New Car Prep / Paint Protection Film on two Mclaren MP4-12Cs:

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I decided to post this page as an update on how things are going in our new shop. I've had a number of requests for more recent site updates and hope this will be the start of a trend in that direction. As many of you know I recently moved into a new location along with Marco of Advanced Automotive Films. We recently had the opportunity to work on the first two Mclaren MP4-12C's delivered in Canada and thought that would make a perfect opportunity to share some of what's been going on at the new shop.

The first Mclaren was dropped off by the owner with the intention of staying in the shop for a couple of days. Based on my conversations with a few detailers in the UK who have worked on the 12C's I knew that it was likely that the car would have a variety of issues normally associated with hand painted/hand built cars. Reports were that they were arriving with DA sanding marks (typical of cars that are sanded flat/semi flat at the factory), buffer trails, light to moderate scratches and the potential for paint defects like solvent pops and dust nibs.

Unfortunately it isn't uncommon for low production cars to have defects like this directly from the factory. Luckily they can normally be corrected in a straight-forward manner with a little time and effort.

The actual finish of the paint is quite nice; very flat and relatively uniform in depth. When it is properly corrected you're rewarded with fantastic results. To quote Drew from Depth of Shine:

"Yes the cars are painted by hand using refinish materials, no the cars are not finished in a ceramic clear (a ceramic clear will not give us the results we require from our flat and polishing process), it is a polyurethane acrylic clear with high gloss and very good paint performance properties. "

The plan of attack on car number one was to get it washed (not only to clean but to remove the wax the dealer had applied), claybar then use a deironizer to remove any particulate. During the wash initial rinse I noticed heavy beading, which indicated the dealer had indeed waxed/glazed the car.

Beading on painted surfaces after first rinse.


After washing I used a silicone/oil remover, as you can see, it worked.


The final rinse shows a distinct lack of beading, so we'll be able to see the true condition of the paint.

After drying the car I began to inspect it under a variety of lights, primarly 1200W halogens, a 300 and 400 lumen flashlight and flourescent lighting. As expected, there were a variety of issues that needed correcting.

Marring around the emblem on hood


Sanding tracers


Buffer trails

Below is a high definition video of the before condition of the car (select 720p for high def). I apologize for the verbage!

Because Marco from Advanced Automotive Films was installing paint protection film on the entire front end of the car, I began there so that he could begin his install as I worked toward the back of the car. My process varied, but generally speaking DA sanding marks and tracers were removed with a combination of Abralon 2000-4000 sanding discs while the remaining sanding marks and the entire car received between 3-4 compounding and polishing steps. In total I spent about 14 hours compounding/polishing the car.

The emblem was removed and the hood compounded first.


No more buffer trails

At this point I moved toward the back of the car to let Marco get started on his full wrap. The wrap itself consisted of the entire hood, both front fenders, front bumper, lights, a-pillars, door blades, impact area behind each wheel, and rear spoiler (which is used as an air brake, so we thought it made sense to cover it). The film on the lower doors which was applied from the factory was also replaced (pictured below).

Marco applying PPF on one of the fenders. All edges were wrapped.

The doors and rear quarters were the worst areas of the car, below is a side by side, left side done, right side not.

The bottom of each door is protected by two pieces of clear film from the factory. As you can see, it isn't that clear.

So we removed it...

...and we were glad we did, underneath were epic buffer trails!

We took care of it... much clearer.

The next day I arrived to finish polishing the car and apply Optimum Opti-Coat, which is a permanant coating that is used primarily because it creates a surface harder than automotive paint, thus making the car more difficult to scratch. It has the added benefit of being extremely hydrophobic and easy to clean. The coating is applied to all surfaces including paint, wheels, all trim, exhaust and jambs.

The passenger side of the car after Opti-Coat, awaiting it's final wash.

The car was then washed a last time to remove dust/water spots from the film install.

Opti-Coat provides quite a show when washed.

After just over 20 hours...Completed!

Below is a high defintion video of the completed detail/film install (select 720p for high def).

On the next page is 12C #2, click here to view.

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Copyright GTA In Detail 2006