Customer Service & Satisfaction - The Big One

[Epoch]

56k click back quickly, you won't live long enough!

This is a “show it off” with a bit of a difference. For this detail has been a long time in the making and a great journey that I’d like to share with you. I apologise in advance for the number of pictures, but this make take a while.

Quick history on my detailing habits

I first became interested in car detailing whilst competing in car audio sound off’s many moons ago. The score sheet had marks for vehicle presentation, and as any one in competitions knows a clean car is an easy mark not to be missed. I started like many using Auto Glym Super Resin Polish, a wonder product at the time bringing my cars up lovely.

Then one day in 1998 I happened to witness a demo of some new products on the wing of a Red Lancia Delta Integrale HF ie. You know the story: the Zymol importer HD Cleansed and waxed one wing by hand with Concours. We all stood back and the shop he was demo’ing to agreed to stock the product and I bought a Crème starter kit there and then. I spent many years flicking through the Zymol product catalogue trying to understand why anybody would pay as much money as the top of the range Vintage wax cost, and wondering what the finish a wax costing that much looked like (Vintage was the top until about 2001 when they released Royale).

Why this detail post started

When my boss came into the work car park with a new-to-him Sapphire Black BMW 330Ci Sport about two years ago, I vowed that day that when he sold it, I wanted to buy it. I have always wanted one and this looked a great example. I had to endure watching the fairly good original condition of the car deteriorate over a 12 month period, with deep scratches (from a gritty cloth/sponge) appearing all over the paint work and lacquer peeling off the inside of the wheels (from strong wheel acid not being rinsed off properly). Every day I parked next to the ever dulling paintwork, until in about June 2006 he finally said it was time to upgrade. Although with a six-month-old baby and a wife that only did about 3 miles a day, a two door 3 litre coupe wouldn’t be most people’s first choice, I had set my heart on it. Knowing we were going to take delivery of this, I started to look into what products I could use to improve the poor condition. My wax of choice was Titanium at the time, Which I had been using with, I thought, great success. But with a new car arriving I wanted to see what the market had to offer. After a couple of posts on my Audio forum I ended up on Autopia and from there found Detailing World. This is where my quest truly began.
Reading the vast amount of informative posts just inspired me. And as you guy’s all know what a knowledgeable bunch of people you can all be I vowed that when we got the BMW I would restore the finish to a lot better than it looked on a daily basis in the car park.


The beginning

When I finally took delivery of the BMW, I immediately contacted John Hole of Clean & Shiny fame. After a few chats and with depleted stocks of various elements of the Zymol range, I decided to order a Concours complete kit. When speaking to Johnny he suggested, if possible, I call in and he would give the car a look-over for me. As it happened I was down seeing my parents in Essex so I special ordered the kit and arranged to meet Johnny the next day. I arrived at the C & S HQ and, as I posted at the time, delved into the Aladdin’s cave. Johnny had a look around the BM and reported back that although some of the scratches may not safely come out, the overall appearance of the vehicle could be vastly improved with a good PC’ing. I of course bought a number of other things whilst there and felt over the moon with having my car’s future checked out by an expert.

The following weekend I spent a long time prepping with HD and then coated the whole car with the Concours. I posted my first ‘show it off’ on DW and was a very happy man. I vowed to get a PC and build up the skill to remove the scratches and swirls from the paint. Meanwhile, I purchased a large volume of other detailing products from the approved traders on DW (a great bunch) to try out on my car and had a lot of fun learning all manner of bits and pieces thanks to you guys.

I ordered a PC for Christmas last year and conducted a test on the boot lid with my collection of Menzerna and felt very satisfied with the result. I vowed to return in the summer with my new techniques and bring the car to absolute top condition.

But you know how it works on DW: you start reading about the slightly improved finish from a rotary. You also read that this requires much more respect and practice. So I naturally started thinking about scrap panels and purchasing a rotary.

Now fully engrossed in the pursuit of excellence I started thinking if I was going to get the best from the car, now would be the time to find out what the finish from Vintage was like.

Another conversation with Johnny and I joined the 6 week waiting list for some Zymol Vintage.

Around this time I had the pleasure of attending the Charity detailing day organised by C & S, Carwashnwax and L200 Steve. A fantastic idea, new product launch for C & S, raising some money for a good cause, the opportunity to meet some of the true experts in the industry and even pick up a few tips and tricks. While I was never going to learn the art of the rotary in a 10 min demo, I started to understand what a true patient art defect removal was. I realised that if I wanted only the best, I’d need professional help hopefully with a little training along the way. A quick chat with L200 Steve and the seed had now taken root and become a fully grown tree.

Several pm’s and a couple of chats later, I call in on Steve in Leeds, who’s detailing a lovely Aston Martin, so that he can perform the first stage in an L200 detail. The pre detail inspection; this process is to establish what can realistically be achieved with the car and expected project requirements.

As will occur throughout this post, let’s hear from Steve himself

Jon asked me why I carry out such thorough pre detail inspections?

These are where the owner of the vehicle pays me a visit prior to us taking on the detail, and allows us chance to discuss what the owner expects and requires from their individual detail.

I carry these inspections out, because I'm aiming to give the owner complete satisfaction in whatever we perform for them. The Brinkmann comes out, we generally have a walk around the car, as I try to find out a little of the vehicles history. Has it been painted, how long have they owned it, are they interested in detailing or just after their vehicle restoring to it's former showroom glory.

The paint thickness gauge comes out, and we spend a little time trying to explain to the owner about what we are looking for. On certain occasions (in Jon's case for example) we even carry out a test section or two with the polisher and various polishes, to highlight what level of finish we feel that we will be able to achieve on their vehicle.

This all goes some way in my opinion, to setting the owners mind at rest before taking us up on our services, safe in the knowledge that we are aiming to prepare their vehicle to the highest of standard.




Once we had agreed the safest level of correction for the car. I had a great talk with Steve whilst he had a check over the car. Watching the care and attention taken on the test he confirmed my belief that the project was in the safest hands and that I had a lot to learn. He asked me what I wanted to achieve we talked and then he quoted the work time expected.

I’m set for a full weekend in Leeds with a simple brief

“Achieve the best possible, long-term, safe finish on my car”

I leave Leeds even more excited about the up and coming Detail

Meanwhile speaking with Johnny and John Barker at Zymol Europe I understand when my Vintage is due for delivery to the UK, but as the title of my thread, simple delivery by courier is not enough for Johnny on this purchase, no, he insists on an official C & S handover. But while discussing this and the distance between us we settle on if were going to meet where better than in Aladdin’s cave it’s self.

I’m sitting at work in a meeting two days before I’m due to go down to C&S HQ and I get a multimedia message on my phone.



Johnny at his finest, my Vintage has arrived at C & S. You can’t imagine the smile on my face. I’ve waited years for this and used all my "wife points" in one go (sharn't be getting much more detailig stuff for a while)

C & S HQ day arrives and I’m up at 04:00, leaving home at 05:00 on the 400 mile round trip. I arrive at Johnny’s at 8:30 to find he’s already there and Kev welcomes me with a cuppa (Cheers Kev). We talk cars, detailing, I show him mine, he shows me his (Vintage that is). After a few hours and with several things not on my shopping list in the car, I leave with my precious cargo.



Now with the Vintage sharing space in the fridge with some beer and baby milk, I am in regular contact with Steve to confirm the dates for our Detail. Luckily we are also able to be joined by Ant GTI-6 to really make a weekend of it.

The Detail weekend arrives

I’m up at 4:00 and loading up the car so that I can be in Leeds for 07:30 to meet with Steve and Ant. I will again now hand over to Steve to detail, as he does so well, the processes used with of course a few pictures thrown in.



The Wash Process

We started the detail with a pre soak of Chemical Guy's Citrus wash from a pump pressure sprayer. The citrus wash was diluted 5 parts water to 1 part product. I know that this dilution is a lot stronger than that suggested by the supplier, but this is a dilution that I have found great results using.

The solution of Citrus wash at this dilution is almost gel like, allowing the product a lot longer dwell time on the vehicle, with very little running of product. I know that you saw how slowly and thoroughly we were able to apply this, and how the product managed to stay wet for a long time. The longer the product gets chance to soak into any bonded dirt, the more effective it is.


We coat everything from the lower areas down with the Citrus wash, including wheels tyres and inner arches. You can sometimes get away without having to use a dedicated wheel cleaner, by treating the wheels first with Citrus wash.

[Epoch]

After about 5 minutes + of pre soak, and while the Citrus wash was still wet on the car, we covered the whole vehicle with a blanket of foam from the Gilmour. The foam was made up of Super Snow Foam (Old batch, saved for special occasions) and Chemical Guy's Maxi Suds II. The Gilmour was set to mix the product 128:1 on the mixer bar.

The foam blanket slowly sliding down the vehicle, taking with it most of the dirt loosened by the Citrus Wash. The foam blanket allowed time to dwell, whilst ensuring that at no point does it get chance to dry out.








After removing the chemical tank from the Gilmour, and using the trigger sprayer on a fine mist setting, the whole BMW was rinsed down, from the roof downwards. This was done slowly, using water pressure to agitate off any stubborn grime. The car left after rinse, almost clean enough 'as is'.






We took the wash one step further though. Ant mixed up a couple of buckets of Meguiar's Hyper Wash, in our Chemical Guy's Grit Guard buckets. Using a shMITT, Ant then used a 2 bucket method to hand wash the car.




Since Ant's come onboard to assist with most details now, he's become one of a growing army of shMITT convert's. The shMITT learning curve a very shallow one, and Ant demonstrating how to get the best from them in washing your vehicle.

Starting with a well rinsed shMITT, Ant submerges his shMITT covered hand deep into the shampoo bucket, folding the shMITT slightly with his hand to get it to absorb the most wash solution. Before removing his hand from the bucket, he opens up the hand opening of the shMITT to allow it to fill with solution also.




The first pass on the vehicle, is always made very very lightly, and in a straight line direction. No pressure is applied as the shMITT is slowly guided across your paintwork. After each pass, Ant checks the shMITT face for anything that he may of picked up, before wringing out the shMITT before submerging the shMITT in the rinse bucket. A few good squeezes in the rinse bucket, then it's back to the wash solution bucket. We put a shampoo mix into the rinse bucket, to aid with the rinse step. The second pass over the vehicle can be made with a little more pressure, safe in the knowledge that any potentially damaging grit has aleady been removed.

Starting on the top of the vehicle, and going round the vehicle in sections working his way down, Ant slowly and carefully hand washed the BMW.







I cleaned the already almost clean wheels using a double strength Hyper Wash solution, and a Zymol horse hair brush. The citrus wash pre soak had done a great job on your wheels of removing any dirt. The tyres were treated with Meguiar's Super Degreaser, cut 10 parts water to 1 part chem, to remove any traces of old tyre dressing, and leaving the tyre faces ready for fresh dressing.






In between washing the wheels and inner arches, I also followed Ant round, rinsing off the sections that he had washed. This ensured that no shampoo solution was allowed to dry on the paintwork of this vehicle.

The car given one final 'top to bottom rinse, before being taken up to the polishing shop.






I’d just like to add before we reach the polishing shop it’s time for;

[Epoch]

The Last Touch Spritz.

We'd started spritzing down the cars with Last Touch early last year. We were always conscious that the car may pick up dust from the short drive from the wash bay up to the polishing shop. We soon found that the spritz of Last Touch offered more to the drying process than just a little lubrication for the drying towels. The Last Touch breaking down the surface tension on any beading remaining after the final wash rinse, causing a lot of remaining moisture to run from the vehicle. The result being a much dryer vehicle to have to towel dry.



After spritzing with the QD, the drying towels were laid flat on the horizontals, then slowly slide from the surface after being given chance to absorb any remaining moisture. The vertical sections of the vehicle were pat dried with well folded towels, giving a lot less chance of causing any wash induced swirls.



I'd much rather spend just that little longer being careful as part of the wash and dry process, than repeatedly have to polish out defects that I have caused.

Due to the extent of the polishing stages planned for this vehicle, and also to aid with clean up after the polishing stages, we masked off the vehicle with 3M 3434 tape. This tape stands up to being polished over without any of the adhesive from the tape migrating to the vehicles bodywork. This too aids clean up time. All areas that were felt may be compromised during polishing (plastic parts, glass and trim etc) were all masked off.





It was then time to carry out the first of the paint thickness inspections.

The first paint thickness inspection is purely to identify any areas of the vehicle that may have been repaired, and therefore require more attention than the factory standard paint.

The second stage of the paint thickness readings is to establish the spread of paint thickness across each panel. This allows us to identify any areas that may have been machine polished before, or any areas where the paint may be much thinner than expected. Certain panels on this BMW had quite a high spread of readings, going from 150 microns to low 90's on one corner of the bonnet.

The 3rd set of readings was to establish how much total thickness was being removed by our polishing stages, and also to allow us to establish a safe working polish / pad and process combination to remove the defects from your paint, whilst creating the glossiest of shines.

The Polishing

This is my favourite part of most details, the finessing of the vehicles paintwork to create maximum reflection and shine. There is nothing more rewarding to me than removing that layer of dead oxidized paint found present on most cars, and leaving behind a level and finely polished high gloss finish.

I’d been fortunate to have been able to carry out a polish test section, as part of the pre detail inspection prior to this detail. There would be no need to spend any time during the detail investigating pad and polish combo’s. We found that by doing two full sets using Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD3.02 on a Meguiar’s W8006 polishing pad by Metabo, that we would be able to create a level of defect removal that both the vehicles owner and myself would be happy with.






Prior to commencing the polishing, we set up the full range of Menzerna polishes in front of a small heater, to bring the polishes up to their working temperature. Due to the lubricants and coagulants used by Menzerna, these polishes can prove a little tricky to get the best out of, if the weather is against you. The weather for the weekend of this detail was forecast with snow, and the shops unheated. We didn’t want to take any chances with the Menzerna being too cold to work with, so the heater was one of the first items of detailing kit packed. When the polish is too cold, it tends not to spread as the lubricating waxes wont flow , causing the abrasive in the polish not to work evenly. This is normally highlighted by the polish clumping, and dusting like crazy as the lubricant stays almost solid in the polish. We raised the temperature of the Menzerna range to about 30 to 35 degrees, which we’ve found to be a good working temperature.



Starting with a fresh Meguiar’s W8006 polishing pad on the Metabo, the first stage was to season the pad by spritzing with Meguiar’s Last Touch QD. Two light sprays of Last Touch, then the clean pad was run on speed 1 against a panel. This has a couple of effects –

1.) It stops the lubricants in the polish from soaking into the pad – This helps stopping the polish from drying out prematurely.
2.) It helps the pad run smooth against the surface to be polished, there’s no squeaking or hopping normally associated with running a dry pad.
3.) It helps soften the pad out a touch, to enable transitions over swage lines to be made a little easier.

Once the pad was seasoned, and ready to go, the warm polish was shaken well to ensure that it was thoroughly mixed. We applied two small pea sized blobs of polish onto the pad.



The pad placed lightly onto the panel to be polished, and then the Metabo turned on at speed 1. We let the pad spin for half a second before applying any pressure to the polisher, to create an even spread of polish around the pad. In my opinion this is vital to create an even finish whilst polishing. Once the polish was picked up into the pad, and with the Metabo still spinning on speed 1, the polish was spread over the 12” square area being worked. Once a thin even layer of polish had been laid out, the speed on the Metabo was increased to speed 3. This is my preferred polishing speed on most tasks. I do most of my polishing at speed 3, with the only variable being the amount of pressure applied to the head of the polisher.

Ant set up one of the PC’s with a Lake County 4” Orange light cut spot pad, and grabbed a bottle of warm Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD3.01 (you can’t tell as much difference between the two versions of IP by PC like you can with the rotary.) and proceeded to polish out the defects and level the paintwork on the bumpers and any other sections that were just too tight for me to get to with the 6 ½” megs pads by rotary.









The first set of passes with the rotary and the 3.02 were done to remove the majority of defects. This polish and pad combo removing all of the swirling, and most of the light scratches with ease. The second set of passes was done to fully level and refine the finish of the first set of passes. At the end of the second set the section was inspected using the Brinkman swirlfinder. Any defects remaining that it was felt would be 100% removed by a third set of 3.02 were tackled at this point. This BMW had some deep scratches around it, that you could easily catch your nail in. We felt that there was no point in sacrificing the integrity of the clear coat, for marks that even wet sanding would not remove. We instead carefully worked these sections using the polisher and Intensive Polish, to lessen how visible the marks were to the naked eye. This being the safest of options in my opinion.

We keep the pad flat to the surface being polished whenever possible, to ensure the most even of finishes, whilst reducing the chances of instilling holograms. This does tend to induce the most heat into the area being work, as the full face of the pad is in contact with the vehicle. We make regular checks to the increase in temperature of the panel, using the back of our hand. Even using the slower speeds that we use, we were still raising the temperature of the panel up to 35+ degree’s with ease.

[Epoch]

The whole car polished using the above method, every section receiving at least two passes by rotary and Menzerna IP 3.0x, and some sections 3 passes. You could see the look on the owners face reflected in the paintwork as we polished, each section restored being reward by another smile and nod of head by Jon. I do believe that he thought that the gloss couldn’t get better than what we had just created.

I set up both Metabo’s with fresh Meguiar’s W8006 pads, spritzed with Last Touch. Grabbing a couple of bottles of Menzerna Final Finish 106FF from in front of the heater, Ant and I set about raising the gloss levels further. Ant did the horizontals, whilst I took on the vertical sections. Working in 12” x 24” sections for this stage, but again doing all of the work on speed 3 on the Metabo.

The finer agglomerates found in the Menzerna 106FF levelling out any microscopic marring left by the much coarser 85RD3.0x polish. This 2nd finer stage of polishing resulting in a much higher level of gloss, whilst also finely rounding over the edges of some of the scratches we’d been forced to leave behind.

The 106FF can be worked until there is almost zero residue to remove, and leaves behind an almost perfect glass like finish. I know that were all wondering how this finish could be improved by any wax.

This is where we left this detail for the night – nearly 10 full hours after the detail had commenced, yet the polishing stages still not finished.

Early the following morning, while the next stage of Menzerna Polish got chance to warm up to temperature, breakfast was consumed and we surveyed the car.

The car as we found it



We set both Metabo’s up with Meguiar’s W9006 finishing pads, lightly spritzed with Last Touch. This time though, the final polish was Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish. Using the absolute minimum of polish on the pad, so that we were almost ‘dry padding’ the paint, we slowly set about instilling the highest of gloss levels into the BMW. As before, Ant got the horizontals, I got the verticals. The secret to a great hologram free finish with this polish is all in the pressure used. Too fast with the polisher, or too much pressure applied to the head of the machine, and you’ll dry out the polish lubricant far too quickly. Keeping the pad as flat as is possible, whilst watching the polish residue turn translucent being the key. Ant soon a master of the Metabo and final finishing.








Following the polishing stages it was now my chance to work more with Steve and Ant on prepping for the wax. A 50/50 mix of IPA and filtered water was lightly sprayed on to each panel and wiped over with a clean microfibre.

Once the whole car was IPA’d it was now time to start applying the HD Cleanse. A damp terry cloth over foam applicator was, with moderate pressure, moved in straight lines over the surface. The almost dry residue was then buffed off using a terry towel, as I find these tend to clog less than MF when taking off HD. The HD process is one in the past I have found to be very rewarding, bringing new levels of gloss to the paint surface. However after much discussion and looking we concluded that owing to the amount of polishing and refinement the HD did not seam to add much to the already gloss rich finish on this occasion. A second application using strokes at right angles to the first was felt to be a waste of time on this occasion. We completed the whole car’s paint work and also the exterior glass.



It was then time to open the waxes overnight bag and warm up our hands on the heater.



At this point we all went rather quiet as we thinly applied a coat of Vintage by hand.



As I had noticed with Concours compared to Titanium, Vintage was several stages harder again, a tiny amount of product can be warmed and spread a long way using an elastic type stretch. This was then left for around five mins before buffing off with some very plush MF’s. We then all stood back and looked












Reserving judgement until we finished the application process. We decided to go and get some lunch and return later to do the final buff with field glaze

We returned following a rather nice fish and chips using the country lanes to avoid traffic and the weather looked promising for some outside shots



When we arrived back at the shop Steve had a sit down for a while whilst Ant and I applied a fine mist of field glaze and then buffed off any oils that had risen to the surface. The weather, in the hour we had been back, took a turn for the worst





So we took some final indoor photo’s

[Epoch]

Then as if by magic the snow stopped and the sun made a small appearance, so we rushed the car out side for a couple of shots


















I was at this point again a little less vocal than I had been all weekend, as I was truly gob smacked with the results, sure I had spent a lot of money on wax and had one of the best teams polish the car. But I think the shots speak for themselves.

My Conclusions of this weekend.

I got chance to sit back and potter about with the little bits like Meguiar’s Plast X’ing the headlight lenses whilst Jon and Ant IPA’d the last traces of PO85RD residue from the BMW. I was watching the IPA evapourate, but the shine and gloss staying the same. Evidence at that point, that our polishing work this weekend was ‘as good as it gets’. I couldn’t see at this point, any product improving on what we as a team had created. Jon and Ant followed on from the IPA with the HD Cleanse stage, I did a bit of tidying using Einszett Plastic Cleaner. The HD Cleanse buffed off, and still the BMW looked the same in my eye’s as it had straight after polishing.

Jon got the wax out (for the fifth or sixth time this weekend), though this time the lid got opened, and Jon and Ant carefully applied the Vintage with their hands. I assisted with the buffing off of the product, and was surprised at the ‘shimmer’ it added to the paintwork. Reflections were already good, but the Vintage had added a level of liquidity to the paintwork. The flake present in the paintwork, now much more prevalent than before. I must admit to being impressed with ‘that something special’ that the Vintage added to our work, slowly inspecting the BMW from a distance, and from close too as well.

We broke for lunch, three good mates who met through this detailing pastime. As the record states, I needed to ‘sit down’ for half an hour on our return after a really good lunch. On my return to the shop I found Jon and Ant just finishing the final buffing off of any remaining oils from the Vintage. I’d stared closely at this cars paintwork for upwards of 14 hours already as part of this detail, yet the BMW now looking slightly different. The sharp edges of the BMW’s panel work seeming to be more rounded than before, the paintwork looking liquid, almost something you felt you could put your hand into?

The BMW rolled out into a brief spell of sunlight, to let us truly assess this weekend’s detail. Same as Jon, I became a little less vocal. I’ve been fortunate to get chance and opportunity to detail some nice vehicles, and apply some nice LSP’s since starting detailing. This detail standing out though, as not only looking special, but as indication of the completion of Jon’s ‘journey’. I knew how much time and effort Jon had put into this, and what the Vintage purchase meant to Jon.

I felt a little privileged to be part of this, to be able to contribute my actions to assisting Jon reach his goal.

On the way home I drove through sleet, snow and hale stones, but the car although in need of a wash, remained fairly clean and has done so all week.

I hope you all enjoyed this journey, of course for me it’s not over as I have now put into practice my good wash techniques and apply some more coats of Vintage. My car Silver A4 will of course still remain a test bed for many a detailing product but the BMW is now about as good as its going to get. Although of course the wheels need refurb’ing and the interior will need a bit of work!!!!!

Thanks for reading, thanks to Johnny, Ant and Steve. I’ve enjoyed every step of this detail thanks to the customer service you guys have provided. It feels more like I’ve made some friends and learnt a few new things.

And that for me is what DW is all about.

Six month update can be found here

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...8&postcount=86

[ahaydock]

Wow that is one impressive write up! Good job!

[Craigo]

is there sposed to be pictures where the red inserts are?

[Liverpool-Lad]

Argh its all gone wrong!

[Gleamingkleen]

any photo's of finished work???

[Gaz W]

Wow, Finished Piccy's Please!!