I finally detailed the JCW.

*full front Xpel Ultimate clear bra installed by Motor City Auto Spa. Excellent work. I love how the bonnet is one-piece. They even temporarily removed the washer nozzles so there's no seam around them, but now under them.

*Wash with Optimum Car Wash, Autogeek ultra plush microfiber mitt
*blow-dry with electric blower, finish with waffle weave microfiber towel

*With my Porter Cable random orbital and Autogeek CCS soft green foam pad, I used Zaino All-In-One single step cleaner and polish. What I love about this particular product is the lack of fillers, so only clean paint remains after you buff it off.

*Wipe down with a 40% isopropyl alcohol / 60% distilled water mix. This ensures I fully removed all AIO residue

*Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 using the provided yellow foam applicator. I've now used the 20cc syringe to cover 3 small cars (others were Abarth and Miata) and still have about 5cc's left. You only need a 2 micron thickness for it to flash cure. Even then I still over-applied it to the doors and rear fenders, as I did those last but didn't keep dialing back how many drops I put on the applicator. I went back with an ultra plush microfiber to buff off the surplus Opti-Coat and now it's perfect and haze-free.

The results are excellent, plus now the car is fully protected for the Detroit winter onslaught combination of snow, salt, and crumbling infrastructure.

JCW detailing by Ryephile, on Flickr

JCW detailing by Ryephile, on Flickr


Here's a picture of the driver side door. You can barely make out the door handle in the upper right corner. Shiny!

JCW detailing by Ryephile, on Flickr

Full front Xpel Ultimate clear bra - very nice! Great product. Did you do the headlights as well? That shine is amazing! Who needs a mirror, when you have a shiny F56 in your driveway?! This is good to do at least once a year. Keeping a good coat of wax on it every 6 months will definitely help as well, especially for the winter months.

Thanks! Yup did the headlights as well. I love that the Xpel has a 10 year warranty against yellowing, cracking, clouding, and delaminating.

The Opti-Coat is perfect for rough winters. The 2 winters I had my Opti-Coated Abarth proved how relatively indestructible the coating is. Its protection is far above and beyond any traditional wax can provide, which I now put in the category of "Aesthetic Topper".

Awesome, and yes! Xpel has a great warranty. I've used their headlight protection film for many years and it has been great! Interesting about the Opti-Coat. I may have to look into this and start doing it myself see how it stands up. Good info about it, thanks for sharing your tips.

Nice mirror finish, well done.