[beemermans]

Originally Posted by David328M-Sport

Dealer needs to be reported to Opti-Coat and a solution sought.

I watched my protection being done by Morrie @ reflection perfection, not because i dont trust him but simply because i wanted to learn something along the way. I dont normally want to break balls and watch people but he didn't mind and boy did I learn a lot! Its quite mesmerising how many steps it takes to properly make sure the paint is spot on before applying anything.

[screenshot]

Originally Posted by beemermans

Its quite mesmerising how many steps it takes to properly make sure the paint is spot on before applying anything.

Wow care to share? I knew there was quite a process to get the paint decontaminated prior to applying a durable sealant. My understanding is thus: Fully wash car, Claybar then finally clean off with Degreaser to remove any left over oils and chemicals that might be left behind by detergent and claybar action. Am I far off?

[beemermans]

his steps were first up he used this stuff called trix sprayed it all over car, its a iron de-contaminant and this melts haha im not sure if thats the right word i should use but it removes embedded iron in the paintwork. He explained he performs this as some new cars are kept near rail yards and what have you and get contaminated. He high pressured it off and then did it all over again. Then he foam lanced it x 2, followed by wash by super soft sponge. He high pressures the foam off then sheets water off with the hose to help remove majority of water so less chance of scratching surface when drying. He uses this stuff on wheels called iron x.......it literally smells like dog s**t. But works a treat in cleaning up wheels. I must mention that he does this in the foam lance stage. He agitates Iron X with a soft wheel brush. He then clay barred the car and followed up on that with a Isopyrol solution wipedown, there were a tiny bit of dealership swirls in areas so he gave those areas a single stage polish followed by this blue stuff (cant remember what its called) he uses to remove the oils of the polish.
After polishing out the areas that were needed he Isopyroled the all the paintwork again, to make sure correct bonding of hard body would occur. He applied 2 coats of hard body for me and coated my outer rims not the inside! He dressed my glass with invisible glass and treated any plastics with this white stuff, cant remember what thats called eith lol.

And that it i think, if theres anymore i reme,ber he did i will post it

[screenshot]

Wow that's gold mate and thanks. Good memory and lots of patience for you to sit there for like 6-8 hours while he does all that. Definitely far more involved than I had imagined, and very very thorough indeed.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by beemermans

I watched my protection being done by Morrie @ reflection perfection, not because i dont trust him but simply because i wanted to learn something along the way.

Morrie loves to share his knowledge. He invited me to stay for my F30's decontamination & Hard Body application, but I spent the day doing other things.

When he was prepping my E90 for sale, I pointed out a small but noticeable dirt mark in the boot's fabric lining, which annoyed me. He did not stop steam cleaning it out until that very stubborn thing was GONE!!

That's just a tiny hint of his dedication to the cause.

[beemermans]

Originally Posted by screenshot

Wow that's gold mate and thanks. Good memory and lots of patience for you to sit there for like 6-8 hours while he does all that. Definitely far more involved than I had imagined, and very very thorough indeed.

lol good memory because I had a note pad with me............he must of thought i was a crazy nut lol...which of course i sometimes am.
But in all seriousness, i did find it intriguing the level of what is needed to indeed decontaminate a car. When I got it, it looked great but had a very gritty feel when rubbing my hand over it, that was resolved after the 9 hour detail.

[screenshot]

Gritty feeling, 9 hour detail in addition to the decontamination and sealant application? *slightly alarmed* You think the gritty feeling is because the sealant doesn't form a perfectly smooth finish? I mean if you had to polish the sealant, wouldn't it defeat the purpose by eating it away?

I was told by a detailer that sealants are only a few microns thick e.g. 2

[MikeVictor]

should be nice and smooth, you can feel less friction than stock paint clear coat.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by screenshot

You think the gritty feeling is because the sealant doesn't form a perfectly smooth finish?

It's the sealant that creates the smooth finish. Gritty is prior to sealant due to environmental contaminants settling on the car. The grits will continue to adhere to the car, no matter which sealant is used.

The best sealants will allow for a very gently clay from time to time, using LOTS of lubricant and virtually no downward pressure to remove the contaminants, which build up over time.

When Hard Body sealant was applied to my car, the surfaces were silky smooth to the (very light) rub, as one shouldn't touch the car for at least 24-48 hours after application, except where absolutely needed.

[J1n]

Very important for stuff like hard body and opticoat don't drive for 24-48 hours depending on the weather. U should be fine 24 hours in summer.

You don't want dirt setting on your sealant.

[beemermans]

Originally Posted by screenshot

Gritty feeling, 9 hour detail in addition to the decontamination and sealant application? *slightly alarmed* You think the gritty feeling is because the sealant doesn't form a perfectly smooth finish? I mean if you had to polish the sealant, wouldn't it defeat the purpose by eating it away?

I was told by a detailer that sealants are only a few microns thick e.g. 2

I would be surprised if a sealant added 2 microns. Hard Body is a nano coating so different to sealant i think! And i was told that hard body on average will provide an additional between 1 to 2 microns on each layer applied.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by beemermans

Hard Body is a nano coating so different to sealant i think!

It's still a sealant. Marketed By Wolf's Chemicals as a scratch resistant sealant.

[beemermans]

ok thanks for the clarification.