New Car Prep & Coating
In life everyone goes through monumental experiences that leave them with a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Not many of those can top the feeling of buying your first brand-new car. The joy of picking out the model, color, trim package, and add-ons really leaves a sense of extreme satisfaction. The idea of a perfect car made just for you is something you just can't get when buying pre-owned. That's exactly the case with this 2014 Jetta we performed a new car prep on for one of our owners, Eric, but unfortunately the car was far from perfect. In addition to our new car prep process we applied a protective coating to the paint. This portion of the feature focuses on the exterior portion of our new car prep detail along with coating.
The owner refused the delivery detail when he picked the car up at the dealership to let the shop take care of prepping the car. It had been through the hands of at least one misguided doll-up guy and was riddled with swirls and scratches already. You can see below that the paint was in less than ideal condition, especially for a car that's supposed to be brand new!
In the lower left corner of the passenger side tail light you can see a hologram or buffer trail left behind from an inexperienced detailer misusing a rotary polisher. Also, some general scratching can be seen clearly on the bumper.
Even with less than 500 miles on the odometer, it was covered in salt and road grime. Not surprising, considering the car had received very little protection before leaving the dealership.
We started the new car prep process by cleaning the wheels to remove already embedded brake dust, other filth, and factory stickers. Then, we followed up with a sealant to help keep them clean and resist future brake dust and grim buildup.
After cleaning the wheels we used a heated pressure washer to remove the majority of road grime and dirt from the paint ensuring a safe and gentle wash. Then Iron-X, a paint safe iron remover, was used to remove embedded iron contaminants from the paint and glass.
Iron-X was left to dwell allowing the iron contamination to be fully dissolved before washing. The Jetta was gently washed using a 2-bucket method with grit guards to eliminate addition of scratches during the wash. Once washing was completed the paint was further cleansed using clay, removing the remaining above surface contaminants.
After drying the car we were able to get a much better look at the paint, and the damage inflicted by the dealership was quite apparent. Defects can be seen below covering the roof and deck lid.
Scratching was surprisingly bad here on the fender where damage is easily seen.
We performed a one-step correction on the paint to remove the majority of scratches, increase gloss, and get the paint looking the way it should have upon delivery. Look at that deep sea of black! Flawless.
After correction the painted panels were all wiped down with Carpro Eraser to remove polishing oils and prepare the paint for coating!
A healthy dose of coating provided this 2014 Jetta with a better than new level of gloss and a deep finish. This detail was an incredible illustration of how much a brand new car can be improved after delivery to a customer. Now protected, this paint will continue to hold its rich glossy finish for a long time into the future. For now, take a look at these finished shots of the exterior and enjoy the gloss and wet shine!