BMW 745Li Black Metallic Ugh to Great

[Totoland Mach]

This finishes the current round of Bimmers for February...saving the monster 745Li (with Sport package) for last. The car had some obvious attempts at chip filling and rotary polishing...all of which were sub-par. Plus, it has a nasty scrape on the rear bumper that I tried to work with tons of products/pads/etc....came out "somewhat" ok..but the dealer said he might just take the bumper off and repaint it professionally.

Here's a pic of that scrape...

Wet sanded a lot of spot areas where the scratches were fairly deep

Even the dealer jumped in with a rotary to help...what a great guy to work for!

These are BMW Sport Wheels. Finished them with Collinite Insulator Wax

Beautiful Wheel!....but a nitemare to keep clean!

Here's the trunk like reflection coming up to my standards!

Final Power Wash and ready for #26 tomorrow...then clean the interior.

I'll post some outside pics tomorrow if we don't get the snow they are forecasting.

Later Folks!

Toto

 

[Gary Sword]

Nice of you to put the dealer to work while you watch Toto. What to you think of the 745Li. My neighbor has one and said he would sell it to me cheap. What ever that means.

 

[FloridaNative]

Great work Toto!! It looks beautiful!!

 

[Totoland Mach]

Nice of you to put the dealer to work while you watch Toto. What to you think of the 745Li. My neighbor has one and said he would sell it to me cheap. What ever that means.

He's great to work for/with LOL....heck he even cooks burgers on the grill on nice Saturdays, buys food for me, gives my wife fantastic bottles of wine (I don't drink..but she loves good wine).

The 745Li I'm doing has a rare sport package for this large of a car. The leather interior is kid glove and is really nice. I think this car is going to sell for $47/k or so...I can find out. The 745 Li Series is really a luxo-tourer and a wonderful road car. I would think they are a little big for urban driving on a daily basis.

I'll try to find some details on pricing for you and post them.

Toto

 

[Gary Sword]

He's great to work for/with LOL....heck he even cooks burgers on the grill on nice Saturdays, buys food for me, gives my wife fantastic bottles of wine (I don't drink..but she loves good wine).

The 745Li I'm doing has a rare sport package for this large of a car. The leather interior is kid glove and is really nice. I think this car is going to sell for $47/k or so...I can find out. The 745 Li Series is really a luxo-tourer and a wonderful road car. I would think they are a little big for urban driving on a daily basis.

I'll try to find some details on pricing for you and post them.

Toto

Thanks Toto, I think my neighbor was feeling me out to see if I was interested in it. He knows I love cars. The car is excellant condition. I'm not sure on the miles. I rode in it a couple of weeks ago. I might be interested in it if the price is right.

 

[Nica]

Very nice work Toto, as usual you do great work.

I thought you would be able to polish those marks off the bumper, my Volvo's bumper is like that and I thought I would be able to polish the scratches but it looks like I probably won’t even bother trying.

It's very nice to see your boss giving you a hand, as I said before you are one of the few who has a great job and a great boss.

 

[Dieseldan]

I have 845 but is better to use a wax to finish the wheel or a dedicated sealant like Poorboys?

 

[Jimmie]

Always look forward to seeing your details Toto. Another good looking job on car and wheel. Still can't get over that lift. That thing is awesome.

 

[Totoland Mach]

Nica: the scrape on that rear bumper was very deep. There are some gouges that go all the was to the plastic base.

I'll pull the car outside and take some close-up pics of that area to show what I did. The trouble with plastic cladding is you can't use a rotary + compound = heat to repair the scratches. You'll burn the plastic (been there, done it). I tried a bunch of pad/product combo's with the Festool on both random orbit and rotary (slow speed setting) to diminish the scratches and some of that worked.

Jimmie: that lift is one of the best tools the shop has! It really allows a lot of concentration on the lower half of the car because you bring it to a workable height. Plus, I can remove the wheels (if needed), wipe down the wells, and the dealer uses it to change oil, etc on cars.

Dieseldan: The Insulator Wax works well for our cars because it is easy to apply, lasts quite a while...and remember, these cars are for sale and don't have an "owner" yet. The dealer wants to present the cleanest possible vehicle to a buyer.

Toto

 

[sparkie]

As usual, you do beautiful work. I would love to spend a day or two detailing with you. Man, I know I could learn so much. Thanks for posting!

 

[Totoland Mach]

All DONE!...Yea

Finally finished this bad boy! Even put some Pinnacle Leather Conditioner on those glove leather seats (special order leather from BMW). The interior smells grand....like walking in to a saddle store!

Here's the bumper that I attempted to repair. Either we will discount the car or the new owner can tell us to repaint it (with no discount)

Came out pretty good considering the gouges were all the way to the plastic

Overall shot outside the shop (cold as heck here in KS)

Indoor shot with some nice reflection

Down the side...I finally got a small tripod

Outdoor shot of the rear interior

Another outdoor shot of the driver interior...I do remove that towel after I park the car.

That's it for this week...got a business trip to Illinois for 3 days..See Ya Online!

Toto

 

[Sevenrd]

Beautiful work, Toto!

 

[abrcrombe]

Nice work as always!! I am so jealous of your job!

 

[Nuke33]

Looks awesome!

 

[Woob]

What products did you use? Good work as usual.

 

[Jimmie]

Another great job Toto. Couldn't even see scratches.

 

[FloridaNative]

Nice work as always!! I am so jealous of your job!

You took the words right out of my mouth, Abercrombe!! That's a dream job right there. You're one lucky man, Toto. The beamer looks beautiful!! What do you all use in your shop for the headlights? Have a safe business trip. :cheers:

 

[Totoland Mach]

Woob: I use Optimum Compound with a 3M cutting pad on the rotary. Then follow that with 3M Glaze (or sometimes Pinnacle XMT Glaze on dark colors). Now, I'm trying (at the dealer's request) a new 3M Product called Ultrafina SE (Swirl Eliminator) and the accompanying ultra soft foam pad. Seems to work good.

FloridaNative: for the headlight lenses, I start with 3000 grit wet sanding, followed by the Festool on rotary mode with a cutting pad and Optimum Hyper compound. This is a pretty fast combo to restore the lenses. I finish the lenses with a polish pad and Meg's #83. After the final wash of the entire car, everything get's a coat of #26.

Toto

 

[P1et]

I love Toto's posts! Always top work, I hope your boss is happy with the efforts you put forth! Very nice touch-up on the rear bumper as well, I doubt that anyone would notice that though. But you never know, could be people like us buying them!

Also, aren't those the same wheels that come on the X5?

 

[Woob]

Woob: I use Optimum Compound with a 3M cutting pad on the rotary. Then follow that with 3M Glaze (or sometimes Pinnacle XMT Glaze on dark colors). Now, I'm trying (at the dealer's request) a new 3M Product called Ultrafina SE (Swirl Eliminator) and the accompanying ultra soft foam pad. Seems to work good.

FloridaNative: for the headlight lenses, I start with 3000 grit wet sanding, followed by the Festool on rotary mode with a cutting pad and Optimum Hyper compound. This is a pretty fast combo to restore the lenses. I finish the lenses with a polish pad and Meg's #83. After the final wash of the entire car, everything get's a coat of #26.

Toto

Yes the Ultrafina SE should do pretty well, tiny bit pricey for me. It's more of a finishing polish.