From worn and faded, to deep and glossy - BMW X5 - Paint Correction & Optimum Gloss-Coat

zmcgovern45

New member
The owner of this vehicle contacted us because she was unhappy with the current condition of the vehicle. The paint didn't look quite right to her, and she noticed that it looked more grey than black in some cases. During our initial consultation, we noted the large amount of surface defects and damage from previous detailers (dealership) that caused a dull and lifeless looking finish. The owners were honest in that they do not always have the time to properly hand wash the car, and do prefer to take it through a car wash for convenience. With that in mind, we settled on our Premium Service for a thorough cleaning, one-step correction process, and ceramic paint coating to provide easier maintenance and gloss that lasts. The car turned out great, and is now back to a deep, dark black with a tremendous shine!




Process
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and Tire Brush
Wheels: Sonax FE, Wheel Woolies, EZ Detail Brush & other brushes
Foam Pre-Soak: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap via DI Foam Lance
Wash: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap
Chemical Decon: CarPro Iron X
Mechanical Decon: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel with Glide for lubrication
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Masked off delicate areas
Correction: Meguiar's D300 on MF Cutting Discs and very quick polishing pass with M205 on White LC Pad via Griot's BOSS 21, Rupes LHR21ES, and Rupes LHR75e
Eraser Wipe Down
Paint Coating: Optimum Gloss Coat
Wheel Sealant: CarPro HydrO2
Tires: CarPro PERL
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish via #0000 Steel Wool and MF Towel
Glass: CarPro Fast Glass Towels
Interior: Vacuum, Glass cleaned, all surfaces cleaned with Einszett Plastic Cleaner or Quik Interior Detailer, Protected with 303
Engine: Rinsed, cleaned with Meguiar's D108 & Various Brushes, Blown Dry with Master Blaster, dressed with 303








The car was dropped off and was quite dirty
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Wheels were very dirty
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The dirt and grime left these wheels looking dull and lifeless.
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Exhaust tips had clearly never been polished and had an incredible amount of carbon buildup on them.
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As always, we begin by cleaning the wheels and tires. The tires were scrubbed several times to remove the dirt that had accumulated on them
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The tire cleaner stays white once all of the dirt has been removed.
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A liberal amount of wheel cleaner was sprayed onto each wheel and left to dwell.
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Looking much better!
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The wheels were then sealed for added protection
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We then turned our attention to the paint. The vehicle was covered in a thick layer of degreasing soap and all-purpose cleaner to help break through the thick layer of grime that had built up on the surface. The car was then carefully washed to remove any remaining loose dirt.
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The vehicle was then soaked in Iron X to remove any bonded iron particles from the paint. The chemical transforms from clear to purple as it reacts with iron and starts to dissolve it from the paint. You can see the chemical dripping from the paint. This vehicle was very contaminated. After the iron x treatment, the entire vehicle was clayed to ensure all bonded contaminates were removed.
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We then began with the paint correction process to remove the majority of light to moderate defects in order to enhance the gloss and color of the paint.
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Door before correction. Notice the complete lack of reflection near the lights.
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Door after correction. Notice you can now see the lights and the stool. The reflection was dramatically improved.
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Fender before correction.
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Fender after correction.
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Hood before correction - very dull due to improper buffing by the dealership detailer
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Hood after correction. Clarity and color have been restored.
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Rear quarter before correction. Again notice the dull reflection near the lights.
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After correction. Big improvement in clarity.
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Exhaust tip before polishing
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Exhaust tip after polishing. Unfortunately some of the metal was completely pitted and rusting, but still a great improvement overall.
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The glass was very dirty inside and out, you can see the passenger side is clean while the driver side has a thick film inside.
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The paint looked great afterwards
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Reflections were now clear and crisp
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Wheels and tires look great
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Engine cleaned up well with just a quick cleaning
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The paint is deep and glossy


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The sun popped out right before the owners arrived
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Before / After
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WOW. Unbelievably great work, and fantastic documentation of a job well done. Thank you for taking the time to show us your work!
 
Great work! Looks like this was a jet black paint? Any issues with it? I have a 3-series sedan (e90) coming next week with JB. Sounds like the major problems are with the couple (e92).

How do you like the snow soap vs. CGCW Red? I've been using a mixture of CGCWR and APC (D101) and foaming at a ratio of 1:128 but I have snow soap too...I just don't use it much.
 
Great work! Looks like this was a jet black paint? Any issues with it? I have a 3-series sedan (e90) coming next week with JB. Sounds like the major problems are with the couple (e92).

How do you like the snow soap vs. CGCW Red? I've been using a mixture of CGCWR and APC (D101) and foaming at a ratio of 1:128 but I have snow soap too...I just don't use it much.

This is Sapphire Black Metallic, not Jet Black. Sapphire Black is very hard compared to Jet Black (which is quite soft).

I don't really have a preference between IXSS and CGCW... I have both and use both regularly.

Let me know if you've got any other questions.

-Zach
 
Hey Zach, nice work! It's always fun reading your write ups. I have a couple questions on your opinion if you don't mind.
1.) How often do you find yourself needing to reach for the medium grade clay alternative than the fine grade? And what are your thoughts on glide? Is glide any better than a dilute-able rinseless wash as a clay lube?
2.) Feel free to pm me on this one if you like as I don't want to open up a can of worms here, but did you like the BOSS 21?
 
Hey Zach, nice work! It's always fun reading your write ups. I have a couple questions on your opinion if you don't mind.
1.) How often do you find yourself needing to reach for the medium grade clay alternative than the fine grade? And what are your thoughts on glide? Is glide any better than a dilute-able rinseless wash as a clay lube?
2.) Feel free to pm me on this one if you like as I don't want to open up a can of worms here, but did you like the BOSS 21?

Thanks!

1 - I really enjoy Nanoskin Glide. I used to use ONR with traditional clay, but switched to glide and could tell a difference in lubrication.. it is subtle, but noticeable.

If a car is considerably contaminated, I will reach for medium grade speedy prep towel or clay every time. I don't even bother trying fine grade clay unless the car only has very minor contamination on it. I am not worried about marring the paint as I will be doing correction work afterwards, so I would rather get the contamination off of the paint as efficiently as possible.


2 - This was my first full job with the BOSS 21 (technically 1/2 job as my partner was using the Rupes 21 on the other side of the car), and I have done some misc testing with it here and there aside from this job. So far my thoughts are as follows.... The Rupes machine feels a little smoother and quieter (though it could just be the higher frequency vs the lower frequency of the BOSS). The BOSS runs significantly warmer. The BOSS feels more solid, while the Rupes feels more "plasticky" in your hands. The BOSS is noticeably more powerful and does not bog down as easily on complex panels (though it will still stall in certain situations, as expected). Both machines annihilate defects quickly. Can't really decide if one is truly "better" than the other... I do enjoy using both.
 
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