8. Clay bar decontamination (clay
bar the entire painted and other
exterior surfaces such as lights,
chrome, trim(lightly), glass
removing any remaining dirt
and environmental fall out of
the surface)
9. Final professional two bucket wash
10. Dry the vehicle (towel and air
system)
Once the above is completed and
the vehicle is dry, the next step would
be paint correction.
STEP 2:
Vehicle Paint correction.
The average associated cost: $500
The reason paint correction is
part of the process, is to remove
marks and scratches from the painted
surfaces. Since a ceramic coating
is similar to a second clear coat, if
you skipped this step, you would
be applying a clear coating over a
scratched surface, thus sealing in the
scratches. You would then have to
look at those scratches for years to
come… nobody wants to do that. This
is a step that is preferably done by a
professional, as it’s easy to damage
a painted surface without the proper
training or equipment. A paint correction
can be a single step or up
to four steps. Each step performed
is generally an increase in cost.
Some vehicles only need a gentle
single step with a soft foam pad to
bring the painted surfaces back a
brilliant shine. This process is generally
around $200-400. Others need
a full 3- step deep paint correction.
This would involve a wool pad with a
heavy cut compound, then a medium
(harder) foam pad with a lighter
compound and then finished with a
soft foam pad with a polish. This
process will generally incur a cost of
$600 and up, depending on the
vehicle. Each vehicle will have its own
needs and will vary in both cost and
time, as not all vehicle clear coats are
the same. The type and size of a
vehicle is also a factor in the cost of
completion. The above cost would be
a good estimation for a modern Jeep
JL Unlimited. *
Paint correction example of before and after:
Once the vehicle has been completely
polished, removing 85%-90%
of the defects in the paint and the
detailer is satisfied with the results,
the process will move onto the next
step. †
STEP 3:
IGL Kenzo Ceramic coating
application. The average associated
cost: $1200
IGL KENZO is rated at 50,000 road
miles. Trail miles can vary wildly in
terms of types of terrain and abuse
and thus the coating may require
additional maintenance to keep
up peak performance. ** Kenzo is a
green, professional grade, Ceramic
coating with a 10H hardness. #
The IGL KENZO ceramic coating is
a hand applied product with a foam
and suede applicator. KENZO is
suitable for painted body panels,
headlights, taillights, vinyl wrapped
areas, front and rear bumpers, rock
rails, tire carriers.