As I have been trying to find more ways to get my name and detailing business out, I donated 3 details to a charity auction partly for good will and partly to help word of mouth spread. One winner called, so I had the pleasure of working on this 2007 BMW 750Li last week, giving it an interior and exterior detailing for the owner. The car lives outside for the most part so it had the typical grime caused by the dusty air and the sea spray from the marine layer on the coast. The interior was gorgeous and it was apparent that the owner rarely had people in the rear seats which made for an easy cleanup. I was very happy with how it turned out, and hopefully the good work follows through to a few referrals! A big thanks goes to my friend Jeff for helping on the wheels (royal PITA, btw!), it was nice having some company! Products and Process: Exterior: -ONR wash, 2 bucket method -Dried with Showroom FX WW -Wheels cleaned with ONR and Optimum Power Clean, Raceglaze Wheel Brush XL -Wheel wells cleaned -All plastic and rubber trim treated to Poorboy's Trim Restorer -One step polish; XMT360 via my PC and a grey CCS pad -Collinite 915, 1 layer -Chrome polished with CG Ez-creme -Tires dressed with Optimum Opti-bond -Duragloss Aquawax on exterior glass Interior: -Thorough vacuum of the interior -Folex on the carpets, extracted with Shop Vac -Optimum Power Clean on all leather and plastic -303 Protectant to protect all leather, plastic, and vinyl -AG Fast Glass on the windows -Aquartz CleanAir -Final wipedown with a shamrock MF towel Befores: as mentioned, the car was in pretty good shape which made for a nice change of pace. Just light grime on the paint which did not need to be clayed. Afters: I was very happy with the results of the one step AIO session as the minimal marring that was there was nearly all taken care of and gloss really amped up. I was most happy with how well the interior looked too, quite a luxurious back seat! The sun peeking out, a bit of a flake shot through june gloom! Even though this was just for charity, it was nice to see the owner happy as he seemed a bit skeptical that I was not just some kid with a bucket and sponge ready to spiff up the car. Again, thanks to Jeff for the help on those god forsaken wheels! Thanks for reading, as always.
very nice. hopefully you will get some business in return. i need to try somthing like this mabey donate to some charity in my area
That came out great for a 1 step polish! Mind if I ask how long it took you? Also, is the white E92 yours?? Looks hot!
nice work man. glad the owner was happy. hopefully that turns into a little more word of mouth and business for you. What are you using for the striping on the carpets?
Good job! Hope you get more business. Now is that white M3 in the background next? I also cant stand it how some adults stereotype a young adult liek myself when it comes to detailing. I, including you, arent just trying to make an extra buck. We actually detail and love it
Give it a try, I only intended to donate 1 detail for this silent auction charity but I ended up doing 3 just to give myself a better chance to get out there. Most people always have a couple cars so maybe they will like the work and pay to have their other cars cleaned! It has been a bit challenging getting a steady flow of business so I figured I would get some good will out for my detailing and do a little good for my community. While it is not exactly free advertising, every little bit counts when you have to spend money to make money! Thanks for the comment Marc! It took me roughly 5 hours from start to finish which was pretty much on target for what I planned to accomplish. It was a big car though! That 335i is actually my neighbor's car, has a Brembo BBK, coilovers, TE7 rims, full catless 3" exhaust, intercooler, tune, and from what he says 400+whp. My car is the black Saab in the garage haha. Thanks! I loved the back seats to bits, especially the little foot rest haha. The only problem is that there were so many crevices to clean, especially the dash. Thanks for the nice comment, I can only hope too since free details aren't helping the bottom end until they start paying off with more business! I vacuum and clean them first, then I use a Shop Vac "Claw" attachment to stripe by vacuuming one direction, then the other direction. I know what you mean, it really is not warranted when some people are just downright disrepectful since they assume I am just some college kid who will walk up with a bucket and sponge. All my customers are very happy in the end after I detail their cars, but it is convincing them to let you detail that is the hard part. I am going to restore one of my neighbor's E34 525i but when I first met the husband, he said "You sound like a rip off. I have a rotary buffer and some compound. I am sure I can do anything better than what some kid can do, so thanks but no thanks." Oh well, it is the wife's car and she still wants me to do it haha. I wish that 335 was mine, the kid who lives behind our house has it. He bought it built the way it is now since it used to be a show car, unfortunately he washes it with bath towels and Dawn and the paint is hammered. Thank you very much!
Hey Christian, That's pretty quick for a car that size! How big was the area you were working at a time and how many section passes did it take you to finish one work area? Did the 5 hours include everything or just the AIO polish? Thanks man! Again great job!
5 hours includes everything, which is the product of a lot of practice with this same detail procedure. I have basically learned to streamline my process, plus the ONR wash really cuts down on time. I generally use 3 pads for each car: 1 for each side of vertical panels, 1 for the horizontal panels. The great thing about XMT 360 is that working time is fairly short. Once it begins to disappear after 3-4 passes, you simply move on, apply more, and keep going down the car. Once you are finished, just buff off the little remaining residue and that is it! If an area needs more, just add more product and/or increase pressure slightly and keep buffing. I have tried it with a rotary but working time diminishes even more so I stick with a DA application on speed 4.
