mgm2003
New member
My neighbour picked up an 01 540i (loaded) 50K on the meter, priced in the mid twenties. The car was just turned in and the dealer hadn’t prepped it.
The 540 is an amazing car -very solid feel and top notch fit and finish! It was (still is on some panels) full of deep scratches and swirls from years of tunnel washes. When I washed it, I placed my hand in a baggy and the flats felt like sandpaper.
I didn’t get the car until 8pm on Saturday. Nice. That said, there are no before pics, but I did take it out for a test drive, which was a lot of fun J
This detail was a free-bee, so I used a little bit of everything on it. I also wanted some seat time with my new Metabo rotary. I plan to spend some more time with this car over the weekend, because I'm far from happy with the finish.
Process:
Wash: Gliptone
Clay: Optimum (almost ½ a bar). The flats / bumper tops felt like 500 grit sandpaper.
Wheels: The wheels were completely caked with brake dust. Full strength S&R helped, but it was very labor intensive. I had to break out the wheel acid, which cleaned them swiftly. I didn’t have a mask on hand for the acid, and I’m paying the price. I had to deal with sore eyes and swollen sinus for about 3 days. I’m DONE with acid, period. It’s just not worth it IMO.
Wells: Optimum APC cut 50/50 (they were a mess). Optimum APC is a very good cleaner. (tires, wheels, interior carpet, trim, etc..). It works well on most anything except glass.
Paint: Dark Blue Metallic (I believe it’s call Orient Blue).
Compound: Power Gloss & cutting pad @2000 RPM x 2 on the hood and trunk. I’m not done yet, but in the interest of time, I had to move on. I think this beast is going to need a wool pad on the hood, trunk and roof. Years of neglect have taken their toll. I let my neighbor (he’s a PC only guy) run the Metabo on the trunk. I gave him a brief overview, laid down a bead and primed it for him (to avoid shooting sling all over the place), and let him take over. He did very well with it, especially considering that he’s never used a rotary before. The metabo is a very balanced, forgiving machine. I wanted to run my dewalt on the flats to compare both machines, but this car was taking longer than anticipated and I didn’t want to greet the sun from my garage on Sunday morning.
Next up…. Time for a cocktail. This was setting up to be a LONG night.
Polish: I started with Intensive Polish, then Optimum Compound/Polish mix, various cutting pads, etc.. , but nothing seemed to have enough cut (unusual). I horsed around for over an hour trying to find the ‘right’ combo. BMW paint is HARD! I finally moved to SSR 2.5 @ 1500 on a polishing pad. I normally don’t have luck with SSR’s, but on this night it worked like a charm! Go figure. I’d laid a bead about a foot long (pencil thick) and SSR2.5 broke down FAST, wiped off easy, 0 dusting, and produced a very clear looking finish. SSR2.5 improved all panels after a pass, but there are still imperfections (scratches) that need to be levelled. For the most part, the swirls are gone.
Final Polish: Meg’s #80. Yea, I wanted to hide what I didn’t get too J
Seal: Eagle One Nano Wax.
Jams/Wheels/Tires/wells: OCW on the jams & rims and Optimum for the tires and wells.
APC mix for a quick interior wipe down and vac.
The car and cleanup were completed by 3:00am, and I had to be up on Sunday by 8am. Ouch!
Here are a few afters taken the next morning. They really didn’t turn out that well, and my da*& batteries died after a few shots!
The 540 is an amazing car -very solid feel and top notch fit and finish! It was (still is on some panels) full of deep scratches and swirls from years of tunnel washes. When I washed it, I placed my hand in a baggy and the flats felt like sandpaper.
I didn’t get the car until 8pm on Saturday. Nice. That said, there are no before pics, but I did take it out for a test drive, which was a lot of fun J
This detail was a free-bee, so I used a little bit of everything on it. I also wanted some seat time with my new Metabo rotary. I plan to spend some more time with this car over the weekend, because I'm far from happy with the finish.
Process:
Wash: Gliptone
Clay: Optimum (almost ½ a bar). The flats / bumper tops felt like 500 grit sandpaper.
Wheels: The wheels were completely caked with brake dust. Full strength S&R helped, but it was very labor intensive. I had to break out the wheel acid, which cleaned them swiftly. I didn’t have a mask on hand for the acid, and I’m paying the price. I had to deal with sore eyes and swollen sinus for about 3 days. I’m DONE with acid, period. It’s just not worth it IMO.
Wells: Optimum APC cut 50/50 (they were a mess). Optimum APC is a very good cleaner. (tires, wheels, interior carpet, trim, etc..). It works well on most anything except glass.
Paint: Dark Blue Metallic (I believe it’s call Orient Blue).
Compound: Power Gloss & cutting pad @2000 RPM x 2 on the hood and trunk. I’m not done yet, but in the interest of time, I had to move on. I think this beast is going to need a wool pad on the hood, trunk and roof. Years of neglect have taken their toll. I let my neighbor (he’s a PC only guy) run the Metabo on the trunk. I gave him a brief overview, laid down a bead and primed it for him (to avoid shooting sling all over the place), and let him take over. He did very well with it, especially considering that he’s never used a rotary before. The metabo is a very balanced, forgiving machine. I wanted to run my dewalt on the flats to compare both machines, but this car was taking longer than anticipated and I didn’t want to greet the sun from my garage on Sunday morning.
Next up…. Time for a cocktail. This was setting up to be a LONG night.
Polish: I started with Intensive Polish, then Optimum Compound/Polish mix, various cutting pads, etc.. , but nothing seemed to have enough cut (unusual). I horsed around for over an hour trying to find the ‘right’ combo. BMW paint is HARD! I finally moved to SSR 2.5 @ 1500 on a polishing pad. I normally don’t have luck with SSR’s, but on this night it worked like a charm! Go figure. I’d laid a bead about a foot long (pencil thick) and SSR2.5 broke down FAST, wiped off easy, 0 dusting, and produced a very clear looking finish. SSR2.5 improved all panels after a pass, but there are still imperfections (scratches) that need to be levelled. For the most part, the swirls are gone.
Final Polish: Meg’s #80. Yea, I wanted to hide what I didn’t get too J
Seal: Eagle One Nano Wax.
Jams/Wheels/Tires/wells: OCW on the jams & rims and Optimum for the tires and wells.
APC mix for a quick interior wipe down and vac.
The car and cleanup were completed by 3:00am, and I had to be up on Sunday by 8am. Ouch!
Here are a few afters taken the next morning. They really didn’t turn out that well, and my da*& batteries died after a few shots!
?
