Any recommendations? I'm in Scituate. I've used Unique Car Care in Andover before, looking for other options.
You aren't the first and won't be the last to say that. If my customers are looking for the best of the best in the area and they're willing to have it take a little extra time, go see Ryan at Boston Exclusive. He's located in Belmont, MA https://bostonexclusive.com. He regularly handles 6 and 7 figure cars.
Here are two others closer to the South Shore ... no experience (yet) ... https://www.drivenperfection.com -- Weymouth https://www.drivenperfection.com -- Pembroke I also saw somewhere on FChat that Mclaren of Boston (Norwell) did a ceramic coating on a local member's 458, he was pleased with the outcome.
I can only speak for myself and those who have said the same thing but if one is to be selective about finding someone capable of doing the best job possible on their car, proximity tends to not matter that much.
That may be true, but it's also easier to inspect the work that's being done beforehand if they are closer to you ... I used Unique Car Care in Andover based on their sterling reputation -- 2 hour drive at the time from RI -- and was not pleased with the job they did on the full film coverage on my former California 30 -- visible seams and edges all over the car. Not to mention that it's a pain in the neck getting the car an hour or two away, arranging a rental to get back and forth, etc. A light paint correction and ceramic coating is what I am looking for, and it's easy enough to look at other cars being worked on to see the level of results they are getting. I would probably give them my Audi to detail first to see how they do with that before they get the F-car.
There is a reason why their reputation used to be sterling and he's currently sitting in Belmont detailing new Ford GTs and L88 Corvettes.
IF you are going to apply ceramic on top of paint, (ideal/$$$ way is paint correction, film, ceramic) are you keeping the car long term, 4+ years? I have read that if you need to remove the coating in the future, it is time consuming/$$$ and can damage paint surface because it is so 'hard' and difficult to remove. I am only sharing some worst case scenario's I have read. Much/ENDLESS debate about pros and cons.
Was he working for Unique Car Care in the summer of 2015? Because that's when they worked on my California 30.
I'm aware of that debate ... this car is already wrapped back to the doors, debating whether to wrap the rest of it or not. The problem locally is the water here in Scituate is terrible, we are notorious for "brown" water -- I have a filtration system for the inside house water and you should see what the filters look like when they are changed, they are as black as a mineshaft -- so I am looking to reduce having to wash the car as much as possible. The ceramic makes it easier, for sure, most of the time with my former treated car it could be cleaned up perfectly with just a little detail spray and a clean towel. It was rare when I would actually have to wash the car at all. The ceramic brakes help a lot, obviously. Some of the waterless wash systems are more attractive to me, as well.
Was your issue w/ the detail or the wrap? Automotive Elegance handles the Film. UCC handles the detailing aspect of it. The former guarantees their work so its not unusual if a spot or more than a few spots were not perfect to have them rectify the matter. Either way, Ryan [even though he doesn't wrap the car himself] won't let a car leave unless it's perfect.
VJD3, I'd look into some AMMO products. Specifically their product called "Frothe" It's the best waterless washing product I know, I know Larry the owner/detailer and have seen the product work in person first hand.
The film. The only way to rectify it would have been to pretty much completely redo it. Rather than adjust the template to enable the edges to be wrapped or tucked under seals, it was just applied with edges visible all over the car. There were a lot of spots ... they didn't remove the taillights to wrap or edge the film under them, they just cut the film short. They didn't bother to take the grille off the air scoop to tuck it under, they cut it short. On the roof panel, there were multiple edges. Etc. etc. XPel offered to assist with materials if I wanted to have it redone by another installer but I chose to live with it. It looked fine from 5 feet away but if you looked close, you saw it. In contrast, the Cali T I have now the entire front is wrapped and you can't see a seam or edge except where they cut the film to do the points on the hood corners, and that's almost a perfect match. I know you can usually tell if a car is wrapped or not -- it's not really possible to get it 100 percent perfect -- but the Cali T the salesman who inspected it before I went to pick it up thought it wasn't wrapped at all, but it was -- he only figured it out when he saw the invoice where they had sublet it out for the previous owner. I don't want to get into bashing them -- and I refrained from doing so, even at the time -- but just to show that I'm not some OCD guy who's impossible to satisfy ... here are a couple shots of the finished Cali 30. Just very little attention to detail, in my opinion. And it was not an inexpensive proposition, and it took 3 days. I would not take the car back there. The detail itself was fine, presumably, hard to tell once the film was on top of it with metallic paint. Front scoop (that grill comes off easily, it's 4 screws). Image Unavailable, Please Login Roof panel. Just another millimeter or so of film and it could have been right at the edge if not tucked under the seal. Image Unavailable, Please Login Door handle. How hard would it have been to at least get the film under the handle, and to wrap the edges of the handle? The whole car was done like this. Anywhere you looked closely, you saw an edge. Image Unavailable, Please Login I don't know if they had just gotten started wrapping cars at that point in time, but the results were not what I expected, and not up to what I had seen on other wrapped Ferraris. I was not told at the time that it was a separate company doing the wrap, Rick at UCC was my contact and I wrote the check to UCC. Plus they did the ceramic over the film so they had to be intimately familiar with how it came out. Live and learn.
Just realized I got the URL wrong for Pembroke, it's called Northeast Auto Spa. http://www.neautospa.com
Driven Perfection in Weymouth: I believe he used to post here. A few years ago I tried to make an appointment for my 308 in the spring. He was booked solid.
Hi guys, this is Ryan from Boston Exclusive Car Care. I was with UCC for years off and on. I was not there in 2015. I was doing a big private collection for a few guys that year. 2016 he begged me to come back and was there for a year. Unfortunately it didn’t work out and I decided to open my own shop. I know when I was there, we never had any complaints at all. Like I said, things didn’t work out and I got my own place. Now it’s all about making cars perfect and nobody is holding me back. I thrive to be the best! I am my own worst critic. I’ve worked on tons of million dollar cars. Some that were one of one made. Been doing paint correction for 30 years. I’ve never had anyone not happy. My business is built on 100 percent referrals. If anyone needs anything feel free to contact me. 6178037495 @Bostonexclusivecarcare
I can confirm... as I've been saying. Ryan is the best you'll find around here. If anyone here is as picky as they really think they are, feel free to roll the dice elsewhere.
I highly recommend Kevin at Affluent Auto Studios out of Norfolk. He’s been detailing my 488 and 812 for a while. He did a great job at a good price for paint correction, ceramic coating and clear bra. He really knows his stuff and has been doing this for many years.
And here's another plug for Alex at Driven Perfection. I gave him my car the weekend before Tutto Italiano at the beginning of the month and the car subsequently took home the award for best Ferrari this year.
Just poking around as I prepare to take delivery of 16 caliT. From dealer on west coast - offered ( no doubt marked up) ceramic and or film. 3k for ceramic seemed expensive. . Had film like yours on my 911 turbo which was plenty of curves. About a zillion times better than the aweful job you showed pictures of. Geez.