Detailed Reflection Auto Spa - 2014 Camry Hybrid - Cardaddy & CarMomma - PBL Paint, Glass & Wheel Coating - Attitude Black Metallic

[cardaddy]

WARNING LONG POST

Double warning - LOTS of Photos.....

So, a week ago I received a call from a prospective customer that had bought a 2013 Camry Hybrid saying he had been told we were the people to call. I asked him about the car and he said his wife had been in an accident and totaled out their previous Camry Hybrid and that her ONLY requirement for a new one was that it be “black”.

His requirements however were more detailed. He wanted all the bells and whistles, nav, rear camera, moon roof, basically “top of the line”. So he started his search for his new (used) car and seemed to, (of all places) found it in Chicago. That wasn’t anything new to him, as the last one he said he bought in Boston. Seems buying used from the northern Snow Belt saves him enough money to buy a plane ticket, fly up, and drive them home. Although wouldn’t that negate the savings? Me…. I’d rather have one that has never seen the snow, and especially the brine and salt and massive potholes so frequent in the Snow Belt. (It was actually on the news lately that your average pot hole (not a big massive one) is the equivalent of a 35mph crash!) To each his own I guess.

So we began to talk about what he was looking for, and he said that the car was black, he bought it with only 1500 miles on it, and it was in the middle of an ice and snow storm. Went up, drove it home, and that was a few weeks ago. He said the paint didn’t look all that good and told the dealership as much, so for his trouble they gave him a $100 gift card. He then started to ask what we did and I started explaining to him that we ARE NOT the typical “Car Wash Guys”, that isn’t what we do. In fact, if we are washing your car, our basic package would run in the $125 range and take 3~4 hours.

Then as we started to discuss the status of his car I explained to him that Toyota still uses single stage paint on black, white, and red vehicles to this day. WHY I have no idea? But, being black his single stage paint will be fairly soft and without seeing it I can only imagine what condition it may be in. But with my experience I can say that being black, (and soft) that it meant it scratches very easily, but on the other hand, it’ll correct easier than a ‘hard’ paint. Yet it can still take much more time to correct than a base coat/clear coat and get right. Without seeing it however I really couldn’t quote him a price.

By now he was asking what our services ran and what I would suggest. After a discussion as to who would be driving the car, is it garaged, how do they wash it, and if they’d be interested in learning HOW to wash it correctly we started to explore options. He said it was going to be his wife’s “baby” and garaged, using it to haul the kids around. Then he said he had been told about a coating from the guy that recommended us and thought that was what he may want. I explained that he may be just as well served with a daily driver by us putting a good sealant on it, and keeping it updated every 3 ~ 4 months or so, and if it needed it… a light polishing at such time. By doing the sealant we wouldn’t have to do as much now, but it may cost a bit more if we polish it once or twice a year.

After a bit more conversation as to what all could be involved, types of paint, types of product etc. He said he really wanted me to look at the car. At that point we agreed he could come by Thursday and I’d inspect it. I told him that I couldn’t give him any fair estimate without the inspection, plus when he was here he could see a bit of what we do, what all sorts of products we have, and get a feel as to our service and level of commitment. In the beginning he had said he thought his $100 gift card was going to get him “half way there”, and at this point I told him he’d be better saving that for gas. The last thing I told him I wanted was for there to be any surprises. I assured him we could go over it together and formulate a plan that he would be both happy and extremely comfortable with once all was said and done.

So Thursday came and he brought the car over, right on time. Not a bad looking car, but OMG was it THRASHED!!!!!!! We had had rain last week, and it was of course dirty, but the paint was so swirled it almost looked like a stainless steel kitchen appliance rather than a black painted automobile. I had pulled my main 4 buckets out to the drive, 1 full of 14 different wheel and wheel well cleaning brushes, another marked “WHEELS”, then one marked “CLEAN RINSE”, and the last marked “PAINT ONLY – SOAP” (which is also silver where the others are blue). This was so I could explain to him not only what a 2BM was, but why important it is, and how it works, grit guards in place inside them all. Doesn’t hurt that in the single car garage there is a big AutoGeek.net banner, and in the two car next to it hangs the Meguiar’s banner either.

After a bit of small talk I rolled the cart over to the car, pulled out a decent microfiber and a bottle of ONR and started walking around the car, doing a first inspection. The overall first look was something I wasn’t totally prepared for as it was horrendous! Plenty of paint chips, more than its share of dings already, and major swirls. As if that wasn’t enough, it had holograms and buffer trails on the right rear quarter panel. Looks like behind the right rear door, where it meets the wheel arch it’d been brushed up against something rather hard, possibly cement! Enough damage there where you could see a bit of crinkling in the wheel arch itself.

Next after cleaning off half a dozen different areas around the car I reached for my (now rare) Brinkman swirl finder. While I noticed when looking at the car, (the owner still didn’t know), that the car wasn’t SOLID black at all. It was metallic! In fact, it’s called Attitude Black Metallic. I then told him that I had good news, and possibly bad, depending on how important it is to his wife that her “baby” be “black”. I pointed out to him that the car was in fact metallic and he was speechless! He said; “Is that the bad news?” Then I told him that actually that was the good news, because with it being “clear coated” it meant that it was going to be easier to keep up, which was a VERY good thing. Plus it’d actually be easier for us to correct without putting so much work into single stage black. But, Toyota’s are known for having soft paint, so no matter what, they needed to start using the “2 Bucket Method”.

We then discussed the work and cost involved with preparing for a sealant versus work/cost for a coating. Remember me saying he had received a $100 gift card? He told me originally he was thinking that would get him half way to where he needed to be to get his wife’s new vehicle to looking like a new car should look. Then he said he’d been calling around and found quotes in the $200 ~ $250 range. That’s when I told him that he really needed to ask them what equipment they would use, what products, and how much time they would spend on the project. He had gone from thinking $250 was far too much, to understanding that was quite possibly the biggest mistake he may have ever made.

After our meeting he had gone from skeptic, to interested, to intrigued, to SOLD! He also chose to coat rather than seal. And the fact that he was spending more than three times what he thought it was going to cost never entered his mind.

I told him he could bring the car Friday afternoon and we’d get it washed, decontaminated, via snow foam and IRON-X, clayed and/or Nanoskinned and start prepping for a full day Saturday of taping and buffing. Because we were expecting a dry weekend through Tuesday that we would get it coated either late Saturday, or by lunch Sunday and he could pick it up Sunday afternoon.

But this is just part of the story. As a lot of y’all know already, Cardaddy has been having one heck of a time with the ol’ back lately. So much so that before the customer showed up Thursday it took a hand full of pain pills, a new ice pack, an almost new $995 back brace, and of course my carbon fiber cane (with flames of course, because them make me go faster) just to do the meeting.

But what you don’t know, is CarMomma got a new Rupes Duetto last week! Oh YEAH Baby! She has been more than amazing the last few month’s guys; I mean she has seriously stepped up. She tore into a Jag Vanden Plas 3 weeks ago like a pro. That car we had the luxury of having for a week, so I could at least TRY to help a bit when I felt like it. (That one we’ll put photos up hopefully this week.)

You’ll notice on the hood we tried a number of test spots. Normally I’d have done 3 tops, but with the Duetto in the picture now we needed to see how it was going to work, and what it brought to the game. So bring up the GG6, white LC pad & 205, GG6 orange LC pad & 205, GG6 white LC pad & D300, GG6 orange LC pad D300, and finally Duetto with the Rupes yellow pad & D300. The white/205 combo just didn’t have enough to get it done. Next was orange/205 and that was a very good, almost good enough combo and had it been a sealant that might have been enough. Then; in steps the white/D300 combo and that could easily have done all but the worst spots, HAD THERE NOT been so many RIDS.

Much to our dismay, this car, underneath a SEA of swirls was a massive amount of RIDS! Next, orange/D300 and WHAM that did it, so I knew that on the bumpers front and rear, and rockers that CarMomma could go to it with a 4” pad with the GG6 and she was good to go.

But what about the Rupes? Did the white LC pad work with it as well as the GG6? Well yes it did in fact, and better than it did with the GG6. After all, isn’t that why we are buying the “Bigfoot” line, for the increased stroke and overall stronger ability to correct? I then decided to check out the texture of the Rupes yellow and white pads as well. Clearly the Rupes white is a finishing pad, several orders above the LC white pad. Whereas the Rupes yellow pad was GOLDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That, with D300 was “Winner winner CHICKEN DINNER!” No need to go back over any “problem areas” as it hit it all the first time, every time.

Below is the first wave of prepping, and in process work photos. I had promised the owner 80% correction, opting (as usual) to under promise and over deliver. After all…. that is what keeps them believing in, and recommending your services. Of course we all know that once he opted for a ‘coating’ that 80% just isn’t good enough. Yet at the price we quoted we still needed as close to an AIO as possible. Knowing that the paint was on the soft side helped, but that doesn’t guarantee “one and done”. This made the choice of the Rupes and yellow pad an even better choice. Were it not for the coating, I’ve no doubt that a LC white pad with the Rupes (or GG6) and Megs 151 would be plenty enough. Just that with the built in ‘wax’ effect of 151 that would require having to strip it off to get the coating to bond. Although I still think D300 comes out of basically the same vat, just LOVE the cinnamon smell of D300 though!

Finished everything out with Pinnacle Black Label coatings. Full boat, paint, glass, and wheels. Have CarBoy to thank for the wheels. He took them all off and did that work, (under protest of course).

Anyhow, here’s the first round of photos. I’ll put the finished photos up in another post. Note the right rear quarter panel was so bad that it needed wet sanding in areas. Especially note the wheel arch area I mentioned that had been hit against something rather hard. You should have seen CarMomma’s eyes when she came around the car with her Rupes and I’d taken the GG6 with the Megs foam 3000 disc and sanded that side down! Told her to hit it with the Rupes and D300 and just watch.



Amazing isn't it?


Now to the test spots










After removing tape, REALLY starts to show how thrashed it was.








CarMomma and her new toy!
Note just how easy and smooth you handle the little Rupes.
Reflection already starting to show up in the finish, through the D300 even!



Right rear quarter, filled with buffer trails, holograms, and previous damage that the dealer had hidden.


Wet Sanded, ready for the CarMomma treatment.


After D300, nothing else needed.


CarMomma did all the taping too! AND she did all the CRAZY bumper angles with the GG6 and a 4" orange CCS.




Blatant advertising perhaps? (At least I didn't turn the sprayer around backwards and aim it at my face.)


We had told the owner we'd seal all the external rubber and trim. Did the cowling in UTTGP. Not much hard plastic on the Camry so it really wasn't needed elsewhere. On all the other rubber and trim we did Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant with a detailers Q-tip and a variety of other Q-tips from tiny to big as your thumb and a foot long.

[jamesboyy]

Nice work on that Camry looks amazing

[GreatAvalon]

Wow, great job bringing the Camry back to life. When I first started reading it and you said the black was single stage I was thinking "the Camry's are Attitude Black (BC/CC), not SS!" But you are definitely the professional, and picked up on it right away during your inspection. That is a great reason to do thorough inspections. Great job with it all! That wet sanded picture is scary, I'm glad you know what you are doing! I would destroy a car if I ever try that!

So can you confirm that the Toyota Attitude Black was actually soft paint?

[Dellinger]

Bang up! Love the story!

-Gabe

[cardaddy]

Nice work on that Camry looks amazing

Thanks dude, CarMomma did good didn't she?

Actually I was able to work on the hood and upper panels, just can't bend over.

Uploading the finished photos now.

Wow, great job bringing the Camry back to life. When I first started reading it and you said the black was single stage I was thinking "the Camry's are Attitude Black (BC/CC), not SS!" But you are definitely the professional, and picked up on it right away during your inspection. That is a great reason to do thorough inspections. Great job with it all! That wet sanded picture is scary, I'm glad you know what you are doing! I would destroy a car if I ever try that!

So can you confirm that the Toyota Attitude Black was actually soft paint?

Yeah, the owner didn't even know it was metallic. I looked at it Thursday when he brought it for inspection and he couldn't believe it. Then Friday when he and his wife delivered it I told them it was "Attitude Black Metallic" and she said "ATTITUDE? Well you're sure talking to the right man there then!".

Whatever had happened to the quarter panel really was bad. I felt that we had to do something. It actually has a bit of a skipping damage in it still, little nicks about ¼" apart, about a dozen of them. But now they don't stick out like a sore thumb.

YES.... it is soft paint!

OTOH, my sons 98 4Runner is silver (see it in the background in this next batch of photos) and it's hard as a rock. Go figure....

Bang up! Love the story!


-Gabe

We had fun if nothing else. And speaking of microfiber.
Should have 300 or so new towels show up next week!

[Tato]

Took the time to read all the story, and 'I'm sold', amazing story and results. 'CarMom' is really kicking swirls with her new polisher. Keep doing the good work!

You not only spoke good words, you've done it all, everything claimed and more. Your work is top notch.

Thanks for sharing,

Kind Regards.

[cardaddy]

As promised, finished photos.
































Really overcast day, so no blue sky reflections. But clear reflections in the hood none the less.

What I did do on top of the hood and fenders was go back over it with the Duetto, Rupes white pad and Menz 4000. REALLY made it stand out!

















Another decent hood reflection shot.


Is that a clean wheel or not?

[spiralout462]

I thoroughly enjoyed the read as usual! Your analogy of a stainless steel appliance is certainly accurate! I guess his gift certificate got one of his new wheels cleaned? hahaha!

No matter what happens with the back, keep up the writing! I love it!

Congratulations to CarMomma and CarBoy as well! Great job!

[Flash Gordon]

Nice work bro

[Bob57]

Awesome work!
Enjoyed reading the post and loved the pictures



Bob