[kunalsingh]

Location : https://goo.gl/maps/eZ78zkdMUHLMvp2h6

Thought of adding this to the TBhp directory as I noticed there are no reviews for this particular outlet of 3M in Delhi NCR.

3M Car Care - Adhchini (Aurobindo Marg), Delhi

Address : 84, Adhchini , Aurobindo marg, main Mehrauli road, Next to Pashupati Hero, Delhi - 110067

What I like :

1. Open and spacious outlet, with space for 4 cars to be worked on (at a time)
2. Quality equipment (machines and tools were well maintained and in good condition)
3. Knowledgeable and courteous manager with an eye for detail
4. Has the full range of 3M services available along with a bay for under body coating


What I dislike :

1. Though the store manager is really good, same cannot be said about all the workers - they need to be constantly monitored to ensure no corners are cut
2. Some workers are not careful while handling cars - almost had a close call with my driver side door hitting an air-compressor machine while being opened


My Ciaz was completing it's 2nd year anniversary and was starting to show signs of paint dullness (swirls, paw marks, etc.) hence I decided to pamper it with a full exterior detailing session. Called up the 3M Adhchini branch to communicate my requirements and the manager, Mr. Gautam gave me a good deal on their "Pain sealant advance" treatment which I decided to go ahead with.

I took the car and reached the outlet at 3:00pm. Christmas day being a holiday, there were already 3 cars being worked on and I had to wait for about an hour before the work on my started. Some pictures :




Here is a look at the condition of the car. 2 years of running in Delhi weather had resulted in multiple swirl marks and scratches along with the paint turning hazy :





Had a word with Gautam about the Paint sealant advance pack and he explained all the steps that would be followed in the treatment :

1. Pressure & foam exterior wash + degreasing (includes engine cleaning + bag/tar removal)
2. Wet sanding (where required) and full claying of the car
3. Compounding with a cutting agent + buffing machine with microfibre pads (what people also call as rubbing)
4. Polishing (with a finer agent + buffing machine with foam pads)
5. Cleaning post polishing (this also includes interior vacuuming + basic cleaning of door pads, mats, dashboard, glass, etc.)
6. Waxing


The first thing Gautam did was to do a thorough examination of the car exterior along with a note of all the swirls, scratches and paint defects. This was followed by the exterior wash and surface preparation. The wash involved a few rounds pressure + foam along with cleaning and degreasing of the engine bay and bug/tar removal from the car paint :







Next step was to wet sand the panels that had deeper scratches and swirl marks (the hood was especially bad as it had dog paw marks and deep scratches on it) :



The car was then dried up using microfibre towels before with starting the compounding process :



A lot of dust is thrown up during compounding, and Mr. Gautam came by every once in a while to make sure that it is removed using the air compressor (he also had to remind the workers not to ignore this step). I feel like this should not be ignored as this extra dust can end up causing fine scratches even after compounding.


Airing out the compounding dust :




Here is a quick look at the hood panel after compounding. I was relieved to see that the dog paw scratches had been completely removed :




Next was the polishing stage. This involves the use of a different compound (less abrasive than the cutting compound) and slightly different buffing pad (foam vs the microfibre pad used for compounding) :




It took approximately 3 hours to complete the compounding and polishing process, post which the car was prepared for detailing. The interiors were vacuumed and cleaned with compressed air and the mats were washed with a degreasing liquid (mine had some ugly grease stains courtesy of the Nexa service centre mechanics). The car exterior along with the doors and window glass were also cleaned with microfibre towels.




Then came the good old Wax - this was the closing step of the paint treatment. Wax is used as a sealant and protectant for the freshly restored paint. It was applied liberally over the whole car and allowed to rest for a few minutes before being rubbed off by hand.

Wax on :




..and Wax off (had to use the Karate Kid reference ) :




Mr. Gautam then gave the car a complete once-over to see if there were any missed spots. He was not satisfied with the engine bay cleaning and had it redone (I appreciate this kind of attention to detail) :




After this, I was asked to examine the car myself. I went through each panel and was quite satisfied with the result of their work :












Some pictures of the interiors. We usually keep the interiors of our cars very clean (no food or drinks, weekly vacuum, etc.) so there wasn't much to clean but they did a fine job of removing all the grease and boot marks from the floor mats :





Must say that they had done a commendable job at restoring the paint and shine of the car. The swirl marks had disappeared completely and all the deeper scratches had been removed to 95% perfection (expect in the cases where they had cut through the clear-coat). Here are some before and after shots of the hood and trunk (the most worn-out areas) for your reference.


Hood; before :




Hood; after :





Trunk; before :




Trunk; after :




All in all, I was satisfied with the service provided. I also liked Mr. Gautam's approach towards running this centre. He was quite knowledgable and passionate about cars, and had a customer centric attitude and eye for detail. Both my driver and I were offered coffee and tea along with freshly made burgers during our wait. All these things go a long way in ensuring a pleasant experience for the customer.

*Please note that I have no affiliation with the organization/people mentioned in this post and all the thoughts and opinions shared in this post are my own.*


Total damage to the pocket - Rs.5500/- which included taxes (vs the originally quoted cost of Rs.6800/-) which translates to a discount of approximately 20%. I think this is fair for the type and quality of work provided.