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Paul the Detailer strikes again - this time on a Bugatti Veyron
Remember that killer video of Top Gear's James May running the Bugatti Veyron up to its top speed? So amazing because it was so drama free. Well, that car has seen more than one of those passes in its life as a demonstrator vehicle. It has managed to rack up quite a few miles, about 30,000 in fact. And although the car gets the occasional wash to keep it as photogenic as ever, repeated blug splatters at 253 mph take a toll on a car's finish. And so it was sent over to master detailer, Paul Dalton, of Miracle Detail. Paul has worked his magic on everything from a Vauxhall Astra VXR, to a Lamborghini Murcielago, to a Maserati MC12. Now he can add Bugatti Veyron to that list.
As detailed (hee hee) on VXRonline, the process is amazingly laborious and makes the 5-digit price tag a little more understandable. Especially when they talk about that $12,000-a-tub carnuba wax he uses. Starting with the citrus degreasing and working through the heated spray-down, shampooing, claying, and then the paint defect work, the process is fully documented and it's pretty fascinating to see the car go from pretty good looking to jaw-droppingly reflective and positively glowing. Click through the read link to see the whole process from start to sparkling finish.
[Source: VXRonline via GM Inside News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
polar 5:29PM (4/10/2007)
10 minutes a later... a bird crapped on it.
True Story!
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mcheddadi 5:31PM (4/10/2007)
this is madness!
No..THIS IS VEYRON!!!
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tpp 5:36PM (4/10/2007)
Oh no! You slasdotted VXRonline :(
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Denigod 6:05PM (4/10/2007)
At top speed, how long would it take to travel the 30,000miles it has put on the clock? and how much gas would it consume at the 2.3miles per gallon they quote in the story?
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Denigod 6:11PM (4/10/2007)
Apparently just under 5 days and 13,043 gallons (at $3.30/gal, that is just over $43k at the pump). Damn . . . then again, I guess that is a drop in the bucket for these guys.
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glitched 6:11PM (4/10/2007)
if i remember correctly, at top speed it runs through a full tank of gas in a matter of minutes...
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the vette makes them wet 6:25PM (4/10/2007)
the wax is $7000 USD in america for a tub. with unlimited refills. its on zymol's website.
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Johnny 6:28PM (4/10/2007)
Yeah, 11 minutes to a tank of gas at top speed, and 15 minutes until the tires are done. I'm happy it'll run out of gas before the tires go on it.
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Shaun Oriold 7:04PM (4/10/2007)
When I saw the title on my RSS feeder, I quickly read it as Paul the derailer strikes again. OY Vey!
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Paul 7:29PM (4/10/2007)
How about a link to that Zymol site, cause I didn't see anything there like it. I truly find it hard to beleive a tub of wax can cost that much.
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reddsharkk 8:08PM (4/10/2007)
here you go http://216.244.99.230/item.asp?PID=55
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Drew 8:53PM (4/10/2007)
This is the car that also did the Italy to London race on Top Gear (twice, since they drove it there again for filming reasons!) so thats a fair share of the miles there.
I think Car and Driver also tested at Ehra Lessein (the track that May drove it at) and I'm pretty sure that car was the blue and black one as well.
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AntBee 10:38PM (4/10/2007)
WOW! I would have died being able to work on a car like that. I wonder how long it took to do all of the work.
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Ben 10:55PM (4/10/2007)
I *was* going to take my car in to the car wash this week. Think I'll be washing it myself now. Won't be masking off the Honda logo with tape though. :-)
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Nick 3:59AM (4/11/2007)
The wax is refilled for life, so while it's expensive it's not insanely so for a professional auto detailer. If this guy said he spent $7000 a year in wax alone, you wouldn't be terribly shocked, and really $7000 for the rest of your life isn't the worst deal in the world, especially if that wax gives you bragging rights over the competition. The lifetime deal is pretty sweet, you get to say you used the best wax in the world for no additional cost per car. After a while it becomes the cheapest wax in the world as well.
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mr.ed 9:14AM (4/11/2007)
Zymol isn't as good as Black Magic liquid, available at Walmart under $6, or Advance Auto stores this month as a twofer for about $6.30. Read your Consumer Reports.
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Joeyjojoe 11:11AM (4/11/2007)
You're confusing Zymol Blue, which you can find in Walmart, with Zymol Royale Glaze, which you've probably never seen in your life. Even though I question the claim of being "the best wax in the world", it's definitely better than anything you'd find at Walmart.
Unless you were joking ... it's hard to interpret your tone.
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Jason 11:47AM (4/11/2007)
That was a great article. It's always nice to see professionals at the top of their field go to work. My only regret about this car is that I doubt I will ever be fortunate enough to see one in person.
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neal 11:55AM (4/11/2007)
I've bought and used Zymol Royale, it works fairly well if done right, but I've used better that was a tad cheaper.
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Scott 12:32PM (4/11/2007)
"Read your Consumer Reports"
Because we all know that whatever CR says is God's Truth!
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