318is Detail

[cheffy]

Here is my 23 y/o is tidy-up - this was a 1 owner car before me, only 88,000 miles.
As you will see there are a couple (or 3) bits need some attention, but overall in v good condition. Process was as follows.

Wash - washing up liquid, Decontaminate - Ferrous Dueller, Clay - Megs smooth, Cut - Megs 105 with DA & orange hex pad, polish - Megs 205 & green hex pad,
2nd step polish - Megs Deep Crystal by hand with German pad, Wax -Bouncers STF.
Wheels, which were quite bad - Bilberry (still need improved, got some Sonax Xtreme FE - to do them later)
Grill - a pencil eraser then AG Vinyl & Rubber Care, Trim - Carplan Black trim wax, Glass - Mr Muscle Glass Cleaner !,
Interior - Carpets, 1001 low foam with George, Leather, APC/water with a soft brush & mf, then AG leather Cleaner, wasnt happy, so done again with Carplan leather valet, Door Jambs - APC and pw'd then Mothers Cleaner Wax.

A couple of before's 1st - although, cos its white, pics don't really show how much it did need a "full Monty" - I took my time with this, bit by bit over two weeks.


Heres the afters, sorry, gote none of the process.

Some reflection shots,









interior,





The End :
Still have a couple things to do, front & rear valance's need re-painting, wheels need done again, with Sonax Xtreme, I will take them off 1 by 1 to do, then sills need a proper going over and finally the engine bay to do !
Thanks for looking

[Maxtek]

Good stuff, nice car, thought aren't you supposed to avoid using washing up liquid on car?

[povertyspec]

thats a nice combo, black leather and white car. white looks great with body coloured bumpers.its a little underwhelming with grey ones. sweet ride.

[cheffy]

Maxtek - Good stuff, nice car, thought aren't you supposed to avoid using washing up liquid on car?

Yes you're right ! BUT, if you are doing a "full" detail like this, and you want to basically strip the car of everything - not just dirt and fallout from over the years, but any polish & wax, then washing up liquid is a good starting point, ie, see what it does to dirty greasy dishes / pots n pans ? !
BUT, this is the ONLY time I or anyone should use washing up liquid to wash your car !, becaause after a couple of different polishes, I'm putting a coat of new wax back on, I shall be putting a 2nd coat on in a week or so, having let the 1st coat cure for a wee while. although the wax I am using on this is really more of a show wax, and isnt very durable, for the winter I'll probably give it a coat of Collinite 476

[Maxtek]

Ah right, sounds like you know your stuff, the car really shows that.

What was your previous car, did that get similar treatment in the detailing department?

[E30_KIID]

Cheffy great work!! Really nice job getting that reflection from a white car, I know how much hard work goes into it. Even brand new white cars are a challenge. I have never used deep crystal before, going to have a butchers at some now

[polsta]

super looking car

dont know if you have or not, but i got a 3m plastic light polishing kit from ebay for about a tenner, with a wheel pads and compound and uv sealant included , to use with a normal drill - polished the rear lights with it and it yeilded spectacular results came up like new

[cheffy]

super looking car

dont know if you have or not, but i got a 3m plastic light polishing kit from ebay for about a tenner, with a wheel pads and compound and uv sealant included , to use with a normal drill - polished the rear lights with it and it yeilded spectacular results came up like new

Thanks - I have a DAS 6 polisher which does a great job too

Cheffy great work!! Really nice job getting that reflection from a white car, I know how much hard work goes into it. Even brand new white cars are a challenge. I have never used deep crystal before, going to have a butchers at some now

Thanks - First time I've used it, had it for ages, but I wanted something else after the megs 105 & 205, and the deep crystal seemed to give it that next /further step I was looking for, followed by the Bouncers StF of course
I finally got the wheels to where I wanted them over the w/e - about 2 hours per wheel ! sorry no pics just now.

[flybmw]

Awesome. That's like new, man!

[B7]

Good stuff, nice car, thought aren't you supposed to avoid using washing up liquid on car?

Bang on. Washing up liquid is rammed full of salt! hence it leaves your wine glasses crystal clear. But it won't be doing the car any favours in the nooks and crannies at all and therefore should be avoided at all cost at all times.

A better bet is a cheap wash wax from Halfrauds.

[goosiegander]

Good stuff, nice car, thought aren't you supposed to avoid using washing up liquid on car?

Bang on. Washing up liquid is rammed full of salt! hence it leaves your wine glasses crystal clear. But it won't be doing the car any favours in the nooks and crannies at all and therefore should be avoided at all cost at all times.

A better bet is a cheap wash wax from Halfrauds.

Proper wash,

Clay, if needed,

Wipe down with isopropanol alcohol to strip any previous crap off, that being said if correcting with a machine most of the contaminants and crap will be coming out of the paintwork anyway.

Either way an IPA wipe-down prior to application of protective coatings is the way to go, its nice and cheep as well