BLACK BMW - its a love/hate thing...lots of pics

**Envious Eric** · 10-25-2008, 08:43 PM

Love the end result, hate the process! But in the end, its was worth it! EXTERIOR ONLY DETAIL...

So, a previous client of mine emails me and says he just bought a car and it has lots of water spots from a landscaping company testing the sprinklers they just installed to adjust them...well, if they were trying to hit the parking lot, they accomplished that one!!! Being super soft paint, BLACK, and a BMW, I knew I had my work cut out for me....

PLUS, it doesnt help when you buy a brand new car from a BMW dealership and it comes loaded with swirlmarks, holograms, and hazy paint!!!! This is a PRIME example of why you dont buy a car at night, no matter what! I think if I am ever going to buy a black car (highly unlikely), I will ask them to wash it with dawn, do a IPA/prepsol wipedown of the hood to make sure there are no issues....this was rediculous!!! He never took it to a detailer prior to me...and only through the swirl-o-matic one time!!!

It took a while to get the process down - about two hours! I was trying all kinds of combos...foam cutting pads, polishing pads, wool pads, finishing pads, compounds, polishes, one steps...it was a tough process but I finally found one that would work withing both our budgets/time constraints, while producing a great outcome! I couldnt get the rotary working on this paint...no matter what process I came up with, holograms were slightly there - even with FPII and a finishing pad worked at 600-800-1000-1200-800-600 for a couple passes each!!!

Didnt have to wash it, or clay it, client already had it done! It was nice to just be able to get to work without having to do the tedious stuff!

Products used:

Hitachi rotary

PC

micro surface black wool (thanks for the recommendation Rydawg - smooth pads that simply work!)

5.5" LC orange lo pro

6.5" LC blue

6.5" LC green

M105

FPII

poliseal

megs hyper

megs glass cleaner concentrate

megs final inspection 34

scotch blue tape (like it better than 3m)

PICTURES:

BEFORES...

AND GET READY..... ARE YOU READY???

HOLY COW - WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???

TAPE TIME!!!

NOW SOME LIGHT SHOW WORK...SOME 5050 AND STARTING SHOTS

THIS IS AFTER COMPOUNDING WITH M105 AND PC/ORANGE

**Envious Eric** · 10-25-2008, 08:44 PM

LOTS OF FINAL PRODUCT SHOTS

**pampos** · 10-25-2008, 09:45 PM

Top job mate...Well done...

**dsms** · 10-25-2008, 10:04 PM

What a comeback, the car looks like a pool of oil now. It shocks me how some hacks can let a car leave their shop in that state. Again really awesome job:goodjob

And btw there is no "love" associated with the polishing of a black BMW...there is only hate:hairpull

**imported_Denzil** · 10-25-2008, 10:29 PM

Looks great!

**LouisanaJeeper** · 10-25-2008, 10:40 PM

yikes, the dealership really did a number on that one

nice turnaround

**Thomas Dekany** · 10-26-2008, 12:21 AM

That looks perfect man!!!!

**DetailersDomain** · 10-26-2008, 07:48 AM

looks great can`t believe the car was in that shape.

**noego** · 10-26-2008, 07:56 AM

the car looks great, but you seem to be somewhat of a crybaby. the nerve of someone bringing you a car that needs correction!

**GeorgesBlazah** · 10-26-2008, 08:08 AM

Holy hell and I thought mine was bad. Was the car new or used? If it was new, that friggin sucks.

**DownSouth** · 10-26-2008, 08:37 AM

A PC and M105 got all that out? WOW!

Looks fabulous.

**somebody** · 10-26-2008, 09:17 AM

How those before shots were scary! Nice turnaround.

Brandon

**MCWD** · 10-26-2008, 09:55 AM

I am truly shocked at what the car had looked like! I found myself screaming WHY WHY WHY! haha... Excellent recovery though. Why do you feel there was such issue with the rotary? Also, do you feel if you had been able to effectively use the rotary for the polishing, that the paint would not have required the compounding? Thanks for a great display of a quality job!

-Jason-