[mike5809]

I did an outside detail of my 335i this weekend. Nothing too extensive - just washed, and a coat of wax and sealant. I am very much a detail novice, but I think it turned out pretty nice.

I used;
- Meguiars Car Wash
- Klasse All-In-One Polish (one coat)
- Klasse Sealant (two coats)
- Plexus Spray for Plastic/Clear Bra

I applied the Klasse products via a buffer.

The front bumper, front of hood, A-Pillar, Rocker Panels, Side Mirrors, Partial Rear Bumper is wrapped in a clear bra, which is where I used the Plexus and no other product.

It was pretty dark outside, I apologize for the pictures - I wish it was sunny so the shine would be really noticeable.

*Don't mind the dirty wheels These are my winter set, I will be putting on my summer set soon.

Any advice would be great.

[BMW335icoupe]

Looks great!!!!

[SilverII]

nice

[Donny Rino]

Did you forget to clean the wheels and tires?

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by Donny Rino

Did you forget to clean the wheels and tires?

Ha, yeah I put in the post I didnt do the wheels. They are my winter set which I will be taking off this week as the weather is getting warmer so I didnt want to spend time cleanjng them at the moment. I will give the wheels a good clean when they are off - dont worry, the summer ones are super clean and ready to go

[lopealle]

To be honest op it just like you washed it and barely that.....juat sayin

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by lopealle

To be honest op it just like you washed it and barely that.....juat sayin

Well thanks for your opinion. Like I said, I'm not a pro by any means - I'm just getting my feet wet in detailing. So I know it isn't as great as what a lot of people can do. That being said, I'm pretty proud of what I did. I'd have to say it looks a little better than "just hardly washed". I think it has a decent shine and finish, there are no swirl marks or really any imperfections and the paint has a nice mirror gloss to it.

Any pointers or tips ( minus about the wheels and wheel wells ) would be appreciated. As this is the first time I have used a buffer as I usually just wax by hand.

[catch]

came out nice

if you did the detail in the order you put above you did it wrong though...
putting sealant over wax does nothing really. The sealant is made to stick to bare paint, putting it over wax it wont last at all.
Id recommend clay baring before sealing, then wait at least 24 hours before you wax on top of the sealant

[mike5809]

Originally Posted by catch

came out nice

if you did the detail in the order you put above you did it wrong though...
putting sealant over wax does nothing really. The sealant is made to stick to bare paint, putting it over wax it wont last at all.
Id recommend clay baring before sealing, then wait at least 24 hours before you wax on top of the sealant

Thanks for the information, Catch!

I did see the steps you laid out when I first started reading about detailing. The first time I detailed my car (in October or so), I just washed and applied 2 coats of the Klasse: Sealant by hand. I waited 12 hours in-between coats. However, the sealant only lasted about 2.5 months which was disappointing.

This time, I decided to change two things in my process. One was to use a buffer for the first time, as I was hoping this would help with getting the Sealant deep into the paint. The second was to use the Klasse: All-In-One product first. According to the bottle (and autogeek.net) this product is supposed to go one before the Klasse: Sealant. It appears that the All-In-One is more of an Acrylic based polish. I applied the All-In-One via a buffer, then waited 12 hours to apply the first coat of Sealant via a buffer with a blue polishing pad (then repeated the process after another 12 hours).

I hope that the steps I took with these products is correct, and that the results last longer than before. Do you recommend any additional ways to have the sealant last longer?

Also do you have any knowledge or feedback on "Klasse" products? Are they decent, or not worth using anymore?

Thanks so much!

Oh, here are links/info on the products used:
All-In-One polish I used: http://www.autogeek.net/klasseallinone.html
Sealant: http://www.autogeek.net/klashiggloss.html
Pad for All-In-One: http://www.autogeek.net/gray-5-5inch...ffing-pad.html
Pad for Sealant: http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country...d-pad-kit.html (used, Blue Finessing Flat 5.5 inch Foam Pad)

[droptop335]

I just did a similar detail on my 2007 E93. Because my car had several old coats of Klasse on it, I wanted to start with a clean slate, so I used Chemical Guys citrus wash which stripped all the previous Klasse and gave me a nice bare canvas to start with.

By the way, a trick I use to prevent water spots is distilled water. I buy 4 gallons of distilled water from Walmart, and use it as a final wash rinse, making sure the car doesn't dry out between the last hose rinse and the distilled water rinse. I just open each bottle and pour/splash it over the top and onto the sides of the car. It does a great job of removing the hose water (which has lots of spot-producing minerals in it), and leaves a wet surface that won't spot. I then move the car into the garage and dry it with very clean MF towels. Detailers domain sells a great MF laundry detergent that really cleans the MF towels and leaves no residue on them.

Then I applied Klasse AIO by hand, and the next day applied Klasse Sealant, also by hand. The one problem that I run into with Klasse is that it can be hard to remove the residue. To combat this I used a trick that I learned from a guy on another detailers forum: I spray an MF towel with a generous amount of Meguiars Detailing spray (#M34) to make it pretty damp, and use it to remove the residue, followed immediately by a dry MF towel to buff to a shine. I am extremely happy with the results.

By the way, Klasse AIO is a great product to keep your headlight and foglight lenses crystal clear. Follow it up with Klasse Sealant and it will stay clear longer too...

[talisman311]

How'd you go about applying the sealant with the buffer? I have a griot's garage buffer with a red polishing pad I'd be more than happy to use. So far, I've been using a foam applicator from autogeek (slightly damp) to put on the sealant on. It's a bit of a pain to apply and a MAJOR pain to remove the residue.

Originally Posted by mike5809

Thanks for the information, Catch!

I did see the steps you laid out when I first started reading about detailing. The first time I detailed my car (in October or so), I just washed and applied 2 coats of the Klasse: Sealant by hand. I waited 12 hours in-between coats. However, the sealant only lasted about 2.5 months which was disappointing.

This time, I decided to change two things in my process. One was to use a buffer for the first time, as I was hoping this would help with getting the Sealant deep into the paint. The second was to use the Klasse: All-In-One product first. According to the bottle (and autogeek.net) this product is supposed to go one before the Klasse: Sealant. It appears that the All-In-One is more of an Acrylic based polish. I applied the All-In-One via a buffer, then waited 12 hours to apply the first coat of Sealant via a buffer with a blue polishing pad (then repeated the process after another 12 hours).

I hope that the steps I took with these products is correct, and that the results last longer than before. Do you recommend any additional ways to have the sealant last longer?

Also do you have any knowledge or feedback on "Klasse" products? Are they decent, or not worth using anymore?

Thanks so much!

Oh, here are links/info on the products used:
All-In-One polish I used: http://www.autogeek.net/klasseallinone.html
Sealant: http://www.autogeek.net/klashiggloss.html
Pad for All-In-One: http://www.autogeek.net/gray-5-5inch...ffing-pad.html
Pad for Sealant: http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country...d-pad-kit.html (used, Blue Finessing Flat 5.5 inch Foam Pad)

[talisman311]

Originally Posted by droptop335

Then I applied Klasse AIO by hand, and the next day applied Klasse Sealant, also by hand. The one problem that I run into with Klasse is that it can be hard to remove the residue. To combat this I used a trick that I learned from a guy on another detailers forum: I spray an MF towel with a generous amount of Meguiars Detailing spray (#M34) to make it pretty damp, and use it to remove the residue, followed immediately by a dry MF towel to buff to a shine. I am extremely happy with the results.

By the way, Klasse AIO is a great product to keep your headlight and foglight lenses crystal clear. Follow it up with Klasse Sealant and it will stay clear longer too...

That doesn't remove the sealant when you do that?

[droptop335]

Originally Posted by talisman311

That doesn't remove the sealant when you do that?

No, according to the detailer it does not. Any reputable quick detailer spray should be formulated specifically NOT to remove the existing sealant. He also stated that you COULD use klasse sealant that has been diluted and put in a spray bottle instead of the meguiar's M34, but that he hadn't used it himself.

My car came out great, the best it has looked since I took delivery in July 2007, when I first detailed it.