Paint Correction on a 6 Month Old Mk6

Many people feel that brand new rides do not require paintwork attention. Most new car owners wait for their paint to lose its lustre before looking for solutions or polishing services to restore its former glow.

At Detail Lab, we feel preventive measures like the application of Paint Protection Systems early on in a car’s life is a better approach.

Here we have a six month old Mk6 GTI weather-beaten by our hot and wet tropical climate. Within the short span of six months, the candy white paintwork had lost its lustre and smoothness, and accumulated grime.

We knew we had an uphill task ahead to revive the dying paintwork!

After an intensive car wash and claying session.

After Stage 2 paint correction and polishing.

With an additional layer of Dupont PPS laid on.

Limited edition 35^th anniversary seats given 

a new lease of life with Swissvax Alcantara Cleaner

M5 in Monte Carlo Blue

One of the perks of the job is the opportunity to appreciate nice cars up close and personal, and today was no exception.

We were fortunate to have a brand spanking new BMW M5 in a gorgeous monte carlo blue come in for paint protection, and it was an absolute beauty!

Whenever possible, leveling up any crevices within

 the clear coat is a proven method to maximise reflection.

Double dose of nano-ceramic sealant laid onto the paintwork
before a bask in the sun to help with curing.

Frozen Grey M3 on Swissvax Opaque wax

In recent days, DETAIL LAB has had the opportunity to continually touch base with frozen/matte finish paintwork.

To put it simply, and contrary to popular belief, matte finish paintwork does require the same amount of attention and care as its high gloss counterparts, if not more! One layer of basecoat (in this case - U83 Frozen Grey Metallic) followed by a second layer of matte clear coat for protection.

The matte pigmentation found in this type of paint requires special attention, techniques and products during the car wash, paint cleansing, and paint protection (wax or sealant) process, in order to maintain the overall "dullness" of the car.

Feel free to approach us for advice on dealing with frozen/matte paintwork if you are having issues with it. We're more than happy to assist or offer a second opinion.

Here we have a BMW frozen grey M3 receiving a full detail session using Swissvax Opaque Series products specially engineered for matte finish paintwork.

Pleasant viewing!


Swissvax Opaque wax served as paint protection for this frozen coloured ride!




Carbon fibre roof with an armour of Swissvax Crystal Rock

Ferrari 458 Comes in for Paint Correction

Currently obsessed with new sealants from the US, and we're doing our own field tests to see how they hold up in the tropics.

We're also working on further studies with Swissvax on the reliability of their Opaque Car Care Series meant for matte finish rides!

Will be sharing with you our findings real soon! Today we had one of our regulars, a 458 Italia, return for paint correction on 2 LH panels.


Love it when our supporters are back - visiting or troubleshooting!

 
Lucky him, we recently launched some new polishes aimed at high-end continental paintwork & voilà did they work well! Light scratch removed & light swirls gone too! Up went a layer of sealant for protection & we topped it up with Swissvax's top of the line Crystal Rock!


Looking better than new with a radiant glow!

 
Rear view of the 458 looks menacing! Love the modernity of the 458 Italia!

 
Kudos to the owner for a well-kept ride!

Knight in White Satin

Newly collected Toyota FT86 in Satin White finish. 7 hours, 2 layers of Crystal Coating, and some Swissvax Crystal Rock later, we were able to get an awesome Satin White sheen with maximum protection!

Radiantly Red Polo

Some quick pics of today's detailing work, a red Volkswagen Polo which came in for Dupont 3K PPS coating.

Frozen Brilliant White BMW M3

Frozen brilliant white – a specially indented colour from Munich Motors. Maintained exclusively with Swissvax’s Opaque range of paint care products, we gave this white M3 beauty a heavy dose of all things Swissvax, including Opaque paint cleaners, Opaque wax and Opaque Quik Finish, as well as Swissvax Leather Milk for the conditioning of the leather interior.

Enjoy the shots! Thanks to the owner too for entrusting us with your ride! We do know what you need as we believe frozen/matte finish paintwork should retain that matte/satin look even after a full detail session, and NOT transform into something with a gloss effect (which defeat the original intent!)

Taming the Gallardo SL

Had the opportunity to touch base with this Gallardo SL through a close pal of mine.

Littered with Commercial paint spots, dirt & grime, & typical Acid Rain Marks...i knew there were lotsa imperfections to be corrected.

Close Lightings revealed fresh emulsion paint spots that were duly removed with M34 Final Inspection & an effective 3M ClayBar. Next up utilising on 3M Adhesive Remover, we safely removed any remnants off the Glass panels with ease.

Having done so would set you back for another 3-4 hours.

We gladly set to work on the now smooth paintwork on a 3 stage Paint Rejunvenation Program.

Equipment & Material of Choice:

Makita 9227C Rotary Machine

Farecla Ultra Soft Lamb Wool Pad 6"

Meg's 7000 & 8000 Series Polishing Pads

M101 Foam Cutting Compound

M105 Ultra Cut Compound

M205 Final Finish Polish

M34 Final Inspection Spray

Clean MF towels

Pail of Clean Water

Each stage is painstakingly performed with at least 4 passes (After taping up & small area tested). Every step you take to level & correct the paint brings you closer to the aim of yielding absolute gloss, paint depth & clarity. It might be extremely time-consuming but worth every minutes spent. Patience is key in getting it right for the Rotary to work in symphony with the variables; choice of pads, polishes, pressure from detailer & speed dialled in.

I estimated another 6 hours were spent in this Paint Prep/Polish process.

We need the Lamb to be out by the end of the evening, hence after a quick wipe with Final Inspection to unveil the freshly rejunvenated paintwork, Swissvax Crystal Rock was tasked to work its magic. Absolutely love the application method by hand & seemingly got the hang of it after working through these beautiful marques!

10 minutes after working through the exterior paintwork, door jambs & sills. We remove the excess via clean sets of mf towels. Lavishing on the new found protective coating, we wished more time could be given to us to allow baking in the Sun. Swissvax had claimed their waxes would 'diffuse' into the clear coat, further enhancing Gloss. How True!

Alright, so we have it - Taming the Gallardo within a day's chores. Loving it day in day out.

Misano Red Audi S5

Poison of choice? Swissvax Crystal Rock. 'Nuff said...

Salsa Scirocco with Swirls

Today, we had a Salsa Red Roc straight off the dealership...barely a few days old.

Unfortunately, we discovered large segments of paintwork littered with swirls aggravated by either dirty dry towels or wrong polishing/waxing techniques.

Pardon the iPhone shot, intensity
of the swirls might be diminished.

Closer observation reveals more than one area 

where moderate level of swirls are evident.

We put in long hours to try to remove the more intense swirls because every new car owner deserves more than that! Finally, two coats of Crystal Coating were applied lavishly onto the newly furbished paintwork, and the Scirocco was left to bake in the sun.

Here are some photos of the detailed Scirocco, with a deep, gloss finish that hopefully the owner will be happier with!