Detailed detail - Lots of pics!

[santov]

Well it's the end of week one of being in Z4 heaven. Work hasn't had much work so I've had several days off to poke around the car. The first thing I wanted to do was detail the car, but I realized I should pay attention to fluids and mechanicals first.

I've changed: oil & filter, rear diff, brake, spark plugs, ATF fluids and cleaned the air and cabin filters. Now on to the cleaning...

Wheels

I took the wheels of to inspect the pads and clean the wheels, especially the dust off the inside. Jeez this brake dust is crazy! Something I hate is when detailers spray a rubber cleaner or dressing right over the dirt and brake dust.



First I presoaked with Megs APC. It does a great job of cleaning dirt, grease and brake dust. Highly diluted it's safe for everything and diluted up to 40:1 it's stupid cheap.
http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-all...plus-d103.html



After letting it soak in I used a fender brush and a bucket of hot water to scrub and rinse. After I used my air gun to blow all the mud out.



One of my other pet peeves is a rusty rotor hat. I like to use WD40 with a wire bristle brush to knock all the rust and corrosion off.



After the hats are clean I apply a thin layer of anti-sieze to the hub. Now the wheel will never be frozen to the hub and the wheel won't oxidize on the backside.



Inside

I love the beige color and the contrasting black and wood. I'm tired of solid blacks and greys. I was holding out for red over aluminum, but found this car first.

The inside of this car was clean for the most part, moving the seats all the way forward revealed clean carpet (and no blood stains). I'm not afraid of cleaning the inside of a dirty car, it's just really time consuming. I hate having grime and dirt in the nooks and crannies.

I'm glad those pocket liners come out. I just used APC and hot water. Air gun to blow dry.


That plastic is really easy to clean with APC.


My favorite way of cleaning the dirt out is to vacuum really well first, then use my air gun and spray detailer to move all the gunk out.





On the carpet I used Megs APC again with a nylon brush to agitate all the dirt out. I like how the nylon brush makes the carpet stand back up and look directional. After all this scrubbing dust and dirt has settled every where. So another round of vacuuming. For lightly soiled carpet I like this method best since it doesn't leave the carpet saturated with water.



Ahh, the smell of rich European leather. The seats are in great shape, but the had a layer of soil. I don't like leather cleaners that contain oil and leave a coat grease on top. To clean I used APC again (can you tell I love that stuff?). I used a sponge to scrub the leather gently and a cotton towel to soak up the mess. Look at what came up:

That's not beige dye coming up that's dirt!




Now that the leather has been stripped of oils I apply a thick coat of Chemical Guys leather cleaner http://www.chemicalguys.com/Pure_Lea..._p/spi_101.htm
Let it sit for a few minutes then wipe down with cotton towel.

On vents and electronics I use Megs Interior detailer and very lightly mist the dash board, then an air gun in one hand and MF towel to wipe up the gunk.

Dusty vents and crap on the buttons and digital displays.


The air gun and towel save so much work and leave everything clean without streaks.



After a few hours the inside is clean and nothing is streaky or oily.




Outside

When I was at the dealer I bought a spray bottle of the BMW rag top cleaner. For $14 it was great! I rinsed the top off with my pressure washer (keeping the nozzle far away, using just the rush of water to soak, not the cutting power to damage the top. Then maybe 10 squirts of this cleaner and it had a good amount of foam to sponge the top, then rinse really well. The top definitely needs to be water guarded, I have some RagTopp on order.

For the paint I pressure rinsed, 2-bucket washed with http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-hyper-wash.html, and rinsed really well. Pulled the car into the garage and used a chamois to soak up the water out of the top and air gun to blow most of the water off the wheels and body.

I found lots of stuck on crap and crud. Lots of dead bugs that had been waxed over. Luckily no hard water spots or big scratches. A few nicks in the front bumper, lots of scrapes on the chin .





The paint was smooth to the touch from the wax the dealer used during prep, but it's the typical dealer polish/wax junk. Clay barring is such an important step, often overlooked. I used Megs retail clay kit, along with Megs Final Touch (diluted) as clay lube.

http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-last-touch-spray.html

Look at what came out!


The picture is a little crappy, but look at the depth of gloss on the right side after clay compared to left side (no clay).



Now most of the embedded junk was gone I used Chemical brothers light cut compound. http://www.chemicalguys.com/Light_Du..._p/com_103.htm

It's a little tricky to use. I bought the giant gallon bottle which will take me a long while to use up. It doesn' have much cutting power, but does a great job of getting stubborn contaminants out that the clay left behind. There were some spider webs on the doors and trunk that I could have used the next step of compond on, but being in the middle of winter I'll save the "paint correction" for a summer project. I'm more conservative when it comes to using abrasives, others take out alot of clear coat chasing a small scratch. I rather go with a clean paint topped off with good polish and wax. Black paint is a different story.

This light compound does a great job of picking up etched dirt like this junk stuck in the door jamb and scuffs on the side skirts:





After I'm done claying (to lift embedded dirt), and cleaning (to removed etched or caked contaminants and scuffs), I polshed with CG Acrylic+.

http://www.chemicalguys.com/Polish_p..._p/gap_105.htm

It doesn't tint the paint, which is important on white or silver. It doesn't have too much oil (which makes black and darks look shallow). It's also really easy to apply and take off.


Final two coats are this great wax:
http://www.chemicalguys.com/Auto_Det..._p/wac_110.htm

A little goes a loooooong way. It dries quick, leaves almost no dust. It leaves the paint amazing slick to the touch. I also like that it does a great job on shine.


Check out the shine. I'm excited to apply one last coat of wax before pulling it into the sun tomorrow. The glossy look of the paint makes the white look very deep, which is uncommon for white.





I spent almost 9 hours straight doing a total of 4 passes. I have a Flex multi orbit, but the drone from that thing and being hunched over I was beat!

Let me know what you guys think and thanks for welcoming me to the forum!

-Vincent

[MetMan]

Nice job on the detail, the results were definitely worth the effort!

[ANUSTART]

Well done!

[bhoch]

Looks GREAT! Nice write-up!

[Shorestyle031]

i have used the clay bar and still find trouble getting bugs out

[ZStig]

great job. for my seats, I like to use a toothbrush and diluted "soft soap"

[GomboRombo]

Great Job! You've inspireed me. Doing mine this weekend.

[Samjam927]

Lookin good!

[wasupdu]

Great looking detail!

[a_riddler]

Very well done, look forward to some pics come summer time!