Jerez Black E90 BMW M3 - Detailed by Lawrence

[LawrenceSA]

I had been looking forward to this detail for some time now.... partly because it is an M3, partly because it is non VAG paint (which is the majority of my work) but mostly because it was black.... and I LOVE polishing black paint (and the last non-white car I did was early Nov   ).... black really forces you to be on your A-game and I dig the challenge.
 
This detail spanned over 3 days. Friday from 08:30 to 18:30, Saturday from 06:00 to 22:00 and Sunday from 06:30 to 15:30, all of which were scorching hot and very humid (temps mostly in the mid 30's (degrees Celsius) and humidity >70%...this caused some issues in respect of compound dusting and admittedly slowed me down a little.... the heat was just so energy sapping.....I consumed copious amounts of water - a good tip to anyone detailing.... staying hydrated is very important.
 
So before we start looking at pictures, here is a the list of products used and the process followed.
Interior: Cyclo APC / various brushes / Glosswork Leather Conditioner / Smart Wax Smart dressing
Arches: Cyclo APC / Mothers Fender Well Brush / HP Rinse / Shield Sheen
Tires: Meguiars All Wheel and Tire Cleaner / Mothers Tire Brush / Optimum Optibond Tire Gel
Wheels: Meguiars All Wheel and Tire Cleaner / Autofinesse Oblitarate / Hot water rinse / AF Iron Out / Daytona Jnr / HP Rinse / Menzerna Powerlock
Door shuts, window rubbers, fuel flap, badges: Cyclo APC / Various Brushes / HP Rinse
Engine Bay: Cyclo APC / Various Brushes / HP Rinse / Shield Sheen
Wash: Chemical Guys Maxisuds II, Cyclo APC, white vinegar mix via foam cannon / Cyclo Polymer Car Wash and ONR mix / 2BM with Lambswool wash mitt
Dry: ONR at QD strength / WW Drying towel / Compressed Air
Tar removal : Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover / Hot water rinse
Iron removal : Autofinesse Iron Out
Remaining Contaminants : Autoglym Fine Grade Clay / Carways Mist and Wipe
Glass : Autoglym Fine Grade Clay / Carways Mist and Wipe 
Paint correction : Menzeran FG400 / Meguiars MF pads / LC Orange pads, followed by Menzerna SF4000 / LC Green Pad, followed by Chemical Guys Black Light / LC Black Finishing Pad
Tail light correction: Menzerna PF2500 / LC White Pad / Menzerna SF4000 / LC Black Pad
Paint protection : Collinite 845 / Pete's 53
Door rubbers, plastic trim : Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner / Smartwax Smart Dressing
Exhaust tips : Mothers Mag and Aluminium Polish /Mothers Power Ball mini / MF Towels
Carbon Fiber : Chemical Guys EZ Creme 
 
So, onto some pictures
 
Firstly, TOGW (The Other Guys Wax)....this is either wax or polish residue from someone who has previously 'detailed' the car, without paying attention to the details.   :lol:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The car even came with some spare washing medium, in case I ran out   :lol:
 

 
Swirls, deep scratches and chips
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
And some rather unsightly orange peel 
 

 
And water spots
 

 

 
Wheels
 

 
Built up dirt in the usual spots

 

 

 
During
 

 
After
 

 
Leather
 
Poor maintenance caused the leather to dry out and become more susceptible to cracking

 
During (the shiny side is the dirty side)

 
After

 
Engine bay
 
Before

 

 

 

After
 

 
Paint correction
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

[LawrenceSA]

And finally the 'beauty shots'
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Despite being Jerez BLACK, the paint has the most awesome blue tint to it...
 

 

 
2 Random cell phone pics

 

 
And my favorite shot
 

 
Total time spent = 32hours
 
Thanks for looking and as always any questions or comments are welcome
 
 :hi:

 

[WillWashesCars]

Wow fantastic write up. Very well prepared. Looks like you got a great deal of cut from FG400+MF. Makes for a really easy to use one step on hard paints and a consistent cut on softer paints.

 

[LawrenceSA]

Thank you.


 


Yes FG400 + MF pad is a real winner in my experience. I also use it a lot with LC Orange pads, or LC Hydrotech Cyan pads with much success 

 

[David Fermani]

Looks great. Are you in Florida? 

 

[DaGonz]

Very nice...

 

[Nanolex US]

Fantastic work.


32hrs of hard work sure pays off at the end.....

 

[LawrenceSA]

Looks great. Are you in Florida? 

Thank you


 


No I am based over in South Africa, on the east coast in a town called Durban.

 

[Scottwax]

Looks awesome in the sun!

 

[LawrenceSA]

Looks awesome in the sun!

Thank you very much


 


I was so grateful to be able to actually get some sun shots. I had a really bad run where for close on 2 months the weather simply did not play ball and it would be either overcast or raining when I completed the detail.... so to see this paint out in the sun was very rewarding.

 

[Guru17]

Name a defect and this car had it. Great job turning it around - now she looks a real head turner.


 


That orange peel is factory or from a respray?