CAR CARE

Car Care in General.

A regular upkeep schedule is by far the best way to protect your
automotive investment. Not only does it make you feel good it
guarantees you a consistenatly good finish & apperance whilst
helping to retain the maximum resale value.

New Car's

Some people are fortunate enough to buy a new car this gives
the owner the best start to a vehicle looking good as the
vehicle paint and plastics are good.  Do not be fooled though
as the vehicle has only been given a light polish after the
protective wax coating has been removed.  This will be an
economy grade polish as car dealerships don't worry about
your vehicle condition once it leaves the showroom.

A great start to a vehicles life is a one stage machine polish
to ensure maximum gloss before protecting with a Premium
Grade Caranuba Wax or a Polymer or Acrlic sealant. This will
ensure that the exterior of the car has the best chance against
the elements and road & traffic grime.

Even though you put an expensive protective coating on the
car this will last a maximum of 6 months depending on usage
and storage.  This is why i recommend a top up of the coating
every three months at a minimum. This way your car will look
at it's best all of the time.  

Used Car's

When it comes to buying a used car there are all sort's of
factor's that will determine the condition of the car. 

The vehicle was: 
-Not Stored in a garage
-Was put through a car wash system
-Was washed using a bucket and sponge
-Was not washed often enough
-Was hardly polished
-Wheel cleaner wasn't used and the wheels are stained
 with grime and brake dust
-A build up of tar and contamination on the paint from roads
 Whilst being covered in water was left in the sun creating
 water spots
-Bird droppings have been left on the paint too long and marked
the paint surface

This then leads to the following problems,

Contamination: All vehicle will have some kind of surface
contamination as all vehicles that are used are exposed to
this.  this can be road grime(traffic film) from the road, tar
spots from the tarmac surfaces and any other airborne particles
that bond to the surface.  Paint when you run your hand over it
should be as smooth as glass but will no doubt be rough.  The
only way to remove this is using a solvent cleaner and the use
of a clay bar and lubricant.  Depending on the ammount of
contamination on the surface will be dependant on what
grading of clay that is used heavy contamination will require
an aggressive compound that will inflict marring of the paint
surface(a light hazing of the paint) and then can only be removed
with machine polishing.

Haze mark's and trails on the paint: 



This is normally caused by a incorrect method of of machine polishing
(buffing) and a poor choice of compound.  This will be evedent on
the paint in a bright light e.g sun light or car head light's.  This may
have been done by a paint shop or due to an uneducated valeter.

Swirl Marks and Surface Scratches:



Many factors can cause this to happen to the paint finish on a vehicle. 
The most common reason for this is poor washing tequniques due to
bucket and sponge method with the sponge picking up particles of dirt
and rubbing and scoring the paint throughout the wash.  Cheap grade
car wash equipment where the only way that the car wash will be
effective is to give the vehicle a hard wash leading to minor scratches. 
Thing brushing against the paint like jacket's, trouser's, animal's.  Luckly
people with light coloured car with a metalic finish will not see much of
this as it is harder to notice on a light colour but when it comes to darker
colours it stand's out.  Most of the time these marks can be corrected
using a Gauge that can read your paint thickness and various different
compounds and machine polishing pads to bring the paint back to it's best. 
Sometimes this cannot be achieved through paint correction alone but will
be advised at the time.

All paint finishes that are booked in to recieve a Ultimate Shine
Detail Service will be assesed and a report will be given to the
customer on completion of the job.  If you are thinking of buying
a new vehicle and are unsure of the condition a vehicle apprasal
can be arrainged.

If you are looking for someone to trust and bring your car back
to life then please use the form or give me a call and arrainge a
no obligation visit to assess your vehicle and give you options of
what Ultimate Shine can do for you.