Signature Detailing of NJ Opti-Coat Applications

[Greg Gellas]

Rather then continually adding post I decided to make one post and just add write ups to it. SO this will document any and all of my corrections and Opti-Coat installations. If there are any questions about my process please let me know.

And as always thanks for checking out my work Greg Gellas!

[Greg Gellas]

 

I was contacted to Opti-Coat Pro a new Infiniti J35. This car was just purchased 3 days prior. Even thought the owner asked for the car with the shipping plastics on, the dealership decided it would be a nice idea to "prep" the car for him. We decided that a 1 step polishing would be needed. For this I decided to use my Rupes LHR15, a Yellow Rupes pad, and some Sonax Perfect Finish. Then I would Opti-Coat the entire car.

The dealership was nice enough to leave wax residue in most of the seams and on the trim. I began with a nice wash using a boars hair brush to get the wax residue removed. The car was foamed with Dawn and Citrus Wash and Clear to remove the wax from the surface.

Also a nice etching. It appeared to be a bird bomb.

Hard water etching on the roof, which, after a call to a friend, he informed me that the dealership in question "never dries the roof".

Some deeper defects in the upper parts of the doors.

All corrected.

I decided to get up on my 3' platform and correct the roof. While not terrible it was etched and it needed to be removed before I would even consider applying Opti.

Hard to capture on camera the entire car had a hazy look to it. Also it had finer swirls throughout. Here you can see how it was coming along.

Bad bird dropping etch and it appears the dealership tried to remove this one. All it appears they did was create more damage to the paint.

For a 1 step polishing we were able to get great results. This area more time was spent on correcting the paint. Overall the correction rate was really great.

I decided to give it another bath the remove any polishing dust from the cracks and seams. I then went around and IPA'd the entire car. This was followed up with a complete application of Opti-Coat Pro. The gloss and depth of the paint were just amazing. The owner was quite happy "The car looks stunning and better than new. I can look at the car in the sun and not see all the swirls that the dealer installed." The final shots show a nice mirror finish.

As always thanks for looking Greg

[Greg Gellas]

I was contacted for Opti-Coat on this new Camaro 1LE. We discussed the job and decided a 1 step polishing and Opti-Coat application would be perfect for the car, as it only had 700 miles.

The 1LE is really a unique different car. A limited number of these cars will be produced.

"From its red Brembo® front and rear brakes to its lightweight wheels and unique performance suspension, the 1LE PERFORMANCE PACKAGE is a tough-looking, aggresive entry in a steady lineage of TRACK-DOMINATING RACING MACHINES....RPO code 1LE was first triggered 25 years ago, and originally intended to enhance the performance of IROC-Z in SCCA Showroom Stock road racing events. It included 11.65-inch rotors with 2-piston aluminum calipers, an aluminum driveshaft, a special baffled fuel tank, specific shock absorbers, and stiffer suspension bushings. The 1LE was a well-kept secret and very few were built."

To learn more about this Camaro 1LE just read the specs here.

I began with the wheels, cleaning them with sonax full effect, a full wash, then claying the entire car, and then a wonderful dry using my CG blower.

Some of the fenders had some rough scratches on the edges.

The passenger side door had quite a bit of swirling throughout. It appeared to have been hit due to a very slight optical change in the panel.

Some more damage on the trunk lid.

What are those...!?!

Although not confirmed, it would appear these areas were corrected by a PDR tech and either wet sanded or "buffed" out to level the area. After seeing this damage I decided to contact the owner, show him some pictures, and let him decide if he wanted it corrected or continue with a 1 step polishing. Without hesitation the the owner saw some pictures I forwarded and decided to go for full correction. This would add a bit of time to the job at hand, plus there was quite a bit of rain, so luckily he offered to pick up the car 1 day later. It was awesome that I had more time on the car, but I also had another car coming in. I knew I would be working late on this baby. The results were well worth it! Instead of dressing the tires, as it would rinse right off, I applied Opti-Glass to the windshield instead.

Here is a 50/50 of the trunk area. I think the correction rate was pretty good for a 2 step correction.

The 50/50 on the door was awesome and it corrected out really well.

Here you can see the larger damage to the paint. This was probably from a rub on the door from another car. I heavily compounded this area and decided this wasn't worth chasing. I would rather err on the side of safe rather than break through the clear. I had taken a good amount of clear off already. While improved it was not totally removed.

I corrected and then polished the entire car. I washed the entire car again with 50% dawn and 50% Citrus wash and clear to remove any dust and polishing oils leftover. I then followed up with an IPA wipe down to ensure I was down to bare paint to ensure Opti-Coat is properly applied. All of the trim, and paint was cover in Opti-Coat Pro.

The after pictures show the results of quite a few hours of correction and polishing!

As always, thanks for looking Greg Gellas!

[Greg Gellas]

We were contacted to do paint protection film and paint correction on a brand new Camaro ZL1 with 16 miles it. It was towed to the shop on a flat bed and in less then perfect condition. It was sitting on the lot for a while, although no dealership prep was done, there was still a large need for correction from the regular dealership washes. As you can see this is the condition it came to us in. Leeberbs did the entire front end of xpel ultimate, and as always an amazing job. He also tinted the entire car except for the windshield,

After a bath using chemical guys citrus wash and clear and dawn I was able to get it down to flat water.

No beading just flat water, this is a great sign that any waxes or sealants are removed.

Having only 16miles on the car I was finally able to see exactly what I was in for.

Please excuse the blurry pic. You can see the correction rate.

After another wash using the ultra gentle merino wool wash mitt, I removed any dust and oils from the surface.

I then dried, and followed up with an IPA wipe down, then a full Opti-Coat application. One trick is that I will squirt the IPA into areas water will dwell and cause drips. This allows the water to flow out and then the IPA evaporates. No drips, and a great trick for doing a job on the road.

Please excuse the off color of the pictures, I am not the best at photography and forgot to adjust a setting.

As always thanks for looking Greg@Signaturedetailing.com

[Greg Gellas]

I had two friends contact me for Opti-Coat application, one a new 911C4S, the other car was a 2012 Audi A6. They would be dropping off both cars on a Thursday evening and picking them up on Saturday, needless to say not tons of time. Both were going to get a 1 step polish then the Opti-Coat application, after inspection of the Audi we decided a 1 step wouldn't get the correction rate wanted, so we decided on a 2 step. With two days and a lot of work, I called up Anthony Onorato, he was able to come give me a hand on the Audi to make sure I got the work done for Saturday.

I began with a wash, using Dawn and Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Clear. The wheels got a good cleaning with Sonax FE, and the tires were cleaned with Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner. The condition it came to me in was less then stellar, the paint was full of buffer trails and swirls.

Here you can see how hazy the paint was after the 1 step of correction. We were using surbuff pads and 101 on a Rupes LHR21.

Here you can see the results after finishing down with the Rupes LHR15 using a Rupes yellow pad and Sonax Perfect finish.

The B Pillars needed some work.

After 1 pass we cleaned up most of the swirling and some of the scratches. Although we only did one pass, I felt that was all the correction I was able to get without a going through so we left them there.

Even the tail lights got a good polishing to remove the scratches.

We washed the car again to remove all the dust made from compounding. Here is Anthony drying the car.

Once completely dry, and after a IPA wipe down, we started coating it using Opti-Coat Pro. All of the paint and trim got coated. The Tires got coated with the TuffShine Tire Clear Coat, and the windshield got an application of Opti-Glass Pro. Now the black on the Audi POPS, before it had a Gray haze to it.

Moving on to the 911 C4s I did a wash using Dawn and Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Clear. Here you can see that the car had some protection on it from the dealership.

There were some light but noticeable scratches above the door on the roofline.

One pass was not enough to get them all out.

After 2 passes using Sonax Perfect finish on a PorterCable XP with a 3 inch pad, I was able to get them out. I then went over the entire car using a Rupes LHR15 mated with Rupes Yellow pads and Sonax Perfect finish.

After another wash and then an IPA wipe down, I move on to applying the Opti-coat pro, you can't see my applicator, but I was using suede applicators from Car-Pro. All of the paint and trim got coated.

Seeing that this is a new car, the owner decided to opt for the lifetime warranty that can be chosen with Opti-Coat Pro.

I just love this color!

Right as I snapped this final picture the clients walked in.

As always thanks for looking. Greg Gellas

[Greg Gellas]

After, Finishing up kykiee BRZ Saturday I then moved on to a FRS on Sunday. I didn't have the time to do a full write up on Ky's car

For Sunday I was taking care of a Raven Black FRS. My inspection showed light and deep swirls and scratches, along with contamination over the entire surface.

I began with the wheels and tires. The wheels where cleaned with Sonax Full Effect, wheel woolies, and a boars hair brush. The tires were scrubbed with Tuffshine tire cleaner and a Tuff shine tire brush. As you can see, the tires needed a good cleaning.

The entire car was splattered, in what I could only describe as a tar/sap like consistency contamination. It would smudge, but the only way to totally remove it was with a Nanoskin Autoscrub Wash Mitt.

I began with a foam wash to add lubrication.

I then used the foam as a lubricant for the Nanoskin Wash Mitt. It removed all of the contamination from the surface. Slow, light movements are key, or else it can Marr the paint. This alone, full removal took what seemed like FOREVER.

I dried the entire car using a waffle weave drying towel and my Chemical Guys Jet Speed blower for the cracks. I began correction using Sonax Perfect Finish and a Rupes Yellow pad on my Rupes LHR15. I chose the 15 over the 21 due to the curves the FRS has. I was only doing a 1 step correction but wanted to get as much as I can, as always. I decided to do a 50/50 showing exactly how much correction I was able to get with a 1 step. For a 1 step polishing I was able to get 90% of the defects out. Some of the deeper ones were still there, but you really had to look for them.

Following correction, I washed the entire car again to remove any dust and polishing oils. This was followed up with a complete IPA wipe down. I found some wax that needed to be removed. I then proceeded to coat everything with Opti-Coat Pro. This coated all of the paint, trim, and rear valence. I even went as far as adding Opti-Glass to the windshield.

The Exhaust tips got cleaned up with Optimum's Metal Polish, and a MF towel.

For the tight areas a foam detailing stick was used. I dressed the tires with a wonderful tire gel made by Garry Dean.

Please excuse the lack of afters on the exhaust tip, none came out. You can see the tips in some of the final pics.

As always thanks for looking! Greg Gellas@SignatureDetailing

[Greg Gellas]

I was contacted for correction work and Opti-Coat Pro on a FRS. Generally, on these newer cars a 1 step polishing can get amazing results. Unfortunately, not this time. It had contamination and severe swirling throughout the paint.

Contamination throughout all horizontal surfaces. While not covered it was splattered on each surface.

I also found wax in seams and crevices.

Now on to the damage to the paint. It started to sprinkle while I was taking pictures so ignore the water sprinkles, I brought it right in and dried it

After compounding, while still hazy, this shows the amount of correction I was able to get.

In order to remove the contamination I was forced to scrape the top off of each spot and then finger sand using 4000 grit in order to fully remove each speck from the surface. This left quite a bit of damage to the clear coat.

I then went around and 2 stepped the paint. I decided to go with M105 on a microfiber pad followed with a rupes yellow pad and some Sonax Perfect Finish. After correction and polishing you can see the results.

This car needed another bath to remove polishing oils and dust from any cracks.

I pulled it up and dried it using a waffle weave MF towel blotting water off the surface. After wiping the entire surface with IPA, I began to opticoat, below you will see Opti on the surface and I am waiting for it to flash so I can follow up and level it.

Here are some final pictures, I still have to dress the tires and hard black plastics. The paint though came out SICK!

As always thanks for looking. Greg Gellas

[Greg Gellas]

I was contacted by a very nice gentleman about his Tesla Model S for Paint correction and Opti-Coat Pro. We decided that a 1 step polishing would be perfect for the car. Once I saw the car I knew that a 1 step would not come close to touching some of the damage and upon drop-off explained this. He agreed that a 2 step correction and coating would be much better for his beloved Tesla.

After pulling in up, I used a Nanoskin clay pad, Iron-x, and a citrus based wash to fully decon the paint.

Using a Waffle Weave drying towel I dried and then pulled it out to inspect the paint. As you can see there were deep scratches, buffer trails, and swirling throughout the paint. In addition the owner was hoping to protect the paint by waxing it hit some of the white trim. This needed to be corrected.

I decided to do a test section to see what process I needed to get as much safe correction I could. I went with M105 on a MF pad, followed with Optimum Hyper Polish on a Rupes Yellow pad. This left a really clear finish on the paint and I was able to get 90+% correction. Although there was some deeper scratching that I didn't feel safe "chasing" to remove. I did a 50/50 to show exactly how much correction I got from the two steps.

After completing the full 2 step correction I washed it again to assist in removing any oils from the paint and to remove dust from seams throughout the entire car. I then followed with a IPA wipe down and coated every inch I could with Opti-Coat Pro. Unfortunately, it was raining so there are no "after" sun shots.

Here you can see that after a boars hair brush and some mineral spirits, I was able to remove the Wax from the trim. Some of the other afters are before the wax was removed.

You can see a few deeper scratches that I had to leave in the trunk pillar. They were just too deep to safely remove.

The straight line scratches in the rear passenger side door were all removed.

As always thanks for looking Greg Gellas