Step by step
First the vehicle is washed so loose grit is gone before anything else touches the paint. Wheels are cleaned on their own. Then decontamination: iron removers where fallout is present, and clay or a clay alternative so the surface is smooth instead of gritty. If you still feel bumps with a clean hand in a bag, the paint is not ready. Next is the correction decision. A test spot shows how much polish the clear will tolerate and how much improvement you should expect. Some vehicles get a light polish. Some need more. Some panels are left alone because the clear is thin or the repaint is risky. We do not hide that conversation inside the install.
Panel wipe-down comes after polishing so oils are gone. Then the coating is applied to the agreed surfaces, leveled, and left to set without dust storms and fingerprints. Cure time is respected. You get wash instructions before you leave, because a coating that is washed with a dirty mitt in week one is already behind.
- Wash and separate wheel cleaning
- Chemical and mechanical decontamination
- Test spot and agreed correction level
- Panel prep, then coating application
- Cure guidance and a maintenance plan
What we need from you
An accurate description of the vehicle, a preferred date, and the 20% non-refundable deposit once the quote is accepted. Remove valuables. If you want glass or wheels coated, say so before the day of — adding scope that morning changes the clock. All coating work is at 11692 Bricken Circle. Drivers from Live Oak, Universal City, Converse, Windcrest, and Schertz bring the vehicle to the studio.
Southern Auto Detailers is San Antonio based at 11692 Bricken Circle, San Antonio, TX 78233. Owner Robert Romero Jr., an Alamo Heights graduate and IDA-certified detailer works by appointment, Tuesday through Sunday from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and is closed Monday. Call (210) 201-4847 or email contact@southernautodetailers.com. A 20% non-refundable deposit — 20% of the quoted total — is required to secure the booking slot. The remaining balance is due when the work is finished. Ten percent of every sale goes to Junior Achievement of South Texas.
What the day feels like
Plan on the vehicle being unavailable for the window we book. Correction plus coating is not a lunch-hour errand. You will get a realistic range when we quote, and the deposit holds that range on the calendar. If you arrive with a vehicle that is full of tools, trash, and a trunk that has not been opened since last summer, the interior of that story is not part of a coating process unless we added an interior to the quote. You should be able to see the test spot before we commit the whole vehicle. That is the moment to agree, not after every panel is cut. If you want less correction and you accept the swirls that remain, we coat to that standard and we write it down in the conversation so nobody is guessing later.
Aftercare is part of the process, not a pamphlet you can ignore. The first washes matter. So does not using a drive-through brush “just once.” A coating can survive a lot. It cannot survive being treated like it made the paint disposable. We would rather you know that on day one. If you want the cost logic beside the steps, read ceramic coating cost. Decontamination is decontamination before coating. Aftercare is how to wash a coated car. The service page is ceramic coating in San Antonio.