Polished Bliss vs 330Ci and Leon Cupra R
12 April 2006, 11:24 PM
#1
Former Sponsor
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: AB51 0TH
Posts: 2,562
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Polished Bliss vs 330Ci and Leon Cupra R
I did these two cars just over two weeks ago, but I’ve been too busy since to post the results! Both cars were in Glasgow – a way to go, but work’s work.
1. BMW 3-Series – 330Ci
Less than a year old, suffering from a multitude of sins (heavy swirls, scratches), all brought about by the worst dealer preparation I have ever seen – someone had even run a rotary over the light clusters, swirling them heavily! The paint also felt very gritty, so I steeled myself for a long session. Here’s the process…
Wash (all done in heavy rain!)
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Car then moved inside the garage and dried with waffle weave towels
Clay
Blackfire Clay (aggressive – no point wasting time)
Blackfire Clay Lubricant
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna IP and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The IP removed some minor cobwebbing and heavy marring from the claying step, but hardly touched the deeper swirls and didn’t do anything to the scratches. Switched to Menzerna Power Gloss and Lake Country orange light cut spot pads, and went at it hard, with maximum pressure and speed. Four goes later, I estimate that 75% of swirls and none of the scratches were removed, and that was it! Holy crap, BMW paint is hard! I showed the owner the results, talked through the options, and agreed to complete the rest of the car to the same standard. A lesson for others here – if you can’t complete a job to the standard you or the customer expects, say so as soon as you become aware of it – be honest and the customer will appreciate it. That said, I felt terrible, first car I’ve done that I was truly unhappy with at the end of the day. So, I knocked a few hours off the price, and I will be returning with a rotary once the art is mastered. To help mask the remaining defects, Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze was applied by hand. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Menzerna FMJ, buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
And here’s the pics…
Total work time was 10 hours, of which 7 hours were spent machine polishing in a cramped garage. As I said, I was unhappy with the final results, although the customer was pleased, and commented that the car looked vastly better, even though ~25 % of the original defects were still visible under 3W Luxeon lighting (looked great in daylight though!). Live and learn.
2. Seat Leon - Cupra R
Less than three months old, also suffering from a multitude of sins (heavy swirls, scratches), brought about by the second worst case of dealer preparation I have ever seen (I am not doing any more cars in Glasgow!). Fortunately the paint was smooth, so no need for claying this time. Here’s the process…
Wash (all done in heavy rain!)
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Car then moved inside the workshop and dried with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna IP and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The IP removed all the defects in two goes (using 1000W Halogen lighting as a guide), bar an area of serious scratching on the front bumper, which took Menzerna Power Gloss and Lake Country orange light cut spot pads, with maximum pressure and speed. With the defects all out, Clearkote Red Moose Glaze was applied with a Lake Country black glazing pad, to enhance gloss and wetness. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Clearkote Carnuba Moose Wax, buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Alloys protected with Klasse All In One, tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
And here’s the pics…
Total work time was 10 hours, of which 6 hours were spent machine polishing. I was really happy with the correction work on this one, and the customer was very pleased with the final results. I needed this after the BMW! Only bummer was the amount of cloud when it came to taking the pictures – it was really, really wet in the flesh, and the pictures don’t do it justice. C’est la vie!
1. BMW 3-Series – 330Ci
Less than a year old, suffering from a multitude of sins (heavy swirls, scratches), all brought about by the worst dealer preparation I have ever seen – someone had even run a rotary over the light clusters, swirling them heavily! The paint also felt very gritty, so I steeled myself for a long session. Here’s the process…
Wash (all done in heavy rain!)
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Car then moved inside the garage and dried with waffle weave towels
Clay
Blackfire Clay (aggressive – no point wasting time)
Blackfire Clay Lubricant
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna IP and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The IP removed some minor cobwebbing and heavy marring from the claying step, but hardly touched the deeper swirls and didn’t do anything to the scratches. Switched to Menzerna Power Gloss and Lake Country orange light cut spot pads, and went at it hard, with maximum pressure and speed. Four goes later, I estimate that 75% of swirls and none of the scratches were removed, and that was it! Holy crap, BMW paint is hard! I showed the owner the results, talked through the options, and agreed to complete the rest of the car to the same standard. A lesson for others here – if you can’t complete a job to the standard you or the customer expects, say so as soon as you become aware of it – be honest and the customer will appreciate it. That said, I felt terrible, first car I’ve done that I was truly unhappy with at the end of the day. So, I knocked a few hours off the price, and I will be returning with a rotary once the art is mastered. To help mask the remaining defects, Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze was applied by hand. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Menzerna FMJ, buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
And here’s the pics…
Total work time was 10 hours, of which 7 hours were spent machine polishing in a cramped garage. As I said, I was unhappy with the final results, although the customer was pleased, and commented that the car looked vastly better, even though ~25 % of the original defects were still visible under 3W Luxeon lighting (looked great in daylight though!). Live and learn.
2. Seat Leon - Cupra R
Less than three months old, also suffering from a multitude of sins (heavy swirls, scratches), brought about by the second worst case of dealer preparation I have ever seen (I am not doing any more cars in Glasgow!). Fortunately the paint was smooth, so no need for claying this time. Here’s the process…
Wash (all done in heavy rain!)
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Car then moved inside the workshop and dried with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna IP and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The IP removed all the defects in two goes (using 1000W Halogen lighting as a guide), bar an area of serious scratching on the front bumper, which took Menzerna Power Gloss and Lake Country orange light cut spot pads, with maximum pressure and speed. With the defects all out, Clearkote Red Moose Glaze was applied with a Lake Country black glazing pad, to enhance gloss and wetness. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Clearkote Carnuba Moose Wax, buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Alloys protected with Klasse All In One, tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
And here’s the pics…
Total work time was 10 hours, of which 6 hours were spent machine polishing. I was really happy with the correction work on this one, and the customer was very pleased with the final results. I needed this after the BMW! Only bummer was the amount of cloud when it came to taking the pictures – it was really, really wet in the flesh, and the pictures don’t do it justice. C’est la vie!
06 May 2006, 04:00 PM
#5
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Polished Bliss
Wash
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
Alloys treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with hose
What if your wheels have a polished lip??
...the Meguiars Wheel Brightener is not to be used on polished aluminium (or anodized) alloys.
Because it contains ammonium bifluoride (ABF):
http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6631269
What are your thoughts please???
07 May 2006, 10:26 PM
#6
Former Sponsor
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: AB51 0TH
Posts: 2,562
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Answered by pm as requested, but everyone note that Wheel Brightener is serious stuff, and not to be used lightly - I use it because half the cars I get are not looked after well and have six months worth of brake dust bonded to the rims that needs shifting. If you look after your wheels properly (see guide on the website for details) you should never need to use products like Wheel Brightener.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post