Detailing Bliss Review

[xtreme prelude]

Hello everyone. I know there are always threads for people wanting to know where to take their cars to get detailed/paint corrected. So I figured I would provide a review on my experience recently with Detailing Bliss.

first of all, the prices have changes just recently but Carlos was willing to honor the old pricing since I had been in contact and set up the appointment prior to the changes. So kudos to him for that one.

I did the paint correction on my 2010 Camaro. non of the extra "special" coatings so I will be back to give an update in a few months to see how well the sealant he used is holding up.

the car was not in horrible shape. it did get away from me a little over the winter and the engine bay was quite dirty. typically I wash it on a weekly basis including the engine bay, door jambs etc...

I requested the paint correction, engine bay detail, and at the last minute I had asked if you could do anything to the drivers seat to clean it up due to some discoloration. He said he would detail the engine and do the seat at no cost. that was pretty nice.

I dropped off the car at his shop (located inside davenport Motorsports) on a Thursday evening. and left it with him. I had never paid for a "paint correction" before but have seen stunning results on cars all over the web. Mine was showing some hazing and spider webbing but no major scratches. I received a call on Saturday to go pick up the car. the photos he sent me of the car looked awesome so I was pretty excited to see it in person.

when I arrived, he had the car in the shop area. did the walk around. the paint looked great, I wouldn't say it was huge but it was definitely better. BUT the 3M on the front and the mirrors looked horrid, no better than it did before it went in, maybe even worst looking now that the paint looked better. He had no way to fix or correct the 3M clear bra.

I have done a little research since and there are products out there specifically designed to correct the 3M clear bras and get them polished up nice. it is just too bad Carlos did not have them. I was hoping for a better result.

the engine bay looked ok except he did not remove the engine cover to clean the top of the motor, so it is still nasty dusty under their. I will do it myself the next nice weekend I get a chance to.

the drivers seat looked ok, not what I was hoping but he did not charge me for it anyways so I cant complain about that. the discoloration was still present in most places.

so, IF you car does not have 3M on it and is just paint, Carlos at Detail Bliss can do an awesome job on it and I would not hesitate to recommend him.

BUT, IF your car has any 3M clear product on it, I would have to recommend you find another detailer equipped to do the job fully.

In hindsight, I would never get a detail job done to my car again as it was not worth the money spent. and now that prices are higher, it definitely will not happen again.

Just my 2 cents, it is fully up to you who you see to do the detail on you rides.

[gpomp]

How old was the 3M? There's really not much you can do with 3M that's a few years old, it gets real hard and crusty.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Did he hit your 3M with a polishing compound? I had a detail shop ruin the 3M on one of my S4's like that, they had to replace the whole thing.

[xtreme prelude]

he did explained he tried to polish it. but could not get it to look good. it is almost 6 years old, but still in great shape. not crusty, yellow, dried out.

there are products out there specifically for machine polishing the 3M bra, I know that now that I have been doing some research. all I am saying is apparently he is not equipped to correct/polish 3M. would have been nice to know before spending the money as I am not satisfied with the outcome.

[SCHIDER23]

Which package did you paid for? If it was one pass don't expect perfection, and 3M you are supposed to replaced it every 3 to 5 year max it all depends if you take care of it, park in garage or vehicle sits outside. 3m Polish products will Make it a little bit better, but don't expect 100% correction won't happen, if is too far gone nothing will help it, post some photos so we can get a better idea.

[xtreme prelude]

I paid for the full correction. not just a quick polish.

I wasn't expecting perfection on the 3M but I was expecting better results.

I washed the car on the weekend. noticed 2 burn locations on the 3M and there is still some fine spider webbing in the paint. the paint is still better than it was but not totally "corrected" but still acceptable.

not happy about the 3M. sure it is over 5 years old, but for a car that spends most of the time in the garage and is washed on a regular basis. I should not have to replace it. just because the warranty is 5 years does not mean it suggests replacement at the same time.

photos would be difficult but I will see what I can do.

[rage2]

The reason why you replace 3M or other clear bras every 3-5 years isn't because of discoloration or fading/scratches. It's because the glue breaks down, and it becomes a huge PITA to remove. 3 years would be if you're outside a lot (direct sun accelerates the process), 5 years if it's always garaged. Anything over 5 years, you'll risk damaging the paint when removing.

[ExtraSlow]

Or just make sure to sell that car around the five year mark . . . .

[xtreme prelude]

thanks for the info, I will get it replaced ASAP.

[heavyD]

Carlos is the only place in town you can go for Opti-Coat Pro and he's done four cars for me but I can't comment on paint correction as I bring them to him new. He always does a fantastic job with the Opti-Coat as he has to fully decontaminate and strip the paint before the Opti-Coat can be applied. I love never having to wax my cars.