2009 BMW 335xi

[Justin M.]

I just wanted to share one of my recent detail jobs on a nice 335xi couple. I am still learning some of the finer aspects and techniques of detailing so I am open to critique and suggestion.

Products used:
CG citrus wash
Mother's foaming wheel and tire cleaner (not that impressed with it )
Clay magic fine clay
Dodo Juice clay lube
Mequiar's 105 via LC Orange pad and PC 7424XP
Mequiar's 205 via LC White pad and PC 7424XP
CG EZ-Creme glaze by hand
Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant via LC Black pad and PC 7424XP
Collinite 845 wax via LC Black pad and PC7424XP

Some of my questions first:
- What are your guys/gals approach to paint correction on bumpers and rocker panels? Different pads, compounds, tools, by hand?
- What are your general approaches to taping and masking? Tape all seams, edges, or just rubber/trim?

So, here we go with some before shots, lots of deep swirling and scratches, waterspots, and even some hazing in parts:

Started off with a 2 bucket wash using CG citrus wash and the Mequiar's wheel cleaner on the wheels. This was followed by a complete clay bar treatment, there was lots of build up and contaminants:

Got it taped up and did a test spot on the trunk. Then began the compounding process. Even with an Orange pad and Meguiar's 105, I couldn't get out all the swirling:

This was my test spot back out in the sun:

Here is the door 50/50 section after compounding. You can see there is still some light scratches.

Here is the hood after compounding. I did not use the Orange pad with 105 on the clear-bra. Instead, I hit that with the White pad and 205, came out really good.

Next was the Meguair's 205 with the White pad for final polishing. This shows a door 50/50 of polished vs. compound only:

After the polishing was done, I washed the car again with CG citrus wash. Once dry, I applied the EZ-Creme glaze by hand and removed. Followed that up with the Blackfire Wet Diamond and let it sit for a couple hours. Lastly, I applied the Collinite 845 wax and did a final touch up on the car. Overall, it came out great and the owner was loving it!

Here are some after pictures, unfortunately I ran out of sunlight to get some really good comparison pictures in:

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any feedback on my process or steps!

Full photo gallery of the job is here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113692728582054043965/albums/5931884306308090785

Justin

 

[swanicyouth]

Looks really good, especially work on the clear bra.

For bumpers you need 3" pads and a 2 & 7/8" BP. I use the same type of pad I would use on paint. You only really have to worry about bumpers if your using a rotary and generating heat. The paint can "twist". With a DA your OK, if the paint is factory.

 

[Black's Magic]

Was this a customer vehicle or your personal?

 

[Black's Magic]

Don't you love working on black cars? It is my favorite.

 

[Gsrjake]

nice, im curious to as of why you couldnt get all the scratches out of the trunk with the m105 followed with the m205?

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Very nice work. Car looks much better now.

 

[Justin M.]

Looks really good, especially work on the clear bra.

For bumpers you need 3" pads and a 2 & 7/8" BP. I use the same type of pad I would use on paint. You only really have to worry about bumpers if your using a rotary and generating heat. The paint can "twist". With a DA your OK, if the paint is factory.

Thanks! And thanks as well for the tip. Looks like some new backing plates and pads will be going on my list of things to get.

Was this a customer vehicle or your personal?

It is a long time friends (and now new customer) car.

nice, im curious to as of why you couldnt get all the scratches out of the trunk with the m105 followed with the m205?

I am as well I was thinking I might have needed a more aggressive pad than the orange LC pad? Or, maybe I just needed to adjust my technique and make another set of passes on the area?

In the end I could not even see those scratches that I saw during compounding. I think the finishing polish and glaze helped get the rest of them out or cover up the tiny remaining ones.

 

[Sicoupe]

You did great for just starting out, keep up the good work

 

[530inv]

It looks great man!! Can't beat that black BMW glow after some good buffer treatment.

Cleaning the pad after every pass helped my cut and also lowered pad heat. What speed do you cut at?

 

[LatinFG2]

Awesome work!

 

[DannyDetail]

I think those scratches were just swirls from compounding, weren´t they?

 

[Justin M.]

You did great for just starting out, keep up the good work

Thanks!

It looks great man!! Can't beat that black BMW glow after some good buffer treatment.

Cleaning the pad after every pass helped my cut and also lowered pad heat. What speed do you cut at?

Indeed, black cars can be tough sometimes, but the payoff is huge.

I cut at 5 on the PC. Maybe I should clean more often? I did use Mike's terry cloth quick clean technique and also used a small brush to clean it. I used 2 pads for each stage of buffing.

Awesome work!

Thanks buddy!

I think those scratches were just swirls from compounding, weren´t they?

This could be what I was seeing. I did not have those remaining scratches after finish polishing if I remember right.

Any other tips on taping and masking technique's? I see some people tape the entire door handle, are they just buffing the handles by hand then?