Bmw 745il Make-over

[Superior Shine]

This vehicle was "polished" at the dealership. It was left with swirls, buffer trails and cob webbing.

The owner of this car sent it back to the dealership twice to get an approperate polish job. It always returned the same or worst.

[Superior Shine]

Here are more pics of the damage.

[Superior Shine]

This vehicle also had etching from ????? It was on the right side of the hood, fender and door.

[Superior Shine]

The damage had to be color-sanded out.

This first pic is of the etching after I sanded the finsh lightly so I could get a contrast from the depth of the etching and the sanding marks.





Here is the hood with all the etching sanded out. I used Meguiars 2000 grit paper and wet it with a spray water bottle with a dash of Meguiars carwash soap.

[Superior Shine]

I used #85 diamond cut with a wool CUTTING pad to remove the sanding marks. I followed that with DACP and a wool POLISHING pad. Then DACP with w-7009 (i think thats the part number) maroon pad.

Here is a pic of my pads. I keep them in plastic freezer bags when not in use.

[Superior Shine]

Here is a pic of where I did it. Today was a weird almost 90 degree windy winter day. Heat and dust was a problem. I kept the vehicle in the shade as much as I could. I also preceded any buffing with damp terry towel to wipe away dust and dirt that was blown onto the BMW. Man would I love to have a shop.

[Superior Shine]

Here is the vehicle after the diamond cut, DACP, #66 (rotory and the DA) You can see some splatter and buffing dust on the car.



Before applying my sealant I like to power rinse the vehicles of all the dust.

[Superior Shine]

7 and 1/2 hours later, shes beautiful! I topped her off with #20 polymer sealant. NXT hasn't hit the west coast yet (at least not where I am) The tires and plastic wheel wells wear #40.

[Superior Shine]

Allot of work, but what a sense of satisfaction when it is all done.

[Slats]

Great job. You have a lot of confidence to be able to wet sand a 70+ K BMW!!! It turned out nice. Was 2000 grit sandpaper all you used or did you have to use less abrasive paper after the 2000??

Slats

[Mike Phillips]

Where to start....

First - Excellent job of capturing the defects, (swirls & etchings), on film, or I guess I should say pixels. The one thing I struggle with the most is capturing defects on/in paint. It’s important to capture the defect before removing it because it’s such a strong visual explanation of the problem that words alone fail to describe.

Your pictures are excellent. This thread alone, is a documentary of how to remove swirls with both before and after proof, (photos), that should send the owners and managers of all new car dealerships into hiding.

The pictures you posted of the dealership-induced swirls are embarrassing.

To take a fine automobile like the BMW 745il and destroy the delicate clear coat finish with the atrocious and unsightly swirls the way your photos have captured is a crime against all auto enthusiasts worldwide. As a brother in arms, that has performed the exact repair procedures as you have outlined in your post here, I can vouch for accomplishment, that what you have done is monumental, in the scope of the detailing world.

It is so easy for anyone with a breath in their body to swirl-out a pristine finish and call themselves a, Detailer.

It is so hard to undo the damage an amateur has inflicted, only to accept your pay and move on to the next job because the owner doesn't understand how thin and scratch-sensitive the finish on their pride & joy really is.

The results you have shared here with us is a testimony to both the craft, and your craftsmanship. Truly, polishing paint is an art form. There is so much more to it than simply, "Wax-on, Wax-off, (to quote a line from the "Karate Kid").

I have seen many write-ups on other forums, but I don’t think any of these have ever painted a picture so vivid of the results that are possible by a talented craftsman, using the appropriate products and procedures. One of the few that come to mind is this one by 2hotford. Upon arriving home, and turning on my computer to read your post and see your pictures, I am truly impressed.


Second – The environment in which you achieve your results. In case anyone reading this doesn’t understand, allow me to explain. Working outdoors, even under the cover of a canopy, exposes your work, (i.e. the finish upon which you are working), to constant contamination from airborne dust and other pollutants. When machine cleaning and polishing using a rotary buffer, it is vital that you keep the surface as clean as possible at all times in order to produce a swirl free finish.

For Superior Shine to achieve the results he has clearly demonstrated, (through his photographs), in an open-air environment, is truly a testimony of his dedication to the craft and his passion for doing it right the first time.

As documented by his 7th post, after his machine cleaning steps, and before his application of his LSP, (Last Step Product), he takes the extra-step, of power washing the entire vehicle to insure it completely squeaky clean before progressing to his final and last step. The step that will either make, or break all his previous hard work.


Third – Your After shots.

The reflection shots you captured are crystal clear. The sun reflection shots are both cobweb and swirl free. While I’m not a photography expert, nor an expert at recognizing retouched photos, from what I can see on my monitor, your photo’s are the real deal. That is they are raw photos. Except for cropping, (if any), and resizing, (if any), they have not been touched-up, or monkeyied with, in any way. For this, you earn my respect. (In case anyone ever doubted it, #20 Polymer Sealant is no slouch)


Fourth – For taking the time to stop everything you were doing, wipe off your hands, then pick up your camera and take pictures of each step along the way, I commend you.

It would be so much faster to just detail the car, versus stop and document your progress with a camera. But that’s not the end of the story.

Then, at the end of the day, after pouring your blood, sweat and tears into someone else’s ride, you took the time to,

1) Transfer your photos to a folder on your hard drive
2) Preview each photo and cull out the bad ones, while renaming and saving the good ones
3) Cropping and resizing each photo to tell a story
4) Uploading each photo to your gallery
5) Write a cohesive post, that outlines in detail the products and procedures you performed, and then insert the appropriate image.

I thank you, and appreciate your contribution.

It would have been so much easier to skip all of the above, and kept everything to yourself. Instead you took your time to share with the community to show others how it’s done.

2-thumbs up!

Mike

[Elite M.D.]

Nice pictures, write up and most importantly nice job! I saw your post on a couple other forums about this car and I knew you would end up having to detail it. Im glad you did because you do great work. That is a sweet BMW now

[Rick]

Wow, I can't believe a dealership could have such untrained people buffing a car and screwing it up so badly, especially a BMW dealership! That has got to be one of the most outstanding polishing jobs I've seen. Thanks for the time you took to do the write up, I know it takes a good 45 min at least to do the whole process.

[Dave Holmes]

I'm in awe. Not only did you do an incredible job, but you taught those of us less skilled/experienced what it means and takes to do it right.
I understand what Mike mentioned about doing it in the open environment being difficult/more time consuming. I do mine without the benefit of any cover (maybe I'll get a canopy this year if my wife really loves me ). On even a relatively calm day, airborne dust, etc is a constant battle to get off the surface you're working on. To get the results you did in that environment shows a dedication that is not found very often in many fields nowadays. I commend you for that. And then to have the presence of mind to document the repairs.....
Back to the canopy... Setting up 2 is a good idea. While contemplating getting mine, I didn't want to hassle with moving the car all the time to keep the area I'm working on in the shade. Looks like you found a good solution for that. Would detachable sides be worth paying extra for, or are they too much trouble setting up, limit room, etc?
Thanks.

Dave

[Rick]

Random thought here reguarding the shades. Is there any reason why you couldn't put some thing that could roll down on the sides to make it more of a portable mini enclosure?