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SHINING star Gurcharn Sahota is operating Britain's most expensive car wash — charging up to £7,200 for luxury motors. His clients include rock stars, actors and Premiership footballers with their Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches.
Gurcharn, 30, has also cleaned the world's most expensive car — the McLaren F1 GTR worth up to £3million.
Polishing
He spends up to 250 HOURS on each vehicle, using an array of 100 cleaning fluids and a special wax costing £8,200 a tub. His premier wash includes polishing and buffing every inch of the car inside and out FIVE times. That is followed by a scan by a computerised microscope — normally used by forensic scientists — which examines the bodywork for the tiniest scratch invisible to the naked eye. Gurcharn — who drives a clapped-out VW Golf himself — started his business five years ago by washing his neighbours' cars with a bucket and a sponge. He then begged a local Aston Martin dealer to let him clean a DB9 for free and when he liked the result he passed on Gurcharn's details to clients and began using him on a regular basis.
Spot check ... powerful 'light gun' shows up marks, it contains a Formula 1-style pit for scrubbing the underneath of cars and the floor and walls have been lined with specialist tiles imported from Italy which help reflect flecks of dirt on the cars.
Gurcharn said: "When I was younger I washed neighbours' cars and my dad's car whenever I could. "They never paid me, I loved it so much I did it for free. "Things have built up from there and now I'm cleaning some of the fastest, most powerful sports cars in the world. "People come to me and they want the best treatment going for their car. "If you've got a £500,000 car then a few grand for cleaning is worth it. "Sometimes I'll work through the night to get a car looking absolutely pristine. "They're world class motors that deserve a world class wash." Gurcharn begins every clean the same way — washing the car with a lambs wool mitten and soapy water. He added: "I treat every car like an individual project, I want them to leave my workshop looking better than they have ever done. "I have my processes which I go through and I am meticulous about each one. "If you're paying £150,000 for a car then you're going to want it to be perfect. "The first time I cleaned a Ferrari Enzo it took a week and when I tried to sleep all I could see was Ferrari red. "The car has to be free from all contaminants like dust and dirt before you start otherwise it's going to get scratched. "I just want perfection. Finishing is the best part because you know what it was like when you started. That gives me great satisfaction." After the cleaning by hand meticulous Gurcharn uses a £5,000 computerised microscope to examine the car for blotches and scratches.
A buffer is linked to a highly sensitive paint gauge which scans the car to prevent patching on the body work. Finally, he uses a specialist clay which he rubs over the body work to remove any imperfections. Gurcharn's business has now grown and he has even opened up a second workshop in Worcester. He said: "The McLaren F1 GTR is without doubt my favourite car. It is so exclusive you hardly see any of them on the roads. "They are a very attractive car and every inch of them is perfect - they are a work of art." Gurcharn protects his clients identities but one of his customers is celeb lawyer Nick Freeman, dubbed Mr Loophole, who regularly sends his Aston Martin DBS Volante to him for a clean.
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