Scratchy Black Metallic BMW 530i - Done!

[Totoland Mach]

Here's a Black Metallic 04 Bimmer 530i that must have lived in brush car washes!





I mean, this car was not only swirled to the hilt, the clear was surprisingly super hard (unusual for Black BMW's that I reconditioned previously)

So, wet sanded with 2500 grit where needed, and broke out the 3M Extra Cut and foam pads (which I changed to wool as the foam was taking too long to correct)

A 3M "Smiley"....gotta have some humor for Autopians!



After the Smiley worked in



After compounding, I used 3M Swirl Remover, then Menzerna 106ff for some extra shine on this super hard clear coat. Power washed between process's to remove the dusting and went for the 3M Ultrafina SE.

Usually, I just add a coat of #26 with the Festool, but decided to try a product mix for grins and it worked out great. I mixed #26 and Pinnacle XMT 360 on a finish pad and worked those products in completely. In the following pics, I did not buff a single panel and the finish is glass smooth!













I'm gonna try this same LSP combo on a waiting-in-line 2001 X5 4.4i (black of course) just to see if I get similar results.

Toto

[Kewjoe]

Wow! great turn around. Car looks great!

[zoomzoom mazda5]

Awesome correction Toto! pure wetness and shine too! Thanks for the process information and pic's too!

[smprince1]

Paint looks 100% better, very sharp, clear and deep finish.

I'm jealous of your lift too. I'm getting too old to bend so much.

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by smprince1

Paint looks 100% better, very sharp, clear and deep finish.

I'm jealous of your lift too. I'm getting too old to bend so much.

Hey, I'm 63 years young and that lift is a gift for this "Senior" LOL! It's really convenient and the dealer is hopefully going to re-arrange the shop a little so I can do a 360 detail without un-racking and re-racking the car (it's too close to one wall).

Toto

[Tachyon]

Good as new ... great turn-around.

My 2006 5 series (Jet Black) also has a hard-as-rock clear coat, so I can appreciate how much work it took you to remove all those swirls.

Oddly, the 3 series seems to have a softer clear coat. The mother-in-law has a new 328xi and I just polished it for her ... minor swirls and scrapes went away very easily with just ZPC on a white finishing pad using a PC. My Jet Black 5er would laugh at that combo!

[audicoupej]

Awesome work Toto! That Bimmer looks better than new now!

I want a lift too. They sure do make life easier.

[rydawg]

Superb work! BMW's can be very tough to work with, especially black, but you did an amazing job.

[Scottwax]

Damn fine work as always!

BTW, metallic black BMW is rock hard compared to their solid black paint.

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Damn fine work as always!

BTW, metallic black BMW is rock hard compared to their solid black paint.

100% correct Scott! I just started on an 02 X5 4.4i which is jet black. I started wrong! Picked up a cutting pad: too aggressive. Picked up a light cut wool pad: too aggressive. Then went to a 3M glaze pad and light compound: good fit! I took some decent pics of too aggressive use of pads....created heavy swirling that would have been more work with 3M Swirl Remover.

Toto

[tdekany]

Excellent work TOTO!!!

[mr.ikon]

awesome work. i like that smiley face too. i thought you used microsoft paint for that. it was a good one.