2001 BMW 740iL Black - 6 years of neglect

[V-DUB]

Wow!!! Great Job I Never Thought Someone Can Do That To A Car That Was In That Bad Of A Shape.. Can You Let Me What You Used For The Whole Thing Start To Finish. I Have A 1985 Toyota That Kind Of Looks Like The B4 Pics I Would Like To Do That To Mine.. I See That You And Others Are Taping Trim What Is That For So You Dont Get Them Dull From The Products.

[67Customs]

Very nice work. That thing was swirled all to heck.

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by V-DUB

Wow!!! Great Job I Never Thought Someone Can Do That To A Car That Was In That Bad Of A Shape.. Can You Let Me What You Used For The Whole Thing Start To Finish. I Have A 1985 Toyota That Kind Of Looks Like The B4 Pics I Would Like To Do That To Mine.. I See That You And Others Are Taping Trim What Is That For So You Dont Get Them Dull From The Products.

V-Dub: Here's the products I used Start-To-Finish

1. Clay bar to remove surface contaminants
2. Optimum Compound
3. Rotary cut pad (which was too aggressive for this soft black paint)
4. Rotary glaze pad (used 1 for compounding and another for glazing)
5. PC Finish pad for applying #26
6. 3M Glaze
7. 3M Ultrafina SE
8. Meguiar's #26
9. Plush microfiber towels for buffing
10. Blue painter's tape for trim.

You can substitute another Glaze for the 3M like Meguiar's #7
You can substitute 3M Ultrafina SE for Klasse AIO

I tape the trim to prevent the rotary from burning the plastic/rubber and to minimize the amount of compound and glaze which will cake in body seams. I power wash the car following everything but the #26.

Totoland Mach

[V-DUB]

Thanks!!!! Will Do

[Totoland Mach]

The good ol' Sun tells all! And the Bimmer just soaks up the rays!

Here ya go folks:







And, 1 more indoor shot of the fender...absorbing the lighting!



The dealer bought an identical 740iL (except for the tan interior) to the shop tonight...this one isn't as bad.

Toto

[ltoman]

toto, wish i had your skills!

[Nica]

Originally Posted by ltoman

toto, wish i had your skills!

But with time and lots of practice I'm sure one day I will be as good as you and other members....the nice thing is that I'm only 27 so I got many....many years to perfect my process and detailing techniques.

Toto, you do amazing work. That vehicle looks like new, it doesn’t even compare to the first pictures you posted of it, very nice Toto

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by ltoman

toto, wish i had your skills!

Thanks so much Lauren. Just remember, 7 months ago, I had never used a rotary, never wet-sanded, thought cutting pads were a last ditch fix, didn't even know that plastic body panels could burn so easily, never used glaze (except for XMT Glaze with Carnuba)....

I've had a good teacher with the dealer. But we've had our differences and work them out. For instance, his prior detailer came from a body shop environment and could cut paint, wet sand, and would use the rotary with a cutting pad/compound until the sheet metal (hood, trunk, etc) "popped" from the heat. The dealer thought this was the way to compound paint and I disagreed.

Well, just a few weeks ago, the dealer went to his painter and the guy told him that excess heat is flat wrong on today's paint. Using different pad and product combo's are the correct way with today's paint. Super heating painted metal is walking a fine line between correction and disaster.

So, now the dealer likes the way I use products safely. It's always a learning process in this field.

If there is one major point I've learned: Try an area start-to-finish (trunk, fender, etc) before tackling the rest of the car. That way you have the process of what's needed.

Toto

[Nica]

Originally Posted by Totoland Mach

Thanks so much Lauren. Just remember, 7 months ago, I had never used a rotary, never wet-sanded, thought cutting pads were a last ditch fix, didn't even know that plastic body panels could burn so easily, never used glaze (except for XMT Glaze with Carnuba)....

I've had a good teacher with the dealer. But we've had our differences and work them out. For instance, his prior detailer came from a body shop environment and could cut paint, wet sand, and would use the rotary with a cutting pad/compound until the sheet metal (hood, trunk, etc) "popped" from the heat. The dealer thought this was the way to compound paint and I disagreed.

Well, just a few weeks ago, the dealer went to his painter and the guy told him that excess heat is flat wrong on today's paint. Using different pad and product combo's are the correct way with today's paint. Super heating painted metal is walking a fine line between correction and disaster.

So, now the dealer likes the way I use products safely. It's always a learning process in this field.

If there is one major point I've learned: Try an area start-to-finish (trunk, fender, etc) before tackling the rest of the car. That way you have the process of what's needed.

Toto

Toto I really like listening to your wisdome my friend thank you so much for sharing and please don't stop sharing nothing but respect for you my friend.