Curious- when one would take their Model S to a detail shop for a routine detail after self-applying the Glare products- is it necessary to tell them anything, like "don't use any wax or polish" or anything like that? I want to apply Glare on my own but I don't want to wash and detail every time and plan on taking it in. Thanks in advance!
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Curious- when one would take their Model S to a detail shop for a routine detail after self-applying the Glare products- is it necessary to tell them anything, like "don't use any wax or polish" or anything like that? I want to apply Glare on my own but I don't want to wash and detail every time and plan on taking it in. Thanks in advance!
That was asked earlier on. To do a test I randomly lined up the panels outside and picked the one I thought had the best gloss with the deepest reflections. It was very difficult to do. I spend about five minuted trying to make up my mind, but I ended up picking the Glare. But I should say that could just have been random odds, as there were only ten to chose among.
Francis Lau
P-1456
Several of us were at a Tesla Owner's event on Sunday, there were 41 MS and Roasters there. A few of us did a group buy for sealant and there was a choice of Opti-Coat or 22PLE, this thread will help me decide. Thanks for the great info.
Over the weekend I had my car detailed and Cquartz Finest product applied. I am extremely happy with it and it has a beautiful wet shiny look to it. The guys did an awesome job that took almost 12 hours. They removed all the factory paint swirls and scratches and shined it first. They said the paint job from TM is very good from what they have see in other luxury cars.
They also applied Cquartz product on my wheels, plastic bumper, plastic trims, chrome and glass. The water just beads and repels from the surface and keeps my car clean. They did all the work in my garage and I could see the transformation. I am very happy with this company that did the work and will see how long it will last. Here are some iPhone pics - hopefully shows some of the details. Let me know if any one in Portland would like detailer information.
They also applied Cquartz product on my wheels, plastic bumper, plastic trims, chrome and glass. The water just beads and repels from the surface and keeps my car clean. They did all the work in my garage and I could see the transformation. I am very happy with this company that did the work and will see how long it will last. Here are some iPhone pics - hopefully shows some of the details. Let me know if any one in Portland would like detailer information.
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I have a somewhat pointed question:
I got the Tesla paint armor installed on delivery of my P85.
Does anyone know if I can use the 3M performance finish on the armored segments?
Although it did not get the best results (thanks Artsci!!), it seems to be the easiest to apply, and time to spend on my car (as opposed to my wife & 4 kids) is rather limited in my case.
I got the Tesla paint armor installed on delivery of my P85.
Does anyone know if I can use the 3M performance finish on the armored segments?
Although it did not get the best results (thanks Artsci!!), it seems to be the easiest to apply, and time to spend on my car (as opposed to my wife & 4 kids) is rather limited in my case.
Frankc
Member
I would appreciate the detailer info. (location, cost, etc) I plan on picking up my model S (Multi coat Red, 60kW, tech, air, ) in a little over a week at the Portland Service Center. - Thanks.
smorgasbord
Active Member
Yes, it is quite compatible - I've been using it for several months now.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this is the finish that was recommended to me by my Paint Armor installer, who used a 3M Paint Armor. That's how I know it's compatible.
As for the results, after 8 weeks the best finish is less than 1% glossier than the worst ((98.12-97.24)/98.12). That seems meaningless compared to ease of application. And with 9 out of 10 finishes being glossier at 8 weeks than they were at 4 weeks, I wonder what's really going on.
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The Detailer company is AutoWerx Detailing out of Sherwood. You can contact them at 503-939-6139 (Nick). Please check with them on pricing - depends on the list of things you want to do. It is around $700 +
congrats on your red! Enjoy the car!
What is the procedure (and products) used to "remove the factory paint swirls"? I have a few on the back I'd like to get out....
blc1017
MYLR Blue/Black | 5 seats | no tow/FSD | OD 5/23
I just had mine done as well here in the SF Bay Area; AFAIK there is only one dealer/detailer in this area. Cquartz Finest has a two year warranty that includes refinishing for gloss reduction (I'm not sure yet how one determines that). Like you, they did my wheels and even my brake calipers. They tested the thickness of the paint at a number of points over the Tesla and found it to be better than BMW and equivalent/better than Mercedes. Picking it up tonight and will try to get some pictures posted.
You need to abrade the clear to level out the swirls. This easily be done with a dual action (DA) polisher like Griots Garage GG6 polisher, Meguairs G110v2 polisher, or porter cable 7424. They run about $120 or so. If you want the best polishers you can buy a Flex or Rupes, but it's way more money. If you don't want to invest in a power polisher, you can do it by hand it just takes more time and more elbow grease. Note I mostly use DA polishers and have only limited experience using the hand pads to get the scratches underneath our other car's recessed door handles.
Either way hand or machine, you'll need some compound and/or polish and some foam cutting pads or microfiber cutting pads. You always start with the least abrasive polish and see if that will work. If the swirls are still too deep then go to a more aggressive compound. Just like sanding, if you compound, you'll probably want to then follow up with a polish to get some the mirror shine back.
I like Meguiars M101, M105 or Optimum Compound II as compounds (these are quite aggressive), and Meguiars M205 or Optimum Polish II for polishes. For pads (like Lake Country), you may need to get a couple of different foam pads. They are color coded with each color corresponding to a more abrasive foam.
See this chart for details. You can get the pads in 3.5" sizes that easy to use to hand polish. Lake Country also sells a hand polish set that is more ovalish in size. Usually orange sometimes yellow is used for compounding and then white for polishing as a general rule.
If doing by hand, then... apply 2-3 small pea size drops around the pad of compound or polish, use your finger the spread it around the foam pad and the apply the compound/polish in small circular motions in a small test spot say 6"x6" using moderate pressure go side to side and then up and down, overlapping half your previous "row" You'll probably have to go back and forth and up and down 6-10 times each.
Wipe off the leftover residue with a microfiber towel and inspect using good halogen or led flashlight. Use that 6x6 area as your test until you get that area swirl free, if that means you need to go to compound, then polish, you'll want to know in your test area. Better to know you need to use a compound that using a polish for an hour realizing you should have used a compound instead.
If you're using a DA polisher, then you'll obviously test in a bigger 24"x24" area first.
They took pics and posted the process they used on my car. I hope this gives you some information. I don't have the names of all the compounds they used. It involved clay bar, buffing and polishing. They had to measure paint thickness to ensure they did not over buff in thin paint areas. Check out the link and hopefully you can get some ideas.
https://www.facebook.com/autowerxdetailing?ref=hl
Ok, thanks. This is what I was thinking to be my game plan:
1) wash the car good. ( I have the foam sprayer and microfiber wash mit/mop and tons of microfiber towels)
2a) I was going to try the clay bar method first to attempt to remove the paint swirls.
2b) If that doesn't work, then I was going to try the Glare-Microfinish method (or should Glare SPIDER be tried first? whats the difference between the SPIDER and Microfinish? I know Glare Knockout is *really* abrasive and not necessary here)
Note: I have XPEL ultimate on the full front side of my car. (not going to clay bar or microfinish that...)
3) after removing the swirls, I was going to follow it up with the Glare Professional Polish (from what I've read it should be ok for me to use the Glare Professional Polish on the PPF, right?)
4) after applying the Glare Professional Polish, should some sort of sealant or wax be applied? What would you recommend here? Is this when people are adding Opti-coat (though isn't that a permanent clear coat?...not sure if that's the right thing to apply after Glare Polish...? or is that too "permanent", should something else be used? or should that not be used with the Xpel? What would seal that shiny glass polish for at least a good 1-2 years?)
Sorry for the lots of questions. I love washing my car to make it look all good and get rid of all the road grime I get in stinky NJ, but never really got into the clay bar/polishing thing to make a glass type shine until now. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks
1) wash the car good. ( I have the foam sprayer and microfiber wash mit/mop and tons of microfiber towels)
2a) I was going to try the clay bar method first to attempt to remove the paint swirls.
2b) If that doesn't work, then I was going to try the Glare-Microfinish method (or should Glare SPIDER be tried first? whats the difference between the SPIDER and Microfinish? I know Glare Knockout is *really* abrasive and not necessary here)
Note: I have XPEL ultimate on the full front side of my car. (not going to clay bar or microfinish that...)
3) after removing the swirls, I was going to follow it up with the Glare Professional Polish (from what I've read it should be ok for me to use the Glare Professional Polish on the PPF, right?)
4) after applying the Glare Professional Polish, should some sort of sealant or wax be applied? What would you recommend here? Is this when people are adding Opti-coat (though isn't that a permanent clear coat?...not sure if that's the right thing to apply after Glare Polish...? or is that too "permanent", should something else be used? or should that not be used with the Xpel? What would seal that shiny glass polish for at least a good 1-2 years?)
Sorry for the lots of questions. I love washing my car to make it look all good and get rid of all the road grime I get in stinky NJ, but never really got into the clay bar/polishing thing to make a glass type shine until now. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks
Ok, thanks. This is what I was thinking to be my game plan:
1) wash the car good. ( I have the foam sprayer and microfiber wash mit/mop and tons of microfiber towels)
2a) I was going to try the clay bar method first to attempt to remove the paint swirls.
2b) If that doesn't work, then I was going to try the Glare-Microfinish method (or should Glare SPIDER be tried first? whats the difference between the SPIDER and Microfinish? I know Glare Knockout is *really* abrasive and not necessary here)
Note: I have XPEL ultimate on the full front side of my car. (not going to clay bar or microfinish that...)
3) after removing the swirls, I was going to follow it up with the Glare Professional Polish (from what I've read it should be ok for me to use the Glare Professional Polish on the PPF, right?)
4) after applying the Glare Professional Polish, should some sort of sealant or wax be applied? What would you recommend here? Is this when people are adding Opti-coat (though isn't that a permanent clear coat?...not sure if that's the right thing to apply after Glare Polish...? or is that too "permanent", should something else be used? or should that not be used with the Xpel? What would seal that shiny glass polish for at least a good 1-2 years?)
Sorry for the lots of questions. I love washing my car to make it look all good and get rid of all the road grime I get in stinky NJ, but never really got into the clay bar/polishing thing to make a glass type shine until now. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks
Made some modifications to what I'm going to try. After reading more, the clay bar will only remove embedded surface contamination's, it will not remove the swirls.
- wash the car good. ( I have the foam sprayer and microfiber wash mit/mop and tons of microfiber towels)
- clay bar to remove embedded surface contaminations (including clay bar'ing the Xpel Ultimate film)
- Glare SPIDER to remove paint swirls *only applied to the swirl marks*, NOT to be used on Xpel Ultimate PPF
- (optional) if glare SPIDER is not getting the swirls out, Glare Micro-Finish.
- Still looking into whether or not this can be done by hand, or if orbital buffer is needed.
- After removing the swirls, I was going to follow it up with the Glare Professional Polish, including on the PPF.
- Still researching sealant/wax for usage after applying the Glare Professional Polish.
For step 5, should some sort of sealant or wax be applied? What would you recommend here? Is this when people are adding Opti-coat (though isn't that a permanent clear coat?...not sure if that's the right thing to apply after Glare Polish...? or is that too "permanent", should something else be used? or should that not be used with the Xpel? What would seal that shiny glass polish for at least a good 1-2 years?)
SCW-Greg
Active Member
Awesome set of photos on the process! Thx for sharing.
So I've got to ask, this has been bugging me about the whole polishing process at these levels... The guys were measuring paint thickness, or was it clear coat thickness? They wanted to know so they didn't over buff in certain areas. (I've seen this happen before, where you can actually over buff and remove paint) But doesn't this whole process imply they are taking off layers of protection that was put on in the first place? And are they replacing those initial layers with a clear coat that is less (durable even thinner) than what you started with - in terms of a protective layer? Are you just that much closer to removing paint layers next time around?
Granted, the finished product couldn't be better, looking perfect actually. But once you start down this road, aren't your somewhat committed to a regimented cleaning process going forward - with less room for error - lest you risk more harm to the paint finish?
Other than that, I plan on using these guys, even at a lessor level of detail, because it looks like their attention to detail is on another level than most... and near me.
yeah I was curious about that too.
Do you only need to worry about this when you are using an abrasive cleaner to remove scratches and swirls, right? I would think once all scratches and swirls are removed, and you are just re-polishing the car every year or so, even you are using a buffer for the polish that shouldn't be reducing the clear coat paint thickness, right?
clearly I'm also a tinkerer/enthusiast that puts a high emphasis on attention to detail ...
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