When Life Dents Your Car Or Truck…Strike Back!

It’s going to happen someday. Your car or truck is going to get a nasty, ugly dent or ding like this one. Doors and fenders are all prime targets for parking lot damage. What you do when this happens could save you a pocket full of money.IMG_1048

Concours Auto Salon’s paintless dent repair service saved this truck fender. A body shop would have sanded, added body fillers and the entire fender would need to have new paint applied. A body shop would have charged $500 to $700 dollars or more to repair this damage. It would be out of service for 3 days or more and the possibility that the paint may not match exactly is there.

Paintless Dent Repair Is A Smart Repair

Smart Repair can’t be defined in one sentence. It could be that a person chose the best type of repair for their situation, the best repair for their pocketbook or did extensive research to find the right shop for their dent repair. We feel that a smart repair is the least invasive, saves time and saves money.

Saving This Fender With Paintless Dent Repair

IMG_1051The front fender on this Toyota Tundra was hit by a shopping cart. The damage was deep, the edge was bent and the body was pushed in. Most would take it straight to a body shop. However, this owner has used our services before on the same truck. He knew what our Vale certified paintless dent repair tech was capable of and came straight to us. The repair time was long (about 4 hours) but the savings were huge. The repair cost less than a body shop and was completed in hours not days. The factory finish remained intact.

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Optimum Gloss-Coat Is A Big Hit

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During the last two months we’ve been offering the New Optimum Gloss-Coat paint coating process. We can report that everyone loves it.

Gloss -Coat is similar to the Opti-Coat Pro we already offer. Yet it doesn’t have the 5 year warranty that the Opti-Coat Pro has. The durability is only good for up to two years. Gloss coat is slick to the touch, hydrophobic and can be applied on top of Opti-Coat Pro. Adding Opti-Coat Pro makes your cars paint look even glossier and feels super soft.

The Gloss-Coat application process is the same as Opti-Coat Pro. We start by thoroughly washing the vehicle. Then we decontaminate the paint using Optimum FereX and detailers clay. This ensures that the paint is contaminate free. We then dry the surface with compressed air. Primer polish (Optimum Prime) is then used to gently polish the paint. This brings out thew shine and readys the paint for the Gloss-Coat. Gloss-Coat is then applied one panel at a time until the vehicle is done.

Gloss-Coat is Optimum Polymer Technologies answer to all the copy cat paint coating that have popped up the past few years. Most offer no warranty and some offer only 2 years vs the 5 year Opti-Coat Pro comes with. Most of these new coatings cost double or triple the price and are imported from a foreign country. Opt-Coat Pro and Gloss-Coat are made here in America.

If having a car that stays cleaner longer, keeps it shine longer, is easier to clean and overall just looks better. Consider having us professionally apply one of Optimum Polymer Technologies premium paint coatings. It’s the #1 paint coating in America and the only one will offer you at Concours Auto Salon.

gloss-coat at concours auto salon san antonio

Gloss-Coat paint coating protecting this Porsche

 

 

 

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NEW Hydrographic (Water Transfer Imaging) At Concours Auto Salon

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Concours Auto Salon is now offering Hydrographics to it’s list of services.

 

What Is Hydrographics

Hydrographics or HydroGraphics, also known as immersion printing, water transfer printing, water transfer imagingcubic or hydro dipping, is a method of applying printed designs to three-dimensional objects. The hydrographic process can be used on metal, plastic, glass, hard woods, and various other materials. In the process, the substrate piece to be printed is pre-treated and a base coat material is applied. A Polyvinyl film is then floated on the surface of a vat of heated and filtered water.  An activator chemical is sprayed on the film to dissolve it into a liquid and activate a bonding agent. The piece that will have the transfer applied to it is then lowered into the vat, through the floating ink layer, which wraps around and adheres to it. After removing the piece from the water, a clear coat is applied to protect the design. With multiple dippings, hydrographics printing can achieve full 360° coverage of the part surface, including small crevices.

There are many many design films offered and with the ability to change the base color of the part to be dipped the options are almost limitless. Form woodgrain, brushed metal, floral patterns, camouflage and carbon fiber we can totally change the look of the parts and pieces to be dipped.

Is it Durable ?

The parts and pieces we dip are just as durable as your automotive paint finish. We use a top grade automotive clear coat over the dipped part. We offer the finish in high gloss and matt finish.

Time And Cost

Small single parts can be dipped and finished in as little as 2 days. Large complex or multiple parts can take up to 5 working days.

The cost can vary depending on the size, complexity and if we will be responsible for removal and installation or disassembly.

Examples Of Our Work

Recently we applied carbon fiber film to several interior and exterior pieces of vehicles. From mirror covers, rear wings to interior trim pieces. Below are a few photo examples of those pieces.

 

 

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Paint Protection Film (PPF) Gaining In Popularity

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Not so long ago people looked at paint protection film as a trend. Like a fashion trend for the wealthy. You would se it on Porsches, Ferraris and other exotic vehicles. The average consumer thought it was over priced kitchen wrap. Trends tend to fade away right? Not paint protection film or (PPF/ Clear Bra) as others may know it by. The only thing that is fading away is the visibility of the film.

Quality Of The Newer Films

Older generations of clear bra films would tend to loose it gloss, become yellow and even start to develop cracks. The current generation of film has a self healing coating applied to in. This coating will heal and make light scratched disappear. Another benefit is it  sheds environmental contaminates that cause the film to turn yellow. The new film are much smoother, have more gloss and are much more flexible making installs much more invisible. Xple technologies, film that we install here at concours auto salon  has led the way in this

Paint Protection Being Applied To The Entire Hood Of A Lexus

latest trend.

Popularity

In the past 5 years retailers and manufactures of paint protection film have see a 20% growth in sales. This is due to added customer awareness through marketing and the expansion into the OEM market. Auto manufactures have see the benefit of the product and started to add these films to their production lines. Today you can walk on any high volume Toyota dealers new car lot and find the film on Camry’s. Something you wouldn’t see 5 years ago.

Consumer Confidence

During the recent economic down turn new car sales were down but with the recent up swing more new vehicles are being sold. Trends show that people are planing on keeping their new cars for a longer period of time. Naturaly they would want to keep them looking new for as long as possible. Concours Auto Salon is seeing more middle of the road vehicles like Altima’s, Camry’s and Accord’s come in for clear bra protection. It’s not just a product reserved for the exotic car market any more.

The Smart Consumer

In past years we would introduce clear bra’s to customers in our shop and we would here comments like “well if it cost that much I might as well have the front bumper painted” or “I don’t like the line across the hood” or ”  can live with a few rock chips”. The smart consumer understands that it cost over 500.00 to have a quality refinish completed to the bumper of their car and there’s a good chance that the color wont match. Another trend at our shop has been for customers to completely wrap the front of their hood and fenders when they have a bumper kit installed so there in no visible line. This gives them 100% front protection from rock chips.

If you have ever considered paint protection film and are in the market for a new car or are considering having the front of your car refinished we urge you to com by our shop Concours Auto Salon and see what we have to offer. We always have at least on vehicle with protection to show you.

A 2008 Porsche with over 50,000 miles. It’s had Paint Protection Film protecting it since it was new. Installed by Concours Auto Salon. Not one rock chip is visible

 

 

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Paint Correction For A Black 2010 Z71 Chevrolet

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Recently a new customer hired Concours Auto Salon to polish the exterior of their 2010 Chevrolet Z71. This article will highlight the key process used to achieve a nearly flawless finish. To truly correct a paint finish (remove swirls and scratches) you have to level the paint. This means that your compounding and polishing the paint to a point that it’s level with the bottom of the scratches. The first steps we take after the hand wash and decontamination process is to inspect the paint. We use high intensity LED lights to do this. LED’s show so much more then a regular fluorescent or incandescent bulb can. This fender pictured shows the scratches and swirling in the paint. Some areas have more damage and some less. The top panels like hoods, roofs and trunks show and have the most damage.

Paint polishing san antonio

Led Light Highlighting The Scratches

After the evaluation we will do test spots with different polishing/compounding pads and different liquid and cream polishes and compounds. This picture represents the products, pads and machines used for the Chevrolet.

Optimum paint polishing san antonio

Optimum compound, Menzerna polish, Menzerna finishing polish, Lakecountry wool and foam pads, Makita rotary polisher and Flex dual action orbital polisher.

We started by using the Optimum compound and a wool pad to level the paint. This process will remove the heavy scratches in the paint from abrasions and improper washing. This process will also leave swirls behind. To remove the swirls we use Optimum compound and a blue foam pad this process eliminates the heavy swirls but leaves behind light fine swirls.

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Compounding with the wool pad and optimum compound

Our third step we used the Makita rotary with the Menzerna Power Finish with a white lakecountry polishing pad. With this step you can really start to see the shine come out in the paint. This step removes all of the light swirls left behind by the compounding. The last and final step in our paint correction process is the final polish. This is done with the Flex polisher. This polisher had a random orbit and when used properly will not induce swirling. Out of the 4 steps this takes the longest. We take our time moving the buffer at a slower rate. This gives the black paint that deep deep gloss that people love to look at. We used the white Lakecountry polishing pad and Menzerna Finishing polish.

swirl and scratch removal san antonio

The final step in the polishing process. The flex with a white polishing pad and Menzerna Finishing Polish

We finish by removing all tape and residue from the exterior of the vehicle. We then wash the exterior one more time removing all of the compound and polishing dust and oils from the truck. A long lasting paint sealant was then applied to help lock in the shine.

The End Result is an extremely shiny finish with lots of depth and gloss.

Using the LED light to show the correction. No more scratches and swirls

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This is the reflection from the tailgate of the chevy truck! Amazing.

chevrolet truck detailing san antonio

Inside the Shop. The paint correction is done and waiting for the customer to pick up.

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Two days were spent correcting this trucks finish and it really shows.

 

 

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The Body Shop vs The Paintless Dent Repair Shop

There are two types of cars on the road today.  Ones with door dings and ones that will get a door ding. This may seam like a funny quote however if you think about it couldn’t be truer.  Unless you keep your car in a padded garage that has no tools and the kids have no access to it it’s going to get dinged one day.  So many people here in San Antonio tell me that they really try and avoid getting door dings by parking at the far end of the parking lot only to come out of the store to find some big hunk of ancient steel that looks like it was just shipped in from a war zone parked next to them.  Or they find a shopping cart resting on the door or fender of their vehicle after spending a small fortune buying the weeks groceries.

Some people can live with one or two door dings but for the one who cant there are two options.  First is to take your car to a body shop and have them grind, sand, bondo and paint over the damage.  Or you can find a local reputable shop like concours auto salon to use the paintless dent repair process and have them repair that ding or small dent in as little as 30 minutes.

The Body Shop.

This is how the body shop process works.  You schedule an appointment to leave your car.  The body man will then start by sanding or grind all the paint away in the damaged area. Bondo is mixed to fill the dented area and then spread over it like cake batter.  After it’s had a chance to harden the sanding process starts again. Bondo dust is flying

Dent in the fender of a VW Jetta

every where (you better hope they didnt leave your windows open).  This process can be done a few more time depending on where the damage is and the experience of the body man.  Then your car will sit the rest of the day with no other work to be done.  The next day your car will be preped for painting.  The damage area will get primered and painted.  After this it will sit untill the next day.  Ok it’s now day three and if every thing has gone as planed you will be able to pickup your car today but not until a couple of things are done.  The freshly painted panel or panel’s if they had to blend will be sanded in an attempt to flatten the paint out and to remove any dirt particals that may have gotten into the paint.  Then this will be polished to a high gloss.  In most cases the body shop will leave swirl markes as an add bonus just so every ones knows you has some repairs done.  This process can cost as little as $300.00

The Paintless Dent Repair Process

The same Jetta Fender after the paintless dent repair process

The paintless dent repair process works like this.  You make an appointment with a reputable company that offers paintless dent repairs (PDR) like Concours Auto Salon.  When you show up to have the repairs done you have a seat in the waiting room while the Vale Certified PDR technician pulls your car into the shop.  He uses special tools to gently message the damaged area back to it’s original shape or position.  This process takes as little as 30 minutes.  The final step is to polish the area removing and signs of impact from the paint that might of happened when it was dented.  This entire process can cost as little as $80.00 Witch process would you chose?

Now it’s obvious that if your car receives a significant impact or is in a major collision your going to need a body shop to repair the damage.  However for those smaller dents that haven’t damaged the paint why not look into paintless dent repair and see if it can be fixed.

 

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Washing Cars During Water Restrictions

If your the type of person who enjoys washing your own vehicle you might find it hard to do so with the current water restriction in affect here in San Antonio. Combine this with the heat and the hard water problems we have and you may just want to give up  cleaning your car your self.

Don’t throw the in towel because we just received a new shipment of Optimum No Rinse wash and shine direct from Optimum Polymer Technology. Several cases to say the san antonio eco car washleast. Regular customers of Concours Auto Salon know what this product is and buy it on a regular basis. So much so that it’s hard to keep in stock.

What is Optimum No Rinse?

No Rinse ™ Wash & Shine is the most technologically advanced car wash system that only requires 1-2 gallons of water to wash the entire car. No Rinse ™ Wash & Shine does not require rinsing since there are no soapy surfactants to wash off into the storm drains.

This unique product contains substantive polymers which bond to the paint and protect it during the wash. Therefore, No Rinse ™ Wash & Shine offers greater protection and lubricity than conventional car washes leaving a sleek & glossy finish behind afterwards. The waste water in the bucket can be used to water the lawn or disposed of into a sink, where it will be treated!

Additional benefits are faster washes, ability to wash anywhere at anytime including washing inside the garage during the cold or hot months, no messy water runoffs, and greater looking car finishes. These are some of the reasons No Rinse ™ Wash & Shine is being used by consumers and professionals all over the world.san antonio #1 detailer

Does Concours Auto Salon use No Rinse wash and shine?

You bet we do. In fact 80% of the vehicles we clean and detail here in San Antonio are washed with optimum No Rinse. It only takes a good quality wash mitt, high quality microfiber towels two ounces of No Rinse and a couple of gallons of water to wash a moderately dirty vehicle. When were are done the waste water is deposited in the sink instead of the street helping to preserve Texas streams and rivers.

Cone on by the shop for your free demo of this eco friendly product and pick up a bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

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Coffee And Rides

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Concours Auto Salon is now a proud sponsor of the monthly gathering called Coffee and Rides.

Coffee And Rides has been taking place since 2009 and is a once a month event taking place on the last Saturday of every month . It takes place from 8:30 am till 11:00 am. It has gone from a small group of people and theirSan antonio Coffee and Rides cars to an event that has at times had over 200 cars in attendance. If you want to see Ferraris, Lambos and Porsches they will be there. You will also find many of the San Antonio car clubs there as well. Clubs like the Z Club, The Mustang Club, The Ferrari Club, The Porsche Club Longhorn Region and many more. Old cars, new cars, odd and rare you can just about find it all in a very relaxed atmosphere.

We welcome all drivers to gather in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy the meet, drink some coffee, kick the tires and just relax.  There are always all kinds of cars for everyone to enjoy.  So bring the family,  a friend or come out on your own and meet some fellow car folks.

Concours Auto Salon will be in attendance to show case customers cars, make new friends and share our knowledge with any one who is in interested in listening and learning. See you there!

Panera Bread
1203 N Loop 1604 W. Suite 121
San Antonio, TX? 78258
(210) 479-1717?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spring Time Car Clean Up

Ah, spring: It means birds chirping, flowers blooming, people walking the streets humming, caught in a state of sunshine-induced bliss. Unfortunately, it also means allergy flare-ups, tax season, and that woeful chore — spring cleaning. We can’t help with your W-2, or that runny nose, but we can make sure your car is looks smells and feels like new.

Concours Auto Salon is now offering a “New Customer” package. So if you never experienced a Concours Clean Car now  is your chance to do so at a reduced cost. This is a small list of the thing included in this package.

Now $350.00 regularly $450.00 Valuesan antonio porsche detailing

  • Hand Wash
  • Motor compartment cleaned
  • Clay Bar decontaminate treatment
  • Our award winning 3 step paint correction
  • Opti-Coat 3 year paint sealant
  • Vapor Steam Clean interior from the headliner to the carpets
  • all carpets steam cleaned and extracted
  • Leather, Vinyl and plastic conditioned with UV protection
  • Chrome wheels and exhaust tips polished
  • doorjambs cleaned
  • Glass cleaned

It’s important to clean correct and protect you car for the up coming rain and blistering summer.

If you need any paintless dent repair done at the time of your service we will gladly do this for you at a reduced rate when we detail your vehicle.

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January Car Of The Month Ferrari 599 GTB

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Front-engine, grand-touring machines have a fairly specific pecking order, and the 599 is already on top, trumping most of its competitors in power, handling and looks.  This 2010 Ferrari painted Nero Black with black leather interior, highlighted with red stitching and carbon fiber accents was recently at Concours Auto Salon.  Standard features for this 599 are a 4 Cam 12 cylinder power plant producing  611 hp!  Transmission is the F1 super fast sequential 6 speed. Carbon ceramic brakes are used to slow this Prancing stallion.  Additional upgrades provided by the factory are red calipers polished challenge rims and a Bose HiFi sound system.

To see touch and feel this beautiful Ferrari in person is a treat to say the least.  The owner brought us the 599 looking to have it protected with Paint Protection Film (clear bra) window film and give the paint a top notch polish.

Services Done

Xpel Premium Paint protection Film was applied to the entire front bumper with an Xpel’s bikini kit  applied to the fenders and hood.  We also applied Paint Protection Film to the lower rockers, wheel openings and door edges.  We installed  Johnson window tint to the side glass as well as a one piece installation to the back window. The final step for the Ferrari was to have the paint polished. We preformed a three step process to remove scratches and residual sanding marks left behind by the Ferrari Factory.

Concours Auto Salon San Antonio truly appreciates the opportunity to provide our services to the owner of this fine vehicle.

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