Freshly painted panels will rarely look their best straight out of a repair. This can result from time pressures, skills of the body shop, or a plain lack of knowledge. So, post-repair detailing is something we often receive requests for at our studio in Hampshire.
Clients who’ve just had repair work carried out will often say, ‘It looked okay when I picked it up, but after a couple of days, it started to look really dull’. This is often because the paint has been polished with a very oily polish. This type of product hides the true finish being achieved. After using a coarse pad and polishing compound, further steps are required to refine this to a super sharp, glossy finish. But, the oils in some polishes fill light scratches and swirls, making the paint appear much glossier than it actually is. After a short time, these oils wash away or evaporate off and reveal the true finish.
Most of the post-repair work detailing we see is from private clients. We do work with a couple of body shops that are happy to pay us for the best finish possible. We love working with these service providers as their values align with our own. In other words, they offer clients a superior service because they know they deserve and expect the best; and will appreciate the difference!
Post-repair detailing challenges, services and insurance claims:
Challenges:
When someone other than the people we trust have completed a repair, it is super important that we fully assess the work. We’ve seen repairs that are very fragile due to poor preparation, with lacquer peeling almost immediately. We see residual sanding marks, which aren\’t too bad when it’s in the top lacquer layer, but a nightmare in the underlying layers, deep in the paint. Sometimes we advise a client to reject the repair and ask that it is done again properly.
Services:
Post-repair detailing usually involves refining the paint to the best finish possible. Sometimes we see cars that we may have worked on previously; and in these cases, we sometimes need to reapply ceramic coatings. On occasions, we even need to reinstall PPF that was in place before the respray.
Insurance Claims:
Post-repair detailing work is often part of an insurance claim, and we’re happy to support clients in this situation. In the instance of a non-fault claim, where your car is being repaired, it is reasonable to expect your vehicle to be returned in the pre-incident condition. If this means you have gone to the trouble and expense of having Auto Curators detail your car, we will support you to include this as part of your claim.
Examples of our work on vehicles that have recently been repaired:
Firstly, this mid-90’s Toyota Supra arrived in our Hampshire detailing studio after an unfortunate impact with a wall. This accident had resulted in damage to both the rear bumper and offside rear quarter panel. Following the paint, the solid black paint was carefully refined and perfected before being ceramic coated again.
This Lotus is an extremely rare car, a 311, and was involved in an impact with a barrier on a track day. The front clam was repaired and painted before coming to us. We refined the new paint, then installed Xpel PPF over the whole front clam.
If you’re in Hampshire or beyond and are looking for post-repair detailing services, give us a call to find out how we can help. Contact us HERE.
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