What do dealerships use?

M

Marj

New member
I am wondering does anyone here know what dealers use when they prep the paint of the new car for the customer? I think the wait time is 2 - 3 hours and it looks great when you take the keys, with no spider, swirls, or marring. I am guessing its some sort of filler product. Of course in just a few wash cycles it is obvious you have your work cutout for yourself, because whatever they used covered up all imperfections.
 
I've worked at dealerships prepping new cars for sale / delivery. No polishing was done at all, just a basic wash and vehicle delivered to the sales department.
 
Then what would account for severe holograms all over the cars at dealerships on even new cars? I would think from the "detailers" at the dealerships, no?
 
stiffdogg06 said:
Then what would account for severe holograms all over the cars at dealerships on even new cars? I would think from the "detailers" at the dealerships, no?
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After cars get their final assembly at the manufacturing plant, they go down a QC line where techs inspect the paint for any and all defects. There they get spot sanded/buffed and shipped. They usually only do a quick grind down with aggressive pads/compounds which fills the heavy haze being revealed later at the dealer. This process is totally different from what occurs at the dealership. I've seen dealers do anything from just a plain wash to a full blown detail on a new car as they are aware that even new cars (especially the ones that have been on the lot a long time) need some love.
 
Every dealer is different, when I was at BMW in NJ we had 2 detailers that used all 3m products and then sealed with Collinite wax. In FL we had a crew of car washers and 15 detailers, out of those 2 or 3 did good work, they used Meg Pro line and 3m. In TN our 2 detailers were OK they used Automagic products. In NC it was also Automagic supplied products the cars looked good. All those were BMW dealers I worked at (not in the detail dept) the detailers use whatever products the dealer supplies. The Nissan dealer I am at now uses First Place Finish products, a new car is washed, suppose to be polished then waxed, interior vac and wiped down and windows cleaned then Rain X applied.
 
Back in the late 80's/early 90's, I knew of 2 Ford dealerships that would send every car through a Rotunda Car Polisher. You basically sprayed on liquid wax and a car wash conveyor styled machine would polish/buff the entire car. It would wax a complete car in about 5 minutes. Very nice actually.
 
I work at a jeep dealer..



They dont really care too much about how clean the trucks are.. They send them out to a detail shop when we get them, and we wash them from time to time, but other than that, their going to be driven offroad most of the time. Show quality finish isnt their main priority.
 
Although it wasn't needed on every car, we would use either a quick detailer, spray wax or cleaner wax. The goal for the dealer is to have the car looking new and perfect. The worst was when we'd get a dark colored car that has been sitting around for a while and was full of surface issues. Turns a normal prep into a detail.
 
I work for a Toyota dealership and for the most part they just wash the car . If it needs more they hand wax it. especially black cars . The wax they use is Technition Choice yellow fast wax.Of course if a customer orders the paint sealant , thats a different story.
 
Wish I knew what Hendrick Lexus (Charlotte, NC) used on the Yukon, that stuff filled like some kind of miracle product. Was almost impossible to get off too. Whatever it was, it imparted a very distinct bluish cast to the paint.
 
Accumulator said:
Wish I knew what Hendrick Lexus (Charlotte, NC) used on the Yukon, that stuff filled like some kind of miracle product. Was almost impossible to get off too. Whatever it was, it imparted a very distinct bluish cast to the paint.
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Most likely an Ardex product. I'm sure all Hendrick stores use the same products.
 
I got an Infiniti G37 in August and asked them to not touch the car. They left the white plastic on for me and i took it off when i got home and inspected the paint. I did not find any marring whatsoever and just waxed the car with some souveran paste and was done with it.



My mother picked up a Lexus ES350 2 weeks ago (leftover) and that car had a bunch of swirls on it from being washed on the lot as it most likely sat for a while. I did not find any holograms at all on the car though and it was given to us dirty as it was driven from another dealership to the one we were purchasing from.
 
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