Its just amazing, that it has been a full year since I received the keys to my Dream Car, my Le Mans Blue M5, which I celebrated on
this thread, posted on the next day of waking up and seeing the beauty sleeping outside.
Today, one year later from receiving the keys, I look back... happy that for everyday of ownership of this car, it has always left me with a smile on my face, for the way it accelerates, the way it rides and handles, the way it carries me and the ones I love in comfort, silence and speed. It is, in my most honest opinion, the best family sedan with super car performance.
During this time, despite the car being my daily driver to work, only a few items were replaced during its maintenance:
. MAFs (put news ones when bought)
. Fresh TWS Oil and Filter every 10k Km.
. Air Filters
. Fuel Fiter
. Differential seals and left flange, to fix a little leak.
. Water Pump (started to give up after a trip to the Ring)
. New tires Michelin Pilot Sport 2
However, these regular maintenance items do not count for the TLC that the car received with my constant Detailing sessions. I have gathered below, organized in a timeline manner, pictures that describe what the car has been going through with me for this year.
The interior of the car was nasty, the leather was greasy and badly "painted", it was all dusty and dirty.
Get the tools out to clean all the vents and little areas from the dust, before vacuuming and cleaning the interior properly
Then it was time to wash the interior with a APC, wiping it in with a soft sponge and taking it out with a soft Microfiber.
After the interior being clean, time to pass to the leather, which was cleaned and treated.
Dirty MF with remains of the shitty paint.
We can safely say that the M5's leather was much more presentable afterwards
My car, as many other E39s, had the little rubber piece from the centre console wasted and aged, which made it look rather horrible. Went to the BWM dealer and for €5 got a new one, which made a significant difference to the overall look of the car.
To replace it, you have to dismantle most of the centre console.
Car was paying itself already with giving me money!
But it bite me back...
Comparison of the old and new trim piece
Dirty filthy area...
Which was then properly cleaned
As I was removing all this, I decided to give a fresh up to the wood trim. It was hazy and swirly, a serious esthetics detractor right on the middle of the car. So out with it and on with a little polishing session
I decided to wax the rest of the trim as well, for a bit of extra glossyness. Zymol HD Cleanse it first and then a layer of Zymol Concours.
The finished replaced trim piece.
The 1l Oil Bag was looking sad, so on with wiping it with some APC and putting it back in place.
It was then time to pass to the exterior of the car. Since this is my baby car, it would receive the best polishing and the best care that I could and can offer. Every step was done calmly and peacefully, ensuring that I would be able to finish it to as best as possible.
I started with a proper wash on the car, all little areas where cleaned, leaving no dirt behind.
The wheels were then washed and the car foamed to help degrease every area.
While the foam was doing its thing, I wiped properly the wheel wells.
Rinsed it off and passing on for a Two Bucket mode wash
Rinsed it and time to clay it
Dried it and in the garage for the polishing session. Now, this is where the fun starts... the car had a lot of defects, mostly Random Deep Scratches. The Blue paint does not make it easy to take good pictures of the defects, but I believe that these capture most of the nasty swirls and RDS.
The paint was hard... very hard. The best process that I found for my paint was:
. 1 or 2 hits with a cutting pad + 3M Fast Cut Plus
. 1 or 2 hits with a polishing pad + Menzerna 3.02
. finish it to perfection with a finishing pad + Menzerna 85RD + time and patience to burnish the paint
Here are some pictures of the results and the process taken.
I did some panels and did them to absolute perfection. There was no defect left behind and the reflection as pure... an absolute dream when the sun shines on the car and makes the Le Mans Blue colour pop up!
Despite my will to continue with the detail, it was time to go on vacations to Portugal! So packed the car an off we went to PT on a non stop trip of 2200km, which took us 20 hours.
Somewhere in France
At the north of Portugal, Estrela Mountains to be more precise, the M5 found lots of playing places!
With an improvised handbrake, resting on the shadow, since it was around 40º C.
With the Portuguese BMW Bikes Club, the M5 felt a home with its two wheels siblings.
My girlfriend also enjoys driving the M5, carefully, since she knows its my baby
Back to NL, it was time to continue with the detail of the M when I had spare time for it.
The little details its where the pleasure is!!
It was not always detailing sessions to obession, the M5 also went to meet some friends on a weekend, MarkQC and Kleintje.
But as soon as more available time was found, the process continued
Here she is, waxed and standing outside under the rain, beading like mad.
The sun is always the best to show the defects on your paint, here are the results after being done with the bonnet
It wasn't always about being the pretty lady, always washed and waxed. It was also about being serious... at the Nordschleife!
Trip was made with some friends, where the M5 surprised them all for the Torque and its discreet presence.
Here is the M5 with some more friends 3 weeks ago at the Detailing Event organized in June, where we were able to raise €190 for the Red Cross
Sheeting demonstration.
A Lady with ham for an ***, as Mark gently stated, also posed close to the car. I didn't want any boobs or ***-swirls on the car, so she was careful to keep away from the paint.
Most recently the M5 also went for a day out with a new friend, an E34 3.8 M5 Touring.
There are many many more pictures, but I cannot spam the forum with hundreds of pictures about my car and its 1 year detailing process. I try to do everything as precisely and as perfect as possible, which takes loads of time. But if I do it, I want to do it more then well, I want to do the best.
Unfortunately, most of the times I'm just in the garage listening to some music while I take care of my car and dont really pay much attention to get some pictures taken. However, if the whole process of detailing an M5 is important to see for you, then please have a look at the thread made about Kleintje's car (
M5 Full Detail - From Beast to a Beautiful Beast (56k Stay Away!) )
There are still many things to do on the car, here is the short term list:
. Interior Trim painted Piano Black + Leather Shifter and Handbrake
. New outside Trim
. Refinish the wheels (they look like crap, previous owner loved to kiss some curbs)
. Remove all seats, sand them and repaint leather properly.
. Repaint front bumper and bonnet.
. Save up for StopTech brakes
. Save up for Kumaran's Exhaust Headers
. Do as many more Km in this outstanding car
1 year of experience owning an M5 has passed by, so many trips and time spent on the car. It has impressed me everytime and even impressed those that do not love cars in the same way for its comfort and efficiency. What an year it has been!
I LOVE THIS CAR
Here is to you, my sweet Le Mans Blue!!
Very nice pampering to the girl.
You take such amazing care of your M5, and put so much time and effort into keeping the beast in immaculate condition. Here's to many more years between you and your lovely M5.
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