Started to Detail my E89

[True-Blue]

Think I am going to have to learn to detail, valet is no issue but you guys go one further

I’m sure you could do it easily, it’s a little more physically demanding than it looks from YouTube etc. But I’m patient and do a little at a time.

To get a decent machine, pads and compounds is circa £200 maybe a bit less... but I’ve lost count of the number of cars I’ve done, including friends and family, and a little compound goes a long way. My DA is circa 10yrs old, but still very effective

 

[Argyll Andy]

I’ve been doing a bit more research, and I think I’m going to ceramic coat the car now instead... I’d strip the glaze from the bonnet and do an IPA wipe down first.

Each of the panels I’ve done so far has come up really well, even the roof (after much effort )... so I’m thinking ceramic coat is the way to go :wink:

I’ve got a ceramic coating on mine, a quick wash then a spray with liquid wax and wipe down and it looks like you’ve spent hours on it

Did you do it yourself or pay to have it done? Which coating do you have?

Outwith my skill set, I paid to have it done before I picked the car up. It Auto Glym lifetime protect or something like that Beedub says the GTech (same brand I recommended for yourwheels) takes a lot of beating and it’s what he uses in the professional world

 

[True-Blue]

I’ve got a ceramic coating on mine, a quick wash then a spray with liquid wax and wipe down and it looks like you’ve spent hours on it

Did you do it yourself or pay to have it done? Which coating do you have?

Outwith my skill set, I paid to have it done before I picked the car up. It Auto Glym lifetime protect or something like that Beedub says the GTech (same brand I recommended for yourwheels) takes a lot of beating and it’s what he uses in the professional world

I did consider paying to have someone like @Beedub apply a professional grade coating after doing the correction myself, but not sure a pro detailer would be that keen on doing so, plus guessing the cost would still be relatively high compared to getting a consumer grade coating and doing it in my garage.

 

[Argyll Andy]

Did you do it yourself or pay to have it done? Which coating do you have?

Outwith my skill set, I paid to have it done before I picked the car up. It Auto Glym lifetime protect or something like that Beedub says the GTech (same brand I recommended for yourwheels) takes a lot of beating and it’s what he uses in the professional world

I did consider paying to have someone like @Beedub apply a professional grade coating after doing the correction myself, but not sure a pro detailer would be that keen on doing so, plus guessing the cost would still be relatively high compared to getting a consumer grade coating and doing it in my garage.

I’m not sure at all about price but I negotiated a deal when buying the car. I think I got it about half price which was about £300. Basically BMW waived there profit margin to boost my trade in price.

No idea what an Indy would charge, drop Byron a message and see what he says, even if it’s just for tips and recommendations, he’s a top bloke

 

[Ole gits rule]

I am certain my car had something done to it when I purchased it - going to take a look at the receipt.

 

[tomscott]

Its not that difficult really especially with a modern DA, you need time and patients. The slower you go the faster you get it done is a term often thrown around.

Its the time you pay for having it done by a pro and depending on what stage you want.

For example took me 4 days in hours to clean, clay/degrease, cut, polish and wax the 996 which would be roughly equivalent to a stage 2. Obviously im not a pro so they would do it quicker.

Stage 3 would include wet sanding stubborn scratches. Then possibly chip fill, level and polish then once your happy with the paint layer you would then protect. The time limit is basically how far you want to go.

With the hardness of the paint of the M I think its going to take longer so really its trying to find the time as you obviously can't drive the car or you have to start again. I only got one day on it last weekend and only got the bonnet done so the car is stuck in the garage with a cover on it for now until I can finish it.

 

[True-Blue]

I’ve decided to Ceramic Coat the car.

Ordered some CarPro CQUK 3.0 for delivery tomorrow, so should have this finished by the end of the week.

Still need to DA both sides of the car, and strip the glaze from the bonnet, before IPA wipe down and carefully coating.

Hoping for a good result as ceramic coating seems to be great for flake-pop on pearlescent paint, or so ‘the internet’ says

 

[True-Blue]

Two coats of Carpro CQ.UK 3.0 ceramic coating applied today, many, many other coatings are available

I chose this one as it has many positive reviews, which also claimed it was relatively forgiving to use ...and it was

I really wasn’t expecting it to add any gloss, but it does seem to have done

 

[Weston Matt]

Looks amazing. Really good job

 

[motomikey]

Looks lovely. Nice deep reflections.

 

[maxman]

Looks one hell of a finish.Take a bow.

 

[True-Blue]

Thanks all for the kind comments.

Took my time and did it over a number of days. I do have the luxury of an oversize garage, significantly longer and wider than any new-build single garage I’ve seen before, so didn’t drive the car for about a week. Carefully wiped away any fresh dust before starting each panel.

I am going to re-do the bonnet as I have a couple of annoying high spots in the ceramic coating that I missed during application. Ceramic really isn’t that hard, and a gentle polish with the DA will easily remove it for a fresh application.

I am tempted to order a new long-throw DA, as from what I gather they offer faster correction and reduced vibration in use... a more enjoyable experience

 

[Stevo1987]

I’ve got a ceramic coating on mine, a quick wash then a spray with liquid wax and wipe down and it looks like you’ve spent hours on it

Did you do it yourself or pay to have it done? Which coating do you have?

Outwith my skill set, I paid to have it done before I picked the car up. It Auto Glym lifetime protect or something like that Beedub says the GTech (same brand I recommended for yourwheels) takes a lot of beating and it’s what he uses in the professional world

I am guessing it was this Andy. https://www.autoglym.com/lifeshine

 

[Argyll Andy]

Did you do it yourself or pay to have it done? Which coating do you have?

Outwith my skill set, I paid to have it done before I picked the car up. It Auto Glym lifetime protect or something like that Beedub says the GTech (same brand I recommended for yourwheels) takes a lot of beating and it’s what he uses in the professional world

I am guessing it was this Andy. https://www.autoglym.com/lifeshine

That’s the very one. I noticed when I went outside today, been absolutely p!shing it down the car looked like it’d just been washed and polished. Kathleen mentioned how good it was looking.