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

[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.



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



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!











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.







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



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.



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.



I moved on to correct the tail lights.





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!



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



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.



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.



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.



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



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



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.



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.



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





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



























As always, thanks for looking. Greg Gellas