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How to polish and detail your car

This is a discussion on How to polish and detail your car within the Bimmer Showroom forums, part of the BMW Community Forums category; well i figured there are allot of missconceptions out there about the best way to detail your car... NOW this ...

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Old 09-22-2008, 10:20 AM   #1 (permalink)
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How to polish and detail your car

well i figured there are allot of missconceptions out there about the best way to detail your car...
NOW
this is MY opinion and way of detailing a car... i have things that some people dont do... and some things i will miss that others do... so just enjoy
lets start with this
E34 525... ryans car... nice... but rough around the edges...
it had MAJOR issues with paint... some hack used cheapo clear coat... and didnt even prep the surface by sanding... so it was cracking and peeling off... so i will start of the detail like this
PAINT IT... there are some things detailing can hide... but for the love of god... if it looks like crap just paint it... you will be happy with the end result and you will have enough clear to polish for many years to come... so we painted
LEFT SIDE COMPLETE (fender, 2 doors, 1/4).. then there was a rust issue right below the trunk lid... so we patched it and painted that... the we also painted the right 1/4
heres what it looks like now





and now this is the issue.. while it is all nice and shiney the rest of the car... is ... well... lacking... as you can see when butted up against another panel





so that will need polishing.. just like the rest of the car... so that will be posted in the next post

now...
I LOVE TRIM BLACK... and this is waht it can do
rough eh?


mouldings... seen better days




with a little 400 grit and some trim black and about 30 min you can do a fairly decent job... NOT PERFECT.. but alot better... cmon its a lower spoiler its going to be hacked again



now those look much better in person

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Old 09-22-2008, 10:39 AM   #2 (permalink)
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can't wait to see the finished product!
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Old 09-22-2008, 11:28 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Hey nice job.

Is that SEM trim black? Does it have a flex agent in it?

Thanks
Tom
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Old 09-22-2008, 11:33 AM   #4 (permalink)
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yes its SEM trim black.. and it does have a flex agent in it... its also a friggen awsomly durable product... ive painted a steering wheel with it and it flexes with the leather... AWSOME product
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Old 09-22-2008, 01:29 PM   #5 (permalink)
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How many VW's you guys fixing?
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Old 09-22-2008, 01:37 PM   #6 (permalink)
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we got 5 right now
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Old 09-23-2008, 01:31 AM   #7 (permalink)
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well gentel men.. after about 3 hours of back breaking work i have completed most of my cut polish (minus the rood.. *groan*) heres what she looks like.
DONT GET THIS WRONG... there are PLENTY of swirl marks... that will be taken out by step 2... i just havent got there... but even if i dont get rid of the swirls this paint looks a HELL of alot better... so lets go over this...
MASK OFF PLEASE!!!!
then use a wool pad (IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCED) if not use a foam pad, (less risk of burn through, but not as agressive) I use figure 8's to acheive less swirls and a more even cut in the clear, stay away from edges as much as possible, really all you need to avoid is holding on 1 edge... its harder to burn through paint then its let on. then just giver... SO many people are so worried about risk's etc... if you dont try you dont learn... go for it and then deal with it

pretty shitty paint eh?

clean clay bar

not so clean


i prob went through about 1/2 lb on ryans beast

nice

what we use

what it does





now THAT matches nice





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Old 09-23-2008, 01:51 AM   #8 (permalink)
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my god thats looking great! i was waiting for the pics to come. so the key is to not rush any of the stages? thats what i would think. keep up the good work, lookin good
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Old 09-23-2008, 01:54 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Great job!
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Old 09-23-2008, 02:04 AM   #10 (permalink)
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Wow, the old girl looks good! I wish I took pics when I first bought her. You would have cried, Tim. I saved that beast from the crusher, and believe it or not, she's already had 2 rounds of clay bar, and a machine polish, before you even got her!

Al
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Old 09-23-2008, 08:51 AM   #11 (permalink)
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yeah i could see a slight sign of what looked like a prior polish... you can see in the 4th pic from the bottom the top of the door was painted poorly, and now the clear in peeling and cracking.... polish can only do so much for it... but it cannot save that panel... and later on we may have to paint that one too... BUT... for now it looks pretty sweet if i do say so myself... more pics to come as i move onto the next step....
so... still to be done is
swirl remover/sealer
carnuba wax
rims cleaning... and tire bling...
interior cleaning...
leather conditioner

then we will call it done... for now
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Old 09-23-2008, 10:37 AM   #12 (permalink)
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Hey where do you work? I wanna bring my touring by and get your to polish it up.
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Old 09-23-2008, 11:00 AM   #13 (permalink)
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i work at False Creek Collision... but this is a side job... im an ICBC expess estimator... this is just somethign im doign for Ryan... We can do a machine polish here... or work out something as a side job with me... maybe
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:09 PM   #14 (permalink)
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I will be finishing up the detail this weekend... so AWAIT pics... and if anyone was wondering I DO do this stuff for side jobs/ lessions on it, just bring beer/cash or parts and i will happily help you out
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Old 09-25-2008, 08:13 PM   #15 (permalink)
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I need you to do some paint touch ups on the Rabbit.... Post winter of course
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