Cilajet meets detailer; potential issues?

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Prelude_ghost

New member
I have a "new" '07 Mini that a local dealer applied Cilajet @ 25K miles to, that I JUST purchased.



They have had the car for a month on their lot and they have applied the junk/epoxy (so they say). It is going in for a detail this week b/c I see swirl marks on the black top, A pillars (plastic), and a couple very light clear coat scratches on the medium silver paint.



So my concerns are as follows:



1: they "sealed" the damn swirls in.

2: According to their website, one should only use carnauba wax and essentially keep away rotary buffers.

3: is there a way to tell that they actually applied the product.

4: I did not pay for the sealant in the first place, do i still get that "warranty?" It shows up on my purchase order as having been applied.



Not that I am not going to bring all this up to the detailer/shop beforehand, but I am looking for a 2nd opinion. I have read/googled the Cilajet website, mini forums, BMW forums, and that all brought me back here.



They all say, as usual, dealer ripoff, and I also, do not believe anything can last 5/10 years with a single coating.



So HELP!



I promise to post pictures of the new mini ASAP; after said detail.





Cheers,

the guy.
 
Is that the new Cilajet that you take every day, or just when you "need" it? It's funny to see it spelled out; on the TV commercials it sounds like "see-al-iss". Oh well, what do I know! :D
 
If you'd like to drive the car up to Family Classic Cars in San Juan I'll take care of it for you. The swirls have nothing to do with the Cilajet, that's just a sealer, the swirls are from a machine and something else, maybe a contaminated pad, but not the Cilajet.



Call Family Classic and ask for Bob Whyte's number. If you have any doubts about why you should call, ask them, or Crevier Classic Cars.



Robert
 
Well i got the car back from the shop and it looks good. It was a bit interesting as the swirls in the black top that I had pointed out were still clearly present. So they re-did the car, and got it back to me at the end of the same day. So all in all, they had the car for 2 business days. 99% of the marks are gone, I think it now truly looks like a new car.

I looked at it inside under artificial light, and then outside in late day sun. I just don't know how picky a reasonable person should be? The paint is super smooth and seems to look like a darker silver now-very nice.

The guy used Meg's #26 on it. Now, does that mean the Cilajet was removed when washed & prepped it? I didn't get a good answer from them either way.

With it done, I need to get some supplies. I have 303 for the inside of the car, and was going to get a bottle of #26 and hand apply it later, and Meg's #40 for all the plastic trim the Mini has, and new MFs. I read the reviews on #26 & 40 here, and they seem to be good. Since I am doing this by hand, I want a wax/sealant that is easy to use without a machine. Will post pix this weekend.
 
You should be picky if you are paying good money to have swirls removed. The reason the paint looks darker is because now the swirls are gone and you are seeing the paint the way it should look.



Obviously the Cilajet is gone, if the swirls are removed then anything that was on top of the paint is gone too. #26 is a pretty nice wax, decent durability too. If you like the way it looks, pick some up at Pep Boys and apply it every few months.



Your biggest challenge now will be keeping your car swirl free and for that you need a good washing technique whether you wash the car conventionally or with a rinseless wash like ONR. Quality microfiber wash pads/mitts and towels will go a long way in helping you keep the paint swirl free while washing.
 
Thanks for the info. I kinda assumed that about the Cilajet, but was not sure. Price wise I think i paid a decent amount of money ( my perspective) but I am going to look around here and find a detailer for my other car, and get some quotes and/or work from people that post here. In the mean time I will read up on on maintaining my car myself as noted, and get back in the groove of things. A trip to the local paint store is schedulded for this weekend to pick up the basics; as I stated before I only have wool wash mits, 8 old Pakshak MF's and some Aerospace 303.



:up
 
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