(Apologies for the 'salesy' references, this was written for some Irish forums my business advertises on)
If anyone would like any advice or product recommendations please just ask.
John
As some of you know I picked this beauty up at the start of the month.
(poor old v6 getting an admiring glance
Little did I know the dealer had done a fine job of filling the swirling and scratches. I was completely unaware...even when the sun game out I didnt really notice. One wash later however and a sunny day exposed the true shape of the paint.
A few photos under the spotlights...
In just 11k miles it has picked up some of the worst swirling and deep scratches I think I've ever seen on a modern car. It must have been through an automatic car wash at least weekly if not more.
So..the car was clayed and rewashed before being put into the garage...forbidden to show its face until it had been tided up.
Before tackling the car I'd done some reading up on modern BMW paint, I already knew it was quite hard but there were UK detailers saying they had never encountered a substance like it...I shrugged it off at the time. How wrong I was....!
I tried every combination I had, right up to Menzerna Power Gloss (very heavy cut) on the Orange Hexlogic cutting pad...I was sure this would be enough but I just wasn't getting the finish I wanted, don't get me wrong it was a vast improvement but just not what I was after. Too many untouched RDS (random deep scratches).
So I pulled out all the supplier catalogues we have and settled on the 3M Compounding pad...ordered up 2 of them (just incase).
Pads arrived a couple of days later and I set to work, using the new pads and Menzerna Power Gloss. Immediately I was getting alot more cut, however it still took 2 hits to get the finish I was after. With such an aggressive combination each panel was then also hit with Menzerna Final Finish on the Green Hexlogic pad, this removed all the marring and added an extra level of gloss to the finish.
A few shots after polishing, this is before the waxing stage.
The car then got a coat of Dodo Juice Lime Prime to provide a good base for the wax.
With polishing complete it was onto the tedious task of dust removal and getting it ready for waxing. I also popped the wheels off at this point to clean them and the arches.
Got to try out the new Chemical Guys - Diablo Wheel Gel. Fantastic stuff. Photos of this are none too interesting so just one of Diablo in action...
Wheels were then dried and Jetsealed.
Arches were dressed with a product we are in the final stages of testing. Spray on and leave, no buffing and most importantly no drips! And tyres got a coat of CleanCar.ie Berry Blast Tyre Gel.
Onto waxing!
Wax of choice was Dodo Juice Supernatural. This is the stuff that comes in the wooden pot and costs quite a bit. Sadly I'm much too poor for that so I made do with a sample pot
This was applied very thinly and left to cure for 30mins before being buffed off. This is essential when using Supernatural in a colder climate. It was given 2 coats of this 24hours apart.
And finally....
Some outdoor photos to follow once I get time to take it out
And one nice touch I hadn't spotted until I cleaned the leather interior...
And outside...
Thanks for looking (if you made it this far).
If anyone would like any advice or product recommendations please just ask.
John
south yorkshire