I wanted to share some photos of a customers 2009 BMW 550i that we detailed a couple of months back. The vehicle was less than 5 months old and had only about 2000 miles. This client called me and he expressed his concerns with his paintwork, which he said was making him feel sick from all the swirls and scratches that it had. I asked him several questions so that I could somewhat diagnose how this could happen. He told me that since he lives in an apartment complex in Irvine which is managed by the Irvine co, they do not allow car washing. So he told me that he frequents the local tunnel wash (car wash) and the ******* (dealer) for courtesy washes. Which of course is why this car is extremely swirled from Neglect, Inferior proceedures, products and lack of TLC. I showed up at his location and perfomed my visual inspection of the paintwork, quoted the price to correct the damaged paint and then went to work. I have posted some pics so you all can see how NASTY this vehicle looked when I started, and its transformation to beautiful Jet Black again.

Upon inspection, here is what I observed....look for yourselves






Everywhere was butchered from improper washing techniques




Very thorough claying of all surfaces





Contaminated clay


A great prep makes for an awesome finish!




The paint correction begins with my Porter Cable D/A, W8006 and M83 for my first pass and M80 for the second pass with a fresh W8006 pad










Last and final pass with D/A, W9006 pad and Meguiar's M21 Sealant


The results........my final product, "Back in Black"













continued......

 

Products used

Stoner HP1
Grout Sponge's
2 Buckets for washing
Meguiar's APC +
Stoner Tarminator
Stoner Xenit
Clay Magic Blue Clay Bar
Diamond's Blue Mist Spray and Gloss Enhancer
Meguair's M83 Dual Action cleaner Polish
Meguair's M80 Speed Glaze
Meguiar's M21 Polymer Sealant
Meguiar's Glass Cleaner Concentrate
Stoner Trim Shine
Meguiar's Trim Detailer
Meguiars Exterior Trim Coating
Meguiar's All Metal Polish
Meguiar's plush yellow MF towels
SM Arnold Water Sprite
Assorted Brushes


Exterior proceedures

- Vehicle recieves thorough inspection, any previous damage documented and before photo's taken
- Wheels were prepped with Meguiar's Hot Rims wheel cleaner and cleaned up with various brushes
- Tires were spritzed down and scrubbed with Meguiar's #39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner washed down
- Wheel wells were spritzed down with Meguiar's APC + brushed and pressure washed
- Complete soap down and rinse
- Door jambs were cleaned up
- Dried and air blow
- Clay all sufaces
- Paint inspected and measured
- 2 Step Paint correction ( Meguiar's M83 & M80)
- Inspection with Infratech, and natural sunlight
- Sealed with Meguiar's M21 Polymer Sealant
- Door Jambs QD and Sealed with Meguiar's M21
- Wheels polished with and protected with Meguiar's M21
- Wheel wells treated
- Rubber and Plastics treated
- Tires treated
- Exterior windows and mirrors cleaned and sealed
- Exhaust tips cleaned, polished and sealed
- Photo's taken after job is completed to document results



These extensive swirls were a courtesy installed dealer option as well as owner neglect from washing it at the local tunnel wash.

Thank you for viewing my paint correction project, please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments.....
__________________

 

WOW....what a detail!
Fantastic job Dave and I love the before and after pics...they really show what a difference your skill can make to a poor finish and black is one of the best to show that transformation.
Its especially true that a "New" car can have some unbelievably bad swirl marks / buffer trails and micro marring even in the showroom, I've seen it myself, more than once.

I'm sure the guy was over the moon with the results Dave

What you do is just amazing IMO and I'm sure many others too

Thanks for sharing

 

I wish I had the time and patience to learn the practice of proper detailing, it can be very overwhelming with all the products used, different buffer speeds and pads needed for each step. I can see how this can be an 'art' and a 'science' in itself.

My personal, humble 'detailing' process consists of these few steps

• wash car/wheels/wheel wells
• claybar
• meguiars paint cleaner
• meguiars polish
• dress tires
• glass cleaner (not windex)

Very impressive work!

 

This is just an amazing detailing in every aspect . It's like the car was repainted at the factory ,the job greatly done

 

Crikey the before pics look worse than my old XJ40.

But the after pics, simply stunning.

I bet your client was chuffed to bits.

One question, having only used air powered buffers, and that was 25 years ago, are your electrical machines variable speed and how much 'weight' do you put behind them?

 

The "Before" pics are the reason why I stay away from buying my "Dream Car" (2008 Ebony XKR).
But the "After" pics make me lust for the black color choice more than ever.
Nice work.
Jeff

 

WOW! Nice work.

 

Do you ever put wax on the finishes or just sealent?

 

wow, definitely a dramatic difference. well done!