Spring Clean

[BlackjackMulligan]

I decided to spend a few hours on the 1er last weekend. I had decided beforehand that I'm done chasing down every last swirl,
because after spending a couple of hours polishing them all out, they would just come back after a couple of washes.
Bear in mind, my paint is in better condition than probably 99% of JB Bimmers out there,
but if you shine a light on the paint or catch the sun in the right reflection, you can see them easily.
Plus, it's a lease, and I only have another year with it before goes back, so I was aiming for a nice result for the summer.

Anyhow, I decided to try out Chemical Guys EZ-Creme Glaze, topped by Blackfire Wet Diamond. Here was my process:

Friday night to get a head start, I started on the wheels. I used Megs Wheel Brightener diluted 4-1 with water.
Mind you, this is far too strong for weekly usage but there was over a year of brake dust crud on
the barrels of the wheels although the outside was in great shape.
This stuff cut right through the baked on crud and I agitated it with a blue Wheel Detail brush.
I then dried the wheels and sealed the outside with Rejex for protection and ease of brake dust removal.

The following morning I woke up early and gave it a nice wash with Dawn to strip off
anything protecting the paint to get a clean canvas. I spot treated a couple of RIDS with the Flex
and a green Uber pad with Megs 105 for the deeper issues and SIP to finish it down and
get rid of isolated lighter scratches. Again, the paint was overall in good shape except with the light swirls.

I then gave the car a nice coat of the glaze on a blue pad with the Flex. It went on easily
and wiped right off with no trouble or streaking (plus it smells awesome )

After that, I applied the BFWD by hand and let it set for about 45 mins. I removed it with a
high quality MF towel and checked out the results.

Basically, I'm happy with how it came out. Yes, you can still see swirls if you look for them but again,
I'm done chasing my tail. The car looks great to 99.9999% of the population and that's
good enough for me (or at least what I keep telling myself).

Then on to the interior. Again, it was already in great shape, although I noticed that the
bolster on the passenger side seatback is wearing prematurely- I'll have to speak to the wife
about that one although I don't know what she could be doing to cause it. The drivers side which
gets far more use looks brand new. I gave it a thorough vacuuming and treated every leather, plastic,
and vinyl piece with 303 Protectant. I find that I like 303 better than Cockpit as it gives just a hint more
shine than the Cockpit does (I still used Cockpit on the nav screen and center stack because it
doesn't streak on the screens). However, it doesn't have a nice scent like Cockpit
(no scent at all in fact) and I liked how the Cockpit made the...er....cockpit smell clean and fresh.
Also, 303 is a bit more finiky to use than Cockpit because if you miss a spot, or have a little overspray,
it easily shows up on the dark plastic bits. Although it's not ideal for leather, it says on the bottle
that it can be used, and I was pleased with the quick cleanup and matte sheen it provided.
Next time I have another couple of hours I will properly treat the leather with leather specific cream.
Lastly, I cleaned the windows in and out and put a coat of Dodo Juice wax on the wood trim.

A couple of quick points then a couple of crappy pics:

Stoners Tarminator is awesome. It gets anything off the paint that is stuck on and won't come off
with regular washes like tar, any sticky stuff around the wheel wells like I had, etc. Also, it works
wonders for those pesky marks under the doors that occur after it rains- you know what I'm talking about.
Although it's a bit stong for those marks, one swipe removes them whereas when I used quick
detailer on them I had to rub and rub, probably making more swirls.
Just don't forget to reapply seal or wax after use because it will probably strip them.

Pick up a small foam paintbrush on a wooden stick- it worked extrememly well to clean in the
vents as well as tight spots in the interior. I applied some 303 to the foam and went to town.
Usually the vents are a huge PITA for me and this made it easy. Also helped around the steering wheel trim,
center console, window switch wells, etc. Try it out.

Total time spent: approx 7 hours

Sorry fior the crappy pics but you all know what a clean 1er looks like anyhow.
The fourth pic is of the swirls prior to any glaze or LSP. Dunno why the interior pics are fuzzy.

[Red Bread]

Looks great in pics! Love the color combo, really looks good.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Looks great in pics! Love the color combo, really looks good.

Thanks man, I appreciate your comments. You obviously know what your talking about with this detailing stuff!

[Red Bread]

Bah, it's just an act.

I suppose more than anything, it's just age. I've had my M Coupe for nearly a decade, and it's Imola Red, so I've had to learn how to best deal with non-metallic paints for a while now.

Looks like you're learning quite well, and you've also learned the most important thing, a daily driver isn't something that will ever be defect free, but you can sure try to keep it as close as possible. Somewhere, you get a good feel for your own point of diminishing returns.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Bah, it's just an act.

I suppose more than anything, it's just age. I've had my M Coupe for nearly a decade, and it's Imola Red, so I've had to learn how to best deal with non-metallic paints for a while now.

Looks like you're learning quite well, and you've also learned the most important thing, a daily driver isn't something that will ever be defect free, but you can sure try to keep it as close as possible. Somewhere, you get a good feel for your own point of diminishing returns.

Yes, I've had to learn a lot of new techniques to keep the JB looking good, so it's been a good learning experience dealing the paint.

To keep my sanity and my C-OCD (self diagnosed Car OCD) at bay, I've had to learn to live with the swirls, but the car still looks great.

[vanbmw]

Nice work blackjack! I think the black paint is worth the effort. The black looks good with the fresh polish and sealant. I have similar plans for my ride soon.

[rsjean]

Looks incredible. I just did the same project last weekend. Probably spent 5 hours. Jet Black. Gotta love it or you'll go crazy with it's high maintinance!

BTW - your first interior shot was fuzzy because you moved. The second was fuzzy because your autofocus locked onto the seat headrest.

[ABQBMW]

That's a great looking car, and a great combo in a vert.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by rsjean

Looks incredible. I just did the same project last weekend. Probably spent 5 hours. Jet Black. Gotta love it or you'll go crazy with it's high maintinance!

BTW - your first interior shot was fuzzy because you moved. The second was fuzzy because your autofocus locked onto the seat headrest.

cool, thanks. That's what I get for using my camera phone....

Originally Posted by ABQBMW

That's a great looking car, and a great combo in a vert.

Thanks! I ordered that combo and waited 3 months for it. I've seen a couple others but not many. The black over red combo is striking in person and gets a lot of compliments.


By the way, looking at my interior (fuzzy) shots brought back a funny memory.....I always leave it in second when I park. The funny thing is, I got in this habit in the 90s when I first got my license and had a removable radio. Yes, not a removable faceplate- a removeable radio. Anyone remember these? I had to put it in second gear to get the gear lever out of the way to pull it out. Boy, I must have looked like a tool walking around the mall carrying a car radio in my hand lol. They used to have a swing up handle to pull it out and hold it by. I guess I never dropped the habit of parking with it in second gear....