MarcHarris
New member
This '08 135i had amazing appeal even before we were contacted to work on it. Having been to meets like Cars and Coffee, as well as some other local events, it attracted attention due to its pure black finish, blood red interior, and tasteful modification. The challenge the owner presented to us was to make it even more over the top. Little did he know that what most people would call “clean” and “amazing” is far from it to a detailer. The vehicle suffered severely from improper hand-washing techniques (although it was kept "clean"), some automatic “swirl-o-matic” car washes through-out the winter months, and a failed expedition with a rotary buffer. Unlike most paint finishes, the "Jet Black" BMW has used since 2001 is very susceptible to any abrasion because of its softness. The swirl-o-matic and improper hand washing had taken its toll on the paint resulting in deep, severe, and abundant scratches that would be a challenge to remove even with this being one of the softer OEM paints. Someone, let's just say it was Rambo himself, had taken a rotary buffer to the paint at least once, and the evidence of trails was also abundant throughout the finish. To top off the horrible condition and past abuse this BMW has been though, the owner wanted as close to perfection as possible with the generous budget he had available. He was expecting a nice turn around, but little did he know his vehicle would look better than he has even seen it, including when he first picked it up from the dealer.
The vehicle was inspected prior and we determined we would need upwards of 10 hours to correct the finish. The owner dropped off the vehicle at our shop on Friday PM, and said to keep it as long as it we needed it. This ended up being very much needed.
Build-up in / around the key hole...
Early on Saturday, I arrived and Jacob and I commenced on the interior. The owner wears dress pants every day for work, and some of the black dye was being transferred to the red leather seats under the extreme G’s from on and off ramps of M-59, I-75, and the likes. Other than that, the interior was fairly clean and in great condition. We had provided the owner a sample of 1Z Cockpit Premium late last year at a local car event, and we found the same sample bottle almost empty, but the hard surfaces in pretty nice condition.
The interior started by vacuuming the loose dust and dirt from all surfaces first, including the carpet. The seats are deeply bolstered and required some force to spread apart the segments to be able to clean out the seams. It took both of us to do this. The vacuum wore a soft brush attachment. This got rid of 99% of all the loose stuff trapped in the seats. Next, Leather Master’s cleaners were applied. We always believe in using the softest chemicals to get the job done, and a double application of Leather Master Soft Cleaner was used on the passanger seat which cleaned up the finish very well. The driver’s side seat showed much more wear as well as build up (resulting in the shine given), and the bolster still had additional dye transfer to deal with. I stepped it up to the Strong Cleaner, and in spots used Super Remover / Cleaner with soft sponges and delicate agitation, wiping off all previous product before applying the next one. After the Super Remover / Cleaner, all dye was removed, and the finish looked simply perfect.
Passenger Seat after being cleaned with two applications of Soft Cleaner, Driver's side yet to be worked on, it's clear which side looks fresh and new versus aged and dingy:
The vehicle was inspected prior and we determined we would need upwards of 10 hours to correct the finish. The owner dropped off the vehicle at our shop on Friday PM, and said to keep it as long as it we needed it. This ended up being very much needed.
Build-up in / around the key hole...
Early on Saturday, I arrived and Jacob and I commenced on the interior. The owner wears dress pants every day for work, and some of the black dye was being transferred to the red leather seats under the extreme G’s from on and off ramps of M-59, I-75, and the likes. Other than that, the interior was fairly clean and in great condition. We had provided the owner a sample of 1Z Cockpit Premium late last year at a local car event, and we found the same sample bottle almost empty, but the hard surfaces in pretty nice condition.
The interior started by vacuuming the loose dust and dirt from all surfaces first, including the carpet. The seats are deeply bolstered and required some force to spread apart the segments to be able to clean out the seams. It took both of us to do this. The vacuum wore a soft brush attachment. This got rid of 99% of all the loose stuff trapped in the seats. Next, Leather Master’s cleaners were applied. We always believe in using the softest chemicals to get the job done, and a double application of Leather Master Soft Cleaner was used on the passanger seat which cleaned up the finish very well. The driver’s side seat showed much more wear as well as build up (resulting in the shine given), and the bolster still had additional dye transfer to deal with. I stepped it up to the Strong Cleaner, and in spots used Super Remover / Cleaner with soft sponges and delicate agitation, wiping off all previous product before applying the next one. After the Super Remover / Cleaner, all dye was removed, and the finish looked simply perfect.
Passenger Seat after being cleaned with two applications of Soft Cleaner, Driver's side yet to be worked on, it's clear which side looks fresh and new versus aged and dingy:
