2014 BMW 535i - Removing Dealership Holograms, Swirls and Scratches

[Ohio Detailing]

Although it probably continues to amaze that salesman that he once had a customer insist on getting a brand new BMW dirty!

People at dealerships look at me like I'm under interrogation, and literally ask me "What do you mean?" when I tell them not to "prep" or wash any of our vehicles! I've gone as far as hanging signs from the rear-view mirror

[Optimus Shine]

Great work and writeup!

[WAXOFF]

Mike, I used to work for 3 different BMW dealers in my automotive career. As a matter of fact I started as a detailer at one back in 1980. I know what type of material you are talking about for the sunroof seal and would like to offer this suggestion. If anyone gets compound or wax into that felt like seal. Just use very high pressure with a rubber tipped nozzle and if needed spray a little water just ahead of the air as you move along. A detail brush will only scratch the edge of the paint at the sunroof opening. By the way my career took me to be a BMW Master Tech and Shop foreman for 23 years and then a Service Adviser and now as an Assistant Service Mgr/ Warranty Admin at a VW dealer and I still oversee a lot of paint defects that need attention at the dealer level.

[Sixbanger]

I wish I could get my Bimmer to look that damn good, but the garage is just too damn hot. I need A/C, fans dont do much for me

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Mike you lucky dog! I'm a bit jealous of you working on that beautiful black BMW! I can't stop looking at it!

What an incredible in depth write up on turning this marvelous black German beauty queen into a pristine gemstone. This thing explodes with richness now. Well done good sir!

Milland and Phyllis, beautiful BMW you have there. Enjoy it to the fullest! BTW, it needs a high gloss black kidney grill now to complete the blackout look.

[builthatch]

awesome, Mike!

i am "taking delivery" (i hate that phrase) of a new Q5 in a couple days. it's been several months of build time and shipping so we're excited. i had to tell them the usual crap i tell dealers (don't wash it, remove as little as possible for mechanical prep, do not drill the front bumper or mount anything), but nowadays i at least let them remove the fibrous covering and exterior plastics so they can inspect the finish. NO WASHING/CLEANING/ANYTHING...but i let them look at it during mechanical prep so when i pick it up, i can confirm with them that there isn't some crazy nonsense going on with the paint that is a factory defect or shipping damage.

i've been bitten, unbelievably, TWICE by not letting dealers remove the outer covering on new cars, covering that was concealing damage so i let them do that now.

[Tato]

I swear this was a Blue BMW!


This thread is perfect. Filled with valuable information, top quality work, great selection of products and process. The owners participation was admirable, and Frank always makes his presence very noticeable.

Thanks for sharing, beautiful as always, but the passion seems to increase a bit every time.

Congratulations to everyone on this work.


Kind Regards.

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Awesome job and great write up as always Mike!

Two questions, how much time did you have in this job?

2- after you compounded, you finger painted compound onto the rids. Did you compound the rids with a rotary and wool before finish polishing the whole car?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mike Phillips]

Nice work Mike!


What's the life expectancy of the black label Synergy wax?

Here's what the webpage for Synergy states,

Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

Black Label Synergy applies so thin that a 5 ounce jar will yield in excess of 25 applications. Considering that each application provides a minimum of 6 months of protection, a single jar of wax could potentially last over 10 years!

The most important factor that affects how long ANY product will last ALWAYS comes down to how the paint is touched.

Wash a car with a clean, soft microfiber chenille wash mitt with a quality soap only making one to two passes and then rinsing and a coat of wax will last longer than if you wash your car with a tatty wash mitt and scrub the paint.

If you've read my how-to book you know my section on the two approaches to washing a car covers this and also states that MOST people don't pay attention when they wash their cars and rub their wash mitt over and over and over the same section of paint and then wonder where all the scratches came from.

Not only will scrubbing paint inflict scratches it will also wear off wax.

I type this word all the time and this key word is touch.

If you waxed a car and then parked it in a garage and never drove it again the coat of wax would last a long time. It's when you use the car and then touch the paint, either washing it or wiping it that you start micro-abrade the finish.

The more gentle you touch the paint the less you micro-abrade the finish. The more rough you touch the paint the more you micro-abrade the finish.

Make sense?

And how you touch the paint is directly related to how long any coat of wax will last. You can be sure I explained this to Milind, the owner of this car as I explain this to every owner of every car I detail and as I explain to everyone that has ever attended any of my detailing classes. It's one of the most fundamental topics to have a good understanding of whether you detail cars for a living or you're just the owner of a car that wants to take care of as best as they can.

Over the years I see this type of question come up all the time about how long a product will last and while it's a good question the fact is the majority of people that take good care of their car are re-applying their favorite products long before the last coat has actually worn off.

The reason why is because they actually like maintaining that just waxed look and the only way to get the just waxed look is to have just waxed your car.

We're talking about "Car Guys" not Joe Consumer that uses Nu Finish or nothing at all.

Good question...

Also, remember me in October, I'll be looking for some cars for "My Classic Car" with Dennis Gage. I think last year when I checked with you, you had a couple of cool cars that we could use for the TV show but schedules didn't align. So remember, we always film in October.


Here's an article I wrote that shares tips on how to maintain a freshly waxed car so the wax will last a long time.


How to maintain a freshly waxed car

[Mike Phillips]

People at dealerships look at me like I'm under interrogation, and literally ask me

"What do you mean?"

when I tell them not to "prep" or wash any of our vehicles!

My thoughts on this are that just because a person works at a New Car Dealership doesn't automatically mean they are knowledgeable about anything except getting and closing a sale.

I document in-depth the fact that clearcoat paints are scratch-sensitive and thin in the below article and I'd bet $100.00 any day the majority of sales people, MANAGERS and even OWNERS of dealerships have no clue what this article states. Nor do they care.

Clearcoats are Scratch-Sensitive

The factory sprayed clear layer of paint on most new cars averages around 2 mils. That's thinner than the average post-it note.

I've gone as far as hanging signs from the rear-view mirror

Taking a new car to a Car Dealership to have anything done, oil change, tune-up, service work is a great idea. But NEVER let them wash your car and NEVER let them detail your car or you will get DISO


DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option

This Mustang was detailed at a local Dealership.




Lovely huh?



And everyone that buys a new car, truck or SUV should read the below article and FOLLOW the directions before taking their car to a dealership for any work.


DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!



And you can't take your car to a car wash either, the mechanical type, brush style or mop style will scratch the heck out of your car's clear coat. That's a fact.

You also can't go to a 100% Hand Car Wash because they're going to use the same tatty wash mitt on your brand new car that they've been using for the last 5 years on every other car.

See this article, it explains it all....

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash



Thank you for the comments and you did the right thing when you told the dealership to NOT wash or detail your car.