Detailing Our Coach

Detailing. It can be a rewarding task. It can also take a lot of time and effort. For a car, never mind a coach.

This was a shot I took of my last BMW just after I had finished a comprehensive detail: clay bar, compound, polish, sealant. I spent three full days working on that BMW.

I owned 5 series BMWs for 12 years. Absolutely loved those cars. And I do miss the BMW pictured above. Yes, jet black is a horrendous colour to maintain. It can show the slightest imperfection and, if you are not careful, swirl marks can be easily introduced into the finish. But there was no way to flat tow that car behind our coach and I was not going to haul it around in a trailer.

Reluctantly, the BMW went to find another owner.

My therapist tells me that I am handling the loss of my BMW poorly and that my only option is to buy another one.

I need a new therapist.

Detailing a coach is a whole different level of work. Last year I spent several weeks detailing the coach painstakingly claying, compounding, polishing and waxing.

My plan was to repeat this process this year. But then a whole slew of other projects hit my plate. I was asked to mix two major projects (audio engineering stuff), redevelop a website, play out with my guitar 20 times or more a month, sideman for a Christmas event back in Canada and, well, you get the idea. I suddenly became less retired and more rehired.

We quickly reached February and I had not even started the detailing work on our coach.

Time to hire some help.

After much searching, as I am decidedly a bit fussy about this kind of thing, I found The Detail Freaks and Andy Cool.

They are definitely not your typical $300 dollar wash and wax service that you often find at RV parks. I have nothing against that type of service. I suspect that many people do not care all that much about the finish on their coaches. They like to get their coaches cleaned periodically and they would never consider a premium detailing service because of the price.

The roof of our coach had experienced some significant degradation and needed a lot of correction. The detailers did a terrific job preparing the surface and applying a thick coat of marine grade topside paint. Should provide up to 10 years of care free maintenance.

I wanted a much stronger coating for rest of the coach as I do not wish to keep waxing it every six months.

Today and tomorrow, the detailers will do a paint correction followed by 2 layers of SPS Graphene coating. Graphene is the latest innovation in the detailing world and it provides a robust protective coating for the coach and enhanced gloss.

I debated this one long and hard as it is obviously a much higher cost for a premium detailing service. The time and effort was not working out for me and, in the end, we made the decision to work with a detailer.

Up to 4 people are working on the coach over three days. Weather conditions are good for the work. Temperatures in the 70s for today and tomorrow under cloudy skies.

It will be good to have this work completed before heading back to Canada.