BMW X3, Lincoln Mark LT

Scottwax · 05-07-07, 10:22

2004 BMW X3. The owner has a two-year-old and a one car garage, so his car sits in there because his wife prefers to park the X3 out front. I obviously had my work cut out for me.

A few interior before shots:

After cleaning the leather and vinyl with Woolite/water and the carpet with BioKleen's Traffic Lane Cleaner. Nothing dressed in the pics but I did finish the interior out using Optimum Protectant Plus on the vinyl and Zaino Z10 on the leather. The white spots on the bottom of the door trim isn't dirt but areas where the black has been rubbed or scratched off. I also had not washed it at this point so the door jams are still dirty.

Exterior before. The wheels are trashed. The owner gave up on them a while ago and brake dust has started oxidizing and etching the finish.

Scottwax · 05-07-07, 10:28

After washing with Optimum No Rinse. Honestly, the finish looked way better under all that dirt and grime than I had expected. The tires and fenderwells were already dressed but not the trim. The tires appear to be the original Continentals and were very dry. Even after going over them a second time (in all the pics after this one), I didn't get much improvement.

I polished it with Clearkote's Vanilla Moose using green Edge Cyclo polishing pads, followed by Pink Moose (50/50 blend of Vanilla Moose and Red Machine Glaze) using a white LC polishing pad and waxed with my 80/20 blend of Meguiars #16 and FK's Pink Wax. The trim was dressed with Meguiars Hot Shine Tire Gel.

Obviously, a pretty good starting point meant no dramatic after shots but the depth and wetness improvements were very noticable, so much so when the owner first saw it after I finished, all he could say was "wow".

awahl63 · 05-07-07, 10:32

Very very reflective!

Scottwax · 05-07-07, 10:36

2006 Lincoln Mark LT. Regular customer, I wash it twice a month, although due to crappy weather, it has been more like once every 4 weeks lately. I wash with Optimum No Rinse, he was occasionally taking it to a coin-op and spraying it down when the weather was nasty. I last waxed it in December using my 80/20 blend of #16/Pink Wax and it held up all winter and when I ONR washed it today, still looked really good and had some slickness left. I had originally planned to polish it for the first time since he bought it nearly a year ago today but he had a meeting in the early afternoon and I just wouldn't have had the time. I did a quick touch up using Zaino Z8 though, added noticable wetness and bumped the slickness back up to 'fresh waxed'.

As you can see, proper washing techniques play a huge roll in keeping down swirls. As you can see, when I do polish it out, I won't have to get too aggressive...

99blackSE · 05-08-07, 07:42

Is that Cheerios and Goldfish crackers in that BMW? Either way, it looks much better now, very deep and wet

The Lincoln, wow, barely (none at all?) marring from what I can see.

Gen2 · 05-08-07, 08:55

OMG, that reflection shot of the X3 hood is insane, super deep and wet looking

Wise 85 · 05-08-07, 10:37

Great job on all! When you clean interiors with woolite/water, do you use a microfibre,brush, or terry cloth towel to clean the leather and plastic trim?

Scottwax · 05-08-07, 03:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wise 85

Great job on all! When you clean interiors with woolite/water, do you use a microfibre,brush, or terry cloth towel to clean the leather and plastic trim?

I use a nylon bristle brush to scrub as needed and wipe try with terry cloth towels.

blucpe · 05-08-07, 04:26

you do amazing work, don't take it for granted. cars look great.

PhatHoodDetail · 05-08-07, 04:40

sup man the depth on that bmw is ridiculous. did u say u do that with a clyclo? i would love any tips u can offer for it. i also have a reg customer who has an LT. they r real nice trucks. damn good job on your details look forward to seeing more of them.

gmblack3a · 05-08-07, 04:46

Nice work on both Scott.

DieselMDX · 05-08-07, 07:00

great job u r the man on black