Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell that a ceramic coating is installed on my vehicle?
Encore Automotive has a UV tracer in the 1 year and 7 year coatings, so a black light will show the application strokes along the paint and plastic when looking at the vehicle in a dark garage or at night. Most coatings are not built this way, so if you purchased a vehicle and wonder if it has a coating installed, usually it will be marked by the dealership if it has had a coating installed by them or a third party service provider, so check the dealership’s paperwork for this information.
My vehicle was washed, but I can still see where bugs hit my vehicle. Is it not cleaned?
Things such as bug guts, bird bombs, and acid rain all fall under acidic contamination. These items can etch the clear coat and leave permanent marks even after the area has been cleaned. If you have a vehicle that has had acidic items on it for an extended period of time, it becomes a paint repair issue, not a detailing issue. A detailer can minimize and possibly get rid of bug marks through wet sanding and polishing, but many times if it has had enough time to etch the clear coat, even those methods may not be possible at removing these kinds of blemishes.
I had my vehicle detailed and
the scratches and imperfections seem to stand out now. Why is that?
After the decontamination process, you may notice the remaining blemishes of the paint seem to stand out more. This is because the rock chips, scratches and swirls are less noticeable before decontamination, and now that the blemishes have no dirt or bonded contaminants to hide under, the blemishes are now apparent when looked at closely. While the swirls can be addressed with a paint correction package, other blemishes like rock chips need to be addressed with auto body repair.
What kind of chemicals do you use that I should be worried about?
Many products used are intended to be safe for your surroundings. Many, if not most, wheel cleaners are acidic, because they remove brake dust faster. I do not use acidic wheel cleaners because, while acidic cleaners pose a risk of ruining certain high end wheel finishes, it is better for our health and the health of your neighborhood that safer biodegradable products are utilized. The degreasers used are also biodegradable, and the car soaps used are generally PH neutral. Health has been taken into consideration when choosing chemicals used in residential areas, so most of the chemicals are safer than usual, and/or they have a pleasant smell that won’t have your neighbors calling over strong chemical smells.