Today was a good day (warning - big picture files)

Today I baked in the Carolina sun and sniffed lotsa` chemicals... ;-) but... it was a good day...

98 328i Black

Before shot:

After:

last one: Reflection... (sorry these are so big - I`m such a novice when it comes to shrinking picture files)

Onthespot,
The car looks good. Try searching some of the past threads in, Off The Beaten Path, on making pictures smaller.

What steps/products did you use on the Beemer? Is that your EZ-up I see in the background?

-Josh

Josh,

This was a full interior/exterior detail. The car had never been detailed and was somewhat neglected. Steps were as follows:

1. wash with Dawn
2. Clay with Meguiar`s overspray clay bar
3. wash again
4. waterblade and chamois dry
5. interior vac
6. interior clean using a bucket of Simple Green/water (1:4)
7. shampoo carpet with a product called Citra Clean
8. machine clean/extract carpet (I like to use Bissell cleaner in my machine)
9. Dress interior (water-based), condition/dress leather seats, clean interior windows (Invisible Glass), Fabric Guard Protection.
10. Exterior - PC polish with a product called Kolorglaze (great for black) Pad used was Top of The Line`s velcro-backed polish pad.
11. A coat of Z-5 (hand applied)
12. Finish with a coat of Z-2 (hand applied)
13. exterior trim/tires/windows/etc...

Total time was about 6-7 hours.

Onthespot,
On The Spot Mobile Detailing, Western North Carolina


p.s. Yes, that is my EZ-up canopy in the background beside my truck and trailer...

Car looks fantastic !!! I hope that your price reflects the time and effort put in !!!! Where do you get Kolorglaze ????

Clean Dean,

Thank you for the compliment. That means a lot coming from you - I`ve been watching your work (as well as others`) appear on here, and feel very humble as a detailer when I see the quality everyone puts out... Kinda` like after I went to see Phil Keaggy (a guitar god in my opinion). Afterwards, I was torn between going home and practicing until my fingers bled or smashing my guitar and never playing again...

I charge well for my services... The market here will bear between $25- $40 per hour... I usually get about $30/hour - - that is, unless the job goes south and I`ve seriously underbid on it... We`ve all done that, right?

Regarding "Kolorglaze", it is actually called Kolorseal glaze one step... Kolorseal ... I got a gallon of it a year ago when I bought a package deal from National Detail Systems (my trailer, generator, pw, orbital, chemicals, etc...)


Regards,
Onthespot,
On The Spot Mobile Detailing, Western NC

P.S. If you follow the above link for that Kolorseal glaze, and read the description - you`ll discover that Kolorseal has some carnauba wax in it... So am I crazy or what? Would Sal Zaino freak out if he found out I applied Z-5 and Z-2 over a product containing wax? I know that the usual order is sealant, then (if desired) carnauba over the sealant...

This was actually a `blunder` on my part as I didn`t realize at the time that the Kolorseal had wax in it.... But - It worked!!! Now hopefully the durability will be there... I think that the carnauba in the product is such a small amount that it didn`t interfere with Zaino sticking. The main function of the Kolorseal seemed to be the restoration (polishing) of the paint. When I was completely finished it was like a sheet of glass. I couldn`t swear to it, but I thought I saw a mosquito land on the hood, slip and fall, and break his leg...

Onthespot

Where does one get one of those neato pop up tent thingys? How much are they? Can one person put them up? Does it work well on an incline? Do you have to sandbag them?

Here is where I got mine:
Detailer`s Canopy

Kind of expensive for this one, but it came with the package deal I got... One person can set it up in minutes. I don`t sandbag, but I do use 10 pound weight plates secured to the four poles with bungee cords. The wind can really get up under this canopy and take it away if not secured...

Should work fine on an incline since on each pole there are three settings for varying height adjustment.

I`ve seen some canopies at Walmart for a much better price. Not sure about durability though... They are 10` x 10` EZ Up Dome II Instant Canopies for $100. Two of them put together would work good I think.. Anyhow here`s a link to their canopies:
Walmart Canopy

Onthespot