'05 BMW 545i Zaino detail

1 Clean WS6

1 Clean WS6

Detailing Rottweiler
Hey all!!



This beautiful Bimmer belongs to fellow Autopian jcattarulla. John and his wife Lisa are two of the nicest folks you'd ever want to meet. All day long (and this was a looooong detail) they gave me coffee and soda...fed me lunch...and kept me company. If I had more clients like this I think I'd work for free!!!



John recently brought his 5 to a local "high end" body shop here in Marietta to have an "M" body kit installed (front and rear clips, side skirts and decklid spoiler). The shop receives 100% of the business from a local (and huge) BMW dealership...so one would think they have Bimmer work down pat?? As I and John found out that just wasn't the case. The shop successfully burned, marred and otherwise trashed the paint each time he brought the car back. I'm not going to say anymore about their work and just let the before pictures do the talking. Since I did not finish the detail until the sun was long gone I did not get to take any "after" pictures, however, John snapped a few this morning and emailed them to me. Below is a description of the products and process used.



As an aside, meeting John reiterated this fact to me, I have to say that if Autopia ceased to exist tomorrow I can thank David and his site for introducing me to a ton of great folks right here in Georgia...most whom I can now call friends and that I see on a regular basis. I've also made a bunch of "e-friends" all across this great country of ours. So next time you get in an "Autopia sucks" thread get ready to get hammered by yours truly. :nomore:



Enjoy,

Mike :cool:



The detail....



Wash with Z-7.



Admire quality rotary work. :shocked



Polish with Menzerna IP using a LC orange pad and my PC set at 5-6. Several areas of the car needed x2 with this step.



Polish with Menzerna FPII using a LC white pad and my PC set at 5-6. This is bar none my favorite finishing polish. It stays wet for days allowing extra long work time, barely dusts and finishes down to an awesome gloss.



Wipe down with Meg's #34.



Seal by hand with ZFX'd Z-5 x3 with a Z-8 wipedown between each layer. A final wipedown with Z-8 was also applied.



Before me after the body shop....



Holograming covered the car from stem to stern...



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One of the many spots of unbuffed wetsanding marks...



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Buffer burn and more unbuffed sanding marks...



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I don't even know what the hell was going on here... :buffing:



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Why am I not suprised by all the rotary swirls? And why am I not suprised by Mike's stellar work?



Awesome job, Mike! The 5 looks amazing! :up :up :up
 
Hello folks,

its been a while since I looked and posted on this site, and I have to say due to my (arm/elbow)injury causing me serious lack of interest in cleaning my car, I haven't done very much cleaning at all. Now, having read this thread, and seen Mike's incredible work this has inspired me to brave the UK December weather and get out there to clean AXE thoroughly once again.



BTW my injury has started to heal up, basically too much Gym work was intensifying the problem - I have cut the Gym work down, and my arms are much better, almost pain free again.



Superb work right there Mike, awesome.
 
Excellent work Mike. :2thumbs:



The shine and depth look excellent, would a few coats of Z2pro add anything to this finish? :nixweiss



When I did a black vette, I did 3x Z5 w/ zfx, but only used Z6 at the time. Then the next day I did 3x Z2pro w/ ZFX and after the last coat did Z8.



Now was it the Z8 or the Z2pro that made the biggest difference? I thought I could see a difference after the first coat of Z2pro.



Next time I will try some Z8 after the Z5. :think2
 
And a PC can't do defect correction??!!



Awesome work Mike! I see you've got a knit cap on. A little nippy down there in the Peach State for ya??!!



Great job.
 
Hey guys,

I am the proud owner of this black beauty 545i with M Aero Kit, and have to sing Mike's praises from the top of the highest mountain!



When he started, the car's paint was in pretty lousy condition thanks to a local high-volume body shop (they do good body work) that claims to be a details shop too. They do all the work for one of the BMW dealers here, and they hacked it up pretty bad.



Mike fixed everything they did, and more. Lots more.



The paint is liquid black, like an oil slick. And it feels like greased glass.



What you don't see in these pics, too, is the interior, which is amazing.

Mike spent about 5 hours on the already pretty clean interior, using MG#40, Z9, Z10, Stoner's, etc. The car smells like a leather tannery, and feels amazing! I am now addicted to Z10- I keep smelling my hands since I think a little of the scent rubs off on my hands after holding the steerling wheel!



I've done a lot of detailing, and so I know the products, processes, and techniques. I've been an Autopian since 2002. My time is now severely limited due to my newborn son, so I have to "outsource" the detailing of my car. What Mike did is a textbook on Best Practices- it's not possible to do a better job in any area than Mike did.



Atlanta residents should start lining up right now to get on his calendar!

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

John
 
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