5 Hour Process, lots of products used...

J

jcattarulla

New member
I spent 5 hours on Saturday detailing my baby. It's a 2001 BMW 325ci in Black Metallic. It's in excellent conditiono, but some spots needed a little work.

Here was the step by step, any suggestions?:



1. Thoroughly wash car with P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo

2. Dry with Big Blue MF Towel

3. MG#9 Swirl Remover with PC and white CMA pad

4. MG#7 Show Glaze with PC and 2nd white CMA pad

5. Hand Wax with P21S

6. Clean all glass with Stoner's Invisible Glass

7. Wheels with P21S Wheel Cleaning Gel

8. Tires with 3M Tire Cleaner and Eagle One Swipes

9. Carpet Mats with (shoot! I forget the name, but it had a brush with built in sponge applicator, works to a foam, then sits, then brush off- worked REALLY well on the grease stains)



Here's what I thought:

1. The whole process took waaay too long. I mean, I love my car, and I love detailing it, but I was exhausted. Too many times around each and every single inch of that car!

2. I hate cleaning glass. No matter what I do, it's never perfect.

3. I think the MG#7 is not so great. I've used other products that provide a better SHINE beneath the P21S.

4. P21S is still the best I've used both for looks, endurance, and ease of use.

5. 3M Tire cleaner is really good- doesn't make them shine like I am a pimp in some riced out escalade- just makes the tires look really clean and new.

6. Thank God for the PC, but I think I will experiment with the 5" counterweight, just to test it out. The vibrations of the 6" velcro plate with the 6" counterweight were a bit rough.



Any thoughts or suggestions?

John
 
Looks like a pretty good regimen to me, John. Just a few comments and questions:



*No claying was needed?



*Next time try applying P21S after the #9 step. Maybe try it side by side with the #9 and #7 to see which looks better. There may not be a need for the glaze.



*Speaking of glazes, there's just enough diffs between them to give you a different look. Have you tried 3M IHG or One Grand Omega Glaze? If you're gonna be a "glaze and wax" guy you may want to consider those.



*5 hours sounds a little long for a full detail but you will speed things up as you learn a few shortcuts.



*Where are the PICS???? :)
 
You should have given me a call, you could have come over and we could have detailed both out cars. Sounds good what you did, i know your car so i know the condition its in.

NYD
 
Bret: Claying wasn't needed, but I have it in my trunk organizer, in the ready! I will be driving 5 hours each way this week through the too-salted roads of the poconos, so maybe when I get back I'll need it, but I hope not. I am going to try the 3M IHG, thanks for the recommendation, and I'll lay off the #7 as I was totally disappointed with it.



Brian: Had I known you were around doing the Diamonte, I would have joined you! Gotta get my hands on the Final Polish. Gimme your cell number again so we can hook up.
 
Oh well, even if you think you took too long, there's still that good feeling you get when you're all worn out but left with a well-detailed car. :)

jcattarulla said:


5. 3M Tire cleaner is really good- doesn't make them shine like I am a pimp in some riced out escalade- just makes the tires look really clean and new.
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Is this a tire dressing or a rubber/tire cleaner? A tire cleaner wouldn't make it shiny, but a tire dressing would, though some are glossier than others. Just wondering because the way you talk about it sounds like a dressing.

jcattarulla said:


6. Thank God for the PC, but I think I will experiment with the 5" counterweight, just to test it out. The vibrations of the 6" velcro plate with the 6" counterweight were a bit rough.

Click to expand...
You could try it, but I can almost guarantee that you won't like it. What backing pad are you using now? I'm thinking that the smaller/lighter Megs one might be the best you can get, but don't know for sure yet.
 
The 3M was a cleaner, not a dressing, but what I like about it is that with very little work it seems get off all the gunk that driving and past dressings leave behind. Just a clean, new look.



My PC is from Coastal, and has their 6" velcro backing plate. Maybe I should get the 5" from MG's?
 
jcattarulla said:
Maybe I should get the 5" from MG's?
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My PC 7336 came with the 6" counterweight and I purchased the Meguiar's 5" backing plate. Using Meguiar's 6.5" pads, I don't notice undue vibration. I have no way to compare it to anything, but I quite often hold it with only one hand when I need to move the cord and it is not difficult at all. I did remove the side handle as was suggested in a fairly recent post. The reason given was less vibration. I can't say that I noticed any difference in vibration, but by just holding the body of the unit in one hand and the head of the unit in the other, I feel more comfortable in getting around mirrors and the like.



Charles
 
I like to start by cleaning the wheels first, then it doesn't matter if water spray hits the car. Also the P21S Wheel Cleaner needs to be sprayed on dry wheels, which is hard if you have just washed the car.



Also try using P21S Total Auto Wash (Citrus Degreaser). This strips wax and will make the polishing esaier. One of the great things about the P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo is that it doens't strip wax...this is normally great, but not if you are going to polish. It is much easier to polish the paintwork if you don't have to cut through wax first!



As someone mentioned already give 3M IHG a try instead of #9 and #7.



The whole process should run about 4 hours...less with a PC.
 
jcattarulla said:
My PC is from Coastal, and has their 6" velcro backing plate. Maybe I should get the 5" from MG's?
Click to expand...
All I meant was that I wouldn't even attempt to use the obviously mismatching combo of a 5" counterweight with a 6" backing pad. :)
 
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