Thomas Dekany
New member
never gone said:
Yes you can and should buy a car with the plastic on.
Cars sit on the lot sometimes for months.
Never gone, you have a lot to read on Autopia :hmph: :hmph:
:chuckle: :chuckle:
Jet Black 335i ordered - Complete Novice. Requesting review of plan.
- Thread starter eleven11
- Start date
Yes you can and should buy a car with the plastic on.
Cars sit on the lot sometimes for months.
Never gone, you have a lot to read on Autopia :hmph: :hmph:
:chuckle: :chuckle:imported_never gone
New member
tdekany said:Yes you can and should buy a car with the plastic on.
Cars sit on the lot sometimes for months.
Never gone, you have a lot to read on Autopia :hmph: :hmph:
Please don't play the elite card and be condescending just because you have 4000+ posts. I generally deal more in real life than internet. Yes you can get a car with the plastic on but the majority of people DO NOT. I quite often help a family friend that has had a detailing business for over 10 years and the one thing he says people over due is claying. Bottom line we all have our OPINIONS and having a higher thread count does not make ones more valid than another's. :2thumbs:
Thomas Dekany
New member
never gone said:
What is your problem?????
This is your first reply and your 5th post altogether.
I think that you have an issue.
Best to leave your ego at the door never gone.
What does that mean?
I detail for a living and prep many new cars. I speak from "real life".
Now, i am going back to my regular life. Good luck to you.
imported_Picus
New member
OK, my opinion on this one. This is a picture of my clay after using it on my new 335i. I picked the car up while it was still wrapped in plastic. Nothing had been done to it. I washed then clayed, then took this picture.
I clay every car I do a new car prep on and on almost all of them the clay takes off a significant amount of contamination whether they were picked up in plastic or not. I have new car prep'd 61 cars since March 1/07. Clay is absolutely necessary on a new car, imo.
I clay every car I do a new car prep on and on almost all of them the clay takes off a significant amount of contamination whether they were picked up in plastic or not. I have new car prep'd 61 cars since March 1/07. Clay is absolutely necessary on a new car, imo.
I'd first like to thank those who have actually contributed detailing advice. As for the the jet black discussion, thanks for jacking my post. As I mentioned initially, I was already aware of the problems with my color selection. If I wanted a car that can look slightly gray in sunlight, I would have chosen the metallic; however, I don't. I want a black car. I wasn't asking for a rehash on the topic.
Now, would anyone care to elaborate about leaving the "plastic" on. To my understanding, new BMWs first arrive at US port and go to a Vehicle Preparation Center in NJ (east coast deliveries). Now does the plastic get removed there or at the dealership? If I ask them to keep the plastic on it, is it a very painful task to remove for a novice detailer? Any product recommendations to properly remove this (noticed one was already mentioned)?
Also, I had a few other quick questions in my second post of this thread - any help with those?
Thanks again
-eleven11
Now, would anyone care to elaborate about leaving the "plastic" on. To my understanding, new BMWs first arrive at US port and go to a Vehicle Preparation Center in NJ (east coast deliveries). Now does the plastic get removed there or at the dealership? If I ask them to keep the plastic on it, is it a very painful task to remove for a novice detailer? Any product recommendations to properly remove this (noticed one was already mentioned)?
Also, I had a few other quick questions in my second post of this thread - any help with those?
Thanks again
-eleven11
Thomas Dekany
New member
Sorry for trying to save you from daily headaches.
for exterior lights on a brand new car, I'm assuming Z7 should be all i need. Or can a add some ZCS ontop?
I assume you mean z5 yes you can and should use zcs
-same question about exterior chrome?
Same answer
next, how extensive should I protect the inner panels (inside the door, etc) when detailing?
It is your investment. It is up to you. Not sure why you would ask others.
BUT, I would do the same as the exterior paint.
for exterior lights on a brand new car, I'm assuming Z7 should be all i need. Or can a add some ZCS ontop?
I assume you mean z5 yes you can and should use zcs
-same question about exterior chrome?
Same answer
next, how extensive should I protect the inner panels (inside the door, etc) when detailing?
It is your investment. It is up to you. Not sure why you would ask others.
BUT, I would do the same as the exterior paint.
eleven11 said:
All the cars I've bought that had plastic on the dealership wanted to take it off during the PDI process. I only had one dealer that would let me in the bay area during PDI to actually remove the plastic myself. It can sometimes leave some glue'ish type stuff on the panels, but that will come off during the wash/clay.
I go over headlights and glass with my Z'products (z5 z2 z6 z8) They all work on glass, chrome, plastic etc... inside I use a damp MF towel to get the large dust off and then use 303 Aerospace protectant as a dressing since I like the UV protection and the fact it doesn't leave it shiny (greasy) looking. IMO it has a very matte finish.
I also use 303 on the tires.
Hope some of that helps. Good luck with the black, just purchased an a4 in black myself after having my last few cars in silver. Looks sharp clean (which is 1-2 days a week... rofl) would stay clean longer if they would lift this stupid water ban!!!!:wall :wall
imported_Picus
New member
eleven11 - the plastic should remain on until the car reaches the dealership. It may be different in the US, but afaik the plastic remains on until the dealer PDI's the car. Removing it is very easy, BMW's are shipped with 6 pieces of plastic, one on the hood, one on the windshield, one on the roof, one on the decklid, and one on each side (upper doors). They peel off easily; the only tricky part is the windshield one; it has two spots where it adheres to the car on the top of the windhshield on the plastic gasket; when the dealer tears the plastic off they often take some of the rubber with them, so if you remove it just go really slow with the one on the windshield.
The car will also have styrafoam stuck on the door edges and the rockers, but those peel off easily too. Some adhesive will be left behind but it will be removed during your wash.
I personally urge all my customers to ask the dealer to PDI the car mechanically only, so you should receive it in plastic. The dealer will usually make you remove the plastic while at the dealership to ensure there has been no shipping damage. The removal of all plastic takes about 3 minutes.
On the inside you will have plastic on each seat (tear it on the bottom so it'll slide through the seat for easy removal), a plastic sheet on the driver side footwell, and some stickers on the inside door panels, as well as numerous stickers on the windows. Most of those peel off (go slow), some leave adhesive which is removable with clay.
RE your questions in the second post. Z5 is fine on the plastic and chrome. I'd use 303 on the interior, which is what I use on all cars I detail.
Sorry for the off topic on Jet Black. Some of us have a lot of experience with the color and, personally, I didn't realize you'd read all the stories about it.
The car will also have styrafoam stuck on the door edges and the rockers, but those peel off easily too. Some adhesive will be left behind but it will be removed during your wash.
I personally urge all my customers to ask the dealer to PDI the car mechanically only, so you should receive it in plastic. The dealer will usually make you remove the plastic while at the dealership to ensure there has been no shipping damage. The removal of all plastic takes about 3 minutes.
On the inside you will have plastic on each seat (tear it on the bottom so it'll slide through the seat for easy removal), a plastic sheet on the driver side footwell, and some stickers on the inside door panels, as well as numerous stickers on the windows. Most of those peel off (go slow), some leave adhesive which is removable with clay.
RE your questions in the second post. Z5 is fine on the plastic and chrome. I'd use 303 on the interior, which is what I use on all cars I detail.
Sorry for the off topic on Jet Black. Some of us have a lot of experience with the color and, personally, I didn't realize you'd read all the stories about it.
Thanks for the replies. About the lights and trim - I suppose I'm just not used to what Zaino will be like. I've seen people who use painters masking tape to protect lights, etc when doing coats of certain products. Again, I'm a novice. So to simplify (again, I apologize for what likely appears very redundant), I can treat the entire exterior of my car, with the only exception being the tires, with the same Zaino process I described at the beginning of this post?
Tdekany, the reason I was asking about the inner panels mainly concerned avoiding any spillover, etc that may occur to the interior. I just wasn't sure if it was common practice to give it the full gamut or not.
:up
Tdekany, the reason I was asking about the inner panels mainly concerned avoiding any spillover, etc that may occur to the interior. I just wasn't sure if it was common practice to give it the full gamut or not.
:up
Picus said:
No biggie. Yeah, I suppose I should have been a little more explicit about what I'd actually read. In hind site, I sincerely appreciate everyones intentions about relaying their experiences with the color.
Hmm, would be nice if I could leave all of the exterior plastic pieces on (except for windshield) until I get home. I suppose 10 miles won't make a huge difference.
imported_Picus
New member
I don't think they will let you. I have a very good relationship with my dealership (I detail cars for them) and they still made me remove the plastic at the dealership to ensure there was no shipping damage. They did let me leave all the interior plastic on. It took me literally ~3 minutes to remove the exterior plastic; it peels right off, so no worries there.
RE: the plastic/trim; yes, you can treat them exactly how you treat your paint with the zaino products. I use Z2/Z5/ZCS on every surface of my car, paint, plastic, lights, trim, exhaust, wheels...everything but the tires. I do seal windows, but do not wax them as they tend to streak, so if you do use Souveran or P21S remember to skip the windows, lights, trim...stick to the paint.
RE: the plastic/trim; yes, you can treat them exactly how you treat your paint with the zaino products. I use Z2/Z5/ZCS on every surface of my car, paint, plastic, lights, trim, exhaust, wheels...everything but the tires. I do seal windows, but do not wax them as they tend to streak, so if you do use Souveran or P21S remember to skip the windows, lights, trim...stick to the paint.
Tachyon
New member
Congrats on your purchase Eleven11 !!! The 335i is a fantastic machine and that engine is a killer. What color interior did you order?
I own a Jet Black BMW 550i and there is nothing that looks so good when cleaned and polished ... but it is a lot of work to keep it that way.
On the 5 series the clear coat is hard like most other BMWs. I've had to jump up to a rotary to tackle even routine swirls - a PC takes way too long.
But the 3er is built in a different plant than the 5 series, and there may be something different about how they do the paint process. I'm sure the gang here is correct about the softness - but I don't have any direct experience with Jet Black on the 3 series.
Just keep it well protected and use a sensible washing technique.
One last note ... Jet Black has some smoke grey tint to it in direct sunlight. It isn't the deep, dark midnight black you may be expecting. Don't get me wrong ... it's certainly black, but there is a touch of smoke to it, you know, like from a jet engine. By comparison, Mrs. Tachyon's Cadillac SRX is Raven Black - now that's black as black can be. (talk about a soft paint .. oiy ... I hope your 335 is better than that).
Good luck ... let's see some pics when you get it.:2thumbs:
I own a Jet Black BMW 550i and there is nothing that looks so good when cleaned and polished ... but it is a lot of work to keep it that way.
On the 5 series the clear coat is hard like most other BMWs. I've had to jump up to a rotary to tackle even routine swirls - a PC takes way too long.
But the 3er is built in a different plant than the 5 series, and there may be something different about how they do the paint process. I'm sure the gang here is correct about the softness - but I don't have any direct experience with Jet Black on the 3 series.
Just keep it well protected and use a sensible washing technique.
One last note ... Jet Black has some smoke grey tint to it in direct sunlight. It isn't the deep, dark midnight black you may be expecting. Don't get me wrong ... it's certainly black, but there is a touch of smoke to it, you know, like from a jet engine. By comparison, Mrs. Tachyon's Cadillac SRX is Raven Black - now that's black as black can be. (talk about a soft paint .. oiy ... I hope your 335 is better than that).
Good luck ... let's see some pics when you get it.:2thumbs:
Thanks! I decided to go with the Terra interior. I was on the fence between Terra and Beige, and Terra just seemed more exclusive, etc. As far as the greyness, I suppose I see what you're saying. However, looking at the Jet Black and metallic beside each other on the same car (e90), the non-metallic's black looked much deeper.
I'll definitely be uploading pics, but still have ~6 weeks until she arrives.
I'll definitely be uploading pics, but still have ~6 weeks until she arrives.
06c350sport
New member
tdekany said:
I'd have to agree. We have a Jet Black X3, and its the first car I've ever owned that has shown significant swirls. I'm as careful as most folks on this forum, and it's been a nightmare keeping that vehicle looking good over the past two years. And then when it does swirl up you have no choice but haul out nuclear weapons, like some really aggressive polish, to get the swirls out. We love the X3, but if I had to it to do over again I would have ordered ANY other color. BMW dealers should warn people about Jet Black and make them sign a disclaimer.
06c350sport
New member
eleven11 said:Thanks! I decided to go with the Terra interior. I was on the fence between Terra and Beige, and Terra just seemed more exclusive, etc. As far as the greyness, I suppose I see what you're saying. However, looking at the Jet Black and metallic beside each other on the same car (e90), the non-metallic's black looked much deeper.
I'll definitely be uploading pics, but still have ~6 weeks until she arrives.
We have that same combination - it's awesome. Good luck.