Well, according to the local weather guys and gals, it seems we can put a fork in this winter and call it done! They’re saying the long range forecasts are showing zero signs of any winter weather and that spring is imminent. There have been more birds around, the foxes in our yard have been making daily appearances and Daylight Savings Time is just a little more than a week away.
It. Is. Time.

Business has been steady for the last few months but is now steadily rising. I’m receiving inquiries and booking appointments into March, I do have a few openings here and there so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re ready for a ceramic coating or detail.
​Some exciting news from IGL this week is the airing of their first TV commercial. If you watch the Motortrend channel, keep an eye out. Otherwise, check it out here:

IGL Commercial

They’re featuring the excellent combination of a Graphene infused polish topped with Premier sealant. This is a killer combination that removes some imperfections and fills others so you end up with paint that has the appearance of having been coated with a much lower price tag. Keep in mind, this is 4-6 months of protection instead of YEARS but the price is $400 for cars & $600 for full size pickups and SUVs.

Here’s a photo of a Mustang hood I used this combo on.... super glossy stuff.

In other news, I have simplified my ceramic coating pricing! If you’ve gotten a quote from me in the past, get in touch because my new pricing structure may be beneficial to you!

Lastly, here is the most recent vehicle to leave the garage wearing IGL Kenzo. It’s a 2020 Subaru Forester in metallic black. It had some love marks from the dealership that were easily taken care of and the owner had me install the trim on the doors as well.

Don’t forget, every ceramic coating package includes a bottle of IGL car wash, a premium microfiber wash mitt and drying towel from The Rag Company along with your coating care sheet!

For a while there I thought we were going to get off easy this winter! The last couple weeks have featured much colder weather and some..... snow. Along with that, our towns have happily seasoned the pavement with a corrosive elixir that helps make driving safer and slowly eats away our cars. Detailing this time of year is mainly about one thing: Removing salt. Wether it’s accumulating on your carpets or wheel wells or the sides of your vehicle, it really needs to be removed. A proper detail will accomplish this as well as provide a measure of protection for the remainder of the season. The application of a quality paint sealant goes a long way towards preventing early corrosion by making it harder for the salt to reach your paint. Contact us today for a mid winter detail and help preserve your vehicle and keep it looking it’s best!

If you’re looking for the ULTIMATE automotive protection, you’ll want to opt for a ceramic coating. I offer ceramic packages ranging from a one step polish with a paint coating to the ultimate, multi step paint correction and total vehicle coating that provides complete ceramic protection for the outside and the inside of your car!
Contact me today to discuss options and pricing

(869)335-6258
mreflectionsct@icloud.com
www.mretlectionsct.com

Just a quick post to keep us all organized. If you’ve had your vehicle coated by me, you’ve received this document along with your premium microfiber wash mitt and drying towels.. hopefully you’re following these instructions and using the mitt and drying towel to wash your car!
I want to have it available online since that paper can easily be lost or destroyed.
Here’s the image. The PDF is below if you want to save it.

Next, I spray the wheel and tire with P&S Brake Buster diluted 5:1 (water to product) with an IK Foamer. If you only have a standard spray bottle that’s just fine. If you don’t dilute it, that’s just fine too. I choose to dilute because it works just fine and it greatly extends the number of washes I get out of a container of wheel cleaners


While the Brake Buster is dwelling on the surface of the wheel, I take my tire brush and start scrubbing the tire. This will remove any accumulation of tire shine, dirt, grime etc. and leave a clean & fresh surface behind.

Once I’ve sufficiently cleaned the tire, it’s time to move on to the wheel. Using a wet brush designed to clean the insides of your wheels (Wheel Woolies) clean the barrels first working between each spoke as well as you can. When the barrels have been agitated, take your DETAIL BRUSH and get the lug nuts & recesses. Finally, using a SEPARATE microfiber mitt that NEVER touches your car’s paint, wash the face of the wheel as well as any nooks and crannies like around valve stems, in the corners of spokes, etc. note, you may have to add some wheel cleaner to the wheel during this process to keep it from drying out.


Once scrubbed, brushed and washed, rinse the wheel completely ensuring there is no wheel cleaner left behind. While this is a Ph neutral cleaner, left on the surface for too long it will cause some spotting that you’ll have to remove.


Next, spray a little Brake Buster or all purpose cleaner in your wheel well and lightly scrub with a long handled brush. Clean wheel wells help push a regular wash up a few notches and really ice the cake.

The very last step in the wheel cleaning process comes after you wash the vehicle. Take a quality microfiber drying towel that you only use on your wheels and dry them to avoid water spots.


Once everything is fully dry, apply a water based tire dressing such as IGL TYRE, stand back and admire.

And there you have it. You’ve successfully cleaned your wheels in a quick, efficient manner. The process takes about 20 minutes to do all of the wheels and it really makes a big difference.

Ok, this weeks topic,... IGL Kenzo.
Often times when giving a quote or taking about costings with someone, I find myself telling them that Kenzo is “special.” What the heck do I mean? How can a ceramic coating be special?
I’m not going to go into the technical stuff here and bore everyone into deleting this message. When I say Kenzo is special, I’m making a comparison to other high end coatings. They ALL make your paint stay cleaner for longer and they ALL cut the time it takes to wash and dry at least in half.
This is where similarities end.
IGL Kenzo’s hardness is 10h on the pencil scale. This translates into superior protection against things like marring & swirls from improper hand washing methods.
The coating also forms a thicker layer on the paint than other costings which greatly improves its look. One thing everyone notices about Kenzo is that it truly makes a car look like it’s been waxed. Once applied, you not only see increased gloss but also a deep, rich warmth that you don’t see with other coatings.
Lastly, and this is important to note, Kenzo does not need to be reapplied during the four year warranty period. Other coatings boast 9 years, 10 years, LIFETIME longevity, however, they don’t mention the annual reapplication or topping process. This requirement costs the consumer time and money that the coating is supposed to save in the first place.

Want a quote for Kenzo on your vehicle? CLICK HERE!

​
​

This one will probably go down in my history as one of the most interesting stories.
I received a call one day from a client that wanted information about ceramic coating options for his newly purchased Mustang that he would be taking delivery of a few days later. We went over the usual topics of how long coatings last and what should and, more importantly, shouldn’t be expected of them. At this point, he decided to book his appointment and got into details of the purchase. He told me this is a brand new car but it is four years old! With it being 2019, that made his new pride and joy a 2015!
As it turns out, this car was ordered by someone at the dealership here in Connecticut back in 2015. The car was delivered to the dealership and for one reason or another, the buyer backed out of the transaction and didn’t complete the purchase. Ordinarily, the dealership would put the vehicle into its inventory and someone else would eventually come along and buy it. This car was spec’d our beautifully; bright yellow paint, track package with upgraded brakes, nice recaro seats, etc. highly desirable. Unfortunately, the dealership never entered the car into their computer so, even though it was on their lot, it wasn’t listed as available for sale!
FOUR YEARS went by and my client saw the car and asked about it. He got himself a great deal and that’s where I enter the picture.
after a few days of enjoying the car, my client brought the car in and I got to work. As you would imagine, four years of sitting idle is horrible for any car new or used. Dirt had accumulated in every body seam and there were black streaks etched into the paint below the door handles and gas door (you know, where the water ALWAYS drips after you wash and dry your car).
​Time to get cleaning.
My pre-polishing decontamination wash process goes like this, regardless of the vehicle:
pressure wash the wheels & wheel wells
apply wheel cleaner & agitate after some dwell time. My favorite wheel cleaner right now is P&S Brake Buster. It’s non acid, foams really well and just does a nice job for not a lot of money.
use microfiber tool to clean wheel barrels
use boar’s hair brush to clean brake calipers
scrub tires with rubber cleaner
Pressure wash wheels & wheel wells to remove cleaners
pressure wash body of vehicle to remove loose dirt including in body seams
apply iron remover to wheels & body to dissolve ferrous deposits (rail dust, brake dust, industrial fallout) the purple liquid below is the iron oxide deposits dissolving and running off the body. (I didn’t get a picture of this with the Mustang so I’m showing it on another car)
​

Once the iron remover is rinsed away, it’s on to the next step in the decontamination process... Actually washing the car!
for this step, I use the “2 bucket method” . I wash one panel at a time starting with the roof and working my way down, rinsing each panel before moving to the next.
Washing the car is one step where I feel product choice is critical to the outcome of the job.
Heres what I use:
​IGL Ecoclean Wash for the soap
​The Rag Company Cyclone wash mitt
Clay barring a vehicle removes any non-ferrous particles that are embedded in the paint. This is a critical step prior to polishing a vehicle so that the polisher isn’t picking up contaminates and rubbing them into the paint you’re trying to perfect. <—- talk about chasing your tail!
its often surprising how much “stuff” comes out of a vehicle’s paint when this process is underway. This Mustang was no different:

Remember, this car is “brand new” and it only had 436 miles on it at the time!

Once the clay bar process is completed and the paint is free of any contamination, the car is washed again and then dried using only the very best microfiber towels available. I love the “Dry me a River” from The Rag Company
you can buy one here

Once the vehicle is dried, it’s ready to be polished. At this point, I’m usually about 2 hours into the job.

I am realizing this is getting way too long to continue to be interesting. Let’s call this Part I of a series!

One last thing! The links to products are affiliate links, I earn a small amount of product credit if you buy from Detailed Image. This does NOT affect the price you pay. I should also note that the products I use are my favorites. I use them because I like how they perform not because I have a partnership with any manufacturer (because I don’t). I’ve found the retailer, Detailed Image, to be my favorite supplier due to their vast product line, fair prices and ultra fast shipping.

Thats it for now, we’ll cover the polishing process in my next entry.

A lot of people have been asking me why I’m doing this whole business building thing when I already have a good job so I’m going to ramble on for a bit here...

please bear with me, by the end, I hope you all get it and believe in this thing just a little more than you do now. I need my customers to buy into the bigger picture in order for it to work.

The reasoning for stating this business is pretty well outlined on the “About” page of my website so I’ll spare those details here.
Bigger picture, this thing that I’m building, wherever it goes and how how ever big it becomes (or doesn’t) is a pursuit that I’ve always wanted to embark upon but never had the guts and was always waiting for “the right time.” That was stupid. I’ve finally learned and understand that “the right time” never comes. “The right time” is something we all make up in our minds to justify our lack of motion, inability to execute or fear that whatever we’re waiting to do isn’t going to happen exactly how we picture. I’ve finally come to a point in my life where how something turns out doesn’t particularly matter, it’s the process. I’m pursuing a passion here, building something that fascinates me (business) using a skill and passion I’ve developed over my lifetime. If nothing else, I hope that this little experiment of mine shows my kids that it’s ok execute, it’s ok to fail and to welcome failure as it inevitably leads to success. Also, if someone else out there is following along and is inspired in some way, I’ve succeeded even if I’m not even aware of their existence. That is why I’m sharing my journey.

For the foreseeable future, yes, I’m a home based business. I have low overhead and don’t employ anyone because I wouldn’t want some teenager working on my car in between Instagram posts either. It’s not a frilly shop made very fancy to help justify high prices. It’s me, top of the line products and equipment, decades of skill and your vehicle.
*I hate to use the word goal because it represents something that, once achieved can’t be beaten but I’m about to.
The “goal” for this business includes a multi-year plan that, at its apex, has me purchasing a building with 2 units. Something I can run the detailing side from and lease the other side to a tint or PPF (paint protection film) or some other relatable business that I have no interest in doing myself and a symbiotic relationship ensues that makes both businesses a ton of money from hard work and awesome results. What comes after that is anyone’s guess. Please don’t get mad at me for wanting to make a ton of money, so do you, so does everyone.
I’m confident that I’m offering a solid product that represents a solid value for my customers and a byproduct of that will be the progression of this business to something disruptive in the industry. Each time a customer stops by for a quote, whether they book with me or not, they’re part of this process. I learn from all of you. I hope to provide what you’re looking for and we can share an equal exchange in value where we’re all happy at the end of the day and cars are looking awesome.

So, here I am at the end of this rambling post. It’s disorganized, has crappy grammar and is probably either longer or shorter than everyone wants but it is what it is and hopefully clears things up a bit.