CMC Detailing- McLaren MP4-12C Correction

mikenap

New member
All it took was one test drive.



While at Augusta for the Masters Tournament, a client of mine decided to test drive a McLaren 12C on a whim. I wish I'd been there for that, because it must have been one heck of a test drive. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and he's the happy owner of the first 12C in the state. And I'm more than excited for the chance to get to work on it. I'm not jaded like all those boys out in California, you just don't see cars like this in NC very often! :razz:



At first glance, the car didn't look too bad, just a little dirty. But you have to give credit to the owner since he bought it to drive, not just fill up garage space. On closer inspection however, it became clear this car must have left the factory paint shop on a Friday. Never in my life have I seen something so completely full of sanding marks. Every panel had some here and there, and the verticals of the rear quarters were almost completely unfinished. So what had initially started out to be a simple one-step and coating became a correction and traditional sealant instead.





First the wheels and brake calipers were cleaned with Sonax Full Effect, and the tires with Optimum Power Clean 3:1.



Then the car was foamed with CG Citrus Wash Clear with some 3D Orange APC mixed in to help strip the surface.















After the wash, the car was clayed with Clay Magic Blue and Garry Dean's Infinite Use Detail Juice mixed as clay lube. On to the condition of the paint.





Holograms visible under LED









Light swirls









And....sanding marks.









50/50 after one pass of HD Cut on Buff and Shine MF Cutting pad and the Rupes 21.









Before









After









Before















After











Carbon mirrors got Menz 203 with a 3" pad on the Meguairs G110. I can't recall what pad though, sorry. :(

















Final polishing was done with HD Polish on a black B&S pad with the GG6 DA.

























LSP was Collinite 845. Wheels were sealed with OptiSeal, and tires got a super secret tire gel...;)



















Gratuitous Mazda3 shot....











The following pictures were taken by local automotive photographer Tyler Cauley. I can't say enough about his work, it's top-notch and I look forward to working with him again.









































































Thanks for looking!
 
Thomas Dekany said:
Awesome work Mike, but why not coat it?



Thanks Thomas! It became a time issue with the owner and photographer on day two. It was initially supposed to be a one-day job, but stretched into about 15 hours. Since I was trying for the most correction in the time I had available, I didn't have the extra time needed for the coating (CQUK takes a little longer to apply, then requires about an hour to setup before applying Reload) before the photographer was set to arrive.
 
So if that is what was behind door #2, what about behind 1, 3 & 4? Nice house! Next time you have something of that caliber stretch into a bigger job than you can handle, feel free to call me. I'm not above helping a hack once in a while.:caked:
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
Looks killer, Mike! Not a bad location to work in, either.



Thanks Charlie! Location is pretty nice. The photographer initially wanted to take the car somewhere else so he could have a good backdrop for the pictures. My reply was "Just wait til you see the house, there's no reason to go anywhere else." Once he got there, he agreed!



Nth Degree said:
So if that is what was behind door #2, what about behind 1, 3 & 4? Nice house! Next time you have something of that caliber stretch into a bigger job than you can handle, feel free to call me. I'm not above helping a hack once in a while.:caked:



Lol, thanks Chris. Door #1 usually houses his wife's G-wagon, and doors 3 and 4 house the pieces of a Factory Five '33 Hot Rod he's currently building. So his lowly C63 AMG must sleep outside. Next time this hack gets in over his head, expect a phone call! ;)
 
RaskyR1 said:
Great work, Mike! Love the pics Tyler Cauley took too! :)



Thanks Chad! I agree, Tyler's pics were even better than I'd hoped for. Just shows how horrible my own camera skills are...:redface:
 
Mike thats awesome....i cant believe how bad the WHITE was though..seriously all those sanding marks! Looks like you got it back into great shape. Hope this brings you a lot of well deserved business and looking forward to seeing more turn arounds like this!
 
Why is it that an inexpensive car like a Chevy Sonic can come out the factory with an awesome paint finish, but when you pay $200K Plus for an exotic, it looks like it was painted by a baboon?
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Mike thats awesome....i cant believe how bad the WHITE was though..seriously all those sanding marks! Looks like you got it back into great shape. Hope this brings you a lot of well deserved business and looking forward to seeing more turn arounds like this!



Thanks so much bro, but you and Dani just got the "Best Write-up of 2013" award!!!



DaGonz said:
Why is it that an inexpensive car like a Chevy Sonic can come out the factory with an awesome paint finish, but when you pay $200K Plus for an exotic, it looks like it was painted by a baboon?



Because robots spray paint better....sad but usually true!
 
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