What do you buy when you want a luxury vehicle but don’t go the standard route of Bentley or Rolls Royce? This BMW Alpina XB7 is the obvious choice. With a redesigned interior and hand-stitched steering wheel, bi-turbo V8 power plant, and aerodynamically efficient exterior, what more could you ask for in a luxury SUV?
This example, finished in Marina Bay Blue Metallic, rolled in for the Denver Auto Shield works. This includes Full-Body Paint Protection Film, our Level 2 Ceramic Coating System, and our Sides and Rear Ceramic Window Tint Package.
Step 1: Decontamination Wash
This Alpina will start off in the hands of our professional detailers where it will receive a 2-hour decontamination wash. We’ll spray the whole car with Gyeon Q2M Iron and Q2M Foam. We’ll also thoroughly wash the wheels while the foam rests on the vehicle.
Using Gyeon Q2M Bathe, we’ll give the car a gentle contact wash and clay bar with Gyeon Q2M Clay Lube. Once we dry the vehicle with a BLO Car Dryer, the decon wash is complete.
Step 2: Ceramic Window Tint
Now that the car is clean and decontaminated our window tinter will take over to install our Sides and Rear Ceramic Tint Package. This is our most complete tint package, providing the highest level of heat rejection and UV ray/infrared rejection. Ceramic tint is superior to standard tint because of its IR-blocking capabilities, meaning that fewer infrared rays make it through the tint and onto your skin. A few additional benefits include improved looks and reduced visible light within the cabin of the vehicle.
After we use a specialized computer program to print the tint pattern for each window, it will be laid on the outside of the window and shrunk to the size of the window using a heat gun. Next, a slip solution is sprayed onto the window and the tint is placed onto the window. Using a squeegee, the slip solution is pushed out from underneath the tint and adhered to the window.
Step 3: Paint Protection Film (PPF)
This XB7 will now move over to the PPF area of our shop. It’s receiving our Full-Body Clear Bra Package. This package offers the highest level of protection from harmful elements such as road debris, rock chips, and bird droppings. If you’re looking to completely protect your car, this is definitely the package for you.
We’ll again use a specialized computer program to print out custom film patterns for each panel. This ensures that you’re receiving a professional-grade install every time. Once we get all the film printed, we’ll follow a similar process to tinting to install the PPF.
Our installers will spray slip solution onto the paint and lay a piece of clear bra over top of that. Once again, they’ll use a squeegee to push the solution out from under the paint protection film, allowing it to stick to the paint.
Once we have wrapped the entire car in PPF, we will let it rest for 12-24 hours before coming back to it and spending several hours looking for any unwrapped edges, moisture/air pockets, or other general touch-ups until we are completely happy with the installation.
Step 4: Ceramic Coating
At this point, the Alpina XB7 will land under our light booth for its final service: ceramic coating. This luxury SUV is receiving our Level 2 Ceramic Coating Package which is our highest-end coating system. It includes 2 layers of coating on all painted surfaces as well as a glass coating for the windshield and a wheel-specific ceramic coating. These will all be silicon dioxide based coatings, which is generally the industry standard.
This package provides exceptional UV protection as well as protection from chemical damage. Ceramic coatings for cars are one of the best ways to protect your vehicle from these types of damage as well as providing extremely high gloss.
Before we apply the coating, we will use Gyeon Q2M WaterSpot on the entire car to remove any water spots remaining from the clear bra installation. We’ll follow that with Q2M Prep to remove any remaining lubricants or contaminants. Since this vehicle has full-body PPF, there is no need to perform a paint correction.
To start applying the ceramic coating, we’ll pour it onto a specialized applicator and apply it to the car in linear motions one panel at a time. It will rest on the paint for 15-30 seconds and then we remove the excess in a two-step process. First, we use a short-fiber microfiber towel to remove the majority, then follow that with a long-fiber towel which is able to get deeper into the film to remove the rest of the excess coating.
Now that we’re all finished with every service this client wanted, this Alpina XB7 is ready for delivery. We couldn’t be happier with how this beautiful SUV turned out.
If you’re interested in protecting your automotive investment or just want to chat about protecting your vehicle, please feel free to give us a call at 720-662-8520 or an email at info@denverautoshield.com.
