Here we have Dream Details first official collaboration with Unit24 of Camberley. The car in question is an Audi A5. The customer first approached Dream Detail with an intent to get the paintwork looking as good as possible. Having used a professional detailer before, he was very aware of what could be achieved through machine polishing. Given that this was a black car, the client was particularly keen to see what we could do and after our consultation we decided upon a 2 day detail focusing purely on the bodywork.
Whilst in consultation, the customer raised an interest in getting the brake calipers, of which were factory fitted, painted black. Dream Detail have the pleasure of having a close business relationship with Unit24 of Camberley, Surrey. Unit24 are Jason and Lee, both ex McLaren painters and personally responsible for painting such cars in the past as the Mercedes SLR, McLaren F1 and more recently since setting up alone, the Porsche RSR 911 tribute car as seen on our Facebook pages. Jason and Lee are the best painters we have ever come across in the country. Their passion, skill and exceptional work make them a perfect fit for Dream Detail.
The client had a consultation with Unit24, and decided to go for all 4 calipers, fully removed, stripped and painted in the same colour as the car, but with a twist! Jason and Lee are very well known in the industry for not only their unrivalled work, but also their fantastic skill of painting graphics, logos and design work into vehicle paintwork. These Audi A5 calipers were to have the ‘S-Line’ logo painted into the caliper, then clear coated afterwards so that the design work is within the paint coats, thus giving a very slick look and something which would make this Audi stand out from the crowd.
The client dropped off the car at Camberley and both the detailing work and the calipers were to be done at the same time.
Day 1
The car was given a multi stage wash to remove all the grime, tar and fallout on both the wheels and the bodywork. The car was then clay barred to remove the smaller grime/fallout particles hidden within the paints pours. Door shuts, wheel arch liners and boot shuts were all cleaned too. The car was then dried, both with drying towels and compressed air and brought inside for wheel removal.
Whilst inside, the car was illuminated with natural daylight through a sky light in the ceiling, which is great for highlighting swirls. We then had a whole bank of strip lights turned on, to highlight even further the condition of the paintwork. That’s not all, we then took our 150w specialist lighting kit and pointed that toward the car too. All 3 light sources made this the perfect conditions for polishing, and no swirl or scratch could hide anywhere. This also gives our polishing work no where to hide either…its only until you know how to highlight all defects, can you correct them properly!
The car was compounded and given a very heavy cut to remove the swirls from this otherwise tough paintwork. After day 1, ¾ of the car was compounded and Unit24 had removed the brakes and had begun shot blasting the calipers to remove the heavy brake dust build up.
Day 2
Dream Detail always enjoys building close rapports with our clients and on the second day, we invited the customer down to the unit to see the work being done, under our high powered lighting so he could see not only how we did what we do, but why too. The customer also got a chance to see the brakes in the paint booth being sprayed.
After a walk around the car, the customer was pointed towards the bonnet area, which was of concern to both myself and Unit24. At some point in the past, the bonnet has been sprayed and under our lighting, you could see the extent of the matted and sunken paint around the top edge of the bonnet. The customer was very keen to see what we cold do with this, in order to get it to match the rest of the cars now mirror finish. One option would have been for Dream Detail to wet sand the bonnet and remove the orange peel and get the paintwork back. This option was risky as despite an ultrasonic reading of over 250 microns, the clear coat level was slightly unclear. In areas of the bonnet we could see the clear coat was already starting to get thin. Option two would be for Jason and Lee to completely remove the bonnet and respray it. The customer was under no doubt that this was the better of the options as not only was the car new to him, but it would have matched the rest of the car better having been resprayed.
As for the machine work, the compounding was completed, then the car was given a further 2 steps of refining. Badgework areas were intricately polished. The car was then given a wipedown to remove any polish oils that might be left within the surface, leaving a true correction. The bodywork was then hand waxed and finished with a synthetic spray sealant. The wheels were once again removed and given a further decontamination, then sealed with a heat resistant wax sealent. The tyres were then clean and protected. The brake calipers were then sealed with the same heat resistant wax.
The remaining finishing touches were then carried out such as exhaust clean and polishing, windows, interior vacuum, door shut clean and then a compressed air walk around to remove any final traces of dust that may have settled over the past few days. The brakes were refitted, then wheels replaced.
This project was a complete joy to work on and the customer was blown away by the results of both the detailing and paintwork from Unit24. At the handover, the customer had a good chance to inspect the vehicle prior to driving it out of the workshop. Dream Detail will now have a follow up consultation with the client to discuss maintenance details moving forward.
