine polish. To perform this process correctly the timing can be anywhere in the range of 15 hours on up to 40+ hours depending on condition, size of vehicle, and finish that is desired.

With changing a tool, pressure, pad and/or compound we can get the desired finish we are looking for on that certain step of the service. No paint is the same and neither should the system that you are using be. A softer paint would require less aggressive methods to get the same outcome. This is where a "test spot" comes in. Most quick shops use the same all in one with the same pad across, sometimes even on multiple vehicles.

With our #rupes tools, compound and polish setup for our desired outcome we can now begin to go around the entire car. This car required 20 hours of compounding alone with the severity of damage including sanding marks from the body shop. Enjoy the before and after photos below and see why all the long hours make it totally worth it!

When you are physically correcting paint you are leveling out the defects in the clear coat. Yes, it makes your clear coat thinner which is why it is important to have the process done correctly the first time. As clear coat becomes softer and more thin from the factory some cases may be damaged to the point of no return.

Only once we have our desired finish we then can put our level of protection on. If the business performed a correction and bragged about adding 5 layers of wax (true story) to make it look good then it is most likely not done properly! In this case we chose our very durable Daddy-O paint sealant by #shinesupply giving us up to a year of protection with proper maintenance. We also have our choices of ceramic coatings that can be applied for a lasting level of protection that waxes and sealants can't match. However, it is more important than ever to perform a correction before a ceramic coating as these can have a magnifying effect on a finish and actually make defects be more pronounced.

Our sealant is applied with a very soft finishing pad and by machine to give us the most even coverage and left to cure for about an hour allowing it to bond with the surface.

The sealant is then removed and we are left with a finish that has no fillers and won't disappear after a few washes. The sun was hiding behind the clouds, but we were able to get a couple shots to show the difference in the fender from the original photo.

We hope you enjoyed this informative post and return for further vehicle write ups and how-to's!

Contact us today for all your paint correction and protection needs!!

Lambert Auto Detailing

www.lambertautodetailing.com

(720)525-8461

info@lambertautodetailing.com

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