Beauty is skin deep in a car

GLOSS IT UP!

When a car goes through the grind, each day on and off the road, it pains the owner of the auto to find those many dark spots and blemishes that show up on its smooth metallic body. Not long ago, cars were left to their fate whenever they became ‘victims’ of the vagaries of nature such as dust, rain, or bird droppings, and all that owners could do was to blame fate and rue about it until the car aged enough to be ‘vandalised’. This trend continued until the 1970s, when a new idea was discovered which enabled old cars to be cosmetically refurbished, making them look and feel as good as new.

The concept ‘auto or car detailing’ refers to the thorough cleaning, restoration, and finishing of an automobile, both inside and out, to produce a show-quality level of detail. Among several automotive firms that may have placed their baby steps, 3M is certainly the one that introduced the world to a new definition and understanding of car upkeep. The Minnesota, US-based $31.82-billion 3M is probably the world’s most diversified company, bringing out an astonishing 60,000-plus products. Many of these cater to the automobile space, and the company has enduring ties with the car industry.
“Car detailing is an old art form, which began in a big way in the US by 3M in the 1970s. It involves the restoration of interiors and exteriors of a car to a condition that is as good as new,” 3M India General Manager (Car Care Automotive Aftermarket Division) Vishesh Nigam tells Deccan Herald.

When we visit the 3M Car Care store at UB City, Bengaluru, it is reminiscent of an aircraft hangar (only this time with cars). Cars are parked, waiting to be pampered with the best makeup and face jobs, before changing their avatars.

We see a black Maruti Suzuki Swift going through what is called a paint sealant advance treatment. Nigam explains that the company has introduced various kinds of car detailing treatments over the years, and the centre receives all makes of cars (from a Nano to a Bentley), which undergo different jobs to get that new look.

Getting the 3M makeup on
The exterior of a car is one of its most vulnerable sections, which takes a hit in rain and shine, night and day. Hence, it is the car’s exterior that calls for utmost care when being cleaned, wiped, or dusted.

“People tend to use anything handy such as an old rag, or torn shirt, as a makeshift wiping cloth on the car’s body. The irregular threads on that cloth grates against minute sharp dust particles and cause swirls and scratches which remain on the body,” Nigam says.

Nigam first introduces us to a simple innovation. A micro-fibre towel, wherein each fibre is cut into 100 pieces that scoops out and traps dust particles, without any visible swirl marks on the car’s body. Accordingly, 3M Car Care claims to possess the right antidote to fix most exterior blemishes. “The treatment of the exterior primarily begins with washing, claying, and a bit of sanding of those areas that have scratches on them. We also use a rubbing compound which removes scratches, and the mild swirl marks that remain can be polished away, following which the car surface is restored,” he adds.

3M’s Paint Protection protects the car’s body against UV radiation (by applying 3M Paste Wax), discolouration, oxidation and pollution, besides maintaining the paint’s gloss. “When the vehicle is new, we put on a ‘sacrificing’ wax coating on the body, which rips off micron layer after micron layer, retaining the car body’s inner appeal,” he says. The company uses what is called a performance finish synthetic wax, which binds with the surface chemically, and the longevity goes up.

3M also boasts of a treatment called Surface Refinement that offers a ‘showroom new look’, with its superior 2000 and 3000 Trizact technology, which assures an owner of getting rid of dirt and other ugly marks from his/her car’s exterior. “The Trizact treatment (mostly for high-end cars since they have a ceramic exterior coat) takes around four hours to complete. The abrasive disc (used for rubbing the wax) in this case has more geometric grids on it, and can do a more thorough job,” Nigam says.

Other exterior protection solutions from 3M include what Nigam calls, ‘laminating the car’. Polyurethane is a strongly-bound polymer, which is available in the form of a thin film. The company first produced this product over 30 years ago for the US forces to protect the blades of their helicopters. “It was later improvised for auto applications. We are a master in adhesive technologies, and this film is evidence to that. It can be put on a car’s body paint, and once removed, will not damage the paint job. It can protect the car’s body against the most intense scratches and exposure to road debris (and can last five years),” he claims.   

3M also claims to use several eco-friendly techniques as part of its car care work. “We believe that sooner or later, there may be concerns about water shortage. We want to make the whole exterior process biodegradable, and our dry wash technique uses only half-a-litre of water. Also, many of the solutions we use are made from natural ingredients,” he adds. 

3M has a range of beauty treatments that include aesthetic car wraps — to be put on bonnets, mirrors, and bumpers. Also, there are several solutions for headlight and tail light restoration (protection films in red, transparent and amber), and also windshield and underbody anti-corrosion protection solutions.

The car’s interior provides ample confined privacy while on the drive, and must be kept as neat as at home, and this is exactly 3M’s interior secret!

The company’s car interior solutions include a traditional wet wash (which is fast fading away) — taking 12 hours of work — and a foam wash, much like a dry wash — taking just over an hour.

“We have introduced a concept — Germ Kleen — which is a powerful anti-bacterial formulation, guaranteed to keep a car 99.9 per cent microbe-free, especially the plastics, the upholstery, and roof,” Nigam says.

Also, the shop carries out AC duct cleaning with aerosol. For the car’s inside, 3M has invented ‘Nomad’ car mats, whose effectiveness Nigam demonstrates to us. The little piece of mat that is in front of us is doused in sand. The terra-matting loop system effectively traps dust and dirt, and when the mat is shaken, all the rubbish is thrown out, and the mat remains clean.

An eye for detail
It must be noted that India is the only country where 3M has a B2C Car Care centre concept for customers. For instance, in the US, the company sells its products over the counter, which customers must buy and use by themselves on their cars.

While the US is known for its Do-It-Yourself (DIY) scheme of things, India is familiar with a Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) culture. Hence, it seemed a perfect proposition for India to be the launch pad for 3M Car Care. 

“In 2010, we felt it important to get close to the customer, and a year later, we set up our first shop in India. The company decided to pilot the service delivery model here. Since then, we have 60 Car Care stores across the country, which are expected to reach 100 stores by 2016-end,” Nigam says.

These franchisee-run stores spread over 2,000-4,000 sq feet require an investment of Rs 50 lakh-Rs 80 lakh. Meanwhile, 3M has branched out with new formats such as mobile detailing, and also set up shop at 3-4 petrol pumps in metroes.

In India, the number of car buyers is increasing. We are trying to branch out to as many formats and fronts as possible, reaching out to many customers with car detailing needs. Our branded stores have also been replicated in Turkey, Thailand, and Brazil,” he says, adding that most car OEMs in India have approved of 3M’s solutions, which are found in 1,600 dealerships. There are around 200 distributors for the company in India.

The car detailing industry in India is worth Rs 200 crore–Rs 500 crore, with over 80 per cent of it being largely unorganised (not including the car dealerships). In India, the segment is believed to be growing by 20–30 per cent annually.

Meanwhile, 3M carries out R&D activities at its Bengaluru facility, catering to both car care and collision repair. The company’s two plants at Bengaluru and Pune, respectively, apart from a few contract manufacturers, are involved in the production of chemicals needed for car care.

“We have localised 70–80 per cent of our processes. A lot of our compounds and detailing techniques are indigenised,” Nigam added.

The company imports wraps, films, Scotchgard (a fabric and upholstery protector brand from 3M), paint protection films, and tail light repair films, among others.

Also, the teams that work at a 3M Car Care store go through a rigorous seven-day training workshop, either at Delhi and Bengaluru, which also includes a soft skills session.
“People consider cars as an extension of their personalities. When they come to us, they must get more than what they expect. Yes! Car detailing is rather new to the Indian car buyer, but the country’s demographic mix (60 per cent below 35 years of age) is in favour of such value-added approaches to car upkeep and beautification, and the segment will grow,” Nigam says.

While 3M’s car detailing services are affordable — Rs 950 to Rs 40,000 for exteriors, and Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 for interiors — it has taken decades for the company to come out with a ‘detailed’ image building plan for the perfection of cars.