Fresh from my latest detailing project - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

atomic80 · 19th January 2002, 07:31

A friend of mine offered to show me a few tips on how to properly detail my beast. Little did I realize just what I was in for! He brought out his baby.

is what I was thinking at the time since I was always under the impression that it's not always a good idea to use an orbiter when detailing cars. I know that Greg has said time and time again just how beneficial a good orbital buffing job can be for removing those nasty swirl marks.

I admit that I was DEAD wrong about that assumption.

After following a through cleaning job followed by a session of drying out the car.

We followed these steps using the orbiter. Applied a coat of meguirs paint cleaner followed by another coat of show car glaze. Of course we used microtowels to polish off each coat inbetween jobs. Finally we applied a coat of zymol cleaner wax by hand. The results as you'll see are simply spectacular! I'm a believer now! I never dreamed that my M5 could look so good!

Bluewater M5 · 19th January 2002, 07:50

Hey Jason you got some day pictures? I bet it would look great in the sunlight.

greg · 19th January 2002, 07:57

Jason - looks great!

Now try this: Lose the "cleaner wax" - you don't need it - you got the paint clean already. In fact, it will actually remove some of the glaze. Get one of the following completely non-abrasive waxes:

meguiar's #26 hi-tech yellow (lasts best)
meguiar's Gold Class liquid wax (good compromise - excellent shine, decent longevity - apply with soft pad and orbital - easy!)
Pinnacle Souveran or Blitz paste - (lasts least, but easiest to apply, and best depth/gloss)

I like Gold Class - lasts long enough for me, 'cuz after a few washes and lack of attention I always WANT to wax my car again!

congratulations!

atomic80 · 19th January 2002, 08:03

Greg,

I was kind of hoping you'd chime in here. I don't know why my buddy wanted to use "cleaner wax" as a final step. I wanted to use wax instead. I still have some P21S wax left and was planning to experiment with that. It really leaves me with an incredibly wet shine and is durable enough to have water beading even after 3-4 weeks time.

I also ordered some Meguiars hi-tech yellow wax so I'll give that a shot. I still have some of their gold class wax lying around so maybe I'll also give that a shot too once again. The last time I used the gold class wax, it didn't last very long so I changed wax types. But if it's good enough for you, Greg, then it's definitely worth taking another look. Finally, I can't say that I really care for zymol's wax, it leaves white stuff everywhere when I polish the wax off.

I haven't been able to take some day shots because the weather here has been crappy! Soon though.

atomic80 · 19th January 2002, 16:06

I had a question for you guys with SHARP eyes. I know that this is a digital shot but I was wondering if any of you guys could see the stongard on the front of my hood? I'd be hard pressed to find it myself...I think that it's that well covered on my car.

rvacha · 19th January 2002, 16:49

Yes, I saw the Stonegard, but it looks better (less noticable) than I would have thought. Looks like a nice application job.

P.S. Did you notice that there is a big white truck in your garage?

atomic80 · 19th January 2002, 17:02

rvacha: yeah, I can see the stongard lines but I'd have to really squint to see it. The irony of it all is that I'm told it actually works better on lighter colored cars but I think it's in fact the opposite. Go figure.

Yup, that's a big white ford truck in that garage. Too bad it's not my garage!

That's where I did the detailing job, at my buddy's place.

James A · 19th January 2002, 17:13

Try the Pinnacle Souveran or One Grand Blitz Wax they are terrific waxes.

CM5GO · 19th January 2002, 18:09

That orbital has changed my life. I could not imagine being without it.

The car looks great! I just recently did my car with the orbital. Clay, cleaner, glaze, and gold class wax. It turned out great. Im going to put another coat of gold class on though to try and increase its longevity a bit.

I did'nt notice the stone guard until you mentioned it. It is very hard to notice. A lot less noticeable than I expected it to be. I would do it on my car if the front of the car wasnt already torn up

Nice work! I know how rewarding that feeling is!

TCM · 19th January 2002, 22:16

Jason:

Car looks great. But as Greg said, using the Cleaner wax is not a good move over all of the other work you did. You should try a wax or glaze that has a high carnaube rating as it will really bring out the deep shine. You may want to try some Zymol Concours Glaze on the Le Mans color. I bet you will be amazed at how much deeper the blue becomes with the Concours on it. Turned my parents pearl red STS into a more light burgendy color. Very impressive.