imported_BretFraz
New member
I detailed this car back in July. The owner, a long time BMW customer, bought this car right off the showroom floor. To me, it's perfect in Le Mans Blue with the black interior and the carbon black leather trim.
The weather on the day I detailed it was very volatile, with frequent thunderstorms and almost constant rain. That plus the ~90% humidity made polishing it a challenge. Since it's a modern German paint job, my initial plan was to use Menzerna SIP followed with Menzerna P085RD, but both Menz polishes were acting extremely finicky in the humid weather. This forced me to use a combo that I didn't want to use as I felt it was a little too aggressive - Meg's M105/M205. I decided to limit the M105 to a few sections that needed it, and focused my efforts on getting the most out of the M205 step.
My go-to LSP on a color like this is Zaino Z5Pro. However, the weather conditions made Zaino removal streaky and smeary. I needed something that would set up in this weather and polish off cleanly. After trying a few LSP's, I settled on Collinite 845IW. That was topped with Zaino Z8 for extra gloss and protection.
Sorry about no Before pics. The car was ONR washed in his garage and the lighting was not ideal. I never got the car out of the garage for pics during the detail.
These pics are from last week. Since the detail, I have washed the car every 2 weeks. The car is a daily driver but the owner and I want to keep it looking as crisp as possible, so no harsh soaps and aggressive cleaners here.
DETAIL PROCESS:
*ONR wash, two buckets, MF mitts and towels
*Clayed with Zaino Z18, AM #49 QD as lube
*Step #1 polish - Meguiars M105 on horizontal surfaces and other areas as needed. PC, orange Propel P2 pad, speed #6
*Step #2 polish - Meguiars M205, orange and green Propel P2 pad, PC on speed #6
*LSP - Collinite 845 Insulator wax, 2 coats
*Final shine - Zaino Z8
*Wheels - Diluted AM 777 APC, ONR wash with MF towels
*Tires - Zaino Z16
*Interior - Zaino Z9 & Z10 on leather, IG on all glass
PROBLEM AREA:
Notice the black trim around the windows? That's called BMW Dark Shadow Line trim. It's common on 3-series and M3's. It's a plastic trim with a high-gloss "piano black" finish. It spots very easily and can be damaged by hard water and acid rain. I wanted to be very careful with this trim as anything I used could possibly dull the glossy finish, but I still needed something with a little bite to remove the spots. I tried a few products and settled on Prima Amigo applied by hand. Amigo has very little abrasive action so you need to put some elbow grease into the job. I think other products that would clean up this trim are P21S GEPC or a SMR from 3M or similar. If you detail many BMW's, you will run into this problematic trim. Just remember to use something mild to polish it.
Now.... on to the pics!
The weather on the day I detailed it was very volatile, with frequent thunderstorms and almost constant rain. That plus the ~90% humidity made polishing it a challenge. Since it's a modern German paint job, my initial plan was to use Menzerna SIP followed with Menzerna P085RD, but both Menz polishes were acting extremely finicky in the humid weather. This forced me to use a combo that I didn't want to use as I felt it was a little too aggressive - Meg's M105/M205. I decided to limit the M105 to a few sections that needed it, and focused my efforts on getting the most out of the M205 step.
My go-to LSP on a color like this is Zaino Z5Pro. However, the weather conditions made Zaino removal streaky and smeary. I needed something that would set up in this weather and polish off cleanly. After trying a few LSP's, I settled on Collinite 845IW. That was topped with Zaino Z8 for extra gloss and protection.
Sorry about no Before pics. The car was ONR washed in his garage and the lighting was not ideal. I never got the car out of the garage for pics during the detail.
These pics are from last week. Since the detail, I have washed the car every 2 weeks. The car is a daily driver but the owner and I want to keep it looking as crisp as possible, so no harsh soaps and aggressive cleaners here.
DETAIL PROCESS:
*ONR wash, two buckets, MF mitts and towels
*Clayed with Zaino Z18, AM #49 QD as lube
*Step #1 polish - Meguiars M105 on horizontal surfaces and other areas as needed. PC, orange Propel P2 pad, speed #6
*Step #2 polish - Meguiars M205, orange and green Propel P2 pad, PC on speed #6
*LSP - Collinite 845 Insulator wax, 2 coats
*Final shine - Zaino Z8
*Wheels - Diluted AM 777 APC, ONR wash with MF towels
*Tires - Zaino Z16
*Interior - Zaino Z9 & Z10 on leather, IG on all glass
PROBLEM AREA:
Notice the black trim around the windows? That's called BMW Dark Shadow Line trim. It's common on 3-series and M3's. It's a plastic trim with a high-gloss "piano black" finish. It spots very easily and can be damaged by hard water and acid rain. I wanted to be very careful with this trim as anything I used could possibly dull the glossy finish, but I still needed something with a little bite to remove the spots. I tried a few products and settled on Prima Amigo applied by hand. Amigo has very little abrasive action so you need to put some elbow grease into the job. I think other products that would clean up this trim are P21S GEPC or a SMR from 3M or similar. If you detail many BMW's, you will run into this problematic trim. Just remember to use something mild to polish it.
Now.... on to the pics!
:clap:
