Sterling Gray BMW X5 with System One

Totoland Mach

Totoland Mach

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First things first: the dealer and I finally, finally moved the shop lift further away from the wall another 1.5 feet...BIG difference and now I can work that side without moving the vehicle. In addition, we installed an 8' high-output fluorescent light for good lighting....what a treat.

Here's a pic before I racked the X5

Shopliftmoved_empty.jpg


Now...power washed and froze my fingers off....low 20's outside. After power washing, I used ONR to clean up the X.

05X5Sterling_Before3.jpg


05X5Sterling_Before2.jpg


Next up was taping, then cleaning the exhaust tips....gotta start somewhere!

05X5Sterling_ExhaustBefore.jpg


05X5Sterling_Exhaustafter.jpg


Down the passenger side I go....the paint was in pretty good shape: light scratches mostly. Started with System One Polish X3 and a wool pad, then a foam pad for finish. I gotta say, you could almost finish down a vehicle with wool using this stuff.

05X5Sterling_X3wool.jpg


05X5Sterling_X3woolpsngrSide.jpg


After the foam polishing, the paint is better than new IMO...flawless!

05X5Sterling_X3foamPassngrSide.jpg


Should be done with all exterior recon tomorrow. Driver's side plus trim. I'm going to use the System One Licorice dressing on all the plastic trim for this to see how it works. Previously, I used AutoMagic's Magic dressing which is good, but greasy.

Toto
 
Toto, you have dones some nice work, as you always do.
So, how do you like System One? How well does it works with PC/UDM, or perhaps Flex???
 
Great work as usual, Toto!! You just about have me sold on System One. Which Edge wool/foam pads do you find yourself using more often than not? I was thinking the 6" light cutting wool and white foam pads would take care of most imperfections I encounter.
 
It's a pleasure to see your work. There is no second place with your jobs, every one is top drawer.
 
All I can say is The combo of System One and Toto is a killer one !!!! Awesome.
 
KG21 said:
Great work as usual, Toto!! You just about have me sold on System One. Which Edge wool/foam pads do you find yourself using more often than not? I was thinking the 6" light cutting wool and white foam pads would take care of most imperfections I encounter.
Click to expand...

I used the Edge Green wool (I can't remember if that's medium or light cut)...I wanted to try the pad out more than anything and the finish on this SUV was in pretty good shape to start with. I did bet some of their other wool pads: Black for heavy cut and Yellow for ? cut. For the foam side, I switch to another rotary with conventional foam pads and will use a Meguiar's 8006 or 9006.

In all fairness, I do use the wool/foam pad combo that came with the kit. It works fine for hoods, trunk lids, and door sides on sedans...it's just my personal preference that I like the smaller diameter pads.

Toto
 
Totoland Mach said:
I used the Edge Green wool (I can't remember if that's medium or light cut)...I wanted to try the pad out more than anything and the finish on this SUV was in pretty good shape to start with. I did bet some of their other wool pads: Black for heavy cut and Yellow for ? cut. For the foam side, I switch to another rotary with conventional foam pads and will use a Meguiar's 8006 or 9006.

In all fairness, I do use the wool/foam pad combo that came with the kit. It works fine for hoods, trunk lids, and door sides on sedans...it's just my personal preference that I like the smaller diameter pads.

Toto
Click to expand...
great job and I am right with you on the smaller pads, Smaller and more detailed intricate sections of the vehicle are hard to hit with an 8inch pad
 
I'm using the green wool with the X3 polish as well and I'm with you Toto... I think it's almost a one stepper! Especially on lighter colored metallic paint.
 
Awesome!! Thanks Toto and Dan!! I was planning on getting the green wool (light cut) and white foam pads to get acquainted with this polish. Are you guys finishing it down LSP ready with the green wool? Thanks again!!
 
KG: You could "almost" finish down with wool, but to be safe, use the foam. That way, you are sure not to have any swirls left over from wool use.

Here's some updated pics: NO WAX YET! The finish is stunning and I applied the System One Licorice to the black trim. It is a "very" non-greasy product: the pics are showing the trim completely dry.

Inside hood shot after foam finishing

05X5afterX3foam.jpg


05X5afterX3foamSideView.jpg


Licorice on trim

05X5OutsideRear_Licorice.jpg


Outside in a winter sun. Sterling gray is one of my favorite colors in the Bimmer line.

05X5OutsideShot.jpg


Full sun shot....the silver/gray is blinding

05X5OutsideSunShot2.jpg


It will get a coat of wax tomorrow and then I'll clean the interior. This SUV has 41,000 miles so it's not a "newbie"

Toto
 
Geez that looks sweet! I agree with you that color is outstanding especially after you're done with it.
 
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