Recent content by imported_Totoland Mach

Boy: this was a monster to do! The entire finish was badly swirled and scratched. And, of course, it is Black. Here's what I faced at the start: Soooooooo....it was a double compound. First with wool and 3M Extra Cut, then foam and 3M Perfect-It 3000 compound. Some...

I think that's the name of the color anyway. Pretty good condition and decent miles (41/k), so it was a "quickie" (only 20 hours) for me LOL. Used 3M Perfect-It 3000 with a wool pad for the compound work, followed by 3M Glaze, then Ultrafina SE, and finally, a power wash with a coat of...

This beauty was one of the scratchiest cars I've done! And, the clear coat was hard as heck. Compounding didn't seem to work the scratches out, so I used 3M Trizact 3000 pads on the air orbital. Whoa....I ended up using 4 pads on this car (to the tune of $32 in Trizact pads). Here's a...

Finally finished this project for the dealer! The paint was very thin and single stage, so extra care had to be used. And, I managed to burn through an edge on the lower front fender. We knew the car had been compounded over its' 20 year life and tried to be as careful as possible. For...

This car came from a recommendation by someone on Autopia! Thanks. The owner had a detail company do the car and they told him "there's always going to be swirls"....what an answer. So, I had him bring the car to the house for a 6 hour session. There weren't any deep scratches and I ended...

The dealer had these 3 Bimmers lined up: a very nice 1995 530i Orient Blue. It had light scratches and 13 year old paint, so System One was the choice. After scratch removal, I used 3M Dark Glaze, followed by Ultrafina SE, then a coat of Meguiar's #26. I couldn't get any decent outdoor...

Boy: this car has super soft clear coat! 2004 model with a 'very' swirled finish to say the least! Here's a representative sample...the entire car was like this! So, I tried some test areas of different products and pads to see what was going to work. Even the dealer (who is an...

While this color is not my fav', the car turned out superb for an '01. The dealer sold this car to an individual 4 years ago, so I knew the finish would be pretty good. Plus, it only have 50,000 miles in 7 years. Almost chip free on the front end. Here's a representative of the light...

I decided to try the "new" Menzerna 106FA on this Silver Bimmer 645Ci. First, it was compounded with 3M Perfect-It 3000 and a wool pad. Then a quick power wash and dry to apply the Menzerna 106FA. The biggest difference between the FA and the FF is the increased working time available and...

The dealer got this 06 530Xi and the first thing I noticed while prepping for compounding routine was the wheel faces where scratched. Upon closer inspection the recess' were deeply scratched. I think the previous owner tried to use Scotch-Brite pads to remove brake dust...and totally screwed...

Boy, it's been "big car" week at the shop! This 2002 745i is Toledo Blue and has 87,000 miles. It was 87/k scratchy!...lots of little annoying stuff. So, it was wetsanded in numerous spots with 2500 grit followed by Trizact 3000 pads on an air orbital sander. That step really preps a...

Gee, the Black Bimmer's seem to gravitate to me lately. 325Xi, 750Li, and now this 750Li.... I do believe I have a Gray one coming up. This had the usual rotary swirls from the wholesale auction folks and some light scratches. I used 3M Extra Cut with a compound foam pad for base...

The dealer got this luxury cruiser in Black Metallic with 30,000 miles. It's the top-of-the-line 760Li V12 luxury car. He said they are approx. $130/k new. I was fortunate that the original owner had the car clear bra'd since new. I removed it per the dealer's instructions as it was...

This 05 530i was in pretty good shape. Light scratches and the wheel spoke flats were awful...so I compounded them too! (easy to do with the shop lift). This is another hard clear coated Bimmer and I tried 3M Extra Cut and a foam pad, but it was taking too long. Switched to System One and...

This 745Li was done by the dealer 4 years ago and the owner wanted a quick detail (he's also the buyer of the 645Ci I posted previously). After a hand wash, it was apparent the finish was in very good condition after many miles of use. I thought it would be a good candidate for the Pinnacle...