Smoke Detailed - BMW Neglected, Gloss It Perfected

Smoke · #1 (**permalink**) 08-11-2008

Some people have NO respect for their vehicles:crasy:

This was one of their worst cars I have done. A silver 325xi landed in my driveway a few days ago looking like hell. The wheels were painted black with the thickest brake dust I have ever seen and the paint was not only totally flat but it had terrible scuff marks all over it. I knew this one was going to be a project! I would have guessed this car hadnt been washed since the day it was bought.

On with the job...

The wheels were beyond your average BMW brake dust buildup. This was not a time for P21s gel, I could have let it sit there for 3days but I just didnt have the time or patience so out with the heavy stuff...

Megs Wheel Brightener 4:1 and lots of it. I went through 3/4 of a bottle on these wheels.:doh: I hate using acidic wheel cleaners but sometimes the job warrants it.

There was a ton of baked on brake dust which did not come off even after using tar remover, clay and an agressive polish.

A little 50/50

The door shuts were all cleaned with APC+

After ruining an entire bar of Megs agressive clay this BMW was ready for inspection and PTG readings. The car averaged 110-160 microns all around.

These are the HEAVY scuff marks I was talking about

After some experimenting I found that the best way to get these marks out was by hand polishing...yes hand polishing with an agressive compound.

The choice for the job was Gloss It extreme cut, similar to a megs M105.

I like Extreme cut because its pretty thin compared to M105 and uses a variaty of different sized abrasives which all cut very well.

Heres a close up after spreading Extreme cut a bit

Now onto the scuffs

After a very long time hand polishing out the scuffs it was time to bring back some shine and the finish and machine polish out the swirls.
I chose the cyclo with yellow pads and Gloss It One Step machine polish(my new favorite product) this stuff cuts very well and finishes down 100% LSP ready.

The pads got quite dirty during polishing so out with the GG pad washer, yea it works with a cyclo! This is one thing I cannot polish without. now its really a useful device.

Before

During

After

The exhaust were not chrome but needed a good once over. #0000 steel wool and noxon and then Megs all metal polished were used

Before

During

After

Now more polishing on the passenger side

DD ubers were the choice for hand polishing because they have just enough bite for the job

Then more finishing with the cyclo and the Gloss It one step

50/50

After an IPA wipedown, the depth and reflectiveness is restored and the car is ready for LSP. The choice was Gloss it Gloss Finish then a gloss enhancer wipedown

This is the car with no LSP

One last thing before applying the gloss finish was to do some touch up work, the owner didnt ask for it but i happened to have found this little kit in the interior while i was cleaning it out so I figured I would put it to good use. A simple titanium silver basecoat and then a clear coat to top it...HOW CONVIENENT:thumb:

While that was curing I moved onto to the interior which was umm...less than stellar:doh:

Products used...

1Z CP
1Z Plastik Reinger
Megs APC+
Leather masters rapid cleaner S
Optimum leather protectant
P21s 100%
Swissvax brush

Cleaning the crevices full of gunk with a trustt toothpick

Before

After

A little topper for the wood to really make it glow

After

Carpets were equally bad, heavily soiled and hardened stains.

I pre treated them with APC+ then used the Bissell LGM with Folex solution to extract the stains and agitate.

Before

After

Interior all finished off

Then I applied Gloss Finish sealant followed by a gloss enhancer QD wipedown.

All rubber ext. trim was treated was with 1Z Gummi Pledge

The after shots, I'll admit this car was no prize even after finishing but the main goal was to repair the exterior scuffs and swirls and recondition the interior to like new state. I didnt go crazy with a final jeweling polish or special LSP.

Total time: 17hours

No more scuffs:

The car had some heavy swirls before but they were not very deep

The owner was more than thrilled with the outcome, she couldnt believe it was the same car with brake dust caked up and black scuffs all over. Using Gloss It extreme cut by hand to polish out the scuffs worked like a dream! And finishing it off with the new One Step machine polish worked great as well.