Maybe overkill, but every couple of years I like to give the Zed the full treatment. I also had holidays to use up and seen as the C word is on everybody’s lips it did seem the perfect opportunity to spend some time alone in the garage.
Prior to the weekend I completed the following to kick things off:
All 4 wheels refurbed (and sealed with Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels)
Front bumper resprayed
Front bars near the fan sprayed grey to match the car colour
Washer reservoir removed and cleaned
Rear light fixed and electrical gremlin gone (turns out that water ingress in the rear taillight is a common problem on the coupe. A guy who worked for BMW was telling me they used to have a couple in a week with the same problem)
Wheel arches flushed
Attempted to fit a Bluetooth module via the boot where the CD changer should go (sacked this off and went back to the AUX option as it’s not as easy as the videos online make it look)
Touch up paint on small chips and driver’s door rash
Before I start on the detail, I just want to make it known I do this for the fun of it. I’m no expert and completely self-taught. Some people read books; some play games consoles I like to clean my car(s). With a pressured job that needs me to be constantly thinking ahead I love just only having to think about the thing in front of me (plus it feeds my OCD needs).
There are a few things I’ve done / tried this time that I didn’t do last time in an attempt to at least get a bit better.
Day 1 – Full decontamination
Engine bay and under bonnet rinsed
Cleaned with Meguiars Engine cleaner and Carbon Collective brush then rinse and blow dry
Under bonnet cleaned with Auto Finesse Citrus Power and CC brush
Wheels jet washed
Wheels cleaned with Clean Your Car snow foam, CC brush and Wheel Woolie (only just refurbed so didn’t need much attention)
Door surrounds, hinges and boot surround rinsed and cleaned with AF Citrus Power and CC brush then rinsed again
Rinse whole car for 10mins
Snow foam whole car and get into all ‘nooks and crannies’ with AF Citrus Power and CC brush then rinse off
Two bucket wash with AF Summer Fruits Lather Shampoo and new Merino Lambskin wash mitt (prior to using this I had a Dodo Juice sponge which I though was great…until I used a mitt! You can cover so much more surface area and apply a lot less pressure to get the desired results)
Rinse thoroughly
Auto Glym tar remover then rinse again
Clay bar with fine grade and just water
Final rinse
Towel dry with Meguiars towel and then blow dry all nooks and crannies
Clean all leather including steering wheel with Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Cleaner
Day 2 – Heavy Cut Compound Polish
I recently bought a rotary polisher and used it on the Mrs’s new car. I didn’t get along with it. There is so much room for error and it seems so easy to make a mistake with marring and hologramming.
With that in mind I decided to go back to a DA where I feel comfortable. I opted for the Clean Your Car Das Pro 6 Plus with 15mm throw which I thought leaves a ‘bit’ of opportunity to correct the paint.
For the first time ever I properly masking taped the car. Previously I had a go and it came off whilst polishing. I found if you do this properly and you take your time it is well worth the effort when you remove it after the cutting polish. Saves tonnes of time trying to get rid of the left-over polish powder.
I used Menzerna Heavy Cut 400 with a single pass on the whole car. I wasn’t that bothered about cutting but thought with the heavy compound it would get rid of the light stuff, I did actually manage to remove a scratch from the rear without damaging the paint which I was well chuffed about…it also taught me that the polish compound really does the work and not the amount of time you spend passing over the machine backwards and forwards.
I also dyed the leather now it had been washed and dried with a simple leather dye you can get off eBay (makes it easy when it is black).
Finished the day by applying an IPA to all the car.
Day 3 – Refining and interior
Machine polish the car with Menzerna 300 Final Finish.
Hand polish with Auto Finesse Auto Glaze – normally don’t do this step, but as I was so impressed with the results on my Mrs’s car, I thought I would see if it had the same impact. Defo worth it as it gives the paint that liquid gloss look
Polish all glass with G-Techniq G4 Nanotech Glass Polish
Dress engine with Auto Finesse Dressle
Apply Carbon Collective Oracle for 2-year ceramic protection
Apply G-Techniq C4 Trim Restorer on all external black plastics
Apply G-Techniq G1 Glass Kit on front and rear. Carbon Collective glass cleaner on side windows
Vac boot, clean glass and apply Gummifledge on rubber bits
Clean interior glass with Meguiars glass cleaner
Apply Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Sealant to all leather
Brush all vents
Clean plastics with IPA then apply a mix of Auto Finesse Dressle and a good old ‘back to black’ spray. I found with the AF that because the plastics are essentially old, they needed something to bring them back to life a bit.
Gummiflege all rubber
Vac all carpets and used my Mrs’s electric handheld carpet cleaner for the mats. You should have seen the amount of dirt that came out! I’ve seen (and used) the drill extensions for cleaning car carpet, but all that is doing is essentially moving it around. This thing, you spray it with cleaner from the vac and it hoovers it up into a little pot. Highly recommend! They look like brand new!
Day 4 – Finish
I’m a big fan of ceramic coatings, they have great durability and make cleaning a car so much easier, but they lack the ‘warmth’ in the finish that you get with a wax. I decided to finish the paint with Zymol Crème Wax. I have this in my stock as Clean Your Car recommended it for that ‘show’ shine and I figured it couldn’t do any harm. It offers nothing in terms of protection but defo added that deep gloss to the finish.
All that was left to do was take a toothpick and remove all the leftover bits of residue and take it out for a drive. Finished pics below:
Prior to the weekend I completed the following to kick things off:
All 4 wheels refurbed (and sealed with Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels)
Front bumper resprayed
Front bars near the fan sprayed grey to match the car colour
Washer reservoir removed and cleaned
Rear light fixed and electrical gremlin gone (turns out that water ingress in the rear taillight is a common problem on the coupe. A guy who worked for BMW was telling me they used to have a couple in a week with the same problem)
Wheel arches flushed
Attempted to fit a Bluetooth module via the boot where the CD changer should go (sacked this off and went back to the AUX option as it’s not as easy as the videos online make it look)
Touch up paint on small chips and driver’s door rash
Before I start on the detail, I just want to make it known I do this for the fun of it. I’m no expert and completely self-taught. Some people read books; some play games consoles I like to clean my car(s). With a pressured job that needs me to be constantly thinking ahead I love just only having to think about the thing in front of me (plus it feeds my OCD needs).
There are a few things I’ve done / tried this time that I didn’t do last time in an attempt to at least get a bit better.
Day 1 – Full decontamination
Engine bay and under bonnet rinsed
Cleaned with Meguiars Engine cleaner and Carbon Collective brush then rinse and blow dry
Under bonnet cleaned with Auto Finesse Citrus Power and CC brush
Wheels jet washed
Wheels cleaned with Clean Your Car snow foam, CC brush and Wheel Woolie (only just refurbed so didn’t need much attention)
Door surrounds, hinges and boot surround rinsed and cleaned with AF Citrus Power and CC brush then rinsed again
Rinse whole car for 10mins
Snow foam whole car and get into all ‘nooks and crannies’ with AF Citrus Power and CC brush then rinse off
Two bucket wash with AF Summer Fruits Lather Shampoo and new Merino Lambskin wash mitt (prior to using this I had a Dodo Juice sponge which I though was great…until I used a mitt! You can cover so much more surface area and apply a lot less pressure to get the desired results)
Rinse thoroughly
Auto Glym tar remover then rinse again
Clay bar with fine grade and just water
Final rinse
Towel dry with Meguiars towel and then blow dry all nooks and crannies
Clean all leather including steering wheel with Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Cleaner
Day 2 – Heavy Cut Compound Polish
I recently bought a rotary polisher and used it on the Mrs’s new car. I didn’t get along with it. There is so much room for error and it seems so easy to make a mistake with marring and hologramming.
With that in mind I decided to go back to a DA where I feel comfortable. I opted for the Clean Your Car Das Pro 6 Plus with 15mm throw which I thought leaves a ‘bit’ of opportunity to correct the paint.
For the first time ever I properly masking taped the car. Previously I had a go and it came off whilst polishing. I found if you do this properly and you take your time it is well worth the effort when you remove it after the cutting polish. Saves tonnes of time trying to get rid of the left-over polish powder.
I used Menzerna Heavy Cut 400 with a single pass on the whole car. I wasn’t that bothered about cutting but thought with the heavy compound it would get rid of the light stuff, I did actually manage to remove a scratch from the rear without damaging the paint which I was well chuffed about…it also taught me that the polish compound really does the work and not the amount of time you spend passing over the machine backwards and forwards.
I also dyed the leather now it had been washed and dried with a simple leather dye you can get off eBay (makes it easy when it is black).
Finished the day by applying an IPA to all the car.
Day 3 – Refining and interior
Machine polish the car with Menzerna 300 Final Finish.
Hand polish with Auto Finesse Auto Glaze – normally don’t do this step, but as I was so impressed with the results on my Mrs’s car, I thought I would see if it had the same impact. Defo worth it as it gives the paint that liquid gloss look
Polish all glass with G-Techniq G4 Nanotech Glass Polish
Dress engine with Auto Finesse Dressle
Apply Carbon Collective Oracle for 2-year ceramic protection
Apply G-Techniq C4 Trim Restorer on all external black plastics
Apply G-Techniq G1 Glass Kit on front and rear. Carbon Collective glass cleaner on side windows
Vac boot, clean glass and apply Gummifledge on rubber bits
Clean interior glass with Meguiars glass cleaner
Apply Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Sealant to all leather
Brush all vents
Clean plastics with IPA then apply a mix of Auto Finesse Dressle and a good old ‘back to black’ spray. I found with the AF that because the plastics are essentially old, they needed something to bring them back to life a bit.
Gummiflege all rubber
Vac all carpets and used my Mrs’s electric handheld carpet cleaner for the mats. You should have seen the amount of dirt that came out! I’ve seen (and used) the drill extensions for cleaning car carpet, but all that is doing is essentially moving it around. This thing, you spray it with cleaner from the vac and it hoovers it up into a little pot. Highly recommend! They look like brand new!
Day 4 – Finish
I’m a big fan of ceramic coatings, they have great durability and make cleaning a car so much easier, but they lack the ‘warmth’ in the finish that you get with a wax. I decided to finish the paint with Zymol Crème Wax. I have this in my stock as Clean Your Car recommended it for that ‘show’ shine and I figured it couldn’t do any harm. It offers nothing in terms of protection but defo added that deep gloss to the finish.
All that was left to do was take a toothpick and remove all the leftover bits of residue and take it out for a drive. Finished pics below:
you're right it does. Some was to clean exterior (with light ceramic), some was to apply full cermamic protection and some just to clean the insides where no ceramic is needed.
