BMW X3 Correction + Opti-Coat

[Gray_Panther]

This Black Sapphire Metallic X3 belongs to my father who is currently in Greece with my mama celebrating their 25th anniversary. So while I am a little jealous that they get to be there and spend time with relatives I decided I would finally have the time needed to tackle his car. The X3 has just over 70k miles on it and was bought by my father exactly one year ago. We plan to keep the car for many years so I decided to Opti-Coat it after seeing how my BMW 128i and VW GTI turned out.



The previous owner took it to a detailer who lathered the paint heavily with glaze to make it look good so after looking at it I knew this car needed time...A lot of time. The paint looked as if it had been through swirl-o-matics its entire life. The detailer didn`t clay the car because last year it went through my 50g of new clay when I prepped it for winter. I started working on this car at the end of August and finished it yesterday. And so I am happy to show you my surprise gift to my father!



Products & Equipment used:

PC7424XP

Uber Yellow and Blue Polishing Pads

Meguiars Cutting Pad

Meguiars M105

Sonax Fine Abrasive Paste 5/4

Sonax Nano Polish 3/6

Meg`s Clay Bar and ONR Lube

Gilmour`s Foammaster II

Dawn Dish Soap Mixed with Dodo Juice Basics of Bling Shampooooooo



I started with a nice foam bath and then did a 2 bucket wash

http://i.imgur.com/uloPUcO.jpg



I then brought the car inside to clay and then taped it up

http://i.imgur.com/ElzRTJR.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ngKvBno.jpg?1



Here is the damage, swirls and scratches and RIDS galore

http://i.imgur.com/RnLEIwE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SDIMwCx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PCoMqVo.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lbiioKT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xEW8Smu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gNKPYqc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5FsEdQM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/om7rk6X.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZToZ9v4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/atATtqJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ioTS8EL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/M4Ikqtn.jpg



Yeahhhh, it was even worse to see in person. My 1.2mp phone and 6mp camera couldn`t capture the depth of the damage. So I began my longest compounding process I have ever done. It took my about...actually I don`t want to think about how long I compounded. I used the Sonax fine abrasive paste for most of the car and the M105 only for the hood. The trunk was the hardest part, I did my best to correct it but only achieved about 80% correction rate. Here is a 50/50 after two passes on the door:

http://i.imgur.com/1xbSrzc.jpg



After 3 passes of compounding, which the car needed. There were deeper RIDS but it wasn`t worth my time.

http://i.imgur.com/k64LDs5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OYncCav.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aRSpU3q.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tz6adcy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/n9SR80v.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mJoGUbm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ww4zZ2y.jpg



I asked my sister to take a few pictures of me polishing, since I don`t have any.

http://i.imgur.com/kgv4a63.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uC1OGXN.jpg



At this point I was stuck for a long time. I posted a thread on the machine polishing section here and asked for helped since the paint showed marring after each polishing pass. Thomas Dekany (DPR is your best Auto Detailing shop in Portland (http://tdekany.com) stepped up and responded to my thread inviting me to give him a call. I left him a message from my house phone, which he returned but I was not home and my sister accidentally gave him the wrong number for my mobile. Another person picked up the phone and wasn`t too pleased that Thomas called...Rochestarians can be so cold. He called back my sister and got the right number, we had a laugh over it!

I had some great talks with him and learned a lot. I figured out the issue I was experiencing was after finding a rust flake or two on my polishing pad which was causing the marring. I hate winters here. So I cleaned the pad meticulously and polished the car.

Here are a few shots after going over the entire car with Sonax Nano Polish 3/6 paired with Uber Blue Final Polish pad.

http://i.imgur.com/SEE2PNY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OFzDbqe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3GJddFK.jpg



And so the Opti-Coating was applied after seeing a satisfying paint condition!

http://i.imgur.com/yaZrLOx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/F0H6crS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ztgntZR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mjM3Lrb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zgXeEDq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6AmNvka.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ru2C9bM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f8qzgcc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nbHtaHI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zXLxmoA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oBIfzEM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QCBLHUm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BNrbvlc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9RONHAd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KsbajlP.jpg



Thank you for reading and thanks to Thomas for being there when I needed someone!

[someidiot]

looks great, I`m sure he appreciated it

[Ch96067]

A lot of effort for a great turnaround. Nicely done!



I hope your parent`s had a great time here in Greece. Any roots here or just appreciating the beauty of the country?

[Gray_Panther]

looks great, I`m sure he appreciated it



He is still jetlagged but he loves how black it is now.




A lot of effort for a great turnaround. Nicely done!



I hope your parent`s had a great time here in Greece. Any roots here or just appreciating the beauty of the country?



Can I say both? haha



http://i.imgur.com/2U0P3Yp.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ShIyTvl.jpg?1



Thank you for the comment!



Edit: Molis katalaba eisai apo thn A8hna...Olo to swh mou menoune se ena xwrio konta sthn Florina.

[Scottwax]

Amazed you got that much correction with #105 and a Meguiars cutting pad, the clear BMW uses on the metallic black is brutally hard, had to use M100 a wool pad and Rupes to get correction on the last one I did.



Very nice work!