Detailed up and shiny!
 

Had a really shitty week of coding -- stuff that's really breaking my balls in ways that code usually doesn't. Working on some stuff that hasn't really been tried, and there are no roadmaps, roadsigns, or sometimes even roads .... In short, I needed a few hours of "me" time away from the computer before I went (more) nuts.

So, I decided to do something I usually don't do, and that's detail one of the crappier cars (which usually just get a wash and wax). When I do this sort of treatment to something like the Viper, I spend a lot of time, and I prefer to do it MYSELF, because I find it relaxing. For other cars, though, they usually get handed off to someone else for a quick wash + wax. This car is the exception, because I've been using it lately as my daily driver, but I really like how it came out.

Anyway, enough rambling, here are a handful of pictures:

http://www.edgeprod.com/dom/bmw530i/bmw02.jpg

http://www.edgeprod.com/dom/bmw530i/bmw03.jpg

http://www.edgeprod.com/dom/bmw530i/bmw04.jpg

http://www.edgeprod.com/dom/bmw530i/bmw05.jpg

Process:

First, the obvious step: I washed the car as carefully as she's ever been washed, paying special attention to any spots that might not always get the love they deserve. For this, I used Meguiar's NXT Generation Car Wash, because I wanted to loosen and remove as much grime as I could.

After the wash, I examined the car's clear coat for signs of wear, so I could develop a plan of attack.

The first step in my repair plan included taking a Meguiar's clay bar to the hood, one small section at a time. It had some roughness, especially near the grille, so I spent a lot of time making sure it had an absolutely smooth surface. I chose Meguiar's over Mother's for this job because although it tends to leave a lot of clay behind, I feel like it does a better job at lifting the serious contamination.

The rest of the car got a sweep of a Mother's clay bar, with special attention on the roof and rear, where dust tends to accumulate naturally when driving (my Viper had a nasty habit of hiding dust back here, which would swirl the clear coat if you didn't wash it VERY carefully). I used the Mother's here because I didn't need the detail work of the Meguiar's, and I didn't want to be removing clay from the entire car -- I didn't mind doing it for just the hood.

Next up was a re-wash to rid the car of any leftover clay and/or lubricant. I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash and Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitts, as I wanted to be as gentle as possible here. I used two buckets -- one with the washing solution, and one with clean water. I'm paranoid about contaminants in this step, I probably go overboard, but I use a grit guard at the bottom of the soapy bucket.

Water straight from the hose (no nozzle attachment) to rinse the car off, then dried with a series of microfiber towels (I only use them once, then discard them).

With my bonded contaminants remedied, it was time to attack the below-surface defects. I spread some good ol' Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on the random orbital buffer, and went to work on the swirls, light scratches, and other irregularities in the clear coat, paying close attention to my poor swirled up hood. The hood got a second helping of the compound.

Now it was time to turn to Turtle Wax's Black Box and go to work on the two steps of the three-stage process. This was an extremely time consuming venture, as always, but it yielded the results I expected it to. You either love it or you hate it, and I love it.

To finish it off, I swap the wax in the Black Box for Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. I love Tech Wax's "wet" look, and how it beads the water for ages after it's applied. I swear by it, and it's always on all of my cars.

beautiful job - didn't know anybody would ever put that much work or thought into washing a car tho :1orglaugh

how long did that take?

I used to detail cars when I was a kid. a good detail job takes about 2 to 4 hours depending on the size of the care and the state its in when you start.

I used a polish called white majik and it was amazing. Might want to try and find that at a pro chemicals shop.

Same as one of my cars.. ! Parked outside on my drive...

Hang ten, I'll post a pic... Mines NOT left hand drive though ! In the UK, we drive on the CORRECT side of the road !

Mines grey ! WOOT WOOT!

http://i.imgur.com/IEKrc.jpg

OK... So its a shitty pic... I just took it on a crap camera phone out my window !

Nice job! Black is always tough to keep clean.

Edge, try the poor boys world line of car care products you can only buy them online though, Black hole works AMAZING on black cars.

maybe if you sold that, you could afford some things... :2 cents:





.

your neighbors have some pretty nice cars.

where do you live at? 1700th europe? looks like a castle in the back

YES, but there is nothing like it, when its all clean and shiny :thumbsup:thumbsup

looks damn good BUT i think i see a swirl on that quarter panel.

Shhhhhhhh.... Gotta keep in Character ! (I'm SKINT!)

Yes, I live in the 17th century... Its pretty cool here... The internet has yet to be invented, so I should be one of the first !!! :winkwink:

http://i.imgur.com/x7w7l.jpg


FWIW... Here is my house... :)

4 hours or so. I don't usually put that much work into the cheaper cars like the BMW, but since I've been daily driving it, it seemed worthwhile. I like to do the detailing myself on the cars ... it's a nice break from the world. Just me, the car, and some tunes.


Yeah, tell me about it. Half a dozen of my cars were black before I started selling them off earlier this year. They don't all fit in the garage, so some of they needed more love than others.


I'll have to check that out. I respect any opinion you have on something that sits on four wheels, after seeing the great looking rides you drive around in.


I'll keeeeeeeeeeel you! :1orglaugh

nice! black cars are a bitch to keep clean too!

And now it's been out in the rain (wasn't in the forecast, got caught 1.5 hours from home), so I'm tired of it. To Craigslist it goes! Hopefully it'll be a quick sale or trade.

You dumb, boy?

Or just plain ignorant because you've never ventured outside your own country to learn something about the world?

can i bring mine? it could use some cleaning...

actually this is how it looked recently after not driving for 3 months:

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._8363652_n.jpg

i then put it through the automatic wash at a gas station, so not as perfect but still better than before :winkwink:

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._8026997_n.jpg

not bad for 18 years me thinks :)

Haha, I'll pass ... washing my Porsches was some of the least fun afternoons I've ever had. They have too many nooks, crannies, and other stuff.

I love how the Bimmer is the cheap car ya baller!

How much you asking for that filthy 530 anyways?

as a kid i used to spend my weekend cleaning my fathers car, making some money

today i am far too lazy to do it by hand :(

Next time try the 3m perfect it paint finishing system. It's A LOT of work, but the results are amazing.

I just figured out the mystery of why you can't afford anything...

Ok, big ballin', "lemme repeat myself so you all know I'm a big baller", Guy. You just impressed us all with your big ballin' status :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

you're a programmer - where did u make all this money? unless you programmed twitter or something and got a piece of the company.

I have a guy that comes over and spends that long on just a basic wash and wax. He spends about 6-7 hours when he details it.

:1orglaugh

Sweet

Nice. How far is that from London?

Very nice job! My man is detailing up a friend's Ferrari tonight. It takes a while, but the results are sooo worth it.

Haha, well. It is what it is. 5 series aren't really known as "expensive" cars. Brand new, I think they're only in the 50's, tops. I dunno what I'm going to end up selling this one for. Probably around $18k-$19k.

Haha. Who said I had a lot of money? I just like cars. I live in my cars, that's why I can afford em. :winkwink:

LOL, I'll assume you aren't a troll (haven't seen many of your posts, so I don't know), and respond. Do you really think most normal people would detail a 5-series BMW? They're not really "status cars," LOL. When someone goes by in one, I don't go "oh wow, look at that rich guy in the 5-series!" .. haha.

I'm officially bored with it now. It goes on Craigslist this week.

So when should I bring mine up? She needs a bath sooooooo bad.

Nice ride man!

nice car, like that one. had a few 928s. All the new lines came from these two models ;)

I loved the 928. Not sure about that colour though. :winkwink:

Down, now. Just moved to Florida, haha.


Thanks! I always preferred my Viper, but like all toys, it's time to get rid of this one. I'll probably sell it off at some silly price like the rest.

What? I thought you car would be covered in bird poo.

.

Isn't that the location of some old TV show where people were kind of held hostage there? Didn't some weird rich guy build the whole town?

Nice location.

Black is a bitch to keep clean, and I'm sure parking or driving it in the middle of all those trees.

The birds will LOVE it :Graucho

http://www.edgeprod.com/dom/bmw530i/bmw05.jpg

Your bumper is scratched. Bummer.

Unusual to see two churches so close together.

sounds like you are thinking of Portmeirion in North Wales, famous for The Prisioner but also used in just about every other British Sci-Fi show in the 70's

nice place to live! :)

Don't they wholesale for about $12k?

Wet looking and shinny! Love that BMW...

What?! My car is flawless. There are no scratches anywhere.

Less, if you catch an auction without luxury car bidders. Saw a 745li with 70k miles go for 11k.

True, it's so painfully obvious.

Again: if you think a BMW 530i is "baller" status, then you probably either live in the ghetto or a third world country. Do you think people with front-load washing machines and pools in their back yard are "ballers," too? How about people with light switches that can be turned off from either side of a room? :1orglaugh