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Paint Correction & Coating - G|Techniq C1 & EXO

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At the recommendation of local, fellow Model S owner "retinadoc" - I had paint correction & coating done to my Model S this week at Gotham Auto Works in Danbury, CT. I also had them wrap my doors (full front end wrap had already been done previously).

They did a full G|Techniq detail - C1 & EXO on the exterior body, glass coating and interior leather/console using the appropriate G|Techniq products!

Here are the results - I am *amazed* and thoroughly pleased!

Aaron

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Alas,it rained when I picked her up - but here's a video of the rain just slipping right off....

 
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Love the video. What no photo can capture is how the metal feels when you run your hand over it. It is almost like the car was dipped in crystlal.

Looks great Aaron.:smile:

Most detailing shops in our area will not do this treatment. One shop was honest with me and told me that he was afraid it would kill his waxing business.
 
Love the video. What no photo can capture is how the metal feels when you run your hand over it. It is almost like the car was dipped in crystlal.

Looks great Aaron.:smile:

Most detailing shops in our area will not do this treatment. One shop was honest with me and told me that he was afraid it would kill his waxing business.

Thanks again for the referral!!!!

Aaron
 
Hello Tesla Owners, and a special thanks to Howard and Aaron for their Testimonials about our work here at Gotham. John, you will not be disappointed!

I know I won't. The car had a good detail from the service center ... I mentioned to Aaron that I'm going to let my kids put a few more fingernail scratches, swirls, etc in the clear coat and then let you do your magic.
 
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Well after 3 days of rain (and driving in it), here are photos after I hose rinsed, chamois, and used the G|Techniq C2 Liquid Crystal detailer with a micro fiber cloth.

I can say that the rinse didn't get quite all the dirt off or some of the bug splatter, but pretty darn good after just a rinse and touch detail! Damn I love the Blue!

Aaron

*** HDR Photos taken with iPhone 5 ***

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I love the look. No GTechniq certified shop in Dallas, so it looks like I'll be doing this myself. Do you know if they did a full P1 and P2 polish? Wonder if it would be necessary on a brand new car.

I think you might be surprised.

My car was delivered with below surface defects. Not bad, but they got worse after I recently gave my car to Tesla to fix a number of items. Whoever washed the car introduced some swirls to the hood. I also recently clayed my car and picked up a shocking amount of contaminants. If you're applying GTechniq EXO, it really should be to a flawless surface. So, at a minimum, wash, clay and strip any sealant or wax that's there. If you have swirls and other below surface defects, correct the paint before GTEXO.
 
Thanks @kevincwelch. I recently saw a Model S ready for delivery in the backroom of the Santa Monica show room and was actually surprised at how poor the paint looked. There was a significant amount of swirls on the hood that looked outright ugly. I figured it was a detail and finishing issue, but definitely a motivator to take care of the finish right off the bat myself.
 
I can't comment about the multi-coat paint, but the metallic paint -- to me -- seems very soft. It don't know how good or thick the clear coat is on top of that, but I have this uneasy feeling that it acquires defects very easily.

My wife's Subaru is a 2008, and she's got some scratches on it, but those are definitely due to bumping into things, door dings, etc. Not swirls and defects from washing or other small impacts. She has used a conveyer wash for 5 years -- I really have a hard time finding swirls with my light. It has to have something to do with their grey paint I think.

GTechniq products are expensive. I think I'd be more inclined to use them on my wife's car, which gets more family-related action than the Model S, since I like to wash and wax every weekend! (It's a disease...)
 
I can't comment about the multi-coat paint, but the metallic paint -- to me -- seems very soft.

I've noticed the same. All the more reason to put a sealant on the car, the clear is way too soft to leave it as is. The horizontal surfaces take the most damage from dirt, birt droppings, rocks and chips, and UV exposure. IMO, the full hood paint armor is a wise investment to keep the huge hood looking clean.
 
My plan for the fall leading into winter: C1 + EXO, maintained by C1.5.

So your approach subsequent to the C1 and EXO treatment, is just a C1.5 application after each time you wash the car? Any other tips and tricks from someone who's got a self-proclaimed detailing disease? ;-)

BTW, any experience on how much C1 and EXO is needed to cover the Model S? My back of envelope calculations get me to less than 85 sq. ft. of paint surface (w/ pano roof). So, I made my Gtechniq purchases based on those estimates (their coverage estimates are in square meters, so I used just less than 8 square meters for my estimates). Also, the treatment instructions for the EXO is for two applications. Is it safe to assume that I'll use 2x the amount of EXO than my C1? Any "expert" advice/experience is much appreciated.
 
So your approach subsequent to the C1 and EXO treatment, is just a C1.5 application after each time you wash the car? Any other tips and tricks from someone who's got a self-proclaimed detailing disease? ;-)

Ha! I'm no expert, just an enthusiast!

I mean, you could go all out with the GTechniq line of car washing products, etc. but it doesn't seem all that necessary (or better?). The C1.5 could actually be used instead of the other, but I think most people would say that it's one of those quick sealants you do to reinforce the underlying C1 or EXO.

BTW, any experience on how much C1 and EXO is needed to cover the Model S? My back of envelope calculations get me to less than 85 sq. ft. of paint surface (w/ pano roof). So, I made my Gtechniq purchases based on those estimates (their coverage estimates are in square meters, so I used just less than 8 square meters for my estimates). Also, the treatment instructions for the EXO is for two applications. Is it safe to assume that I'll use 2x the amount of EXO than my C1? Any "expert" advice/experience is much appreciated.

I think it's going to depend on whether you use EXO v1 or EXO v2. EXO v1 I believe comes only as an aerosol. EXO v2 comes in a small bottle. That 30mL (50 mL also on the company website) bottle should give you two applications to the average size car. The Model S is a little bit bigger than the average, so that 30mL may be barely enough. I'm not sure since I don't have a sunroof; I have a little bit more surface area to cover. The temperature is going to matter too, with v1 having a little less variance. You can apply C1 and EXO v2 in less time, however, compared to C1 and EXO v1.

GTechniq sells the C1 and EXOv2 as a package.

Check out these threads
Thread #1
Thread #2
Site #3

I think you'll see in this video that product goes a long way.
 
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Thanks. Great info!

That all seems to match what I had figured out. The third link you posted really helped gauge the usage. I'm using EXOv2, so it seems that I should be safe with just the 50ml of both the C1 and the EX0v2. I actually ordered another 30ml of the EXov2, so I guess I have that for my re-treatment in about 18 months. How often would you plan on re-treating your car with the EXOv2? I'm assuming that the C1 is good for 4-5 years?