[Joshua_Ray]

Hello everyone!

With lockdowns behind us and the world slowly opening up (read as office moving to 'regular' 9 to 5 operation), our cars have started to receive their daily dose of traffic jams and regular usage.
The Skoda Laura, which we had purchased way back in 2019, looks pretty decent for its age (now 12 years old), as long as you are 10 feet away! The moment you come closer, the years of improper washing, swirls, scratches and general neglect make themselves very apparent. I pride myself in keeping the car mechanically fit, but the idea of getting it detailed and dealing with 'namma ooru' Chennai traffic, kept the idea in my head only
With the daring cabbies, reckless bikers and auto-wallas who take every gap - the thought of driving, yet alone maintaining, a well polished daily, was not very appealing.


After a wash & before the detail. Notice the flat and dull paint


The rear three quarters is no better...

Last year, my windshield had somehow picked up a deep-ish scratch and I had tried getting it taken out with another detailer. He left my windscreen with a reduced scratch, but also added tons of pad marks, which made night driving a game of guessing - not fun!
I had heard about Wraplab in Kilpauk and after a quick phone call with the owner, decided to give my car for windshield polish 'take 2' - after all, it could not get worse right?
Luckily, it didn't, and after a good 6 hours of meticulous polishing, using a glass specific compound - cerium oxide, the scratch was almost completely taken out. More importantly, the remaining glass was made 'night drive friendly' again! What a relief! The owner also suggested a ceramic coating for the glass, to make it easier to clean & water repellant, which is something that has definitely aided during rainy drives, as the drops just bead and roll off! At that time he also suggested a full body detail, something which I declined, due to the said reasons above.

Fast forward to the second week of May, and the thought of getting a detail sprung up again, this time I decided to put my laziness & apprehension (with regards to maintaining a detailed car) behind me, and get it done!


The mandatory 50/50 preparation


The before and after 50/50 is crazy!


Work in progress...

The car now looks almost brand new, excluding the dents and deeper scratches, and the process has literally made the car look half its age! The lighter scratches and the dullness have been completely removed, allowing the 'magic' of the magic black color pop! I'll let the pictures do the talking now...


Looks fresher than the day I bought her!


That shine!


The best angle on the Laura?

The entire process took around 8 hours, including the wash and the step 1 detail. Detailing has 'steps' similar to the 'stages' of tuning a car, with a step 3 detail being the one that includes paint correction and a ceramic coating on top of it - something that I felt was excessive for a 12 year old daily driver, with multiple imperfections (dents & deep scratches)


Yes, that is the reflection, with just a step 1 detail!


The dents on the bonnet are real, sadly, angry coconuts exist!

So, now that the car is detailed, let me try and sum up my experiences - to help anyone with the same dilemma as me - is it worth detailing your old car?
The simple answer is YES - but, there are a few minor drawbacks.
The Pro's are simple, you have a shiny car, that makes it look and feel 'new' again. It helps if its an older car, that is not seen often on roads, especially in good condition. And yes, it does make you look back, every time you park!
The downsides, well, they are small, but let us cover them...
You have to wash the car yourself - any car wash guy will fill your paint with swirls before you say 'Anna, niruthingaaa!' (Brother, Stop! - famous Tamil dialogue)
This is easier said than done, especially when it randomly rains every few days even in summer, just enough to dirty the entire car. Secondly the dust! A car can remain 'clean' for not more than 2 hours, before a layer of dust forms on it. The same goes for being that extra bit careful while driving, to prevent any scuffs and also includes parking far away from trees - sacrificing shade to save your car from birds using it as a big black shiny target!

So yes, while the work to maintain the car looking fresh has increased, the fresh look makes it worth the effort! Big ups to the guys at Wraplab for the great customer service, fantastic work that did not break the bank and overall experience!

Hope this article was useful and yes, my long pending ownership review of this tuned diesel brute, will be coming soon! Wrapping up with few pics at work & play (read BMW Joyfest )


Thank God for a covered car parking at work!


Nothing like a black car i.e. only when its clean!

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Totally worth it . New cars remain shiny for a couple of years anyway, but the before / after difference on detailing an old car is magical. I love getting my Jeep polished!

Going to our homepage today. Would love to see a long-term ownership review of your car as many of us are fans of buying the right car, then keeping it for a decade (or over).

[lordrayden]

That 50/50 split of a 12 year old BLACK car truly is crazy! I was blown away!

Also, to me this also highlights nicely that most of the shine, sparkle and pop that wows us in those "I got my car ceramic coated" posts, actually comes from the detailing .

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Coincidently i did the detailing for my Laura 2 weeks back.

Though it was kind of a forced decision due to some hard layer of dust stuck over the entire car post recent service, but it gave a nice ending to the long time dilemma whether to go for detailing on a 9 yr old car.

Here is the outcome.

[Turbohead]

The car looks brand new! You took me back to 2011 when this, the Jetta and the Cruze were ruling the 10-20 lakh segments!

Maintaining the paint job IMO is critical because you tend to maintain a car well when it's already maintained well. You wouldn't maintain or bother about a car which is abused/beater. What you have done is a good move. You'll notice you'll trend to maintain the car better in the following days.

Wonder what are the mods you've planned for the Laura after all your experiments in the Ikon!

[AKSarkar1]

Very interesting thread and one that I think most BHPians will unanimously agree with.

Just for the look aspect a detailing gets a BIG YES but I know many non-car guys who religiously detail their cars just so that the paintwork doesn't develop problems or issues that would arise with the ageing of the car otherwise. I would say that detailing your car from time to time is also a financially prudent step to help preserve the exterior of the car, saving you big bucks in the long run!

P.S.- Absolutely loved seeing the photos of the Laura on this thread, truly these cars are evergreen machines and still a stunner after all these years!

[gauravdgr8]

Your post is bang on time. I was in 2 minds whether to get my 5 1/2 year old Red Brezza detailed. Seeing the pics, I am convinced that it's now time.

Your car looks drool.

[fundagenie]

The final shine was WOW... I also have a 10yr old purple XUV and I think its high time I got some detailing done. As the paint has started looking drab. So how much does this Step1 vs Step 3 cost.

Wrt the beauty of black or dark colours, I remember doing a foam wash of the car during my trip to leh 5yrs back. We were a convoy of 5-6 cars of different shades, mostly light coloured - silver and white. And my purple beast looked the most ugliest of the lot by the time we reached Leh. Post that wash, when driving into that harsh sunlight of leh, the car became the star. It was like ugly duckling became the swan.. Till it got dirty again within 1 day of the further drive.

FundaG

[casnov]

I need to get it done for my Jetta. People from Bangalore suggest me a good place to get it done? It would be even great if the place is in North Bangalore.

[DKW]

Its always a pleasure transforming your old car especially if its a SKODA. Pics of my 2014 SKODA 1.8TSI Elegance.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

Allow me to share some photographs of a friends ecosport that was done in Bangalore. The car is a late 2013 ecosport

Sorry for the off topic. This is car is surely not a late 2013 model. It is the refresh model unless the owner has got the front of the car modified to look like the refresh model with projector headlamps.
The earlier onces used to come with a round fog lamp and a different front face.
This how a 2013 model looks like:



Image source : Cartrade website

[McLaren Rulez]

Are there any downsides to leaving a car with swirls and scratches aside from aesthetic considerations?

Is there any difference between detailing every six months, one year, two years and five years? I always thought that regular detailing also takes the top layer of clear coat off so tend to avoid doing it unless the car looks really bad.

[ssjr0498]

Mate, you might be correct, as it is not my car and neither am I a ford person (no offense)! The car was definitely more than 5years old is what I remember off my head! I will check with my friend and update the post!
Thanks for the info though!

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

Sorry for the off topic. This is car is surely not a late 2013 model. It is the refresh model unless the owner has got the front of the car modified to look like the refresh model with projector headlamps.
The earlier onces used to come with a round fog lamp and a different front face.
This how a 2013 model looks like:

Attachment 2313935

Image source : Cartrade website

[manishk123]

Whenever I send my 2007 e280 cdi for a service, I make sure a free wax polish is included. Anyway they are ripping me off on a service which is basically just an oil change and wash, so might as well get something out of the ASC.
The annual wax polish has kept my black beauty gleaming like new. Ofcourse it also helps that the car is in a covered parking and very sparingly used.

[GForceEnjoyer]

To me, any car you love from the bottom of your heart deserves a good detail every now and then, regardless of its age. But this would be my heart speaking.
[i]*Cue head's angry interjection: "WHAT ABOUT VITAMIN M??? It's not like the car will stay that way for long either. In some time it'll probably be worth around the price of that detail anyway!"*[\I]
Then the age old heart-vs-head argument ensues. The brain then realises that keeping the paintwork in good condition will help dodge future issues such as rusting, which is actually better in the long run.

Hence, I would not hesitate getting an old car detailed. The stunning looks alone are totally worth it.