Client had recently purchased this M5 down in the US and had a high end shop detail it before driving back to Canada. Once home, he had another shop wash it and induce some swirling. The original plan was for a single stage polish but after seeing the car, the swirling was minimal and we are heading into the winter so it was decided we would add a coat of Raceglaze Black Label and call it a day until the spring. We are heading into 6 months of cold, wet, snowy weather so polishing the car at this time of year would have been a waste of the clients money. Engine, jambs and trim were cleaned with test APC and RG Brushes Washed with CG CWC as we didn't want to strip the sealant already applied, but add to it. Wheels were, well, a mess. Tried our APC, Sonax, a mild acid and Aqurtz Iron Cut as well. LSP was Raceglaze Black Label Wax Tires were dressed with CG Silk Shine Leather was dressed with Raceglaze Leather Balm Exhaust tips were cleaned with P21S Polishing soap, polished with 0000 steel wool and AG Metal Polish and sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant Glass polished with AG Glass Polish via PC/White pad at speed 3 Wheels sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant Total time - approx 8 hours The M5 upon arrival The wheels were quite dirty with a lot of brake dust and shipping wax? left from previous details. Some of the polish / sealant residue we found. Note the nasty key hole. More residue under the door handle... and along this door edge There was so much brake dust left from the previous detailing, we sprayed Iron Cut on the wheel for fun! WEEEEEEEEE!! Someone had used something VERY caustic on the wheels previous to me getting it. More damage. Nasty tips. These would require a wee bit of work to bring back but even then, they will require some work with a Dremel on its next visit. These wheels have already been cleaned with APC, then a mild acid and this is how much brake dust was still embedded in the wheels. Just sick. Seats were given some loving with Raceglaze Leather Balm Look! Even more residue. Black Label drying. Leaves the paint looking very wet. Nice. Applying the Black Label with a thin foam applicator. The thin pads seem to make it easier to get a nice thin layer of wax on. The RG is a softer wax so I'm going to put it in the fridge before I use it next to se if it'll harden up a bit. I noticed some spotting on the hood that we will try to remove when we polish it in the spring. The tips looking a little better. Buildup of dirt around around the M5 logo missed by last two shops. Q tips and a wee bit of prewax cleaner tidied it up. And finally, some afters. Doesn't seem to affect the flake at all. Flake pop was alive and well. Wheels looking a lot better. Sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant. Money shot. Thanks for looking.
Sonax is a non acid wheel cleaner whereas the Aquartz Iron Cut is meant to be used on paint to remove industrial fallout from paint that clay doesn't remove. I used the Iron Cut on these wheels as there was soooooo much brake dust etched into the wheels that even a mild acid wouldn't remove.
Nice work Ken. Sexy car. Where can I get Iron Cut? Does it work better on the embedded brake dust than Sonax does?
Looks great Ken! Kinda nice not having to break your back and pull you hair out on a 20hr. correction all the time huh? Again nice work!
You can get it at autoaesthetica I believe. I used it on the wheels to remove the embedded brake dust that nothing else would. Sonax is just another non acid wheel cleaner. It is only going to do so much. For wheels, its much more economical to use something like Megs Wheel Brightener that can be diluted down to suit your needs. I would only use the Iron Cut on wheels in dire situations. You know it. I love this time of year as its pretty much all winter details like this. Wash, clay and 2 coats of protection.
So much for the "High end detail" in the states................ now the car is looking on point Ken!.
