3 BMW's with System One

I

imported_Totoland Mach

New member
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 shots, but these will give an indication of the gloss level.



Blue1995530iFinished4.jpg




Blue1995530iFinished3.jpg




Blue1995530iFinished.jpg




Next up was a White 2004 330Ci Convert. Again, light scratching and I ended up spending more time on the interior (gray leather is a "bear" to get right!). Here's a representative shot of the light scratches.



White330CiConvertScratches.jpg




After System One on the lower panels



White330CiConvertSysOneLowerPanels.jpg




Finally, this White 330Xi had similar scratches and System One removed them. I'll be putting a coat of 3M Performance Finish on the paint tomorrow as a sealer.



White330XiwithSysOneBegin.jpg




White330XiwithSysOneLower2.jpg




Toto
 
Out of curiousity, do you use the edge/system one wool/white foam pad for these, or are you using Meguiar's pads (I think I saw somewhere that you liked these?)



I can't seem to get system one to finish totally swirl free with just their pad, so I was considering adding in Ultrafina and their pad because it seems that the general consensus is if you follow the directions, it really works well. I think it has to do with my (lack of) experience level too. I don't have any other pads to use. If I switched to other pads, I probably wouldn't use the edge pads at all because of changing the backing plate.



My experience with the final stage seems to be that I get it looking pretty good but then the minute swirls or micromarring reappears. I need to get some prepsol to see if I'm covering them up or if they are being reintroduced into the surface.



Thanks,



Tett
 
Toto, almost the same question. Are you using the System 1 pads too? Also, Dark glaze before Ultra fina. Shouldn't it be the other way around?



Great job on the 5 series. The indoor shot did your work justice, outdoor would've just blown it away :).
 
tett For most of the work on large surface areas, I use the Edge dual pad (wool/foam). But, I really like the Meguiar's So1o pad system for its' size and control. On the older BMW's there's a lot of body edges in the side panels and the 7" pad fits perfectly.



I find that I get a few leftover light scratches when I do a wipe down as well. I just go back to that area and work the wool pad some more. I generally use the wool and the product for 90% of the process and switch to foam as a last step.



artikxscout Yep, the 3M Dark Glaze is really a polish, so I do that after compounding and before Ultrafina. The oils in Ultrafina need to be one of the last steps. While I'm not a fan of the product, the dealer insists on using it (and they are his cars...so I do) and the process is pretty quick.





Toto
 
Greg Nichols said:
What was the time frame on each car, say for just the exterior?



Cheers,
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Greg: The White 330Xi exterior was completed in approx. 4 hours. The White 330Ci convertible was approx. 6 hours. The Blue 530i was probably 12+ hours because of extra care for 13 year old paint that had been compounded 2 times previously (the dealer has a history on this car).



Toto
 
connorb850 said:
Excellent job, I especially like the older 530i. What was your process on the exhaust tips?
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Thanks...it was fun doing the 530i...pretty narrow Bimmer by today's standards.



Exhaust tips: on the rolled edge I typically use a Scotch-Brite pad with some metal polish soaked in. Most of the time, they are heavily caked with carbon and need the umph of an abrasive pad. For the rest of the tip, I use #0000 steel wool and Wenol Blue. Spiff's them right up.



Toto
 
Ahh okay, thanks Toto, that clears things up. Luckily I haven't worked with Ultrafina to learn but when I do I'll keep that in mind. I just thought that as Ultrafina still has abrasives, it will remove whatever the glaze had done.



As for the time frame, i assumed that you did those all in one day. That makes sense, do you also do interior also within that time frame?
 
artikxscout: No, I didn't do the vehicles in one day. I typically take 1 to 1.5 days for exterior because it also includes power and hand washing, wheel acid, engine degreasing, and trunk cleaning. Remember, these cars are up for sale, not a private owner's detail. Some cars have taken 3+ days; especially black or road cars that are really peppered with stone chips.



The cars are also power washed with plain water after compounding and again after polishing/Ultrafina. This is done to remove any product in body seams and splatter, etc.



I usually spend 4-6 hours on an interior after the exterior is finished.



As far as I know, there is no abrasive in Ultrafina.



Denzil Personally, I don't like the oil splatter from Ultrafina. While it's easy to remove from adjacent panels...it's a chore IMO. Plus with the polishing I do prior to application, I don't see any added benefit, despite what the bottle claims.



Toto
 
Totoland Mach said:
artikxscout:



As far as I know, there is no abrasive in Ultrafina.



Toto
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great job on the cars toto! The finish looks awesome on all 3. I just have a quick question for you, I was testing the ability of 3m UFSE and its ability to clean up holograms left over from an LC orange pad, M95 and about 1600rpms on the rotary. After an IPA wipe down, the finish looked hologram free. I even inspected the paint with 1000watt halogens and direct sunlight.



When you mention that there is no abrasive in UFSE then what exactly is cleaning up the holograms left over from the compounding stage?
 
Carbon Blue said:
great job on the cars toto! The finish looks awesome on all 3. I just have a quick question for you, I was testing the ability of 3m UFSE and its ability to clean up holograms left over from an LC orange pad, M95 and about 1600rpms on the rotary. After an IPA wipe down, the finish looked hologram free. I even inspected the paint with 1000watt halogens and direct sunlight.



When you mention that there is no abrasive in UFSE then what exactly is cleaning up the holograms left over from the compounding stage?
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Beats the heck out of me! I'm sure there is "some" abrasive quantity in any product (save pure glaze or salad oil)...even water can be abrasive! I just don't know about the makeup of UFSE to make an ed-ju-ma-kated guess LOL.



The dealer likes it and wants it applied to all dark colored Bimmers..so that's good enough reason



Toto
 
All of them look nice as usual. I'm guessing you cleaned the rear wells on the white 3 series *after* the pics were taken. :D



You say you like 7" pads, how do you go about polishing vehicles like say, an X5, where there are tons of curves/body lines/trim where a 7" pad would never fit? Just a smaller pad?
 
Bigpoppa3346 said:
All of them look nice as usual. I'm guessing you cleaned the rear wells on the white 3 series *after* the pics were taken. :D



You say you like 7" pads, how do you go about polishing vehicles like say, an X5, where there are tons of curves/body lines/trim where a 7" pad would never fit? Just a smaller pad?
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Yep: wheel wells and tire dressing are the last things to get while I have it on the lift (and a lot easier to do in the air)



The X Series works well with the 7" pads from the Meguiar's line. The backing plate has a thick foam section that allows lots of "off flat" use without damaging the paint.



Here's a 2002 black X5 I did earlier this year



02X5_TradeIn_Finished_Outside4.jpg




Toto
 
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