Ok I got this job through a recommendation from FMINUS. Seems the customer contacted FMINUS through a bimmer forum and wanted her BMW detailed but she lived on the other side of the country in NC and wanted to know if he could recommend someone. Well he gave her my name and she contacted me. Only problem was she lived 3.5 hours away. Well I have some family in her area and things worked out where I would be in her area this past weekend so we set up a date. Well she wanted the 545i done as well as a Z3 that belonged to her Aunt. I also ended up with two more cars while I was there as a friend of the family I was staying with found out I was there and requested that his two cars be done.:headbang: My wife's uncle who has helped me before helped out on all the details. After his stroke a few years ago he has been unable to work and although he has always been a car enthusiast just isn't able to do a lot anymore. Well he has gotten the detailing bug from helping me and it makes him feel useful again so it was a pleasure having him help out. Oh and by the way he does absolutely phenomenal interior work. Well on to the detail: Tires/Wheels/Wells: Well I used P21s Wheel Gel on the wheels with an assortment of brushes and such. I used the EZ Wheel brush, Black Magic wheel brush bent 90 degrees for getting behind the spokes, lug nut brush, and foam finger pocket. The tires got P21s TAW and the wells got Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff @ 2:1 and a black Shmitt. The tires were first dressed with Megs Hyper Dressing @ 1:1 with a TW tire applicator cut in half for easy application on the lo profile tires. I then dressed them with the same method with the other half of the TW applicator and Swissvax Pneu. Wells were dressed with CGs Bare Bones. Exhaust: I used Megs Wheel Brightner first on the exhaust with a black wheel shmitt and then polished them with Autosol. This was a great combo and gave a brand new look to the exhaust. Engine: I gave the engine a quick rinse then sprayed it down with MS SGS. I agitated it and re-rinsed. I dried most of the water with a leaf blower and then sprayed the engine bay down with Megs HD @ 3:1. I cranked the engine and let it run for about 20 minutes and it turned out great. Wash: Well if there was anything on the car I wanted it off so I went with the foam cannon with 2 oz of CGs Citrus Wash Clear and 1 oz of CGs Strong Wash. I used a Zymol Sponge and man I love that thing. My wife's uncle also fell in love with my other Zymol Sponge and everytime I looked he had it. The bugs got CGs Strong Wash @ 4:1 and a Majestic Solutions bug sponge. Well this combo as usual knocked the bugs out with no problem. It makes the job so much easier. The entire wash including wheels and engine were done with the CR Spotless System. The car was then dried with the leaf blower. Clay: Ok first let me get on my soap box for a minute. I want to say that thankfully I have been able to meet a lot of people throughout the world thanks to this site and other sites I am a member of. With that I have also gained a lot of friendships from folks in other countries that are always willing to help me out when I need it. Well this allows me to purchase clay that the folks at Auto Magic claim I can't have due to their monopoly. Well since I have friends that will buy it and give it to me I can bypass Auto Magic and I always will. I have no intentions thanks to good friends of ever buying any clay from Auto Magic and they can kiss my proverbial ass! Well off my soap box now and onto what I consider the VERY BEST clay ever made. I am talking about Bilt Hamber clay. I love that all I have to use for lube is water and it won't destroy the clay. For this detail I used Bilt Hamber Soft clay. It is every bit as pliable as Riccardo and does a great job. If you don't have any BH you need to get it! The clay did a great job of pulling the contaminates out of the paint and leaving it slick as glass. Glass: Glass inside and out got Stoners Invisible Glass. It was applied with a glass MF and buffed off with a WW MF. Interior: The interior was in pretty good shape but when my helper got through it was in incredible shape! It was vacuumed with the shop vac (I've got to show him about putting stripes in the mats). The interior was wiped down with CGs Silk Shine and a MF mitt. My wife's uncle fell in love with the Silk Shine and used it on every detail we did. The leather got one of my favorites, 1Z Leather Care Lederpflege. I really really like this product as it cleans and conditions and leaves the leather looking so great and natural. Paint: The paint was in pretty good shape with a few rough spots on the doors and some hologramming. I decided that only the best would do for the 545i so I broke out the Scholl Concepts. I used S17 with a blue Scholl Concepts pad (like an organge LC pad) on the doors. I then followed up with the incredible finishing polish S40 on a Scholl Concepts orange pad (like a white polishing pad). The S17 abolished the imperfections as you can see: As you can see the Scholl Concepts polishes do a phenomenal job and no dusting! The S40 really gave a great shine and made the flake just pop! Everything was buffed off with the CGs 530 XL MFs. Protection: I used Jetseal since I was going to be topping with a nuba. It was applied with a CGs Stage 3 Applicator and buffed off with a 530xl MF. LSP: I decided along with the owner to go with Zymol Glasur. This is one of Zymols most underrated waxes. This wax on silver is great. It made the paint look incredible. After finishing I gave the entire car a wipedown with Clearkote Quick Shine. The owner was ecstatic and I was really pleased with how it came out. Here are the before and afters and in one of the pics you get a little teaser of the Z3 that is coming up. Before and Afters: Random and reflection pics:
Yeah me too I had never seen that before but thought it looked cool. Thanks richy means a lot coming from you. It really does put the pressure on though when you are recommended by someone especially someone with such great skills. If the owner has seen their work then you know what they are expecting and living up to someone like FMINUS is a tough task. Thanks ghost! Thanks Piet I always think about what you'll say about the wheels when I'm taking pics! My man joe! Nice to hear from you and thanks for the props. Thanks yukon! Thanks bro! Was really hoping to do FMINUS proud! The owner was ecstatic so that was 1/2 the accomplishment. Thanks Duratys! Much appreciated Scott! I have a technical question for you. How do I get around having that sunburst in my after shot of the front of the car? I get this a lot depending on where the sun is when I take pics and I have no idea how to alleviate it. Thanks Denzil! Thanks pirex and Glasur is a great wax. I have said that I could go with Glasur and Rubbish Boys OE and be happy. In fact those are the only 2 waxes I took with me this past weekend. Thanks Asphalt! Thanks Buddy I get to writing and I think that sometimes I write too much. Glad you enjoyed it!
JL my bud, you do some great work buddy and I love to read your detailed write ups as well!! Reading this write up wants me to get out there and book some more work even though it's getting cold out. I have to get my hands on some of that clay and the scholl looks very promising also. Stay in touch, glad to see you posting write ups again.:applause2:
Thanks Ben for all your help in making my details this weekend look phenomenal! The Z3 write up is coming soon and guess what the LSP is on that and the Mini I did this weekend? Thats right none other than Rubbish Boys OE! Hey Corey thanks a ton. I'm telling you man you can not go wrong with the Bilt Hamber or the Scholl Concepts. I have a big order of Scholl Concepts coming from Pirex very soon. Thanks David much appreciated from a detailer of your caliber.
