04 545i and 91 NSX... Both black.. both hammered..

First up is the 545i. I did this car last weekend (21st-23rd). By the end of the third day I had about 24 hours in to the car :thud: . When I booked this job about a month ago, I knew it was going to be a little tough based on the condition of the car.. which hadn't changed in that month, except for maybe getting worse. But I really wanted to tackle this Jet Black beast.

Anyways, I contacted Nick (Nikku) because I know he works on a lot of BMW's and asked for his advice as to the best possible combo for the correction. More on this later, but thanks Nick!

On with the detail. When the car first arrived:





(it was more of a brown.. then a black.. :yikes: )



Tree sap? Check. Moderate to heavy swirls+RIDS? Check. Water-spot etching? Check.













First up, were the wheels. Per usual E46/E60 wheels, they were a matte grey, than the metallic silver they're supposed to be.





Rears were in bad shape too:



So I proceeded to rinse, spray P21S wheel gel, and agitate with various brushes.





The tires got eimann fabrik tire cleaner, and the wheel wells got eimann fabrik hi-inensity cleaner.

After the initial scrubbin':





That's more like it!:



The next order of business was the engine bay. It was moderately dirty, but not too bad.







Was pressure rinsed from a safe distance and then sprayed with Eimann Fabrik HIC and agigated with various brushes. Then dressed with PB Trim Restorer.







Once that was complete, I foamed, and washed the car with CG CWC. Then pulled it in for claying. I used Riccardo Yellow for the job. Contamination was relatively light for how dirty the car was.. here's a pic after half the hood:



Taped up for surgery:



Swirls before:







Then the polishing came! Using Nikku's instructions, I proceeded with two polishes to start off with. 3M UK Fast Cut Plus, paired with a 3M UK Green Compounding pad and Gloss-It EVP worked for about 5-7 minutes at 1000-1200-1700-1200. Then followed that up with Menzerna PowerFinish on a 3M UK Yellow pad worked at 1000-1200-1500-1200-1000

Here's the results in the sun:





Under halogens:



What I found out once I started working the rest of the hood (I usually work 1/2 a hood at a time) that I was going too fast for the polishing sequence. So on all the verticle panels, and the hood/trunk I went with 3M FC+ and PFW+EVP at 1800rpm, then back down the FC+ and 3M UK Green then PowerFinish/Yellow.

Here's the hood after (a few deep RIDS remained: about 7 scratches that went the length of the hood that I later confirmed with the owner were from cat claws :shrug: )


(one seen here)





Fender done/ door not:



Mirror before:



After:



Me working the A-pillar:



Trunk before:



And after:



Trunk done, rear quarter not:



Rear quarter panel:





After:





Top door frame before:



After:



Rear door done, drivers door not:



Rear door complete:





I then pulled it outside to get some pre-lsp sun shots before rinsing the car off all polishing dust.







After 3 passes with wool, two with green compounding pad, and one with powerfinish, these swirls on the trunk STILL wouln't come out.. with only 120 mircons of clear on the trunk, I didn't feel safe wetsanding the area.





Close-up:



The reason I am showing so many sun-shots pre-LSP is becaue of LSP choice. I wanted to go with Bilt-Hamber Auto Balm because of it's amazing durability, and the look it gives on black. Last time I used this, I was accused of using it for filling on some forums--well I'm showing you there's little to nothing for BHAB to fill, so I'm using it for it's looks and durability

I then moved on to the interior. It wasn't in bad shape.. a vacuum/carpet cleaning, dash wipe down and wood polished, and cleaning/conditioning of the leather.









Trunk area cleaned up:



Interior afters:











Like I stated previously, LSP of choice was Bilt-Hamber Autobalm. Final afters:






























Next!!

 

A 91 Berlina Black NSX. This car was in fairly bad shape--and was starting to show it's age. On top of that the whole car has been repainted, some place (the front clip) more than once.

When I first got the car:











No real pics of the wash process.. But I cleaned the wheels with P21S and tires/wheel wells with eimann fabrik. Unfortunately the previous owner of the car didn't pay attention to the delicate anondized finish on the volk rims, and the red lips were ruined with stains :shakehead: . The car was foamed with CWC:



Then washed with the 2BM and then brought inside for claying with riccardo yellow.

I then inspected the paint:





After some trial and error I came up with M105 with Yellow so1o wool + GI EVP, followed with PowerFinish on 3M UK Yellow, and then M205 on 3M UK Blue.





Under camera flash:



Sun:







Fender before:



After:



Front bumper Before:



After:



Front bumper done, hood not:



Hood done, fender not:



Rear quarter before:



After:



Under camera flash:



Close up:





Rear wing:





Under flash:



Flash/Brinkman:



Trunk:




(wing was removed to be sure to polish the whole trunk)



Tail lights:





Rear bumper:





Dull reflections:



More CRISP reflections:



50/50 of rear quarter:



Finished:



Both engine bays were degreased and dressed with meg's HD 3:1.

Before:





After:



Cool custom cover



Front bay:



Odds and ends:

Interior was cleaned with 1Z CockpitPremium, BRIDE seats were vacuumed/lint rolled, carpets cleaned with CG Citrus Pad/Microfiber cleaner, tires dressed with Megs HD 1:1, wheels polished with Werkstat Prime and Sealed with Acrylic.

LSP for this car was Blackfire AFPP followed with RBOE. I discovered a new technique to use when applying RBOE.

Afters:






























Thanks for looking!

As always, C/C Welcome!

eace:

Aaron

 

Looks great., nice work! Those were disgraceful vehicles before you corrected them. I've always loved the NSX. One of those cars that was ahead of it's time.

What's this new process for applying RBOE?

 

Wow, those things were DIRTY! Very very nice save!

 

Definitely some of your best work, truly nice work!

 

Great job on both cars Aaron.

 

That a great looking NSX, old school!

 

Is there sand in the water where these people wash their cars??

You did a great job man, I really like your technique you described on applying and removing the RBOE, I guess now I'm a little upset I got rid of mine..

 

Looks awesome dude! Nice turn around.

 

damn nice work on both vehicles Aaron :applause:

 

great job on the cars, aaron. the BMWs are the best to detail, eh?

i tried to get you some jobs a couple of days ago, but i think he went with someone else

 

Man both are some fantastic turn arounds great work

 

wow what a differences in the before and afters for the BMW. Great work!

 

amazing work on both vehicles, Aaron! both came out beautiful! I really like how BH AB looks by itself, as well as BF Wet Diamond/RBOE combo looks. Simply amazing!

 

Superb work there Aaron! This is by far my most favorite picture of this thread:

 

Fantastic polishing on those. That BMW was truly hammered!

 

Thanks a lot! I really was, back in the 90s. Unfortunately, like all performance Honda's (s2000 namely), they let them die a slow and painful death with little to no updates from the pre-production models..

Thanks!

Thanks, Dave!

Thank you, Dana!

Thanks!

Surprisingly these cars are both on the "Hetch-Hetchy" water system here in the bay area which is some of the cleanest water in the world :shrug:

Thanks a lot!

Thank you!

Thanks, Roger!

Thanks, Ben! I do like bimmers for sure! And no worries, thanks though!

Thanks!

Thank you!

Thanks a lot!

Thanks, Denzil!

Thanks, Ken!

 

hey, Aaron, any tips on using BH AB?

 

If you want it to fill: None! I can't NOT get this stuff to fill.. it's a talent, really! :

But I used Ken's method he taught me a few months back: get the applicator nice and damp, and put it inside the jar, and press down lightly. This will be enough for a whole panel. Then lightly spritz the panel with DI or distilled water, and spread the AB on. The combination of the damp pad, and the damp panel makes spreading it super easy, and makes it go on REALLY thin. Buff off before moving to next panel. After every panel, use a different side of the MF as this stuff comes off THICK. I use at least 2-3 mf's per car.

On large panels such as doors.. do it in two sections, or work quick.

Hope this helps a bit! :thumb:

 

thanks, Aaron! Very much appreciated!:thumb: