2002 Concorde Opti Coated

[Flawless Reflections]

This car belongs to a friend and co-worker who has since retired. It is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde with original paint. Considering it is 9 years old, the car is in pretty good shape. This car earns the (booby) prize of having the hardest clear I have ever worked on...more on that in a bit.

The client was very trusting and went with my suggestion to Opti Coat it. He really had no idea what it was or what it did. He also provided me with touch up paint. I had identified 20 different areas where touch ups were required...areas, not chips!

This is also the car with the failing cc on the wiper cowl.

 

 

 

THE PROCESS:

 

WASH STAGES:

 

The door jams were sprayed down with Zep Citrus and power washed off (with the power washer turned off, just the narrow stream as to control the force of the water)

 

Wheels/Wells/Tires/Barrels:

 

 

 

The wheel face and barrels were done with Megs WB due to being chrome and very dull looking. After agitation and rinsing, Zep Citrus was sprayed on and allowed to dwell to neutralize the acid.

The tires were cleaned with Zep Purple.

The wells were cleaned with Zep Citrus.

The wThe tires were subsequently treated with Opti Bond.

The wheels were polished with M205 and a mf.

The wheels were then sealed with OC.

I used JL's trick of WB on the chrome exhaust tips too.

 

Paint:

 

The car was washed with DG 901 with 2 bm.

 

The wet car was then pulled into the garage and clayed with CM blue.

 

 

Exterior trim:

 

The front grille was treated to UTTG as was the inner wiper cowl.

 

Before Shot:ells were subsequently treated with Adams US.

 

 

Paint:

 

As I mentioned, the clear on this car was extremely hard. I kept having to step up my aggressiveness until I was using my elephant gun...namely my 2 sided 3M white wool pad and Menz PG. If the car was to be perfect, it would have needed wet sanding. I did wet sand a few scratches and the 2000 hardly touched it. The magic eraser did nothing to this paint at all! I followed up the wool/PG with M105 and a B & S yellow pad. This was then jeweled with a blue B & S pad and M205.

I spent at least an hour, probably more, going around the car filling in all the chips and scratches. The paint was typical for 9 years old...scratches and swirls:

 

 

Preparation for OC:

 

Once the car had been polished to my satisfaction, I pulled it outside (at 1 am...my neighbours don't even take a 2nd look anymore, LOL) and cleaned it with OPC at 2 to 3 ounces in approx 2.5 gals of water. I went around the car twice. It was pulled back inside and dried.

 

Using OC:

 

This sure went a lot better than it did for the GT-R. It went on easily and this time I went back faster to even out the high spots. That was the key for me, not waiting to long to level any spots. The paint, wheels and glass (including the windshield) were done as well as the exterior wiper cowl. The next day before delivery, I went around the car with ReLoad. To me, this is a mandatory step for OC. Customers really like the smooth feel and the ReLoad gives it in spades.

 

 

Interior:

 

I used my new Powr Flight wet vac and my Gaia steamer. The mats were treated to 303 Fabric Guard. The windows were steamed clean.

 

 

BEFORES:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flawless Reflections]

AFTERS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flawless Reflections]

Thanks Chris. In fact he was blown away when he saw it. On top of that, he called me the next morning when it was raining, just blown away by how the rain was running off the windshield and the paint!! BTW, 3 questions for you:

1) How soon after application can I top it with ReLoad?

2) What is the minimum time before it can be driven in the rain?

3) What is the max cure time to max hardness of the coating?

 

Thanks so much.

[Perfections Detail]

Thanks Chris. In fact he was blown away when he saw it. On top of that, he called me the next morning when it was raining, just blown away by how the rain was running off the windshield and the paint!! BTW, 3 questions for you:

1) How soon after application can I top it with ReLoad?

2) What is the minimum time before it can be driven in the rain?

3) What is the max cure time to max hardness of the coating?

 

Thanks so much.

 

First great turn around!! Amazing job and also Good questions been wondering this myself