So i found some time to detail the car, about 5-6 hours a day for about 3-4 days. Some time ago I had my car detailed by a body shop, A) they used a rotary buffer and left swirls on the panels which were only obvious after i washed the car for the first time, B)Sometime later took my car to the $tealership and i guess NO WASH means something else to the whoever brings the car up, a light haze of swirls all over the car from those old rags they use one every single car they touch. Anyhow, i got time to address the issue, finally. Car has just under 60k miles btw.
1)I started by washing with slightly warm water and dawn, got the car squeaky clean.
2)Then used some Mother's clay kit i had sitting around for some reason, didn't take much off the car but the finish was left very smooth.
3)I then hit it with a PC and a polishing pad with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Professional Swirl Mark remover, i did the hood about 2-3 times to ensure i got whatever i could off, still some big pits and scratches that only a repaint will get rid of, oh well!
4)Next was the PC with a finishing pad with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Professional Showcar Glaze, this removes small scratches and any swirls the swirl mark remover may have created. The finish was nice(visually) after this polish, however the feel was OK.
5)Then i used P21S Gloss-Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser on the entire car including wheels, this left a super slick surface with very high reflectiveness. It was a very noticeable difference in feel from the Meguiar's Showcar Glaze.
6)Next i just put one coat of P21S Concours-look Carnuba Wax, only one coat because next time i do the car up i will be trying the Klasse AIO> Klasse SG> with some P21S on top.
7)Used some Mother's Mag/Alum polish on the exhaust tips, came out well.
8)Used AUTOGLYM Alloy Wheel Seal on the wheels, the sole purpose of this stuff is to prevent brake dust from building up so fast, I'm in! NOTE: Dont spray this stuff directly onto your wheels unless they are off of the car, the can has a specific note on it to not allow this stuff to come into contact with brake components. I used the other suggested method, by spraying it onto a terry cloth and wiping the wheels down, with a buff from a clean terry after. Anyhow, the wheels were so amazingly smooth and very shiny after this stuff was on, it was amazing, i was tempted to spray it on the whole car!! I will be doing a test on my dads 750Li's wheels to see if this stuff actually does work, as i have black wheels and brake dust doesn't show as much. Look for a post on that sometime next week.
9)Finished off the windows and mirrors with some Stoner Invisible Glass.
10)Put some Tire Wet on to make the package complete.
*Gonna try to polish the headlights, will post photos when its done. Yes i know i need a suspension which ill be doing soon, most likely FSD's and Dinan springs unless my 9.5s up front have a problem with the FSD's girth(thank you Need4Spd for your hard work!). And yes, my rear valence is that shiny!
Before the pics, i want to make a small comparison to the Zaino process. I have used the Zaino process, and did 14 coats of the final layer. The finish was unbelievable, it was so reflective but i felt it lacked depth that wax only can give. So in terms of reflectiveness the Zaino takes the cake, but depth of the paint, P21S for me. It was almost like i couldn't see the paint with Zaino, just what was reflecting off of it, make sense? Here is a link to my thread with Zaino photos, no contest in terms of reflections...
Just Zainoed my E39....warning...very shiny....big pics...
Anyhow i took a bunch of photos, some with a polarized filter to show the finish without any glare, and possibly highlight the lack of swirls
. I am very happy with the outcome and dont think i have ever put so much time into cleaning a car! Enough talking...put your sun glasses on people...Have a great weekend, i know i will
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P.S. Big thank to Gustav for letting us all upload as many pictures as we like and also for letting us have 50,000 PMs, lol! This forum just rocks...
Wish I had the patience to do it myself.
...I am currenty detailing Thaichi808's CLK 500 (black) I will post some pics of before and after
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