Richard Grasa
New member
These two BMW's were Opti-Coated at the same time. My customer called and set up an appointment to do his 528, told his friend about it and called back to see if I could do his 135 the same day. Of course I could! So I called my buddy Steve in for help, since I now had to cars to do. We arrived in the morning on the most gorgeous day of the year so far. It was in the 50's and we had just gotten a Nor' Easter that dumped 6 - 8 inches of snow on us the day before! Gotta love the crazy New England weather!
Both cars were in very good condition, but the white 2009 135i ended up needing a bit more work than the silver 2012 528i did. Both cars got hosed down with hot water supplied by the customer to knock off any salt buildup from the day before, then both got an ONR wash and clay bar treatment. Both cars had very low contamination that was easily removed by claying.
The 135 was heavily swirled and had the hardest paint I have ever come across on a BMW. They are usually on the medium to soft side, but that clear over the white paint was HARD!! It took 2 - 3 passes with Optimum Hyper Compound on an LC yellow pad on my PC to get the swirls out. The compound was followed up with Optimum Hyper Polish on a blue HF finishing pad and that white paint was looking flawless.
The 528 was only minimally swirled and had the usual medium hardness BMW paint, which cleaned up nicely with the Hyper Polish/HF blue combo.
Both cars then got a full IPA wipedown to remove any polishing oils. Per Optimum, only a wipedown with a damp microfiber is required before the Opti-Coat is applied after using their compound/polish, but I felt better using the IPA, which would also ensure all trim, headlights, tail lights, and wheels were free of any contamination that could hinder the cross-linking of the coating.
Both cars were then coated and we also applied CarPro FlyBy30 to the windshields.
I would like to thank Ross for his hospitality, the great time, and for feeding us the best kebobs from the grill I have ever had!
Now on to the pics! Most of these pics were taken by the customer. There had been a problem with my camera and most of my pics were lost
. I wish there were more after pics to show how amazing these cars looked after applying the Opti-Coat!
Claying the 135
Polishing work on the 135
Reflection on the white paint after final polish
Drying the 528 after washing
Polishing the 528
Getting ready to apply the Opti-Coat Pro. I'm using a CarPro applicator wrapped in a blue shop towel. Much easier to hold than the round yellow applicator and the disposable shop towel allows the applicator to be used many times. The yellow applicator was used on the smaller curved surfaces that this one could not get to.
The 528 finished
The 135 finished
Both cars were in very good condition, but the white 2009 135i ended up needing a bit more work than the silver 2012 528i did. Both cars got hosed down with hot water supplied by the customer to knock off any salt buildup from the day before, then both got an ONR wash and clay bar treatment. Both cars had very low contamination that was easily removed by claying.
The 135 was heavily swirled and had the hardest paint I have ever come across on a BMW. They are usually on the medium to soft side, but that clear over the white paint was HARD!! It took 2 - 3 passes with Optimum Hyper Compound on an LC yellow pad on my PC to get the swirls out. The compound was followed up with Optimum Hyper Polish on a blue HF finishing pad and that white paint was looking flawless.
The 528 was only minimally swirled and had the usual medium hardness BMW paint, which cleaned up nicely with the Hyper Polish/HF blue combo.
Both cars then got a full IPA wipedown to remove any polishing oils. Per Optimum, only a wipedown with a damp microfiber is required before the Opti-Coat is applied after using their compound/polish, but I felt better using the IPA, which would also ensure all trim, headlights, tail lights, and wheels were free of any contamination that could hinder the cross-linking of the coating.
Both cars were then coated and we also applied CarPro FlyBy30 to the windshields.
I would like to thank Ross for his hospitality, the great time, and for feeding us the best kebobs from the grill I have ever had!
Now on to the pics! Most of these pics were taken by the customer. There had been a problem with my camera and most of my pics were lost
. I wish there were more after pics to show how amazing these cars looked after applying the Opti-Coat!Claying the 135
Polishing work on the 135
Reflection on the white paint after final polish
Drying the 528 after washing
Polishing the 528
Getting ready to apply the Opti-Coat Pro. I'm using a CarPro applicator wrapped in a blue shop towel. Much easier to hold than the round yellow applicator and the disposable shop towel allows the applicator to be used many times. The yellow applicator was used on the smaller curved surfaces that this one could not get to.
The 528 finished
The 135 finished
