We carried out a basic new car detail on this Seat Leon FR in Newport Tipperary.
The paintwork wheels and glass were deep cleaned, going through our 10 step exterior surface prep we noticed how badly the paint was contaminated in iron fallout, it was rough to the touch and badly needed this attention as the reflection was being reduced due to the build on the paint surface. We applied a premium grade carnauba wax from Swissvax which is highly durable and enhances the paints finish. There were three add-ons the customer made which were…. the wheels and glass were to be treated with a sealant and to apply a fabric coating on the alcantara seats.
This is a write up on the process, i hope you enjoy!
First off the car was covered in foam, this loosens any loose grit that might scratch the paint in the hand washing stage
Next the paint is washed with a high quality car shampoo and lambs wool wash mitt.
After another power rinse we address the hard to reach areas. Here we use a mild all purpose cleaner together with a mini detailing brush to gently lift any dirt/grime from these intricate areas.
The rubber window trim is cleaned this way also, it always looks better afterwords, nice, matt and super clean.
The exterior is rinsed again and we move onto the wheels.
First off a fallout remover is applied and let dwell for five minutes, this lifts/devolves any fallout and iron embedded in or on the paint surface of the wheel, this type of contamination comes from the environment, transport (from the factory) and mainly from the brake pads/disks.
We first agitate in and around the wheel barrel.
Then the back of the wheel spokes.
And the detailed areas are done with a 2″ brush
Finally the tyres are cleaned with a strong all purpose cleaner and agitated with a wheel brush.
The brown grime on the ground shows how bad the tyres needed cleaning.
Now onto the most important part of a protection detail, the removal of contamination.
First the tar deposits are removed with a bodywork solvent.
The next two processes remove any bonded and embedded contamination (other than tar) from glass and paint leaving a clean, smooth surface ready for the wax to bond to.
Wax wont bond as well to contaminated paint meaning it will last weeks not months.
The purple dots are iron/fallout being lifted/dissolved from the paint surface and the last clip shows the claying stage here you will hear the contamination being removed.
You can see how much work the fallout remover did in the picture below. The camera didn’t pick it up great but the ground was covered with purple fallout meaning the paint was in bad shape.
Now all exterior surfaces are 100% clean we need to dry the car so the wax can be applied correctly. A super plush microfiber towel is used, this reduces the chance of marking the paint.
We use the highest quality carnauba wax on the market. This wax has PTFE in it, the same material used to coat non-stick frying pans, washing is so much more easier when the paint is coated in this wax. The wax is from Swissvax and it’s the shield line up which is designed for harsh climates with a lot of rain ETC.
At €170 a pot (200ml) this wax is for special occasions.
All in all we spent about three hours detailing this car so it can have a clean and protected drive ahead.
Thanks for looking!
