I love detailing... 10+ yrs ago, I used to make decent money doing it.
I just spent 8 hours detailing my M3 yesterday, and today my back is freakin' killing me. I need to detail my other car (even sweeter than the M3), but there's no way that I have the health to do it.
Most detailers that I've dealt with here in LA are total hacks -- and they left my car full of swirls, halos, etc. I am a true car nut and being a former detailer myself, I know too much.
for my M3, I did:
interior: the works, lexol, invisible glass inside & out, BMW gummipfledge on the rubber seals
outside:
lake country pads and my trust PC
OCC, then OCP, then pink moose (read about that one here), then PB natty's blue wax x 2 coats (for that candy-coated look)
wheels:
Klasse AIO+SG, tires:
meg's insane shine
and raggtop for the roof.
I think it looks great, especially since my car is an 03 with 58k miles and is parked outside all day (in a garage at night). I managed to get 95% of the swirl marks/defects out of the car, but my back was killing me and I couldn't do the type of job that I wanted to do.
My other car is bright red and is a garage queen -- less than 2K miles a year. It's already in great shape, but from regular washing, it has some very mild surface swirlies -- the type that are mostly hidden with a nice coat of
souveran wax.
If you know of a good detailer (who is autopia level good), let me know. I'm sorry to admit it, but I need to hang-up my hat (and put away my PC), because I just can't physically take the work. I'm in Brentwood (westside/santa monica/westwood).