Black Diamond CTS-V gets coated in 22PLE by Greg Gellas
 

I was recently contacted for a correction and coating on a Cadillac CTS-V Black Diamond Edition. What is it exactly that makes the "Black Diamond Edition" Special?

“Black Diamond offers the discerning Cadillac customer a special option color that stands out and remains true to their sense of luxury and style." 'Posted on 02.3.2011 07:00 by Simona'

"What sets the Black Diamond Edition apart is specialized tri-coat paint from California-based JDSU. A look of diamonds in the SpectraFlair pigment in the paint is created by using aluminum flakes encapsulated in a glass-like substance called magnesium fluoride, GM said." -Suzanne Ashe February 7, 2011

I began with the wheels, I don't want to be down and dirty in the wash water, which is why I always start with the wheels. I power washed the tires, rims, and wheel wells. There was lots of tire sling stuck in the wheel wells.

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Using sonax FE and wheel woolies, the wheels were cleaned and the tires were scrubbed with power clean.

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Now it is time for a bath. I foamed the car with a mixture of dawn and Chemicals Guys Citrus Wash and Clear.

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Now that we are down to paint and no wax or fillers, we can see the real damage to this amazing paint!

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After seeing all the wax residue, I knew I would have to rinse it one more time. I went around with a china brush and removed all the dried-on wax in the vehicles seams and edges of clear bra.

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Here you can see why I had to rinse again. All the dust from the wax removal was every where. You also can see that the wax is gone :)

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The front bumper, hood, fenders, and doors were all covered in paint protection film. This can be tricky to correct. After, I pulled it in and got to work. Starting with the clear bra correction there was a larger marr on the clear bra. The rest of the paint recieved a polish with a Rupes yellow pad, and Sonax Perfect finish.

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Without heating too much and potentially twisting the bra I got as much correction as I felt comfortable with. If you get too aggressive with PPF you can heat it too much loosening the adhesive causing the film to acutally twist.

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I moved on to correct the tail lights.

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I was also applying Car Pro flyby30. I started with a complete scrubbing using Ceri-Glass. With any coating, whether it be paint or glass or trim, proper prep is the key!

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After the polishing and Ceri-Glass, the car needed a bath. I needed to remove any polishing oils off of the paint surface.

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I brought it back in and dryed it completely, using my CG Jetspeed blower and a WW MF towel. I moved on to apply FlyBy30 in a crosshatch pattern.

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Flyby30 requires an IR curing or heating the of the glass to 80 degrees. I use a heater and aluminum foil to trap the heat and accelerate the coating.

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So after five minutes of cure time of FlyBy30, I was ready to do a IPA wipe down and then apply 22PLE to all the paint and even the clear bra.

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The piano finish on the interior got a hand polish and was also coated with 22PLE.

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Please excuse the blurry after picture, but you can see the correction I got.

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I moved on to polishing the metal areas, including the exhaust tips and strut tower bar. They were then coated with 22ple metal and wheel coating.

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The wheels were also removed and the barrels, faces, and calipers were coated with the metal and wheel coating. One of the wheels had a scuff on it, so the owner supplied an extra wheel to have coated before the tire gets transferred.

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All of the plastic and trim also receive 22ple trim restore.

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By now I am sure you are bored with my long winded style :) SO, on to the glory shots.

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As always, thanks for looking. Greg Gellas :)