Dan's Garage Detailing - Tesla Model S P85 Detail and Opti-Coat

Been a while since I've posted a detail write up here so I thought I'd make it a decent one

Anyone who has been keeping an eye on the motoring journals and reports will know that Tesla are on the verge of launching their Model S sports saloon here in Australia. Unlike any other car, the Tesla, being all electric, has needed a gargantuan effort by the local Tesla team here to start getting infrastructure in place (charging stations etc). Not to mention the fact that Australia is leading the way in terms of RHD model Teslas, which has required a fair bit of work from the plant in California.

All in all, and for many reasons, Tesla here in Aus are breaking massive ground. As you can tell I'm a huge fan of these cars and to have the opportunity to work on the first Tesla-owned demo models in the country is a huge buzz.

So, this version is the Model S P85. It sits in the middle of the three models that will be available here in Aus. This particular Tesla has had a few options ticked, including the panoramic sunroof, full leather, performance seats, wood trim, and what they call a "yacht floor", which is a nice accented wood trim piece that sits between the front seats and extends to the centre console just under the massive tablet display.

It had been brought by for a full detail and Opti-Coat.

Here is the car as delivered. Being a demo car it has been working extremely hard since it arrived on the truck from Sydney last week (hence why it still has Syd rego for the time being). It was dropped off the evening earlier having just come back from country Vic on a test-drive for some prospective regional owners.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7949.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7951.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7948.jpg


Starting with the wheels, chemical decontamination breaking down all the ferrous deposits

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7952.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7953.jpg


Then onto the same for the bodywork. Though you can't see it activating red here because of the colour of the car, you can see it's found a reasonable amount of contaminants.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7954.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7955.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7956.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7957.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7958.jpg


Full foam pre-soak and thenbucket wash, clay, and dry

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7960.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7959.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7961.jpg

On to the paint inspection. Considering the very young age of the car there was a reasonable amount of swirling. Not helped either by the car being solid black. Being a demo car though it's to be expected. Not a day will go by when this car isn't clocking up serious kays and having people clamber all over it, so it will definitely have a hard life compared to most standard cars.

The car was given a two stage correction over the space of about 12hrs for correction alone. The paint itself is closer to Euro style hardness, though nowhere near like VW spec. Closer to BMW, so while there was some marring that was reasonably deep, all of it was able to be taken out without resorting to wool.

Bonnet Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7962.jpg


After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8010.jpg


Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7963.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8011.jpg


Some gnarly buffer trails/holograms across the car, indicating it had been butchered previously by a cheap detail

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7973.jpg

After. Much better
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8021.jpg


Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7965.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8015.jpg

More scratching
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7972.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8020.jpg


There were also a couple of circular marks at the front of the bonnet, roughly in the middle. My assumption is that this was most likely as a result of some journo's camera mount while reviewing the car

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7971.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8019.jpg

Mirrors
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7979.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8022.jpg


Some reasonably deep scratches near the recessed door handles. The handles pop-out for use and then retract into the body when the car is locked or in motion, making for a better aerodynamic figure as well as a much slicker look and fitting with the "techy" theme running through the car

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7966.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8016.jpg

Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7980.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8024.jpg

Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7984.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8031.jpg


Rear Quarters

Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7968.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8017.jpg


Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7969.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8018.jpg


A Pillars - Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7983.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8029.jpg

Tops of the doors
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7981.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8025.jpg

The tail lights also got some correction to remove scratches - Before
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7982.jpg

After
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8027.jpg

Some shots of the beautiful interior after it got a vac and wipedown

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7999.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8037.jpg

Door sills cleaned and dressed with a diluted mix of PERL. Painted areas received wax

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8000.jpg


That massive tablet style touch screen which more or less controls the entire car was also wiped down to remove fingerprints

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8043.jpg


The full electronic driver's display. No analogue gauges to be found on this car

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8041.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8045.jpg


Flat floors. No transmission tunnel. The seat backs were treated with PERL also

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8047.jpg


Final garage pics

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8052.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8061.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8055.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8057.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8059.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8058.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8062.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8036.jpg


Outdoor sunlight pics

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8007.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7989.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7985.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7986.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7992.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8004.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8005.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_8006.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...k/IMG_7997.jpg

Total time approx 20hrs. Thanks for looking

Dan

cost?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skeetskeet

cost?

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PM

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Can you give a bit more detail about what you mean by paint hardness?

Also, love these write ups :D gives much more information about the process than just looking at your pictures on Facebook!

Great to see someone who takes time and great pride in doing something right.
Though dont much like the car !!!!! F-------ck bloody wide screen tv in car ,could cause issues watching porn on the go.

LIKE LIKE LIKE.

I want one.

As usual. Great job, thanks for the write up!

Can you PM me the cost also, just curious as to how much something like this generally costs.

Thanks All.

For those interstate that asked about pricing it is better if you contact a local Opti-Coat dealer as pricing and processes vary from detailer to detailer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SarcasticOne

Can you give a bit more detail about what you mean by paint hardness?

Also, love these write ups :D gives much more information about the process than just looking at your pictures on Facebook!

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Cheers Sam, I always include the same info on FB as I do in these write-ups but FB admittedly does not scan as well visually as a thread style format.

I have my section on Detail Paradise where most of my work goes: Dan's Garage Detailing

With regard to paint hardness, different car manufacturers use different brands of paint, have different painting techniques, and have different environmental laws in their country which affect the chemical composition and manufacturing of paints etc etc. What this means is that there is no one single level of paint hardness across all cars. All manufacturers are different. As a general rule of thumb, Japanese manufacturers tend to produce cars with softer paint than those in Europe. The US and Australia tend to sit roughly in the middle, maybe skewed slightly more towards the Europeans. So, a Honda or Nissan will generally have very soft, easy to swirl up paint, whereas a VW or Mercedes generally is extremely hard paint. Different manufacturers generally sit somewhere between those two extremes.

In terms of paint correction, the softer paints normally require less aggressive means to polish out marring than harder paints. The downside is of course softer paints also swirl up much more easily. Conversely, cars with harder paints are more difficult to put swirls into, but once they're there it's harder also to take them out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldhead

Great to see someone who takes time and great pride in doing something right.
Though dont much like the car !!!!! F-------ck bloody wide screen tv in car ,could cause issues watching porn on the go.

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Thanks mate. I love what I do. Took it full time back in Dec and haven't looked back. Best thing I've ever done job-wise ;)




EDIT: I will have the sister demo car coming in at the end of next week for the same work. This one is the highest spec P85+ in Multicoat Red (Fancy Tesla-speak for red pearl paint I believe)

Looking absolutely beautiful yet again. Looks so sleek and fluid even when standing still.

Full time now??? Wow... good move!