Hi Gary, welcome to Autopia and BMW roadster ownership!
Jet Black is a <S>bi</S><S>tch</S> PITA to keep really nice! You’ve been given a lot of good advice so far, but being a fellow Jet Black roadster owner I’ve just gotta chime in.
The first important step is to make sure that your dealer does
not do any exterior prep on your new Z4! Talk to at least the following: your salesperson, the new car manager, the sales manager. Try to get in writing a statement that if they prep the paint you have the option of refusing the car or getting the swirls removed at an independent paint or detailing shop. If the dealership preps the paint you’re guaranteed to have swirl marks installed on you beautiful new paint! Make yourself a PITA over this. Call and remind them about ten days before delivery, again at five days before delivery, and finally the day before delivery. When you make your acceptance check, be sure to do it in the direct sun. If there are any swirls, then do your negotiating on the spot. If you drive off of the lot the swirls are going to be your problem, not theirs. Do you think that dealer installed freebie swirls are one of my hot buttons? You’re right!
I’m an old fart (getting real close to 70), so I’ve bought a lot of new cars in my life. Every time I’ve gotten home with a new
baby I’ve wanted to�take care of it� in the worst way! Baby the new baby by cleaning the interior and the wheels - don’t touch the paint. If you just have to play with your new toy, then go out and drive it with the top down. Push it hard in some “twisties� and learn how it feels - but watch the break-in redline! If it gets dusty, don’t wash or wipe it! Try not to drive it in wet weather if you can avoid it. Don’t park near lawn sprinklers. Do not part under trees that may drip sap, and do not park under spots where birds may perch! If an incontinent bird does choose your Z4 as a target, then you do have the one thing that must be dealt with immediately. Fold some toilet paper or Kleenex into 6-8 layers, get it good an wet and lay in on the offending splotch. Don’t wipe or rub. If it starts to dry, then add a little more water. After 5-10 minutes lift off as much of the poop as you can without rubbing the paint. Repeat as needed. Use a mild solution of car shampoo and water if necessary. When the poop is gone, then dry the area with a soft cotton towel or T-shirt by blotting, not wiping! If you get tree sap on the paint, don’t touch it - run to your computer and post an emergency call for help here on Autopia. Other than dealing with poop and sap, don’t touch your paint! Dry dirt on the new paint
will not hurt it!
Get and read David’s Autopia eBook. Engage your brain. Focus on the washing phase. Think! What causes scratches, swirls, and other micro-marring? Here’s the one and only answer:
rubbing abrasive materials over your paint causes marring! Focus on learning the best methods and techniques for washing. As you read posts on this and other detailing forums you’ll see a lot of discussion about which wash mitt is best, which shampoo is best, which whatever is best. Ignore that and focus on method and technique. If you haven’t already place an order for a good quality waffle weave microfiber drying towel. Don’t even think about using that brand new chamois you just spent big buck for! Throw it away, or give it to your worst friend, but don’t use it or a bath towel to dry your Jet Black paint. Buy
two wash buckets and whatever wash mitt or pad suits you. Buy a bottle of whatever car shampoo suits you - just don’t buy one that makes any claims to add wax to the wash process. Mothers and Meguiar’s are probably available at your local AutoZone or whatever. S100 is available at the local Harley Davidson dealer. Any of these is fine. When you have your materials and have read the eBook’s washing section at least twice, then it’s time to do a mental dry run of what you’re going to do. Two buckets, one with the shampoo/water solution, one with clean water for rinsing your mitt or pad. A hose, preferably with on on/off nozzle, not one that can generate a high pressure spray. One WW MF drying towel. Now you’re ready for the first big (and risky) step - the first wash. You may have washed a lot of cars in the past, but this time your going to do it differently! We’re not even going to do the wheels and tires - that’s a separate task and needs separate tools! Put the top and windows up. If the top is only dusty, then do not get it wet - only vacuum it, both with a wand and a brush. If it is dirty, still don’t get it wet. You’ll need to buy some cloth top specified wash concentrate and protectant.
Everything’s ready, so let’s start! flood the hood with low pressure water. If there are bugs on the front, then flood them some more. Put the mitt in the soapy water - don’t put your hand in the mitt - lay the soaking mitt on the centerline of the hood near the windshield. Push it with no press forward toward the roundel - no pressure on the mitt - just the weight of the water! Flip the mitt over and do another pass parallel to the first one. Squeeze out the mitt (not in the wash bucket and not over the car), then rinse it in the rinse bucket. Inspect it for debris before loading it with more shampoo solution. Now you’ve got the idea! Continue until the hood is finished. Be careful to not get dirt from the wheel wells on the mitt! When the hood is finished thoroughly flood it again with the hose to get rid of any shampoo residue. Continue around the car with the same procedure. Longitudinal strokes on the horizontal surfaces and vertical strokes on the vertical surfaces. Ah, I can hear you asking, “WTF, why should I do it that way? My hand wants to go in circles the way I’ve always done it before!� Here’s my answer: No matter how careful you are about cleanliness of your tools, and how careful you are about using light pressure, you are going to introduce some very minor micro-marring on your Jet Black paint. Straight line marring only reflects light from one angle, Circular marring reflects light from all angles.
As you progress be sure to keep adding water to the already washed areas - do not let them air dry! Removing water spots involves rubbing and you want to avoid rubbing your paint except when polishing. Now come the drying. Don’t even think about using a chamois or cotton towel dragged across the surface! Blot with a waffle weave microfiber towel. I highly recommend the Big Blue and Little Blue drying towels from
CMA. The Big Blue is absorbent enough to do your whole car, and the Little Blue is great for touch up. Open the hood, deck, and doors. Dry the areas that are dripping. Watch for drips from the rear view mirrors.
Now go drive the clean Z4 and enjoy! No need for wax yet. You clear coat can live for a long time with no protectant. Read the eBook again, this time focus on waxing. After the next wash, you can put a light coat of wax on it. It doesn’t make any difference what wax you use, just don’t use a cleaner wax.
If you just have to play with “taking care� of your new toy, then the wheels are a safe place to start. Wash the wheels with whatever you’ve got - using a soft brush if needed. Sitting on a creeper or skateboard saves a lot of back aches! When you have one wheel really clean, then rub in one coat of AIO. Top with on coat of SG. The next day wipe the brake dust off of that wheel and add another layer of SG. 3-4 layers is probably best. The Klasse will make it easy to wipe off the brake dust every few days - a spritz of shampoo/water and a quick wipe and they’re clean. There is no carnauba that can compete with a good synthetic such as Klasse or Zaino for making wheel cleaning easy.
Keep in mind that every minor scratch that you add during your climb up the learning curve will need to be dealt with later! When you’re ready to do a full detailing your five item list looks pretty good - P21S on top of the reflectivity of Klasse will really add a lot of depth! Most likely it will be necessary to add a polishing step between the claying and the AIO. AIO isn’t aggressive enough to deal with any but the smallest of swirls.
Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your new roadster!
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Never drive with the top up! If it’s cold, wear more clothes! If it’s raining, drive faster! Always wave at other roadsters!</CENTER>
