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Detailed 3-series (pic heavy)



  LY 200 EDC LUX
Hi guys,

Just thought I'd post a few pics up of a friends blue 3 series that I've spent the last couple of days detailing. At first glance, the car looked ok, few scrapes that have gone down the primer and just general wear and tear. However, after I had cleaned it, I noticed how bad the swirl marks were and how little protection was currently on the car, literally no beading whatsoever.

The car...

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Thoroughly rinsed the car down.mi dont have snow foam at the mo (coming soon) so good, multiple rinses were crucial!

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No beading whatsoever

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Washed twice (with rinses inbetween) with megs and a mitt using the good ol' two-bucket method!

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Dried off with a microfibre towel. Looks better already!

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Not a great photo, but some serious swirl marks!

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Cleaned the wheels first with wonder wheels wheels cleaner and agitated with a brush, then cleaned them as normal. Also cleaned the tyres in prep for dressing.

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All masked up ready for the process. I find masking up strangely relaxing lol!! Although no photos, I cleaned the windows, lights and interior after I'd done the masking up.

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Started off with claying. For those reading this that are new to the process (I'm certainly no professional but fairly experienced), this pic shows just how much gunk is left on your car, even after a 'thorough clean' multiple times. Also, its harder to see on a dark car aswell, even though it may look clean to the naked eye.

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So, needed a good cut, but this was the first Beemer I'd done and, thanks to advice from members on here, I didn't know that BMW paint was very hard. Took a bit of work but got there eventually. I use a G220 with 105 compound with the brown pad, then finishing compound with the yellow. Some parts were uber swirl-marked so I used the black pad, again with 105.

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Had to spin the car around to work on the other side in the garage, so took a quick pic

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So, with the whole car cleaned, clayed, cut and polished, I moved on to the wax / sealing. Strangely, I find my trusty budget halfrauds DA polisher perfect for this. An ultra soft cotton pad with the wax works a treat. For the awkward parts, I used good old fashioned elbow grease!

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Probably my favourite shot. Some good reflections going on

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To be continued....
 
  LY 200 EDC LUX
So, with the wheels completely dried out, I gave them a layer of wax.

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after a few little bits (namely getting rid of the dust that seems to settle on the car within 1 millisecond of cleaning it off), was pretty much done, so out it went for some photos.

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just as I was about to call it a day, the sun came out so I grabbed a few more!

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couple of my beast!

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Caught this little rascal taking a sniff around camp. Got good taste in cars though ;-)

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  LY 200 EDC LUX
Looks good so far. Reason your clay looked so bad was partially because you didnt seem to use an iron remover or a tar remover.

I realised I only had a little bit of autoglym bug and tar remover left, which had been in the box since the wheel was invented, so I didn't want to use it just in case it had gone out of date (I have no idea if it has a use by date, but I didn't want to chance it!). Agreed though mate!

all other comments and pointers welcome!
 
Last edited:

aucky

ClioSport Club Member
As above about the tar/iron.

What wax did you use? Would be a shame to use something inferior after all your hard work!

Also, some IPA would come in handy to remove polishing oils. :)
 

Coby.

ClioSport Club Member
Decent results but you seem to have gone at it in a strange order...Wheels after bodywork, Claying after masking up, Probably has no adverse effects but just seems odd to me.

But yes your decon needs looking at.
 
Yeah as above really, chap. Looks good and betting the owner was very happy, but a few things that may help you achieve even better results;

- Always wheels first - stops you splashing dirt and cleaning fluid on already clean paintwork
- Use an Iron remover like IronX or IronOut, followed up by a tar remover like Tardis or ObliTARate to help keep you clay cleaner, other wise you are dragging all that contaminant you can see around your paint and inflicting more marring
- That version of WonderWheels is highly acidic - great to break out when you're struggling to remove grime, but not necessary most of the time - their purple version would help you more as it is pH neutral and also contains an Iron remover for the ingrained brake dust (iron based contaminant)

Any further queries with the above, just shout - here to help!

Good work!
 

Knuckles

ClioSport Admin
Very nice work! Awesome correction and reflections.

i can only echo the above regarding iron and tar remover.

ive just purchased some lemon smelling iron x, I'll let you know if it's any better than the fart/cherry scent lol.

those wheels look tiny!
 


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