Got a paint correction done.
07-06-2014, 01:41 PM
#1
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'06 E55
Got a paint correction done.
I was searching for a good detail guy and got lucky. I found a shop about 15 miles away and sent a message. Guy responded quickly and said he wanted to see the car; he even offered to drive to my house to look at it. He showed up, looked, and said if I preferred, he'd do the job in my garage because I have a good setup. Lots of room, and I have my car wash hose hooked up to the output of my water softener.
We discussed the different services and agreed on a 1-step paint correction with an Opti-coat finish. He brought his gear over the night before as he wanted to hit the ground running at 6:30 the next morning. Since it was a nice evening, he went ahead and did the pre-wash first. He had a pressure washer foam cannon that was really nice. I think I'll get one. He applied Iron-X to the wheels, but since I've been running the Akebono pads for so long, there was hardly anything coming off of the wheels. That stuff reeks, too. He worked for a couple hours so he could jump right into claying the car in the morning.
I opened the garage door early in the morning and he was there before 7:00. I had to go to work for a few hours and he was finished claying right when I got home. He started the first step (I forgot what compounds he was using; I'll find out) but he was not satisfied. He came and got me to come take a look. He showed me the 1-step and then one spot where he did the second step. In direct bright light, there were some minor swirls still visible in the 1-step area. He said he did not want the car he worked on to look like that and said he would do the second step. I agreed and he only charged half price for the second step.
The guy turned out to be a perfectionist. he was there for 14.5 hours that day and definitely earned his money. Opti Coat is on it's third day of curing now. He took a bunch of "before" and "during" pics I'll post up later when I get them. The end results are stunning. The best I can do now is some crappy phone pics that don't do it justice. The thing is like a mirror now. If you're in the Tucson area, 180 Detailing is the name of the shop. Highest recommendations from me.
Here's what I've got so far:
We discussed the different services and agreed on a 1-step paint correction with an Opti-coat finish. He brought his gear over the night before as he wanted to hit the ground running at 6:30 the next morning. Since it was a nice evening, he went ahead and did the pre-wash first. He had a pressure washer foam cannon that was really nice. I think I'll get one. He applied Iron-X to the wheels, but since I've been running the Akebono pads for so long, there was hardly anything coming off of the wheels. That stuff reeks, too. He worked for a couple hours so he could jump right into claying the car in the morning.
I opened the garage door early in the morning and he was there before 7:00. I had to go to work for a few hours and he was finished claying right when I got home. He started the first step (I forgot what compounds he was using; I'll find out) but he was not satisfied. He came and got me to come take a look. He showed me the 1-step and then one spot where he did the second step. In direct bright light, there were some minor swirls still visible in the 1-step area. He said he did not want the car he worked on to look like that and said he would do the second step. I agreed and he only charged half price for the second step.
The guy turned out to be a perfectionist. he was there for 14.5 hours that day and definitely earned his money. Opti Coat is on it's third day of curing now. He took a bunch of "before" and "during" pics I'll post up later when I get them. The end results are stunning. The best I can do now is some crappy phone pics that don't do it justice. The thing is like a mirror now. If you're in the Tucson area, 180 Detailing is the name of the shop. Highest recommendations from me.
Here's what I've got so far:
07-06-2014, 04:32 PM
#7
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'06 E55
It's an aftermarket grille I found on eBay. One less horizontal slat than stock. I tried to plasti-dip my stock one, but it didn't go well with the black car. The two shades of black were too far apart.
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07-06-2014, 04:41 PM
#8
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It looks great!! The only ones that look decent on ebay are the flat black ones but the polished black is definitely the way I want to go. I'll just have to keep my eyes open!
07-06-2014, 07:32 PM
#9
MBWorld Fanatic!
Looks seriously awesome. And the price was !!!! About $300 lower than any paint correction quote I have seen. I may have to drive out for the weekend just for a detail.
Caliper Color: That is a tough one. Only reason mine are not done: I cant decide. I think I have a color picked out.. but everyone will hate it and laugh at me, so I wont say
In yours: Red or Yellow would look "Politically Correct"
BUT, as I found on another forum: "Crazy colors look great on a black car: Green, Blue, Purple etc"
This is what I am going with when I put my dark wheels on:
Caliper Color: That is a tough one. Only reason mine are not done: I cant decide. I think I have a color picked out.. but everyone will hate it and laugh at me, so I wont say
In yours: Red or Yellow would look "Politically Correct"
BUT, as I found on another forum: "Crazy colors look great on a black car: Green, Blue, Purple etc"
This is what I am going with when I put my dark wheels on:
Last edited by Bramage; 07-06-2014 at 07:36 PM.
07-06-2014, 08:52 PM
#11
MBWorld Fanatic!
Looks seriously awesome. And the price was !!!! About $300 lower than any paint correction quote I have seen. I may have to drive out for the weekend just for a detail.
Caliper Color: That is a tough one. Only reason mine are not done: I cant decide. I think I have a color picked out.. but everyone will hate it and laugh at me, so I wont say
In yours: Red or Yellow would look "Politically Correct"
BUT, as I found on another forum: "Crazy colors look great on a black car: Green, Blue, Purple etc"
This is what I am going with when I put my dark wheels on:
Caliper Color: That is a tough one. Only reason mine are not done: I cant decide. I think I have a color picked out.. but everyone will hate it and laugh at me, so I wont say
In yours: Red or Yellow would look "Politically Correct"
BUT, as I found on another forum: "Crazy colors look great on a black car: Green, Blue, Purple etc"
This is what I am going with when I put my dark wheels on:
07-07-2014, 12:05 AM
#18
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Join Date: Jun 2009
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E55 AMG, 04STI, 07GTI, 05 HAYABUSA, 05 GSX1000
good to know . It took me 4 days when I did my last paint correction. Did you bought the Freon ? let me know it will take just a few minutes to fill.
07-07-2014, 12:24 AM
#22
MBWorld Fanatic!
On Black, I gotta agree... It looks frickin' awesome. I have seen it on a Tektite car and it looks good. Black it looks even better. And this is why I can't decide either ARG
07-07-2014, 12:33 AM
#24
MBWorld Fanatic!
http://www.g2usa.com/product/CBCP-0077.html
Here is the Green Paint $99
I added a real crappy photoshop job above for comparison
Here is the Green Paint $99
I added a real crappy photoshop job above for comparison
Last edited by Bramage; 07-07-2014 at 12:40 AM.
