CobrAA's Eastern detailing pic

[cobrAA]

Voici un autre article ; L’aquapel.

Je suis encore étonné de voir que tant de gens ne savent pas c’est quoi. Selon moi, c’est LE produit révolutionnaire dans le domaine du detailing. Ça fait de petit miracle. Vraiment.

L’aquapel est un traitement qu’on applique sur les vitres pour les protéger, tout comme on protège notre peinture avec une cire ou un scellant.

L’aquapel permet à l’eau de glisser plus facilement des vitres dans le but de vous permettre de mieux voir en temps pluvieux. Meilleur vision = plus sécuritaire.

Méfiez-vous des imitations Aquapel, ils ne durent pas aussi longtemps, ils laissent des marques ou des stries etc. Ce produit est breveté et on comprend pourquoi!

What is Aquapel? It’s a patent protective coating that sticks to the glass and help the water to sheet freely on the glass. This action will result in windows that are more vision-clear when it’s raining so you can see the road better and react quicker.


- Durabilité : Entre 6 et 12 mois
- Last between 6 to 12 month. Can last 2 years if it’s a summer car.
- Plus sécuritaire car meilleur visibilité en temps pluvieux.
-Improve your safety when it’s raining.
-
Économie de lave-glace car les débris collent moins sur la vitre
Save on windshield washer since dirt doesn’t stick to your glass.

- Économie d’usure d’essuie-glace car l’eau glisse tout seul. L’ultimement, si on utilise moins ses essuie-glaces, on risque moins de grafigné sa vitre.
Your also saving on wiper blade because you will use them less so your getting longer wiper blade life.

- Très utile à appliquer sur les vitres de coté aussi car on a aucun balais pour nettoyer la vitre.
It’s also very effective to coat the side windows too because you don’t have any wiper blade to get the water out.

- Plus de déposit de calcaire sur vos vitres. Seulement, une vitre ultra-nette.
No more water-spot because as you will see in video #2, it makes drying windows super easy.

Vidéo #1 : Ici, vous voyez bien la différence entre le coté avec Aquapel et celui, sans. Sur le coté gauche, il reste toujours une couche d’eau qui obstruait la vue. Tandis que du coté droit, il y a des goulettes, mais pas de flaque majeur.

The idea in this windows is to focus on the difference on how the water sheet on the left and how it sheet on the right. On the right, Aquapel side, all you have is little line of drop of water. However, on the left, you end up with a rivers of water that totally block your vision and could lead to an accident if your wiper blade was not up to task.

Vidéo #2 : Voyez comment il est beaucoup plus facile d’essuyer l’eau sur le coté avec aquapel que le coté gauche. Si ma microfibre ne peut pas l’essuyer parfaitement, imaginez ce que vos balais d’essuie-glace peuvent faire.

In this video, I only wanted to show how easy is it to dry without water spot a glass with Aquapel coated on the glass. See how the left side left a good load of water that could turn out in water-spot and etch your glass .

[cobrAA]

Couple weeks ago I did this Mini Cooper, car was in good shape. So it was easier for me to detail the car and concentrate on the little detail since the overall condition of the paint/car was good.

BTW, one thing that bugged me was how low the paint was. Anyone else took reading of Mini’s paint to see how thick they are? I was reading under 100 and the owner bought the car brand new and never did a polish before that day.

Process:

2 bucket wash method
Foam gun
Clay bar
Chemical decon.
1-step polish
Paint cleanser
Interior + leather 2-step process
Raceglaze 76% Waxxon’s wax.

Car came in like this:



The risk of burning the vinyl is very high so correction will be minimal:












Nettoyage des roues avec le Sonax :










Condition de la peinture, dure à photographier puisque la couleur est pâle :






Il y en avait de la moulure à protéger sur cette voiture!

[cobrAA]

Fast forward au moitié-moitié et finaux puisque le propriétaire a attendu les 6-7 heures avec moi, je n’ai pas voulu le faire niaisser plus longtemps, en fait!





Fully protected!






Very minimal contamination for a car of this age:


L’intérieur fut rafraichis à l’aide d’un traitement cuir 2-step et une protection fut appliqué sur les garnitures.










Wax of choice:

Highest carnauba rating at 76% ; My signature wax, Raceglaze Special Reserve.

[cobrAA]

L’eingine bay est nettoyé et un protecteur est appliqué :












We backed up the car even tho there was no sun that day :


Polishing in between was a bit more complicated but came out well:





Thanks for looking !

[cobrAA]

Some might remember that I detailed this car last summer. Well, he went to florida this winter and had his car detailed there and finished with some Swissvax Crystal Rock. He really felt in love with that finish so he took a chance by pming me to see if I had this wax and well.. you can imagine with my +30 wax selection I had it haha.

So it was real fun talking with him, very great guy who know the difference between cheaper wax and high-end one. We also signed for the monthly maintenance wash !

J’avais poli la voiture l’été passé, il est aller en Floride et l’a fait retouché la-bas, il lui ont offert la cire Swissvax Crystal Rock et il ne jure que par cette cire maintenant. Sachant que j’avais cette cire, nous avons pris un rendez-vous en …. 3 heures LOL haha! Ce fut un plaisir de te rejaser! On va se revoir bientôt

Process:

Wash 2 bucket
Swissvax Cleaner Fluid
Swissvax Crystal Rock applied with bare hand.



Still trying to master the bare hand technique, Think I applied it too thick!




Final result:













Ya know? Haha






















Thanks for looking!

[cobrAA]

Here we have a Mustang supercharge developing some sick HP ! (+600) and it sound very angry, I feel bad for the neighbour haha!
The car was detailed last year by a bodyshop but he didn’t really like the income so when he heard about me, he decide to give me a go.

One thing to notice, 2 panel has been resprayed but the job seemed OK so it was not a major issue with my polishing.

Process:
Remove some decal
Clay bar/ chemical decon
2 bucket washing method
3-step polish
Paint cleanser
RaceGlaze Waxxon’s 76% carnauba wax.

Removing the decal. Then, I had to use a glue remover to remove the residu. Last step is to polish to remove the outline of the decal.






Lots of molding on this car.


Minimal contamination on this car:




Let’s jump directly on the after-shot if you don’t mind.




What’s the buzz with this wax ? Well, first of all, it’s a truly exclusive formula that Mark from Raceglaze UK made for 5 person in the world, I was choosen to represent the NA and I’m very honored of that. Beside that, this wax boost 76% carnauba by volume which make it the highest ratio in the industry (ex-aco with Swissvax Crystal Rock) which means that wax leave a solid protection that will last a lot longer than your average wax. It will also sheet/bead water like no other wax. Finally, I personally find that Raceglaze leave a bit more of a wet-look ( perfect look for darker paint) than Crystal Rock.

Enough talking Alex.. show us the pictures!! Ok. Ok. There ya go





































Enjoy!

[cobrAA]

I just love this color, this combo, the subaru nailed it right! I just wanted to work on this car! So when he contacted me and said he wasn’t expecting to pay as much for his car that he thought was in great shape for a 6 month old paint, let me tell you he was fully convince when he got back his key the following day!


Process:
Foam gun
2-step polishing
Chemical and mechanical decon
Paint clensler
Menzerna Powerlock
Paint reading with the paint gauge

Avant :






Après le nettoyage et application du protecteur :




Les pipes étaient tellement encastrés de résidus que j’ai du les nettoyer deux fois et la troisième avec une clay bar! Plus le metal polish à la fin!


Décontaminant chimique, suivi de la clay bar :








J’ote aussi le sticker inutile du dealer :


Polissage 50/50

À gauche, pas poli.. à droite, corrigé :








Il y a une très bonne différence.

Intérieur : Oter les cernes de calcium laissé après seulement un hiver :


Cleannn


Tapis :



Dois-je vraiment dire que c’est après mon lavage ? lol

[cobrAA]

After-shot, the reward.
















Sweet!










Thanks for looking and be aware that even if your car is ‘’brand new’’ I bet you 100$ I will find something to be detailed/polished!

En passant, ce fut cool de trouvé quelqu’un de la même école que moi. On as pu s’échanger de petite anecdote, c’était cool! On se revoit!

Alex

[cobrAA]

So for today car.. arrghh I mean BIKE :P This was the first time I had my go with a bike. Actually two of them. I’m very glad I did. It was challenging. I like challenge. It’s what keep detailing interesting in my opinion. I must say I never got on a bike and I didn’t get on one of these. I think the owner was VERYY happy with the result (he had such a smile in his face it was quite funny!) but I must thank him for all the advice he gave me on future bike.

I don’t want to lie, it will takes a lot of bike for me to be confident. I feel quite noob with these thing ( i.e: how to jack a bike, what kind of special maintance does a bike needs vs. a car that a detailer should probably do? Etc.) However, once the bike was jacked up. I felt totally confident polishing everything that had to be polished.

So bear in mind, these 2 bikes were my first one, it can just get better ! haha If you would like to have your bike detailed, your more then welcome to PM me. I guarantee the paint will look fine but I might ask one or two ‘’noob’’ question. I’m here to learn!

Je n’ai pas de honte à dire que j’ai eu l’air légèrement débutant et j’ai peut-être même fait peur au propriétaire des motos, mais quand il a vu le résultat sur la première moto. Je peux tu vous dire que je lui ai pas tordu un bras pour que je fasse la deuxième! En fait, c’est lui qui m’a pratiquement demandé si je voulais resté pour faire la deuxième. J’ai beaucoup apprécié qu’il est été mon premier client dans le sens qu’il était très indulgent et m’a fournis plusieurs conseils/anecdote sur la moto. Ce que je comprend, c’est qu’il y a pas un bike pareil puis que je risque d’être noob longtemps, mais en contre-partie, je vous garantie que la peinture et le reste va shiner comme un neuf! Vous êtes convaincu? Je vous attend

Measuring the thickness of the paint on the gas door because that was the only metal part my gauge could read. I felt like 90ish was alright to do a good correction.





Clay bar,, not that bad but it’s a bike, I don’t expect to have as much stuff as a car do:


Paint is quite swirly:






Take as good look at this because it’s the last time you will see it like that!


Can you see the difference in the picture ? hint: focus on the reflection of the light, it look clearer on one side:


I end up doing a 3-step correction on paint and lens, where’s how it looked like after the little detail ( trim restorer, wax, paint cleanser etc)
















Looks great, the owner was very happy.. so I ask him to jack the second bike ( me being insecure..)

[cobrAA]

Second bike…









I asked the owner to remove some parts to have better access to the paint:


I then taped the bike just like I did on the other one:


Here’s how I worked on both lens.




Wax for the detail.. Nothing least than one of the finest carnauba wax on the market ; Raceglaze Black Label Special Reserve. This wax will give a ture carnauba glow that will last for month and month not like cheaper wax that can last for weeks.


Letting cure..

And wipe off.. I tried taking picture with my sun gun.. I couldn’t LOL so many curve on this little panel.

[cobrAA]

And now simply enjoy theses after-shot.. again, these are my first 2 bikes, so I didn’t really know how to snap them, I just tried my best but I just want to focus on the fact that the paint is lovely!! It’s like volcano orange turning redish depending on the sun. If only more car paint had this kind of paint… ahahha!





































And the last one is for Mark lol!


Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. Like I said, I love new challenge and I think I did well but I know I could do better, I just need more experience with them.

See ya!

[cobrAA]

J’ai trouvé l’histoire très intéressante, la propriétaire ( ouais, une femme :P C’est plutôt rare que ça arrive ça) a été référé par deux individus que je connais même pas ou du moins, ils ne sont pas présentés. Bref, présentez-vous si vous me référer que je me rappele de vous pour plus tard Bien content de voir que ma réputation sort au-delà des forums.

Alors, la propriétaire m’a en quelques sorte donné carte blanche pour que je shine sa BMW M3 décapotable. C’est toujours apprécié car je n’ai pas pas à me restrainte de rien et je sais aussi que j’ai l’entière confiance du propriétaire. Ce qui est très plaisant.



Processus :
2 bucket washing method
Foam gun
Clay bar
Chemical decon.
3-step
Swissvax Cleaner Fluid
Swissvax Crystal Rock
Wheel sealant
Engine shampoo
Leather threatment interior.

Condition initiale de la voiture:





Brake dust.. brake dust..




Chemical decon.
















Voici des photos 50/50 démontrant la correction apporté aujourd’hui sur la voiture.

[cobrAA]

Et après..



Fatiqué, mais le résultat final est très plaisant donc je suis motivé à terminé le travail, me voilà en train d’appliquer le scellant sur les roues.


Ça shine baby!








Voici de quoi ressemble le moteur une fois terminée






Application de l’aquapel sur toutes les vitres du véhicule.




Exhaust poli.


Application du traitement haut de gamme Swissvax.. Il y en a pour 1800$ de produit juste là, mais je tenais à aller chercher le dernier edge possible de la peinture.





Regarde moi le glow! Pas mal du tout pour une voiture blanche.

[cobrAA]

Application d’un protecteur sur le toit :




Photo de l’intérieur :








Et quelques photos final :





















Ça m’a fait plaisir de travaillé sur cette autre M3. Ce sont toujours de voiture très intéressante à polir!

À la prochaine,
Alex

[cobrAA]

I was really looking forward this detail because (1) I always had a thing for 300zx (++ because it’s JDM). (2) I knew the metallic would pop out quite sweet (3) I know the owner pm’ed maybe 4 times in a 12 month timespan, we knew it was time to settle it once for all! (4) to review Chemical guys Celeste Dettaglio.

Process:

2 wash bucket with grit guard using CG soap
CG clay bar
Chemical decontaminant
3-step polish
Chemical guy Blacklight
Chemical guy Celeste Dettaglio


Car at arrival:







As you can notice on that picture, headlight was taped, I was performing my test panel to figure out the proper polishing combination of the day;




And when I saw this, I knew I had to do a little change in my technique to achieve more cut but I had the winning combination.


Unfortunately, the car has been resprayed/painted ( We spoke a good 30 minutes about it and what I thought the bodyshop did). Like sanding the very top edge of a panel is quite wrong because there’s no way you can compound that edge safely without risking burning the paint. You should know/understand edge are easier to burn than the middle of a panel. Without knowing who did the job, I simply tried polishing the edge. I rather be safe than be a superman and tell with burned paint after.



Taking measure of the paint, that’s when I realised I might have jumped into a nightmare. See the big variation:















Taping the car, lots of trim on that car.


RIDS remains but most swirls/ little scratches and marring were levelled/removed. Paint inspected under 2 different lights: