Does he remove all down to the clear plastic, paint white, then black and laser cut the logos?
.. or does he just ‘clean them up’?
Hi guys (Paul rEvolve speaking)
Bebs just for the sake of being totally clear I do a total mixture of techniques to get what I think is the best result for the job at hand.
So sometimes I'll clean down to the white, recoat black and laser cut back to the white (Roland I think always strips right back to clear). Reason for this is the white is usually solid as a rock on some of the bits (most bits in the case of a 4200) so I don't see the point in disturbing it. On some vehicles the white also cleans off or isn't in the best fettle so I'll repaint white and layer with black then cut back with the laser.
In some instances I'll clean the goo off and reseal it with a clear polyurethane coating (an example would be a Ferrari 575 climate unit I've just done that was absolutely perfect underneath and IMHO it was better to reseal than strip off and try to replicate extremely complex designs that an industrial grade laser deck has done previously).
I've had a nice friendly chat with Roland and we definitely have different techniques, different lasers, different products etc. His work looks absolutely fantastic as does the Czech outfit (although I think Roland is less convinced by their product).
All I can say is I try my absolute best and my reputation is quite literally my most prized achievement......I'm in no hurry to tarnish it. If you were to have a problem then I need to know about it rather than you being out there unhappy with my work - no one is ever asked to pay before they see the finished product (unless it's a postal job). The product I use is similar to that used in the leather industry (polyurethane). It's an extremely expensive product and complies with industry rub standard, is flexible and is finished with a satin polyurethane clear sealant.
I'm very comfortable stripping down Maseratis/Ferraris (and any car come to that) having worked on literally hundreds of them over the last decade, so I'm also happy to offer that service.
Quickly......why does this happen. The OEM product is defective. That's ultimately what it comes down to. Heat definitely affects it, solvents affect it, cleaning solutions definitely do not help. But it's in my opinion a combination of factors along with an inherently defective product from the off. Probably some sort of plasticiser in the coating (that's been used by the supplier to Maserati) that's not working as it was intended.
Long and short is you've got options - Roland is fantastic, Czechs seem to make a good living from it so you'd assume they're pretty good and I'd like to think I'm turning out a really good product - but all 3 of us use different techniques and different products and methods. Additionally I am happy to strip the car and store it inside at my unit (in Chester) where it is insured and safe.
Any questions you can just drop me a line 07739755078