(2nd) Alpine White BMW 135i - Detailed by Lawrence

[lawrenceSA]

As always on a full detail I will tackle the engine bay first, so that any dirt that happens to find its way on to the paint (typically its the front fenders and front bumper) will get cleaned up when the car is washed. The prevents you having to wash the same area twice, reducing the chance for swirls and saving time and product.

It wasn't all that dirty but did have some oily type dressing everywhere, and so the a basic 'cosmetic' clean was performed - everywhere was cleaned using Carchem APC, MF towels, Q-tips, a blower and various brushes. The plastics were then dressed using Autofinesse Dressel and the painted surfaces cleaned/polished/protected using Autofinesse Tripple.







The under side of the hood





Finished







Then the fender liners, tires, wheels and brake calipers were detailed.

Fender wells - HP rinse | Clean with Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Autofinesse Dressel
Tires- HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Gyeon Tire Coat
Wheels - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat
Brake Calipers - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat





After



Next a couple of shots of how the rest of the car looked - it wasn't very dirty, but man was the painted hacked up....























Next, washing and decontamination.

Pre-wash - HP rinse | Valet Pro Citrus Prewash | HP rinse | Angelwax Fastfoam | HP rinse
Wash - Carchem Luxury Shampoo | Lambswool wash mitts
Dry - Waffle Weave Drying Towel | ONR as a lubricant
Tar removal - Valet Pro Citrus Tar Remover
Iron removal - Carchem Revolt | HP rinse
Clay - Shield Heavy Duty | ONR as a lubricant
Inside Fuel Flap / Door Shuts - HP rinse | Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Polish and Protect with Autofinesse Tripple



The door jambs and boot jamb were then cleaned/polished/protected - Autofinesse Tripple | Q-tips | MF towels.

Then it was time to correct the paint.

Paint readings 76µ to 182µ
Paint Correction - Menzerna FG400 | Blue Lake Country Hybrid Wool Pads / Flex 3401 x2
Paint refinement - Menzerna 3-in-1 | White Lake Country Hybrid Pads | Flex 3401
Paint Inspection - Gyeon Prep

Before



After compounding



After refinement



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After



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After



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After



Tailights were corrected using Menzerna 3-in-1 | White Lake Country Hybrid Pads | Flex 3401

Before



After



The interior was then sorted out

Glass - Autoglym Fast Glass
Plastics - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with 303 Aerospace
Carpets - Vacuum | Brush | Vacuum
Leather - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with Collinite 855
Door rubbers - Clean with Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Protect with Aerospace 303

Before





After



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After



Before



After



Finally the exterior rubbers and glass were tackled.

Exterior Rubbers - Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Aerospace 303
Exterior Glass - Gyeon Prep

[lawrenceSA]

Some after shots with my cell























And some with my DSLR

















Total time spent = 46 hours

As always, thanks for looking, and any comments or questions are welcome.

:hi:

[emmjay]

Nice!! Even white looks great after that turnaround.Love the wetness!

I see you used ONR as lubricant (referring to my towel scratch thread) - What ratio is it diluted in? I've tried looking everywhere and its 8oz to a gallon or x parts to x parts for QD, what is that in english (lol) ? 'x' ml Onr to 'x' ml water.

As I have plenty ONR left i've pretty much narrowed it down to using it as my drying aid with the purple plush towels after blotting with a Waffle.

1. Do you wipe/swipe the paint to dry if you have ONR on the towel, or is that not a concern here as you will be correcting the paint either way. I guess in my case I would have to blot to be safe and follow with a plush/onr.

2. For the engine bay I see you did not mention HP rinse this time. So was APC (1:4 i'm guessing) just sprayed on, agitated and then wiped off with a microfiber / air?

Thanks as always for answering my questions bud , means a lot

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful work Lawrence! That Alpine White 1 looks great now. Nice transformation.

Thanks for sharing.

[jamesboyy]

Who's the real Leonardo da Vinci then??? You perfected that BMW/Alpine White in general to a whole new standard that it can be considered the Automotive version of Mona Lisa, keep up the outstanding work LawrenceSA

[Paul A.]

Outstanding work on white! I love that 3rd wheel shot...artistic.

[Sicoupe]

Another beautiful job my friend!

[Priyaka]

Lovely work! Great pics as well.

[haris300]

Great job! I always enjoy your write ups. Thanks for sharing. The car looks stunning.

[Marc08EX]

Amazing work as always, Lawrence! That alpine white paint was trashed but you revived it very well. Now, you can see how glossy and wet the paint looks.

That car is looking sweet!