Why You Should Pre-Inspect Car Paintwork Before Applying Ceramic Coatings

This is one is for my car detailer buddies. If you are a car detailer and apply ceramic coatings for cars, you need to read this and understand that if you do not apply simple checks when doing ceramic coatings, it is going to one  day bite you on this ass like it did with me the day before I wrote this post.

I have been in the car detailing game for over two decades now, and I have to admit, I am over the bullshit from customers who turn after a ceramic coating job is done and then complain that there are scratches all over their cars when scratches were there to begin with from the very beginning. The problem here is those very same scratches were not a problem beforehand.

How it often goes is like this:

Client: Oh hi there Dr Buff, I need a quote for my new car. We just purchased it and I need a new ceramic coating for my new car.

Me: So this is a new car and there is nothing wrong with it in the sun?

Client: Yes, we just picked it up the other day. There is nothing wrong with it, we just want a ceramic coating for our new car.

Me; Ok, This is the price and away you go, provided there is nothing wrong with the paint.

Clients come over, they drop the car off, it looks ok, it looks clean in the sun, and you assume there is nothing wrong with the car…WROOOOONG !
Even after 20-plus years in business, I am still learning about dealing with bullshit artists who just try to take you for a ride because they require me to pay for someone else’s fuck ups..Particularly car dealer fuck ups..

Mild Holograms as can be seen clearly next to this number plate are visible under artificial lighting as you can see. However, they were clearly not showing under natural sunlight.

As you can clearly see in the image to the right here, any holograms that were visible in artificial light and not showing in sunlight, have been removed.

The problem here is that this inspection was not carried out prior. Because the holograms did not show before the ceramic coating was applied, they showed up in their own garage lighting when they went home, automatically blaming the detailer for a ceramic coating gone wrong. It was not the ceramic coating in question, but the ceramic coating highlighted the flaws in the paint, making the swirls even more visible.

Where this even got worse for us is that this was a more stupid woman who would not listen, did not want to hear what the problem was, and all her excuse was she didn’t pick the car up like that from the dealer. We all know that dealers have specific lighting for hiding damage like this and that no new car customer does a light inspection around their new car before picking up.

The dealer did not ceramic coat the vehicle as I tried to explain to her, that it was the dealer that buffed the car, left mild holograms on it, and the coating that we applied highlighted the issue, yet she still would not listen.

Now in my defence, this was a repeat customer so I looked after them, as I always do, and corrected the problem for her. I look after my clients, right or wrong, but I have learned a valuable lesson from all this. Pre-inspect your customer cars before applying any coatings and never assume that customers will be happy with the results after they leave, even though the car looked fine on pick up, this includes new vehicles, as this car here was brand new.

When the car was completed, and she got home, in her garage lighting, every flaw in her paintwork showed with the coating highlighting the holograms. Making it even worse was that it was a hand application, which doesn’t always apply evenly and can at times not really be applied in uniform application. This made the application even worse.

Now take a look at this shit show here! Notice I am swearing which is really unprofessional but when you are a smidgen away from 60, you’ve pretty much-mapped out underhanded stupidity in a human being who tries to convince you there is nothing wrong with their cars before you apply a ceramic coating. The customer who owns this Lexus said the same thing…” Oh the car is fine, it just needs a ceramic coating”… I put it in the sun (and black does not lie ) and sure enough, here is all that shit showing up. Swirl marks all over his paintwork.

We had to notify the customer that the coating could not be carried out because the car was riddled with swirl marks and the coating would make it look worse. The customer’s response still…” But there’s is nothing wrong with the car” … “Well, if there is nothing wrong with it, it is still parked where you left it on our driveway, come and see it”…Anything to get a free paint correction for swirl removal out of it. Some customers just believe that even the best car detailers are stupid.

You apply the coating blindly, he picks it up, takes it home and then calls and says…” What are all these swirl marks all over the car? They were not there before, you need to remove these swirl marks off car paint” …and sadly enough, your typical cut and polish won’t cut the mustard.

These are the very same morons that look at you with a smile before you take their car and then accuse you of ruining their car afterwards because they thought you were an idiot.

It never stops. All because of one female who refused to listen, we now have to be harsher on new car customers by telling them, their cars need to be pre-inspected before applying any coating on their cars

If you live in Campbelltown, the Bogan capital of South West Sydney, you will find dozens of shit show cheap car detailers, and very few of the best car detailers in Campbelltown and why is that?

Simple, everybody wants cheap car detailing and with demand comes all the shit show car washes, touchless car washes, cheap car detailers that promise the earth for 100 dollars, and the car detailers that carry out over glorified car detailing at 600 dollars a pop for so called car paint correction.

We all know it really is not paint correction. It is just expensive shit detailing, that is all. Only one professional car detailer, and who is that? Dr Buff. When you want professional car detailing in Campbelltown, call Dr Buff for professional car detailers.

If you are a bogan with all the excuses, which we have seen enough of in this neck of the woods, then what you need is the local “Scratch n Go ” Car Wash to help destroy your ride over time. When you require professional results, talk to the best car detailer in Sydney, not just the best car detailer in Campbelltown, but the best car detailer in Sydney for professional results.

We don’t impress you with a fancy workshop with flashy-looking floors, or flashy-looking waste of money lighting all over the ceiling. We apply what works, and that is the right equipment with the sharpest knowledge in car paint correction services. We impress you with knowledge and results. Your car and how it looks after we finish with it is what we are interested in. Results speak for themselves, and our cars show it.

When it comes to ceramic coatings for cars, the one thing you have to understand is that the shine that is produced is not from the coating itself, but the paint correction or paint preparation work carried out prior to any paint protection treatment. The removal of paint imperfections from car paint before applying any ceramic coating is paramount.

We have already mentioned early in the post that if you are a car detailer, ensure that you check the paintwork clearly, before applying any ceramic coating paint protection. Whether it is a ceramic coating for a new car purchase or ceramic coating for a used car purchase, paint imperfections must be removed before the application of any type of paint protection.

If you are a customer, and you can see that your car clearly has swirl marks in it, please do not call up, and inform us there is nothing wrong with your paintwork when in fact there really is. We’re not into playing silly games, and we do not appreciate being taken for a ride when you know there is something wrong with your paint. If your car requires the removal of swirl marks from car paint, then it requires car paint restoration. That is the end of it. You must restore the original paint before you apply any sealer on it. Don’t do this, and you too will find out the hard way.

Having provided paint protection for one lifetime for cars now, we have come to know one brand really well, and that is Toughseal paint protection. You can even check out our Toughseal ceramic coating review here. This stuff is magic, lasts for years and is very durable. Easy to wash, easy to dry, and that is all you do. Combine this product with our paint correction, and you have a killer shine that will last you a very long time