[Nikhilb2008]

Prologue:

I've been a regular visitor to Feynlab in HSR layout for a couple of years now.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...bangalore.html (Car wash & detailing studio - Feynlab (HSR Layout, Bangalore))

About a year ago, Mr Krishna Kumar, the owner of Feynlab in India invited me to the opening of their new detailing studio in Bangalore's Central Business District. I was busy and couldnt go and somehow preferred to drive all the way to HSR for a car wash even if I knew Mr Krishna wasnt available. The HSR outlet was a known entity for me and I was just comfortable. Didnt feel like trying out a new outlet.

However, Mr Krishna kept requesting me to go to the Central Bangalore outlet and give it a try. I recommended this place to a friend of mine who wanted to get his Honda City detailed. He was quite happy with the results and liked the attention to detail for his "Ceramic Lite" package.

The below photos were clicked by the detailers and sent to my friend on Whatsapp.





















I finally dropped in for a car wash to the Central Bangalore place and gave it a whirl. I also got a chance to meet Samrat, the owner of this particular store and he gave me a detailed explanation of the products he deals with and the services he offers.

Location:

#16,Phoenix Towers, Ground Floor, Front Wing, Museum Rd, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001

Contact Person:

Samrat Kashim, +919901831200

Services Offered:

Car Detailing, Car and bike Paint Protection Films, Car wash, Bike detailing, bike washing, Car wraps, sunfilms and a few other accessories.

Summary (TLDR Version):

A great place for good quality work. The owner is hands on and very attentive. The guys who work are also careful and methodical.

Full story:

I took an appointment by speaking to Mr Krishna to ensure that they would be able to work on my car. Sometimes car washes are busy and I didnt want to wait. Mr Krishna spoke to Samrat and confirmed that I could go there at my requested time.

This place is located in the heart of Bangalore, just a stone's throw away from UB City, Lavelle Road and Brigade Road. It's easily visible from the main road and there is a wide footpath which makes it easy to get in and out of the store. The glass doors are extra wide and my vRS had plenty of clearance.

I drove in and parked in the designated place for the wash. One negative thing is that there is no drainage around the car for water to drain. There isnt a plastic curtain either to keep the water in the wash area exclusively. There is a door of sorts for the main detailing area(of which I dont have a pic), so detailing can be done parallelly while another car is being washed.

I still found it weird that the entire area can get wet while a wash is happening. I am too spoilt by Feynlab's HSR branch which has a dedicated car wash area with good drainage and a plastic curtain.

Anyway, Samrat and his team greeted me and I told them that the interior was really dirty and to do a good job of cleaning the carpets, the floor mats and the seats. The exterior of course deserved a good wash as well.











The guys took it slow and steady and first stripped my car as much as they could. They even removed the big rubber boot floor mat which most of the time stays in the car. They cleaned every crevice better than I've ever seen it get cleaned. They cleaned every pocket, every corner and later on, also wiped down the leather portions of the seats with a chemical or a solution which made the leather shine a little bit. Not like the tacky way a cheap polish does, but in a well maintained sort of way.

They gave each floor mat individual attention and scrubbed them well and dried them by blowing compressed air.



They then set about pressure washing the car. The wash method was pretty standard and routine but the guys did a good job. They cleaned the wheels, the wheel wells and underbody of the car as thoroughly as I have ever seen. They also used a tar remover on the lower parts of the car before the foam wash. They really took some time and effort to clean the barrels of the wheels from outside using a wheel brush. This was highly appreciated.



The foam was nice and thick and since it was sprayed after a good washing from the pressure washer, the wash mitts slid very smoothly over the surface of the car.




You can see the pic below where there's a lot of dirt around the car. This was after cleaning the wheels, wheel wells and the underbody.



I noticed that they even took the time to clean the door beadings. This is something no one ever does but Samrat and his team took the time to do that. I wish I had a pic of the same beading before they cleaned it, but for now, I only have a pic of it after the cleaning.



Overall, I am very happy with the job done on my car. I would love to make this my regular place for car washing. It is not too far for me and the service is impeccable.







I was quite happy with the job done on my car. My car smelt really nice thanks to that last polish they used on the interior plastic trims and the seats.

Other products offered:

They offer Ceramic coatings from Feynlab
They offer wraps for cars from a brand which I dont remember. It's not 3M. They have a huge number of colours and shades and someone who wants to get creative with the look of his car can go bonkers!

They also offer Xpel Paint Protection Films.





They are also testing a product called Clear Plex Invisible Windshield Protection Film. This is supposed to be applied on the outside of the windshield and will protect the windshield from stone chips and also block some of the heat from entering the cabin. I'll allow the marketing blurb to speak for itself. It is not yet available for commercial sale but is going to be launched soon.






Pros:

Location is in Central Bangalore. Easily accessible from most parts of Bangalore. Especially for someone like me whose office is barely 2-3 kms from their location.
Extremely good attention to detail (copied from my original review of Feynlab HSR! :P )
Very down to earth and approachable owner who is ready to explain everything they do on your car and answer any doubts you may have. (copied from my original review of Feynlab HSR! :P )
Good quality of equipment used. Wash mitts and drying cloths were clean and dry.
Owner is very hands on and that's always a good thing.
Even when the owner was busy talking to me inside the customer lounge, the guys doing the job seemed to be giving it their full attention. No one was attending phone calls or wasting time.


Cons:

Getting out of their detailing studio can take a few minutes because the road in front can get jammed at time (It is right opposite St Joseph's school and during the school pick up and drop off times, the road gets jammed).
The entire area can get very slippery because the water goes everywhere. Be careful! They do keep drying the floor as soon as they finish each wash, but you've still got to be a bit careful.
The day I went there, they had some power problems and the AC in the customer lounge wasnt working. This was ok for that day as it was quite cool and I did spend most of my time near the car watching them. On a hot day, it can get stuffy.


Price:

I paid Rs 700 for my car wash. To be honest, I think that was too less. Samrat didnt want to accept money from me and wanted to give me a complimentary car wash as it was my first visit. I refused and thrust Rs 700 into his hands because 700-800 is what I usually pay at HSR for a full foam wash.


Worries
(copy pasted from my review of their HSR branch).

That they dont retain this level of quality and attention to detail as the business expands. The 3M Car Care Centres used to be fantastic a few years back but as they started expanding, the quality dropped.
Employee turnover: If the current staff has been trained by the best, then when they move on, it can leave a vacuum and the new staff may not understand the high standards set by the outgoing guys.

Samrat runs a tight ship and I wish him all the best and hope he maintains this standard of service for a long time to come.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Team-BHP Directory. Thanks for sharing!

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Prologue:

Thanks Nikhil, I was on the hunt for a non-3M shop in CBD. Would you know the pricing of car detailing, do share if you have any brochure to refer for the services offered.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Thanks Nikhil, I was on the hunt for a non-3M shop in CBD. Would you know the pricing of car detailing, do share if you have any brochure to refer for the services offered.

Sorry, but I dont have any details on that.

Would suggest you call them up and speak to Samrat.

[SuhasManjunath]

My Feyn-Experience at FeynLab, Felicity Detailing Studio, Bangalore Central.

So here is how it all started!

The first week of October 2019, I get a call me from higher-ups and I was asked to fly out with just a couple of hours’ notice and flight tickets booked with an odd hour commute following company policies.
With a quick drive back home, packed my bag and left to the Bengaluru International Airport and parked the car in what only turns out to be expensive parking with hardly any amenities.
Flew out and back to only notice the car to have withstood some rains and having baked under the sun.
Drove home and washed it the subsequent day, what quickly caught my attention was not the clean car but with the upper part of the car having hard water spots all over!!
In a week, I drove to a professional detailer’s washing service and got it washed with the hope of it fading away or expectation of the spots being removed using some chemical without damaging the ceramic coating which was applied on the car about 6 months ago, unfortunately, he said no such thing is available with him and the only possible way of removing the stains were through polishing and sacrificing the ceramic coating. Not satisfied with sacrificing the coating in such a short duration, I just got the car washed and left the place.
But what kept bothering me was, I remember seeing that age-old tele-ad showing magic scratch remover pen (which does not work in the real world) but had the hope that with the advancement over years something must have been manufactured to remove such water spots with some sort of chemical which does not damage the coating much.

With the hunt to find a way to make my car look better, I spoke with a few more guys and some detailers as well by simply asking what could be done to remove these spots/stains, few said polishing is a must and sacrificing the coating is something that tags along, few said they would try to remove it with other methods but will have to inspect the car and I should take it over and none guaranteed any protection for the coating.
Then finally, I Spoke with Nikhil (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/members/nikhilb2008.html) on the October 19th 2019 as I wanted some new tires from his store for my dad’s first car (as a part of its restoration process) and also happen to discuss with him about the water spots/stains that has clogged on the car, He simply put it across to me that it can be removed using some chemicals that are available and should not be a problem at all and suggested me to talk with Mr. Samrat Kashim who owns the FeynLab, Bangalore Central.

Sometime later in the month, spoke with Mr. Samrat Kashim and made him understand what my car has been through, we spent quite some time talking over the call and he explained what kind of possibilities are available to remove such stains, he added that he’s quite sure of removing it without damaging the coating and sounded very positive but with a disclaimer that if the deposits were very acidic and have baked enough to eat through the coating then nothing much could be done. Understanding all possibilities and hearing the confidence of Samrat, when most others sounded negative/neutral, I asked Samrat about the cost involved and time needed for the whole procedure and even that was working out at a fraction when compared to polishing and re-fixing the damaged coating.

Fast forward a month or so and I reached out Samrat again to check if I could drop-in to avail their services and bring back some glory on the car, Samrat promptly replied saying they were occupied and asked me to drop the car after 3 days.

So the D-day arrived, 3rd of December 2019, I wake up, get ready and as scheduled, I drive to FeynLab Bangalore Central by early afternoon as I wanted to avoid traffic and congestion of the mighty Hebbal flyover.
I was greeted by Samrat with a Jaguar XJ-F parked after wash and waiting to be picked up its chauffeur, the studio seemed pretty packed with one Creta ready for delivery after detailing, One Volvo S-60 in works, One Verna lined up for washing before my car. After looking at these cars, Samrat quickly took my keys and parked my car on the ramp leading to his studio as the main Glass door’s hinge was broken and the door was removed and kept aside, hence the ramp offered and an extra parking space. Samrat lead me to the customer-lounge to continue our discussion, as the working area was quite noisy.
We entered the Customer lounge which turns out to be modified from what was an earlier reception for a mobile phone company’s service center. But the lounge was pretty well done up and had a cushiony sofa to revolving chairs, Auto magazines and a TV which is mostly used to showcase FeynLab products or demo videos during customer discussions.
Samrat asks his men to start Verna’s washing process and inspects my car under studio lights, after his detailed inspection, he confirms 99% possibility of removing the water spots using 4 step process.

1. Washing/Decontamination
2. Claying
3. Wet Wiping by applying FEYNLAB’s hard water spot remover
4. Washing

Next, Samrat explains about what’s done in each process and I have jotted down as and how I have seen it through my eyes.

*I did miss out on 1st & 2nd step of the process (Washing/Decontamination & Claying) as I had to head out for lunch with a friend of mine which was pre-planned. So I did inform Samrat on the same and he updated me that he would ensure that my car is washed and clayed before I get back from lunch and would be kept ready for the 3rd step of the process which is Wet Wiping by applying FEYNLAB’s hard water spot remover after I inspect the car.

So I finish lunch and head back to FeynLab in a couple of hours to check the car and as promised, the car was washed, clayed and parked aside, upon a good inspection, I did notice some parts of the car still had some sort of dirt on it, like one edge of the roof, the gap between the windshield and body and also little slush in the wheel arch and wiper-arm area. I quickly pointed this out to Samrat and he immediately started the investigation as to who washed the car and why was this not observed but also immediately got the roof dirt cleaned and assured that the rest will be taken care in the wash after Wet Wiping by applying FEYNLAB’s hard water spot remover for the process of removing the stains on my car.

Washing (Step 1 & 4): having a reputation and known as one of the best places to get the car washed in Bangalore. They have a pretty well laid out and detailed process as below, I did observe this in the 4th step of the process and Samrat did the whole washing process again just so that I witness it, even though the vacuuming and other few processes were not needed to be repeated.
First, the car is stripped with its foot mats, cushions/pillows and anything that is stored in the boot and vacuumed thoroughly from inside.
Then, it’s sprayed with water at about 120-140 PSI pressure and cleaned from outside.
After this process the car’s wheel arches and few underlying parts are sprayed with TarX, alloys & tires are sprayed with FeynLab’s Tire & wheel cleaner (which is got quite a strong smell), after this, the wheel arches, alloys, tires and the running board are brushed/scrubbed or wiped with a microfiber mitt and are washed off with a pressure jet again. Post this process, the dirtiest parts of the car are mostly clean.
Now they attach the foam gun to the pressure washer which is filled with a can of FeynLab’s pure-wash (their in-house shampoo) and completely cover the car with a good thick coat of foam. Later, two boys put on the lambswool mitts and ensure they run through the whole body of the car in a single direction (either vertical or horizontal) and then another person cleans the tiny bits of the car such as the window beadings, OVRMs and all edgy parts of the car with a tiny brush, post this the car is once again sprayed with water.
What needs to be noted is, unless asked or instructed, none of them would touch the engine bay for cleaning, during my final inspection after the Step-4 wash, I pulled up the hood and saw that it was untouched and when asked, they said only if the owner specifically asked or instructed then they would clean it using Detail max’s engine bay degreaser spray but would not splash spray any water, So I did have to ask them to clean and if by any chance this step went un-noticed then the hood area would have remained quite dirty.
Next comes out the noisy blower (master blaster) and is used all over the car to dry the car for up to 80% and post this two boys use a microfiber drying towel and one of them wipes the car externally and another one concentrates on wiping off the water from the inner door hinge/beading area.

Claying (Step-2): Samrat told me it’s about 20 minutes’ process and they would use Clay towels and Feynlab prime as a lubricant to carry out this work, having not witnessed this, I would not be able to describe much on this step of work but there was something nice done on my car as it looked better after I had returned from lunch. I will probably ask Samrat to show me a sample of this process the next time I visit their store.
So, I did return after lunch and after all the necessary stuff was completed, Samrat asks his senior-most employee to start the spot removal process on my car.

Wet Wiping by applying FEYNLAB’s hard water spot remover (Step-3): It’s fairly an uncomplicated process but needs precision, accuracy and lots of concentration while doing this process.
It’s something like flashing that’s done while ceramic coating a car, basically the Feynlab’s hard water spot remover is put into a manual spray can and the person who does that is equipped with a few towels accessible to him immediately and has a dry-wash solution ready.
To start we first tested this process on a part of the RH fender to observe how efficiently it was going to work, after seeing a near miracle and almost all water spots which were visible to my naked eye being removed, I was quite happy with this process and approved it by asking Samrat to carry out this on the whole car.
So basically, the FeynLab water spot remover is sprayed over one body panel and then wiped with a fresh microfiber and then the dry wash solution is sprayed and wiped with a microfiber towel and this process should be done in a controlled environment and ensure it is dust-free and protected from water splashes & direct sunlight, however, one drawback is that this particular water spot remover cannot be used on plastics, glasses or fiber panels which are not painted.
After observing the work for about 4-5 panels, I again stepped out of FeynLab to visit Tafe Access as I had a small query to be answered, I finished that in about 30 minutes and got back to FeynLab to only spot a clean car which had got rid of all possible watermarks and contamination, what next caught my eyes was mod-ed Laura being washed.
Next was my car lined up for a final wash and ready to be driven out looking all clean and catchy! (Wash process was the same as what is mentioned above)

Quick Notices that caught my attention during my presence at FeynLab.

• Samrat is quite knowledgeable about all the work that is carried out at his facility and has sufficient patience to answer every single question that you put across but since he generally has customers at his facility, never could notice him working on a car
• Almost all range of products from FeynLab are displayed in the Studio area and also with different kinds of sun-film, PPF and other stuff that is offered from FeynLab. But, it would be a task to have good look at it if the studio has 4-5 cars inside the premises as this area is also used as preparation zone/Inspection Zone if & when needed plus since it’s also right adjacent to the washing area which does not have a screen/covered area, be ready to get splash if the gun turns the wrong direction.
• The uncovered washing area’s drainage is fine but I still feel it’s not very adequate for the water or the slush to flow out quickly and the wash man needs to spray some pressure water to ensure everything is cleared.
• A part of the studio is dedicated to ceramic coating/PPF and this area is covered and isolated from the rest of the studio to ensure it fulfils all requirements needed to carry out such processes, also this dedicated area can hold up to two big cars at once.
• The Customer Lounge is set up in one corner of the studio where you will have to cross the entire studio length to reach the lounge, but once inside, you can have a nice discussion or relax with magazines/brochures available inside or even gain some knowledge about various ceramic coating stuff by watching the videos that are displayed on the TV as most of the working sound from outside is avoided, one big downside is once you are inside the lounge, you cannot see what’s happening on the outside as it’s completely built with walls & wood and has no direct sight to whatsoever area of the studio and you will have to step across to your desired part of the studio to see what is happening on your car.
• Samrat being a soft man, offered some free scratch repair service to passerby’s Q7 which developed some small scratches through a mishap that happened in the nearby street
• What I forgot to observe is, the level of detailed cleaning done on my car was at par or anything superior or inferior from the above post, as I did not check the door beadings and other minute things.
• The location of this studio being a BIG advantage as it’s located at the heart of the city and isn’t far away from any general need, you literally can plan your day without compromising much of your work.
• The studio is about 3500 sqft but lacks on parking, at the most 3 cars can be parked outside and about 3-5 cars can be parked in queued for work inside the studio.

Now, coming to the pricing, the whole exercise needed about 2-3 hours of dedicated working and cost me INR. 4500 but being curious cat myself, I ended up having a (FEYN)fine-day at FeynLab, felicity detailing Studio and left the premises only by 10:00 PM in the night.

• I plan to visit this place sometime soon to have a steam wash done on my car (as I have never got this done before).

If any of you do plan to visit, then please make sure you book a prior appointment and then drop in as what was supposed to be pretty leisure day at FeynLab turned out to be packed and had 6-8 cars when I dropped-in and also the place sometimes might be full and you might have travel back or wait-it-out for long hours.

Below are some pictures attached from the process, I have attached the picture of the FEYNLAB’s hard water spot remover as well.
Fecility Detailing Studio has also made a complied video from the pictures and videos which were shot by me during the visit and uploaded the same on their youtube channel, the link for the same is here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcA5SK7Q6Z4

[tanaysn]

Originally Posted by SuhasManjunath

My Feyn-Experience at FeynLab, Felicity Detailing Studio, Bangalore Central.

Samrat is quite knowledgeable about all the work that is carried out at his facility and has sufficient patience to answer every single question that you put across but since he generally has customers at his facility, never could notice him working on a car

Thanks SuhasManjunath for the detailed overview of the work done at Feynlab. Like you and nerd1200 mentioned, I am going to make that road trip from Kadugodi to ther other side of town for my car's wheel alignment at Madhus and car cleaning at Feynlab followed by quick stop VB Bakery soon!

[Artyom]

It seems they have increased the prices for their services.
I enquired today and they are charging 1000+GST for regular wash which in my opinion is on the higher side.
tanaysn please so share your experience post visit.

[s4ch]

Just had a chat with Samrat, and they have stopped their car cleaning services in central Bangalore, unless you are also getting detailing services done as well, such as paint correction and ceramic coating etc. Little disappointed as had driven down from Pune and wanted to get a good clean done before beading back.

Does anyone know of any other places who will do a 5 star proper job in the central business district or nearby?

[kiredd1005]

I had gone there with a friend for a wash for my friend's brand new Mini Cooper S and one of them kept pushing us for a full body PPF. All we asked for a quick vacuum and wash and we had to endure a lecture on how PPF will protect the paint etc.

He was the same guy who cold called my friend when he picked up the Mini and kept pushing him to go for ceramic or PPF over phone. My friend is a little old school and decided not to spend. Seems like the Mini Car sales executive or someone shares customer's phone numbers in exchange for commission.

I understand businesses have to survive but blatant shoving unwanted stuff down our throats was really annoying. The guy was super pushy and seemed extremely determined to make us spend 1.5L.

In the end they didn't agree for a wash.

We endured it and politely walked out, vowing to never step in there again.