BMW 525d M-Sport - Gareth Williams
Entered for the November 2015 competition.
Enter Competition | Back to Entries
 |
Name: Gareth Williams
Make: BMW
Model: 525d M-Sport
Year: 2009
Viewed: 4283 times.
Votes/Comments: 1
|
Send to a Friend
|
Products Used
How Gareth Used Our Products
Like all things cars it is more often than not all about the journey rather than the destination! In my case this certainly holds true about how I navigated my way into the world of detailing... it has been difficult along the way and I have had to make some difficulty decisions about which way to turn next when I came to crossroads (normally conflicting advice on detailing forums from various experts and/or so called experts!!)
The pictures I've submitted hopefully map out the route I've taken and a couple of waypoints along the way...
My journey started about 9 month ago when a colleague at work who loves his cars got chatting about snow foam and lots of things like that to make his car really sparkle... it got me interested and so I started investing in various bits and pieces, researching online and it has slowly has built up from there...
Here is my most recent method which I used for the pictures of the autumn leaves reflected on my car...
- Wheels sprayed with korrosol (spray first 2 wheels then go back to first to agitate with brushes then spray 3rd and go back and agitate 2nd wheel etc.)
- Snow foam with snow foam lance and Chemical guys Honeydew snow foam ((top tip - use hot water to help the mixture mix evenly and keep hands warm on cold days!)
- Rinse with Pressure washer
- Wash with 2 bucket method with grit Guard, Auto Finesse Lather and Supernatural Wookies fist (short hair - less brushing/maintenance required!) for panels above the door sills, Halfords wool mit for lower skirts, bumpers, door jambs etc.
- Car body panels were clayed and decontaminated 2 weeks prior (Korrosol, Valet pro tar remover, born Slippy and Farcela clay mit) so didn't feel the need to do that again...
- Pressure washer rinse followed by (top tip) open hose rinse to help water sheet off and reduce the amount of water to dry off...
- Dry remaining water with Auto Finesse deluxe drying towel - patting as far as possible also but the odd rest it on and gently pull off (rather than rubbing)... minimal downward force to avoid scratching.
- I had a nasty case of road rash on my bonnet so out came the Chipex to fill in those stone chips. (The close up of my bonnet/badge actually had 5 very noticeable chips on the bonnet before hand - I challenge you to find them in the after picture - quite impressed)
- While I was waiting for the paint to fully cure up front I started to use the Autofinesse Ultra glaze at the back and roof, applying by hand it with their very handy puck with a microfibre applicator spot pad. Left it to haze and then buffed off with the Dodo Juice Supernatural buffing cloth which is so soft...
- Dodo Juice Clearly menthol on the glass using a generic window waffle
- Gtechniq tyre and trim on the tyres... for a nice blackening effect without them being overly shiny!
- Paint was all nicely cured by now so could Ultraglaze the bonnet last...
Had planned to add my winter wax treatment (2 coats of Collonite 845 followed by Autofinesse Finale) but it was really humid and starting to get foggy so car was getting condensation on it... so I'll save that for another day!
I've included before and after shots of the inside of my summer alloys as they had been off the car for a while (spiders webs prove that! but especially proud of how I managed to get these cleaned up (by hand no less) using several passes of various things including Bilt-Hamber Autowheel, Korrosol, Valet Pro tar remover, brushes and lots of elbow grease... finished with collonite 845 to help keep them that way... not a job I want to repeat in a hurry! If you think the insides have come up nice you should see the outside face of the alloys... shame I have to wait to spring to put them back on!!
The Ultraglaze did seem to bring out the flake pop nicely and did seem to add a lovely shine and depth to the paint... really reflective as hopeful the autumn leaves which look like are flaming on my bonnet prove!!
As with all things detailing it is the combination of lots of things that got the end result, not just the final layer... as I said at the start it is all about the journey not just the destination!
Report Abuse