Once again Reflections detailing of Utah was given a sweet ride to perfect.
This gem was a New car prep with adding a coating to help protect for years to come. The coating of choice on this job was Cquartz Finest, which was an excellent choice for its ideal protection and gloss. When ever a new car comes in to the shop, we need to decon the paint very well. This entails claying the paint to remove any environmental particles bonded to the paint in the shipping process, stripping any "waxes" that are on the surface, and an inspection to see the condition of the paint before proceeding....
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Over the course of my detailing experiences I have come across many different kinds of “issues” my clients vehicles have had, and they trust in my experiences to keep their vehicles safe. If I ever want a second option on something, I can call any of the large network of pros I know for their experience or take on the issue I’m detailing with. Having some of the top detailers in the world working together makes for a tag team detailing enterprise like no other. It’s when you get so good at your trade that you feel you “know it all”, and that is when you fall far from your perch...
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A few times a year something comes along that is a treasure and in detailing that treasure to me was preping two cars for Pebble Beach and Quail Lodge 2012.
The 1955 Porsche 356 Pre A GS Carrera Speedster I believe the owner told me its 1:14 in the world. It will be attending Mille Miglia in 2013
The Ferrari is a 288 GTO that had the honor of sitting on the 18th hole of Pebble beach as one of the cars for Ferrari USA.
I didn’t have a ton of time with these cars because the transporter was arriving in just a few days, so I had to prioritize what I could get done with what needed to be done....
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Reflections Detailing of Utah gets to deal with a fair number of boats here in Utah, and boat detailing is not “glamorous” to many detailers. I really like detailing boats because the turn around in appearance can be drastic. Boating in Utah is a family affair and after a long day on the water many boats just get put in storage till the next week, this weekly trend continues until the problems not addressed build. The major problems are; hard water spots, dirt, grime on the seats, carpets with all matter of spills, and boats that stay in the water all season. This later situation presents...
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I’ve been using various products to remove road tar from cars over the years, but all are not created equal! Here in Utah they LOVE to re-tar the roads every summer! So this past summer I got a chance to do some more “testing” of the various products. The two most impressive and SAFE products are Tar X and Tarminator. I mention SAFE because you can use lots of different solvents; such as gasoline, camping fuels, paint thinners, acetone’s…. but many of them don’t have the safe factor built in. I have used other solvents, but have noticed a hazing of the paint...
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I’ve been super happy with Tuf Shines tire dressing for many of the reasons. Well they have been reworking the black restore product and sent me some to test out, now if you know me I take my time in testing. I’ve been accused of taking too long but for me its about making sure my opinion is well tested. I try my best to be creditable for the long haul and not just part of the hype. I digress, so this newer formulation is much blacker than the first, and works equally as well. What exactly is black restore? Its based on the same make up as the tire dressing/coating...
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Here at Reflections Detailing of Utah I had a mid winter new car prep sent to us. This car was transported by the dealership in Nebraska, almost 1000 miles, to me here in Utah. The client is located here in Utah also, but about 120 miles away. I thank the client for the trust in sending his car to me, without ever stepping foot in my shop before. I value trust and work very hard to exceed the level they gave me.
The client ordered the car back in early December and I was contacted by them about options for its care once it hit the dealership from Europe. We spoke at length about these...
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Part 2,
After the wheels were perfected and more importantly preserved for the cash and historical value, it was time to turn the attention to the paint work. The paint was a newer repaint done in Italy, and while not original the cost of a repaint done by Ferrari is not cheap. I was to preserve this paint more for its cash value than anything else. The shape of the paint was rough by any normal standard, but for a vintage Ferrari this was flogged on a pole by previous owners (who likely didn’t know the details of detailing). I would venture to say Detailed Image readers are much...
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A good friend of mine Kevin Brown has been trying for years to get another high level paint correction class going. About 3 years ago he asked me if offered again would a guy like me attend? My reply was why not?! I would have the chance to rub shoulders with some of the best in the world on this topic, and be trained by them. Now I believe I'm an accomplished detailer and viewed by many as a source of information and credentials, so why would I need to be "trained" in something many consider me to be a source of information? I have tried to reason why with myself, the very same question....
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Hard water is an issue for much of the USA, and here in the Rocky Mountains of Utah we have some hard water that creates some difficulty in the removal of spotting (I frequently see 180-220 ppms and please refer to the chart below). Many people know that water spotting is unsightly and go to great lengths to prevent it and just plain avoid it………however sprinklers don’t care about your car. If you are quick with cleaning up these spots while they are fresh they won’t get set into or on the paint. Along with the minerals left behind on the paint, the water drops act like little...
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