First Full Paint Detail - 2012 BMW 328i

[philliptmurphy]

I have learned a LOT from this forum by searching, reading, and taking the advice I find here. So, I thought I would post my first full paint detail.

The car was not in terrible shape - pretty good really. It is a 2012 BMW 328i with about 34,000 miles on it. Few scratches here and there, some minor swirls, and the previous owner had never waxed it - he had some sort of "permanent" sealant put on at the dealer. I wanted to start fresh with things as good as possible, so here is what I did (note: the clear coat seemed rather hard - even minor scratches took quite a bit of effort to remove).

1. Washed really good with two-bucket method
2. Clay bar entire car
3. Used Meguiar`s Ultimate Compound to remove minor scratches and swirls. Applied with orange Lake Country pad and Porter Cable
4. Applied Klasse All-in-One with Porter Cable and blue pad (probably should have used white - didn`t really like the blue pad much - seemed too soft and hard to keep spinning)
5. Applied two coates of Klasse Sealant Glaze
6. Top coat with P21S 100% Carnauba Wax

Here are a few pictures... which are really a thank you for all of the help I got from here!

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/BMW_4.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/BMW_2.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/BMW_3.jpg

[Setec Astronomy]

Wow, car looks great!

[JSFM35X]

Nice job especially for the first one. Black can be tricky.

Looks awesome. Enjoy it. Where are you located. Looks warm

[Ronkh]

Nice work.

[philliptmurphy]

Thanks guys. I am in Kentucky, and we did get a few warmer days (in the 50`s this week), which was nice. The care is a metallic gray, so I wasn`t cursed with the black car! I owned a black truck for 12 years and swore I would never buy another black car - what a nightmare!

[Accumulator]

philliptmurphy- As noted in the other thread, that looks great! And yeah, it oughta be an easy color to live with, good choice.

[xspwrstang]

Came out really nice! You would never buy another black car so you went one shade below black lol. But I know what you mean...I also had a black truck but now I own a silver Tacoma. What a difference! Even in the sun it never gets as hot as my black truck used to.

[philliptmurphy]

Came out really nice! You would never buy another black car so you went one shade below black lol. But I know what you mean...I also had a black truck but now I own a silver Tacoma. What a difference! Even in the sun it never gets as hot as my black truck used to.

LOL. It looks darker than it is in the pictures - part of that deep, wet look you get with a real polish and seal, I guess. It`s kind of half way between a silver and deep gray.

[The Guz]

Looks good. I got 7 solid months out of 2 coats of KSG. I could have gone a couple more easily. Sonus Acrylic Spritz and Acrylic Glanz work very well to maintain klasse.

[fdresq4]

Looks great Phillip. I`m a big fan of the Klaase Twins. Lasts quite a long time in the winters here in Jersey. Guz gave great advice with the Sonus Acrylic Gland is a great booster.

[philliptmurphy]

Thanks for the tips on maintaining - I will give it a try!

[Accumulator]

Looks good. I got 7 solid months out of 2 coats of KSG. I could have gone a couple more easily..

That`s really cool...I never got that long out of two but I`m sure glad you did.