A Black BMW X5 in receipt of 'The Zaino Treatment'

G35stilez

G35stilez

Ari Gold
Good Evening,

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Yesterday, I was blessed with this beauty, a 2006 BMW X5 3.0i. The vehicle had just over 10,000 clicks on the clock and the New England winter proved it's wrath upon the jet black finish coupled with the ebony interior. I had the pleasure of driving this fine machine to my place last night and all I can say is "WOW". BMW hit this SUV (SAV) on the head. It's a car in every way but how it looks. It cornered, braked, accelerated, and handled just like a 3 series. The AWD and lofty ride height just added to the aura.

Onto the interior; I had mentioned it suffered a Massachussetts winter. Well, the overall condition was summed up by "medium soil content". Nothing was that dirty, nor clean. Unfortunately I battled with a bunch of dog hair from the rear seats on back, and with BMW's velcro carpeting, it took about 25 minutes just to vacuum. I was able to get all of the stains and defects out minus a small paint transfer on the driver's inner door near the lower part (white shoes?). My finals for the interior were:

-Vacuum heavily
-Steam clean entire interior via KleenJet Pro Plus 200S (http://69.94.66.95/comfiles/pages/19.shtml)
-CG VRT cut 2.5:1 on mats
-Zaino Z10 on entire interior x 2 (1 at night, 1 in morn)
-Zaino Z14 Plastic Polish on wood grain and clear plastic
-Zaino Z8 on glass
-Zaino Z6 in jams


Before
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After
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After
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The exterior followed the same "medium soil content" level. There was a lot of bonded contaminants on the lower parts of the doors, a decent amount of swirling on the horizontals, light scratches on the verticals, and generally just dirty. I tried a few different polish combos before coming to my final consensus. BMW paint is one of those that *I* find a bit finicky in that it's hard to remove swirls, but also hard to finish without micro-marring. Adding that the X5 has a curve or edge everywhere led to a long process, but likewise results. My finals for the exterior were:

-Zaino Z7 Wash
-Zaino Z18 Clay with Z7 lube
-TOL Tire Cleaner cut 50/50 on tires/wells
-Meguiar's Wheel Brightener cut 3:1 on wheels

-Hi-Temp Heavy Cut via rotary and LC Polishing Pad @ 1500 rpm
-Menzerna PO85RD via rotary and LC Finishing Pad @ 1500 rpm
-Zaino Z14 Plastic Polish on all lighting
-Zaino Z6 Wipedown

-Zaino Z5 on paint and wheels
-Zaino Z8 on everything

-Meguiar's All Season Dressing on tires/trim
-CG VRT cut 2.5:1 in wells
-CD-2 Engine Detailer in grilles

Before
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After
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Before
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After
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Before
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After polishing
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After Zaino
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Brand Loyalty :)
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Questions/Comments, feel free.

Enjoy! I know I did.
 
Beautiful work Sean, the X5 looks better than showroom condition. They are quite a machine aren't they? I had a ride in one my neighbour had, totally agree it is a sports car that's just a bit taller! Loved the interior, amazing layout. Thanks for sharing.
 
How did you enjoy cleaning and dressing that dashboard. The texture of it grabs and pulls like crazy at my towels.

As for the detail. I'm sure you've heard every type of compliment, so I'll just nod.
 
Who's the Z whore advertising in the 2nd to last shot?!? Who ever it is.... it looks like a day after Taco Bell pose on the throne (LOL).

"medium soil content" -on the interior? Yea, right. I think the owner basically drove it for a year, and you got the 'virgin' vac, steam, & clean. It looks new again, that's for sure!

Z14 on the wood looks especially crisp. WOW! That might be the best look on wood trim that I've seen. Thanks for spending some more of my money :)

Heavy cut on the paint? Jesus, it's almost new paint!!!
Then again, BMW paint is a total PITA to work with. I'll say this.... figuring it out in 2 steps is showing off!!!! Note to self....don't ever buy a BMW dressed in black paint! How much of that beast did you have to tape off? It looks like a constant flow of sharp edges.

OK, enough sarcasm. Amazing job Sean. Thanks again for making it look soooo easy.

Z5 looks STUNNING on the paint. I can only imagine what it looks like in person.
 
I'm a Zaino whore too. The only drawback I can find with it is that it requires so little maintenance... a wash and a Z6 spritz and voila, like new. Doesn't leave me enought to do :(

Which is why I just finished layering 3 coats of Nattys blue on top of my wife's Z treated S2000... that was fun :) Doesn't look a whole lot different, but it kept me busy this morning. I'm so pathetic :bubba
 
x5 is a nice suv, i won an x3 last summer and it was a nice truck. A lil small but that 6cyl definitely had some balls.

Where in CT are you? I may have to enlist your services to do my truck.
 
97FLAIRSIDE said:
x5 is a nice suv, i won an x3 last summer and it was a nice truck. A lil small but that 6cyl definitely had some balls.

Where in CT are you? I may have to enlist your services to do my truck.
Click to expand...
You will not be disappointed, I can tell you that from first hand experience. I'd be happy with half his skills.
 
Another nice job!!

My question to you this time Sean is after the Po85RD the paint finish looks good. Correct? After the Z5 the paint's finish looks good also. As to the pictures I cannot see a difference in shine. Do you see a noticeable difference in the finish after the Z5 application vs. the PO85RD? The reason that I ask about this is the last time that I used PO85RD a comment was made that it was a shame to cover such a nice finish on the paint. I know that Z5 adds to the protection but does it really add to the finish in your opinion, Sean?
 
Thanks everyone :).

The owner was pretty exstatic when I dropped if off and when I got the email thanking me again, later that evening.

Ben: If they had better gas mileage...:D

joyride: One of the only peeves I had with this vehicle was with the adverse selection of their interior materials. The leather and dash didn't feel "right". You are correct, when dressing the dash, the applicator and towels grabbed a bit.

John: I :lol through that whole post...Thank you.

heffer: Haha! I know. It's nice for my car though because most of the time I run out of day to take care of mine. If I had to re-wax/seal often, I'd be neglecting clients.

97 Flair: I'm in East Haven until the end of May, then will be in Southport. Please PM me for more details. Thanks.

cwcad: Haha! Excellent question. Yes, as we all know, PO85RD leaves the *BEST* looking finish of any polish, once wiping away. Its depth is truly stunning...how could one add? I will have to say, though, Z5 lightened some of the heavier scratches along the lower part of the door (didn't want to get too aggressive on them), deepened and both wettened the paint a bit. If you notice in the pics, the sun is a bit hazy after Zaino which denotes it's hiding behind clouds. If I had dead-on sun, it would've showed better. Good question, though.


Thanks again!
 
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