A year ago we teamed up with Big Media Productions in their series portraying the Dodge Viper. Two Dodge Vipers were brought to use for a thorough paint correction and coating. We performed a 2-stage paint correction on the vehicles and then protected the paint with a long lasting protective coating.
Recently, our episode on correcting and protecting paint was completed and can be viewed on Youtube so please check it out and let us know how you like it. We’re very happy with how it came out.
Our pre-detail assessment is yet another tool that we use to provide custom tailored services for each client and vehicle. This assessment is done in order to determine the client’s concerns and give us a good idea of the overall condition of the vehicle. While we can usually give a general estimate over the phone or through email, we recommend the client bring in the vehicle to be polished so we can inspect it in person. This is almost a must for any multi-stage paint correction work.
During this assessment, we will go over any problem areas with the client, use our LED spotlights to check for swirl marks and other defects and measure the paint thickness. When a multi-stage paint correction is in question, we usually also perform a few polishing test spots to see exactly what results can be expected. When doing these test spots, we basically perform a full detail on a part of the vehicle, usually hood or trunk. After a rinseless wash on the area, we will decontaminate it with a clay bar, measure the paint and finally do the polishing to show a good before and after comparison. We can then better decide on a service based on our recommendation as well as any budget and expectations for enhancing the look of the vehicle.
The pre-detail assessment is a free service and normally takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on how much test polishing is done, if any. We also like this assessment because we get to meet a new client in person and discuss important topics such as: reason for contacting us/major issues, how the car is driven normally, will it be maintained by the owner or not, etc. Of course, many times if the time allows, these assessments can turn into 1-2 hour car talk, which we don’t mind at all!
Call or email us anytime with questions or to schedule an appointment for your vehicle’s assessment.
Respectfully yours,
Ivan Rajic, Owner and Operator
At LUSTR Auto Detail, we always try to stay on top of the newest and best products, tools and techniques. However, we also try to adapt to our clients’ needs and requests as much as possible in order to provide quality car detailing services for all. Recently, we made a few additions to our service lineup, which will be great for owners of daily driven vehicles that need proper attention.
First is our Annual Protection Detail. Our current Paint Protection Coating options revolve around thorough detailing and paint correction, which most of our clients require and request. This new service is geared mainly toward amplifying the durability of our Protection Detail, with paint correction being optional. We get this durable protection by utilizing a long lasting paint protection coating instead of a paint sealant, which means the protection will last well over a year instead of only a few months. In addition, we thoroughly wash and decontaminate the paint before lightly polishing it as prep for the coating. This is one of those car detailing services that will help owners with long term maintenance by making it easier to wash, eliminating waxing for more than a year and simply improving the look of the vehicle.
This is a great option for clients with daily driven vehicles who are happy with the condition of the vehicle and not looking to perform any paint correction. This coating option will slightly improve the paint condition and provide great looks and protection for well over a year. – Time required: 6 or more hours
The next two car detailing services we’ve introduced are the Wash & Seal and Hand Wash. The simplest way to describe these services is to say they’re a quicker Protection Detail and Maintenance Detail, respectively. The Hand Wash is geared for enthusiasts looking for a quick wash every week or two when there is no need for a thorough maintenance detail. The Hand Wash is done more frequently than the maintenance detail and is normally utilized when the vehicle needs a quick cleaning, especially during the winter months. The Wash & Seal similarly mimics the Protection Detail in that it includes a wash and adds a level of protection with an application of a paint sealant that lasts for months. Both are done using safe techniques and quality car detailing products that can be purchased through our Store.
Recommended every 6-8 weeks for any vehicle driven daily or often. – Time required: 1 or more hours
The Wash & Wax is our basic protection service that includes the Hand Wash and an application of a quality sealant to protect the paint. It normally takes about 1-1.5 hours for cars and 1.5-2 hours for SUVs.
Recommended every 1-2 weeks for any vehicle. – Time required: 0.5 or more hours
Our Hand Wash is a quick wash with quality products and techniques intended for clients who need to properly and efficiently clean up their vehicles every week or two. It normally takes about 30-45 minutes for cars and 45-60 minutes for SUVs.
Well that’s all for now. We know these services will be welcomed by many of our regulars and we hope they catch the interest of new clients who wish to drive away with a clean and protected vehicle! Please feel free to contact us with any questions or to schedule an appointment today.
Vehicles go through a lot of abuse year round, especially in climates like here in Chicagoland, so the paint is constantly exposed to contamination like bird droppings, rail dust and road debris. This results in more embedded contamination, swirl marks appearing sooner and overall gloss of the paint quickly diminishing. The need for enhanced durability led to manufacturers producing long lasting paint protection coatings, which act as a secondary clear coat, creating a protective barrier between the outside elements and the vehicle’s paint. These coatings create a hydrophobic surface that is easier to clean than factory paint and stays cleaner longer by preventing dirt and other contaminants from easily sticking to the paint. When treated with care, these coatings offer protection anywhere from 1-1.5 years to upwards of 2 years. All this leads to having a vehicle that is easier to care for, stays protected for a longer time and maintains a glossy paint finish.
Long term protective coatings have become extremely common over the past few years for their great looks and amazing durability. Many manufacturers are producing these coatings to compete with each other, thus the options available get better and better.
As most of you know, we’ve had great success with the impressive 22PLE Glass Coatings over the past couple of years. 22PLE has easily lasted over a year on some clients’ vehicles and kept them in great shape overall. Not to worry, we are surely not planning on eliminating 22PLE from our services in the foreseeable future. Rather, just like with all of our car detailing services, we always strive to improve and offer various quality options to our diversified clientele. When it comes to coatings, these additional options will include two of the best products available: Optimum Opti-Coat and CQuartz Finest. We believe these two coatings will greatly supplement 22PLE due to their quality, looks and durability.
CQuartz Finest is an updated and improved version of the original CQuartz, featuring better durability, gloss and scratch resistance. This coating option is very similar to 22PLE that we currently offer, but will carry a higher price tag due to the more involved application process and warrantied install for up to two years. This warranty states that Finest will not bubble, yellow, peel, oxidize, or lose any more than 20% of gloss over the course of two years. We believe this will be a nice option for clients looking for something that is guaranteed to last for two years and makes the paint look rich and glossy. More info and specs on CQuartz Finest can be found on the CQuartz Finest website.
Optimum Opti-Coat, aka Opti-Coat Pro, has been around for a while now and is well-known for its great durability, which is the main reason we have decided to add it to our coating lineup. While 22PLE has been known to easily last anywhere from 1-2 years, Opti-Coat has an indefinite life span when maintained properly and is known to last upwards of 3-4 years. This coating option is best for those daily driven vehicles looking for the longest durability and protecting the factory clear coat from the elements. Opti-Coat does add gloss to any painted surface and offers great resistance to swirlmarks, environmental fallout and general dirt attaching to the surface. More info and specs on Optimum Opti-Coat can be found on the Optimum Car Care website.
All of the paint protection coating options will protect the original paint finish for well over one year, which is a remarkable step up from the typical paint sealants and waxes that last anywhere from two to six months. We’ve decided to use the three coatings mentioned above because as a whole they provide great looks, protection and scratch resistance, and individually each has a set of quality characteristics that separates it enough from others in terms of value and versatility. With that, we look forward to fulfilling all your coating needs!
LUSTR Auto Detail is proud to announce that we now stock high quality car detailing products, easily available for purchase to our clients and enthusiasts in the Chicagoland area. After years of recommending these same car detailing products to clients who like to do their own maintenance detailing, ordering for them along with our own inventory and many times even depleting our inventory to sell products to clients who need them immediately, we’ve finally decided to carry some products at the shop. These will consist of quality supplies that we purchase from Detailed Image and will initially include only some basic maintenance items, such as wash mitts, soaps, drying towels and regular microfiber towels. Over time, our goal is to add to this list of products as the demand for certain products grows, so please check back every few weeks for any announcements or product updates. In addition, we are still able to order any items per request, whether it be a different type of soap that we don’t carry or even paint polishing kits.
You can see the full list of available items on our Store page, which will be updated whenever we add a new item to our stock in the shop.
Thanks for looking!
After a few months of periodic designing, updating, fixing and testing, the new LUSTR Auto Detail website is finally up and running! Since it is only a day old now, we’d appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, as well as ask to please excuse any errors you may encounter while browsing. As you can already tell, we’ve not only spruced it up a bit, but also added a blog where we’ll be posting news, showing off some completed detail work and writing all kinds of articles related to car detailing. We’re also happy to announce that we will soon have some quality products in stock at our shop in Elk Grove Village, so for those local to Chicagoland please don’t hesitate to call or email with any product inquiries. We are still mainly here to offer the high quality car detailing and paint correction services we have been trusted to do for many years now, so enjoy the new site and we’ll be in touch soon. Thanks for visiting!