Operation Car Spa III BMW 328XI

[Alexshimshimhae]

SO...I kept telling them to not park under one of 3 specific trees on my block...but do they listen?

nooooo, same thing on the roof and hood

So much for NJ law about drivers pumping their own gas...soo..this is what they mean by "expertise required to pump gas"?

I guess good thing about the white is that it kinda hides the dirt? but it was ridiculous...ONR ANNND Claybar(for like 2 hours) and the car STILL was all FUBAR...)

No real sparkle..just...sun happens to be forgiving for on my phone camera....

AFTER PHOTOS

Issues,



PADS

because the paint was horridly bad, my LC Orange had some issues with discoloring and stuff (thank goodness as soon as i ran my hose through the first one it all kind of rinsed out) Had a family emergency so took away time so i wasn't able to polish (either way, I don't have a LC white pad...thinking maybe i should order a few..but then again...you guys recommend any other pads for my FLEX 3401? )



I noticed that my Orange pad is starting to i guess break down? this is the 4th car i used it on...is this normal? because then IMO pads are a bit expensive if you look at longevity...I get the feeling that I'll have to throw it out in one or two more details...



WHITE CARS...O M G I couldn't see squat in terms of the swirls today...but I was nothing but smiles when I saw the car paint like 10 shades brighter after I ran the 105...This time around--I noticed I was having some trouble buffing off the 105...it seemed to have um..dried on...but the pad was damp...soooo does that mean i over extended my working area?



Claybar

I was wondering on average how long your claybars last, and if you use say a spent claybar for your wheels?

My claybar has gotten a few shades darker so thinking i'll have to toss it--but thinking then again...maybe I can use it to clean the wheels?



WHEELS

Ok...so really starting to feel the need for a proper wheel brush...and thinking I should REALLY invest in wheel cleaner...Not sure what my fathers LExus rims are made of... but I believe the BMW are alum diod's ....





So what I did today...

ONR

CLAY

M105/Flex/LC Orange (the fact that i left it at this is really really not sitting right with me....is this ganna be ok?)

IPA

Collinite 476

Meg's HD for tires and wheel wells

 

[Accumulator]

..Issues,



PADS

because the paint was horridly bad, my LC Orange had some issues with discoloring and stuff (thank goodness as soon as i ran my hose through the first one it all kind of rinsed out) Had a family emergency so took away time so i wasn't able to polish (either way, I don't have a LC white pad...thinking maybe i should order a few..but then again...you guys recommend any other pads for my FLEX 3401? )..

I wouldn't necessarily worry about the pad being discolored, as long as it's not truly *contaminated* it should be OK.



I'd lean towards LC Hydrotech tangerine pads instead of the white, because of how I like the presumably similar Griot's orange. But that's just me on the paints I work on.



I note you seem to have a lot of interruptions related to family emergencies...

I noticed that my Orange pad is starting to i guess break down? this is the 4th car i used it on...is this normal? because then IMO pads are a bit expensive if you look at longevity...I get the feeling that I'll have to throw it out in one or two more details...

I don't think it's all that odd for a Flex/M105 combo to wear pads out quickly; I consider pads a renewable resource, use 'em up and replace 'em as needed...just like the polish.

This time around--I noticed I was having some trouble buffing off the 105...it seemed to have um..dried on...but the pad was damp...soooo does that mean i over extended my working area?

Yeah, you probably did work too large an area.

Claybar

I was wondering on average how long your claybars last, and if you use say a spent claybar for your wheels?

My claybar has gotten a few shades darker so thinking i'll have to toss it--but thinking then again...maybe I can use it to clean the wheels?

I go through a *LOT* of clay because I don't want contamination to add new marring. I consider clay to be another renewable resource. But yeah, used clay if good for wheels and other surfaces you're not that picky about.

WHEELS

Ok...so really starting to feel the need for a proper wheel brush...and thinking I should REALLY invest in wheel cleaner...Not sure what my fathers LExus rims are made of... but I believe the BMW are alum diod's ....

Well, yeah...oughta have an assortment of wheel brushes and other cleaning media and a dedicated Wheel Cleaner. I like Griot's or P21s as long as the wheels aren't too nasty.

So what I did today...

ONR

CLAY

M105/Flex/LC Orange (the fact that i left it at this is really really not sitting right with me....is this ganna be ok?)

IPA

Collinite 476

Meg's HD for tires and wheel wells

If it looks OK after just the M105 then it's OK. Whether anybody else would think it's OK is irrelevent. Considering how that owner abuses/neglects that poor thing I'm tempted to say it's plenty good enough no matter how it looks.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

Yea my grandmother's terminally ill so when things spring up I have to bolt into the house to take care of things. Gruits wheel cleaner and P21s works well for wheel cleaning?(i thought they were bad for your health though?)



Normally I keep up the maintenance, but amidst me studying for CPA exams, I haven't been able to--and again, my parents parking the under what I'll call the doomsday trees didn't help the situations

 

[Concourswanna b]

Yeah...There's a reason why I always FILL up before going from PA to NJ to go to LB Island.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

Yeah...There's a reason why I always FILL up before going from PA to NJ to go to LB Island.

I hope you don't mean NJ because that's where this mishap happened..this is my family's car and i have to drive to PA from time to time, so since it's cheaper I stop in NJ to fill up (it's apparently illegal to pump your own gas in NJ because apparently the average driver lacks the expertise and skills/knowledge to safely pump their own gas; give me a break) for some reason...when I tell them I pay CC, they still try to get it to an even number...and this JAck@## took it too far...lo and behold... gas stains...

 

[Accumulator]

..(it's apparently illegal to pump your own gas in NJ because apparently the average driver lacks the expertise and skills/knowledge to safely pump their own gas; give me a break) ...

Huh, I never thought about that, but then I'm almost always driving rentals when in NJ and I just take 'em back empty.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

lol lucky you