Rabs Jtg Lpg Fg 320+Rwkw Diary

[Rab]

You don't need rear callipers for a drag race - take them off and then my rims will fit

[Rab]

Dropped the car off to Morrie at Reflection Perfection for it's first proper wash since I bought her.

Wash, claybar and a few passes polishing and getting it back to schmick and them some "permanent" protection on it and hopefully she'll forgive me for being a bit lax.

Sounds easy, but probably a couple of days (or more) work for him - from all reports so far he's the guy to have touching the car.

He offered to drop me off at the station after dropping the car off - he really went out of his way to help me get the car to him (fark - worked out why I never use public transport anymore) and he sent me a pic of the car already foamed up and getting it's first wash (at 7:30pm)

Damn - was about to hit post and just got a call from him (9:30pm) - turns out my career of racing the car (a few runs at Calder) has resulted in hot rubber burning the topcoat of the paint around the rear wheel arches - he's going to correct it for me (wet sanding) and use a bit more of the protector on those areas without charging me any more - probably about 4 hours work there alone. Think I've found another to add to the list the car has been to who take service, care and attention to detail to the next level.

[BenDoCo]

Hot rubber....lol

Needs more traction

Sounding good mate

Edited 16/09/14 12:28 PM by BenDoCo

[Rab]

I thought the half track (3/4 track) burnout would have cleaned the rubber out of the arches :S

[Phoon508]

Hey Rab,

If you don't mind me asking, what's the full detail costing you?

Provided you get a good result, I wouldn't mind giving them a go.

Cheers

[Rab]

Depends how many passes he needs to do on the polishing. Was quoted $650 $850 $1050 for 1, 2 or 3 passes.

After looking at the car last night he said probably 2, maybe 1 pass.

That was with C-Quartz Finest paint protection. After chatting more with Morrie we decided on using a different coating (Body Armour 9H) which is more permanent, withstands stronger detergents and better suited to my expected washing habits (touch free car wash every other week) That adds another $200, but should last til the cows come home, while the other option would have worn off over time.

Am putting a fair bit of faith in the feedback I've seen on his work on different forums, but am even more confident after speaking with him last night.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1861820

http://www.detailparadise.com.au/showthread.php?12072-Ford-XR6-Paint-Correction-amp-Body-Armour-9h

(he also seems to go out of his way putting in the extra bit of help, info and suggestions out to the community on their forums)

Edited 16/09/14 10:11 PM by Rab

[Lennox]

What's the go with this paint protection - does it fully prevent swirling and stuff from washing so you permanently have a car that looks like it's just been waxed? Or can you get swirls in the actual protection layer like you do in clear coat

How longs it last?

[Lennox]

Whoops dbl

Edited 16/09/14 11:15 PM by Lennox

[Rab]

Pretty much like a permanent wax.

Different brands etc have different hardness ratings

Depending on how good the preparation and initial paint correction (removing swirls, water spots, bird poo marks etc) is then a simple high pressure wash should bring the car back to it's sparkling best.

As long as you're not doing anything that would damage the protection layer it should stay that way pretty much forever with the one we chose to go with. A yearly inspection/wash/clay bar to keep the lifetime warranty. Other ones recommend a redo every couple of years.

You wouldn't take it through a servo car wash with the brushes for the risk of damage, but the touch free ones will be fine (with this coat - other ones can wear off quicker under the stronger alkaline detergents they use). A PH balanced detergent would be fine on the other types.

Hell - driving in the rain should clean the car to 90% of it's glory

If I was the type to give the car a hand wash every other week I'd have maybe chosen the cheaper option and redone it in a couple of years, but set and forget works best for me. Every other week through a touch free has been what I've been doing for the last 18 months and being able to continue that regime is very appealing. I won't be using anything other than the basic wash now though - no need for whatever polish/finish/wax they put on with the "Premium" wash setting.

edit: At least that's what I'm expecting - am still waiting to see for myself how it goes in reality, and how it lasts after 6, 12, 24, 36 months etc.

Edited 16/09/14 11:47 PM by Rab

[Lennox]

Do you manage to get all the little black tar spots and bird sh*t etc off with a touch free wash (assume you go to one of those coin operated high pressure places?)? Or do you just not look that close? Even with a freshly waxed car I find I still have to wipe the tar spots off with a mitt.