The Kansas City based auto detailing company, KC Detailing, has recently completed a 25 hour project on a Mercedes SL550 with only 3,500 miles. If that sounds like a little too much time for a professional detailing service, think again. The company holds that detailing is not a car wash – it’s making the car look the best it can. Often the road to perfection means paint correction, which was a primary service on this longer than average project.
The Kansas City based auto detailing company, KC Detailing, has recently completed a 25 hour project on a Mercedes SL550 with only 3,500 miles. If that sounds like a little too much time for a professional detailing service, think again. The company holds that detailing is not a car wash – it’s making the car look the best it can. Often the road to perfection means paint correction, which was a primary service on this longer than average project.
The majority of the SL550 project was to fix factory paint damage (or more accurately, factory imperfections) in the car’s black paint. It was covered in swirls, sanding scratches, buffer trails and imperfections. Knowing their work was cut out for them the crew got right to work. A typical time frame for one of KC Detailing’s projects is between one and six hours. After performing their usual exterior detail, three stages of polishing, a special two year paint coating and 25 hours later, the final result spoke for itself. The paint had a perfect mirror finish even before the wax was applied. With only 3,500 miles, the difference in appearance was shocking. Owner Tim Dodd comments on the satisfaction of seeing his customer’s faces when a project is finished, “Every time I see our customer’s eyes get wide, jaw drop a little and with grinning faces say ‘Wow, I didn’t know my paint could look that good,’ that’s when I know we did a good job.”
The crew at KC Detailing have done paint correction jobs on everything from Ferraris, Mercedes and BMWs to F250s and Grand Cherokees. Commenting on some of his experience with paint correction while auto detailing in Kansas City Dodd says, “Ferraris are the worst for factory paint damage. It may sound crazy, but it’s true. You don’t have to be a professional to see it. We have the pictures to prove it. Even a brand new Lamborghini is bought and sold with noticeable paint damage. Usually, the dealership selling the car throws a coat of wax over the paint to cover the swirls, holograms and buffer trails. It looks great for a few months. Then, the honeymoon’s over. The wax wears away and the real state of the paint is revealed. The next time you’re walking through a parking lot take a look at the sun’s reflection in the paint. You’ll see swirls and holograms on even the most high end and luxury cars. They don’t have to be there.”
Word is beginning to get out in the Kansas City area and this project seems to be a picture of where KC Detailing is headed. The number of projects with paint correction reaching up to 25 and 30 hours to accomplish has dramatically increased for the company. Dodd comments, “25 labor hours may seem like a lot of time to for that kind of detail on a car. But, if you want every square inch of paint and plastic to look it’s best, there’s no other way to do it. At least not yet.” The company has earned a good reputation in the area and with business booming the company is making preparations to triple in growth in 2012.