McLaren MP4-12C Spider New Car Detail

Previously an utter traditionalist and wanting only carnauba wax on his cars, after taking our advice, the owner of this brand new McLaren MP4-12c Spider had come to appreciate the benefits of the glass coat technologies such as GTechniq. Having applied it to his Ferrari California previously, C1 was chosen for protective duties on the McLaren too.

This treatment was carried out in the middle of a heatwave, temperatures were predicted to top 30 degrees celcius in the shade. Glass coat products like GTechniq C1 have many advantages, but ease of application isn’t one of them in that sort of heat. Having an assistant was the only thing that made this possible as ambient temperature can heavily affect the curing process. In the forecasted temperatures, we knew we’d have our work cut out removing the coating residue quickly enough before it cured.

Starting early in the morning, the car only needed a quick wash, having been collected from the One Hyde Park dealership some 36 hours earlier. Still, the temperature was rising so we set about completing this task swiftly.

This is the second McLaren this customer has owned, and we were delighted to see the paintwork on this Spider was presented vastly better than his previous Coupe. That needed a significant amount of work to bring it up to a good standard, something we’d experienced on numerous other MP4-12C Coupe’s. Upon starting production of the Spider model, McLaren changed their paint system and it was very noticeable. A few light swirls on the bonnet were easily dealt with using the machine polisher.

By now it was mid morning, the driveway in direct sun and it was roasting hot. Panel temperatures were rising quickly on the composite body, so after a thorough check all around for any other areas of concern (of which there were none), the car was moved into the garage.

Once into the garage and left to cool for a while, the paint and wheels were thoroughly wiped down with alcohol to ensure a completely clean surface for the GTechniq coating to bond with. Then a panel at a time, C1 was thinly applied and immediately buffed off again, the heat making it cure extremely quickly.

Wheels were treated with C5, and glass with G1. Inside, leather benefitted from the application of GTechniq L1 Leather Guard. This is often  applied to leather upholstery, but it is even more essential with convertible cars to help protect against the high chance of oily sun cream coming into contact with it. The product forms an easy to clean surface on the leather, without changing it’s appearance or feel whatsoever.

With the coatings successfully applied, and with the owner’s permission, we took the car outside to get some pictures. The conditions that made product application so difficult were now perfect for allowing the various GTechniq products to cure beautifully. This is a stunning and fascinating car, we very much enjoyed photographing it.