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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Mo's E39 530i Individual
- Thread starter msm
- Start date
msm
Well-known member
Cleaned out the grills properly now that it's off the car. When I removed the plastidip, there were lots of little pieces close to the edges that I could not get to properly - once grills were off it was a bit easier. Luckily no broken clips:
Anyone who claims that Plasidip comes off easily is smoking some good stuff. On older surfaces or if it's been on for a while, it is a b!tch to clean out all the little bits around the edges.
And finally the paintwork - some random pics:
Scratches on fenders:
Scratches and buffer trails on bonnet:
Really poor paint job/repair near sunroof:
Apart from the bumpers, which I am going to respray next year, the only really bad part of the paintwork is the poor paint job in the last pic. Considering this is a 14 year old car, I think it's generally in good condition. The buffer trail at least means that someone did attempt to maintain the paintwork in the past, which is a good thing as this can be corrected.
My intention is not to get this car in concourse condition that will be a garage queen (after the mechanicals and suspension are all sorted), but rather for me to gain some experience in detailing and hopefully end up with a good result for a daily driver.
Anyone who claims that Plasidip comes off easily is smoking some good stuff. On older surfaces or if it's been on for a while, it is a b!tch to clean out all the little bits around the edges.
And finally the paintwork - some random pics:
Scratches on fenders:
Scratches and buffer trails on bonnet:
Really poor paint job/repair near sunroof:
Apart from the bumpers, which I am going to respray next year, the only really bad part of the paintwork is the poor paint job in the last pic. Considering this is a 14 year old car, I think it's generally in good condition. The buffer trail at least means that someone did attempt to maintain the paintwork in the past, which is a good thing as this can be corrected.
My intention is not to get this car in concourse condition that will be a garage queen (after the mechanicals and suspension are all sorted), but rather for me to gain some experience in detailing and hopefully end up with a good result for a daily driver.
msm
Well-known member
And the detailing begins. Finally get to test out the new DA machine from Crazy Detailer:
A selection of products:
Narrowed it down to the following products. Will experiment a bit along the way with some other products as well:
Step 1: Sonax Clay Bar
Step 2: Megs Ultimate Compound with DA machine and cutting pad
Step 3: Menzerna Super Finish with DA machine and polishing pad
Step 4: King of Gloss
Will post pics after I'm completely done with everything. Tried to take a few 50/50 on step 2 in some test areas, which I've just completed, but the results are difficult to capture on camera in the evening.
Once done with everything, will take some pics in the sunlight.
A selection of products:
Narrowed it down to the following products. Will experiment a bit along the way with some other products as well:
Step 1: Sonax Clay Bar
Step 2: Megs Ultimate Compound with DA machine and cutting pad
Step 3: Menzerna Super Finish with DA machine and polishing pad
Step 4: King of Gloss
Will post pics after I'm completely done with everything. Tried to take a few 50/50 on step 2 in some test areas, which I've just completed, but the results are difficult to capture on camera in the evening.
Once done with everything, will take some pics in the sunlight.
msm
Well-known member
Completed step 3 (polish). Some random before and after of the same places. Lighting is a bit different, so apologies for that. Initial pics were taken in the afternoon. 2nd set of pics were taken in the morning. I've tried to position the camera in the same place - excuse the amateur before and after attempt on the pics.
One more step to go once my arms recover a bit. Hence why I'm taking a break with some photos.
Bonnet - Buffer trail and light scratches all gone
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Boot - Surface marring gone. Notice the portion where the badge usually sits.
Before:
After (the part just before the badge is some bad reflection):
Fender - Minor scratching gone. Major scratches substantially reduced in visibility. I did not want to go more aggressive on those.
Before (Note the cobwebs/marring on the left):
After (there's a blotch in the paintwork that was under the clear coat).:
Before:
After:
One more step to go once my arms recover a bit. Hence why I'm taking a break with some photos.
Bonnet - Buffer trail and light scratches all gone
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Boot - Surface marring gone. Notice the portion where the badge usually sits.
Before:
After (the part just before the badge is some bad reflection):
Fender - Minor scratching gone. Major scratches substantially reduced in visibility. I did not want to go more aggressive on those.
Before (Note the cobwebs/marring on the left):
After (there's a blotch in the paintwork that was under the clear coat).:
Before:
After:
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
Nice going Mo :clapper:
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
awesome
msm
Well-known member
Cleaned the seats next. Here's a quick 50/50 on the driver seat - did the lower panel first. You can see that it almost turned a full shade lighter:
Unfortunately, can't do much about the small cuts in the leather. For the age, I can't really complain about the seat condition though. I've seen much newer cars that are worse.
Going to leave the wood trim for another time. They have small scratches in them, but not too bad. Unfortunately in areas like the gear shift surround, etc, they need to come off to polish properly, hence, I'm not going to do that now, as it's quite a job removing all of it.
Engine bay cleanup will happen in the new year as well. I've been monitoring my coolant level and there is a leak. Once that is sorted by Gizmo in Jan, will do an engine detail.
Unfortunately, can't do much about the small cuts in the leather. For the age, I can't really complain about the seat condition though. I've seen much newer cars that are worse.
Going to leave the wood trim for another time. They have small scratches in them, but not too bad. Unfortunately in areas like the gear shift surround, etc, they need to come off to polish properly, hence, I'm not going to do that now, as it's quite a job removing all of it.
Engine bay cleanup will happen in the new year as well. I've been monitoring my coolant level and there is a leak. Once that is sorted by Gizmo in Jan, will do an engine detail.
