I lucked out with the weather here in Minneapolis, MN. This time last year I couldn't winter prep my own car as snow already started to fall. However, with weather projected to be in the high-40s and low-50s (high single digits to low teens for my friends north of the border) I jumped on the opportunity to complete a customer's car. It's an Orient Blue Metallic 2002 330xi (with a manual transmission might I add - very hard to come by) with about 120,000 miles. However, after cleaning it up it was evident that it's been well maintained. As the car arrived: Some deep scratching from gravel along the bottom sides of the rear bumper and rocker panels Diffusor Door sill would be later cleaned with 1Z Cockpit Premium (an awesome AIO product). Looks decent from about 15feet away Starting with the wheels and tires. Cleaned with Sonax Full-Effect and various brushes. Dwelling and reacting Griots Garage 4-Finger Mitt in action Scrubbing out the fender liners with 1Z Blitz 1:4 Tires dwelling with Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner Removed the license plates to clean behind them Engine bay was pretty dirty Cleaned with 1Z Blitz 1:4 and protected with 303 Aerospace Protectant Exterior was begins using Gilmour Foamaster II and a concoction of 1Z Blitz and Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss Greaching in the tight areas with a Swissvax Detail Brush The car was then hand washed in 1Z Blitz and CG Citrus Wash and Gloss Stripped and ready for claying Grimey exhaust tips were initially cleaned with steel wool - would later be finished to a bright shine with P21S Polishing Soap (sorry, forgot to take a pic, but this was one of my favorite improvements) It always amazes me what can be done with a thorough wash Clay time with Uber clay, soap was used as lubricant. Car was washed again to remove any soap residue. Griots Garage Waffle Weave drying towel used to dry after the excess was removed with a small electric leaf blower The paint being as hard as it was didn't recieve as much damage as I figured it would however, various swirl marks, scratches, random isolated deep scratches, rock chips, water marks, dents appeared, and an overall lack of gloss was apparent. Front fender before After Before After Front door before After Took a break to work a bit on the interior as I was fatigued quickly by applying so much pressure. The interior was one of the cleanest (besides my own car of course ) Marks underneath the floor mats Various grease spots and staining were removed or reduced Seals were cleaned up Fraying threads clipped off from the mats Qtips for the tight areas RIDS remain But the smaller stuff removed Passenger side C-pillar before After Lower door panel before After Last step protection of choice was Aquarts Nano Coating. Lots of other work that I didn't cover. But had to bust it out. You can figure out what I missed by reading the products list down below. Total time was approximately 10 hours on Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday. Finished shots: Products used: Cleaning: 1Z Blitz APC Chemical Guys Grime Reaper APC Lusso Glass Polish OPT Metal Polish P21S Polishing Soap Uber Blue Clay Bar Interior: 1Z Cockpit Premium Chemical Guys Fabric Guard Protectant Chemical Guys Liquid Leather Chemical Guys Stain Extractor Last Step Protection: Aquartz Nano Coating Prima Hydro Spray Wax Pads: Uber 5.5inch blue finishing pad Meguiar's DA MF Cutting disc Polishes: Menzerna Power Gloss compound Menzerna Final Polish (85RD) Protectant: 303 Aerospace Protectant Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care Black Wow Pre Wow Tools: Gilmour Foamaster II Griot's Garage 4-Finger Mitt Grit Guard Kwazar Mercury Pro .5L Trigger Spray Bottles Rapid Reel Wheeled Cart Garden Hose Reel Swissvax Wheel Brush Swissvax Leather Brush Swissvax Detail Brush Uber Yellow Wash Sponge Porter Cable 7424XP Towels: Chemical Guys Fluffer Miracle Supra MF Towel Griot's Garage Waffle Weave Micro Fiber Drying Towel Uber Hi Tech Glass MF Towel Various workhorse towels Wash: Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss Wheels and Tires: Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner Sonax FE Wheel Cleaner Gloss It Signature Tire Gloss
Thank you all. I'm really happy with my house. It has five 4ft fluorescent lights in the ceiling. I just bought this Husky LED work light from Home Depot to help me see on the side and lower panels. It's actually proving to be a great light. It's not flood light power so you can look in the reflections just find, it doesn't heat up, it's compact and can be moved to unlimited angles.
Nice work on the BMW, nice to see you using Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care. It's not pro stuff, but it's still works really well.
The seals were in great condition already; so nothing more was needed. Not too many of us Twin Cities guys around; I'm in the White Bear Lake area.
I got the same one man... it's really nice. I had some halogens in the past but they got so hot and ate too much energy. And worse yet, they don't do a great job at revealing swirls.
I love it too; If I need to I can bring it right next to the area I'm working on - without fearing heat. I wish they sold the tripod stand - they offer the halogen one on this floor stand and one with the tripod stand. There are times I wish I could position it elevated.
