A little background about the car. I bought this 1992 525i (e34 series) brand new . I took really good care of this car and was pampered with my careful handwashes and wax. Fast forward to 2002, I bought a BMW 530i (e39 series), and due to lack of garage /parking space, I gave it to my brother who needed a car at that time. Since then, it hasn’t seen handwashes, waxes or any proper car care. The only thing it got were a handful of automatic carwashes.
The paint got so bad, oxidized and full of waterspots because for many years it was parked outside 24/7. Because the paint had no protection at all, it never stood a chance against the elements. It had totally lost all of its sheen. Everytime I went to their house, I felt so sorry for my old neglected car. It really pained me to see the condition of the car. It kind of reminded me how crackheads physically transform from beautiful people into hollow shells of their former selves… yeah… it was kind of like that.
Finally, I just couldn’t take it any longer and decided to do a detail of the car. Because of time constraints, I only had one day to do it. Besides, my back problems wouldn’t allow me to do marathon cleaning sessions. I had to use the fastest way to cut the crud, swirls etc. I had to use my new Hitachi Rotary and Megs 105.
This is THE FIRST TIME I’VE USED A ROTARY & wool. I do have a
Flex DA/SIP/Power Gloss/ 3m Extra Cut and all the pads but I know I wouldn’t have enough time to finish and get the results I wanted. In my experience, while the
Flex is a great machine, I highly doubt that I would have been able to correct the paint at the speed and level the Rotary + Megs would have.
Process and materials used
- Wash - Duragloss Shampoo
- Correction - Hitachi Rotary/Megs Solo
Wool Cutting pad/Megs W5000 Wool Pad/ 1500RPM
- Finishing - Hitachi Rotary/3m Ultrafina SE/ LC White & Green Pads/1000 -1500 RPM
- Sealant - DG 601/105 by hand
Here are some pics. I was so busy, I wasn’t able to take as much pics as I wanted.
Before Front Shot:
After Front Shot:
Before Full Rear Shot:
After Full Rear Shot:
Before Rear:
After Rear:
Before Front Signal:
After Front Signal:
Before rear Left:
After Rear Left:
Final thoughts:
I was really nervous about using the rotary for the first time. With a bit of care and awareness, i was able to conquer that fear and felt confident using it after a few panels.
Megs 105 is a great compound. Very short work time and it takes a bit of getting used to. If overworked, it gums up, flashes and then dries. When it does, it is very very hard to remove.
Wool... man, i never knew wool could shed sooooo much even with constant spurring.
Overall, I was very satisfied with what i was able to do given the limited time. It is still not perfect, there are still some minor swirls and deep scratches, but it is waaaay better than when i initially started. It was a lot of hard work, but in the end it was all worth it. I'm still learning the tricks and proper pad combo. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Linear Mode
