New Car Prep For Protection – Are All Of These Detailing Steps Necessary Or Important

How did your new car get to you?  You did not pick up the keys to a car from an OEM production paint booth in their secure room with a film mechanically applied seemliness.  I encourage you to REALLY think about the following.

Let us start with the transportation of your car to the dealership.  The two common forms of transportation each present a uniquely similar problem.  The vehicle travels via boat across the ocean.  A saltwater ocean!  It is possible that bonded contamination could form, especially if someone damaged the car prior to transport.  A car transported via train can create another issue.  It is possible rail dust can gravitate to the pours of the paint.  Then there are the people early on before arrival to the dealership handling the cars.  Many detailers in the industry have found evidence of repainted panels through their evaluation process, information responsible and aware parties kept from the owner.  In lieu of this it is very possible the initial handlers can micro to severally scratch, or even severely damage part of the car before it departs to the dealership.

When it gets to the dealership!  Even if at time of purchase if you are able to keep the service manager from giving it a courtesy wash (automatic tunnel wash) that scratches up a car, the car is still under the dealership team’s supervision for a period of time.  That means handling by the staff who frankly do not understand how fragile cars are.  That car is also being shown off to other potential buyers.  That is a lot of hands (potential buyers and employees) who likely are not all thoughtful or considerate.  Is that car sitting outside and for how long is it out in the elements?  Think about it!  Even the offer or unasked decision to run it through the (scratch-o-matic) wash is an acknowledgement the car is dirty, which could also mean contaminated.  A contaminated car means foreign material is embedded in the pores of the paint.  This means the car needs to go through a chemical or mechanical (clay) exfoliation process.

Many shops will not clay without polishing due to the micro scratching that can happen with a clay bar.

You could consider it a red flag, about the quality of detailing a shop would provide if they are easily agreeable that a car does not need detailing or specifically paint correction before protection or especially a ceramic coating.  There are shops or detailers I would trust completely with my car who can actually just wash and professionally ceramic coat a car.  Here is the caveat or catch!  These are very skilled and knowledgeable detailers who are likely charging much more than the average detail shop for their time.  There is an understanding of expectations.  THOSE PLACES HAVE HIGHLY SKILLED PEOPLE AND WELL TRAINED EMPLOYEES ($$$).  Most detailers actually are not equipped and/or do not know how to get even a new car surgically clean without using detailing clay.

The elephant in the room!  Many of the arguments that your car does not need paint correction due to the desire to SAVE MONEY, not because of a genuine concern about professional results.  As detailers we also know that the ceramic coating does not by itself create a shine.  It enhances/compliments what is there (good and bad).  I have seen stories in the detailing business community about customers complaining that their car does not look as good as they thought it would look, after insisting on not getting paint correction or settling for a 1 stage correction.

Most detailing consumers do not know what makes their car shine.  It has happened that customers could not articulate any disappointment in the service they received as requested.  But they more often sub communicated being underwhelmed, not realizing the lack of polishing was the contributor to their disappointment.  I am not speaking for all customers, but this does happen.  I do not technically judge people who do not care about scratches.  That is not the problem.  Business values, perception to their target consumers, and professionally thinking what their target client might regret post detail affects what level of services mandated.  From one extreme to another, I can make a better case to not aim for perfection or even remove all swirls.  But many of us privately ask ourselves if you are not interested in SOME moderate improvement, what is the point of getting a long-term coating?  Unless you are very misinformed!  You could pursue other easier to clean and less expensive methods that will scratch your car without a true ceramic coating.  It is not all about taking your money, even though the opposite may seem the case to you.  Many detailing business owners that require multi-stage corrections for select services have also mentioned how much easier their life would be if they could just wash and put on a 5+ year real ceramic coating in a few hours.

When we say it is the prep, we mean detailing.  That often includes paint correction.  It may make you feel uncomfortable but look at it from a business owner whose focus and reputation are on high-end services.  Just because ceramic coating companies fool you into believing a bottle can do everything, does not mean detailing stopped being relevant.  Your satisfaction, the business owner’s reputation, and long-term consequences, are not as significant to the owners of these ceramic coating brands as you think. See also my article (link here) on paint correction.