Well my wife's cousin came down today from Durham, NC about 1.5 hours from here. She was suppose to be bringing a Porsche 944 S2 Convertible for me to detail but as my crappy luck goes the clutch went out on it on Wednesday so a no go for me this weekend. To make it worse that is the car I was going to break the seal on my new Zymol Concours with. Well she and the wife were going to get facials today so I saw she left the keys to her M3 here. Well I knew she lives in an area that has major water restrictions right now so they are unable to wash their cars, and I figured I had nothing else to do so I decided to clean it up for her. I knew time was tight as she had to leave shortly after returning for an appointment in Durham so this was just an exterior. I figured even with water restrictions her husband can do the interior when she gets back home. Since time was tight it was just a wash, paint cleansing, and sealant. When I pulled it into my garage after washing I refused to put my halogens or Brinkman on it because I didn't want to see the imperfections and know I didn't have time to do anything about them. So like I said it was a quickie and I had a motive too. I figure she runs in a circle with people with high end cars in Durham and with them unable to clean them, when they see her car .... well maybe they want to take a short trip to have it done. Heck her husband has a 91 VW Corrado that I would love to get my hands on. Anyway here is the low down: Wheels/Tires: Man the wheels were in really bad shape and on the verge of being really really bad. I used Surf City Beyond Steel wheel cleaner on the wheels with a variety of tools. I used the OrngeZ Wheel Sticks, Swissvax brush, and black Wheel Shmitt. The tires and wells got Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff and another black Wheel Shmitt. Wells were dressed with CGs Bare Bones and Tires were dressed with Optimum Tire Shine. Engine: Another engine with CD-2. I'm getting better with this stuff each time I use it. The deal is to move slow when spraying it on the engine to get really good even coverage. I rinsed the engine, sprayed with MS SGS, agitated with a brush, rinsed, dried with a leaf blower and sprayed with CD-2. Wash: Used my foam cannon and Karcher PW with CGs Citrus Wash n Gloss. Used a rinse bucket with grit guard. I washed the car with a grout sponge and rinsed. Then dried it with the leaf blower and CGs Miracle Towel. I love that towel and it's to me the best drying towel out there. One drawback is its a little big so I had a seamstress cut mine in half and sew up the edge so now I have 2! Clay: Clayed the car using DP 4n1 as a clay lube. Trim: Trim, what little there was, got CGs Trim Gel. I think I like this a little better than Black Wow. It looks as good but is easier to work with. If you get Black Wow on the paint or glass it is a pita to get off. CG Trim Gel, however, comes off very easy. I know Black Wow has some incredible durability and I haven't used CGs Trim Gel enought to comment on its durability so we'll have to see if it can beat Black Wow in that category. Paint: Well since I didn't have a lot of time I figured I would go with maximum protection and looks, especially since it won't get washed for a while probably. I decided ot clean the paint with DG 501. Al-53 my own personal consultant:thumb: had told me that 501 could stand on its own and offer a great shine and very good durability so this was a no brainer. I used my Flex on speed 3.5 with a green LC CCS pad. When I finished the car the pad was black with dirt and that was after a strong wash and claying. This polish never ceases to amaze me! I buffed it off with a Cobra Jr. MF. After I buffed it off a had just a short amount of time so I hit it with a layer of CGs Jetseal applied with a 4" red LC CCS pad via the polishing pal. I buffed it off with a CGs Edgeless MF. Well when she returned and saw the car she was ecstatic to say the least. The first thing she said was "I have wheels again!!!" Well P1et I guess my hard work on tires and wheels paid off huh. Like I said it was a quickie but she loved it and I didn't have to do an interior. Since the Porsche 944 detail is coming from her recommendation I figured it was the least I could do. Well here are the pics: A couple of reflection shots:
Great job Wolfpacker! Big improvement on the timwork especially on the front right quarter panel :thumb: Oustanding turnaround on the engine bay. What is that crusty stuff? :gross: Wheels look great, but what is up with the CGs Bare Bones and Optimum Tire shine :shrug: What happened to the VRP :giggle:
Nice job on the M3...from rags to riches...engine looks super..wheels and wells lok good as usaual...the paint looks nice also.. the Dg 501 really cleans paint..it just pulls it out of the pores..my pads are black also... How come you did not use the RS on the paint...you hording it...lol...JK....I do not blame you.... great job..looks fine Al
Thanks I didn't think it turned out too bad for a quickie (that's what she said). Yeah she was surprised and very glad her car was clean again. Tonya Bare Bones is bar none my favorite dressing for wheel wells. Since this was a freebie I figured I'd just try out the Optimum on a set of Michelins to see how it looked. I thought it gave it a really good look too. Thanks, I bet yours was newer than mine. Al you are so right on the 501 the stuff is the best paint cleaner I have found! And to top it off you get protection too! Definately an A+ product! Oh and you got that right the RS is going on MY vehicles only until I get some more of it, hint hint! Thanks these were the first difficult BMW wheels I have had and now I see what everyone complains about.
Sometimes these are the most fun, lovely work as usual mate! Greatness on the wheels and tires, the KING at work!!!
Thanks and yes some quickies are much better than others :thumb: Mate when she saw the wheels and said that I thought well I know P1et would be proud! Thanks it was a very nice car and a joy to work on.
I know what you mean about interior glass..LOL....The last few car I done I used DG #921 and it's been working great. A heck of a lot better than glass cleaners....
Nice W&W Wolf!!! Did you use the LC CCS green I sent? If so what did you think? hopefully she gets you some good $ details!
