Alpine White BMW 540i - Detailed by Lawrence

[lawrenceSA]

One of my clients recently purchased this beautiful 540i and whilst it was in really good condition, 18 years of improper washing and drying showed and so over a weekend in April I set about getting the old girl back into decent shape...

Engine bay


First I used a blower to remove as much of the loose dust, leaves and other debris out of the engine. Carchem APC @1:5 was then used in combination with various boars hair brushes, microfibre towels, q-tips and the blower to clean - no water was used to spray or rinse anywhere. This obviously is more labor intensive and in my opinion, not quite as effective as using a pressure washer, but is obviously a much safer option.


Once everything was clean the plastics were dressed with Autofinesse Dressle and the painted areas hand polished/protected using Autofinesse Tripple.

















Fender wells, tyres and wheels


Before





Fender wells pressure rinsed, sprayed with Carchem APC @ 1:5 via a foaming sprayer, left to dwell, agitated with various brushes, pressure rinsed, dressed with Autofinesse Dressel


Tyrespressure rinsed, sprayed with Carchem APC @ 1:5 via a foaming sprayer, left to dwell, agitated with Mothers tyre brush, pressure rinsed, dressed with 1 coat of Carpro Perl uncut


Wheels pressure rinsed, sprayed with Angelwax Billberry Wheel Cleaner via a foaming sprayer, left to dwell, agitated with Wheel Woolies, pressure rinsed, tar deposits removed with Carpro Tar-x, Iron deposits removed with Carpro Iron-x LS, lips polished with Menzerna Polishing Cream followed by Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish using a Mothers Polishing Cone, Wheels protected using Menzerna Powerlock


During iron removal





After washing and decon





During polishing





Wash and Decon


A pressure washer was used to remove as much of the loose dirt as possible before making contact. The entire vehicle was then foamed using Carchem Snowfoam which was left to dwell before being pressure rinsed off





This was followed with a 2 bucket wash using Carpro Reset and a few lambswool wash mitts. Any tar deposits were removed using Carpro Tar-x and the entire car then sprayed with Carpro Iron-x LS to remove any iron deposits.


[URL=http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/polo_playa/media/Detailing%20-%20Dave%20BMW%20540i/BMW%20540i-10_zpshcaakdhd.jpg.html]


This was followed with another foaming and pressure rinse to ensure no iron remover was left behind. Shield Heavy Duty clay was used with ONR as clay lube to remove the remaining contamination.


Paint correction


Paint readings
OEM paint: min 92, max 109
Repaint: min 160, max 223


Process
Paint : Flex 3401, Blue Hybrid Wool Lake Country Hybrid pads, Menzerna FG400, White Foam Lake Country Hybrid pads, Menzerna SF4000
Taillights: Flex 3401, Orange Foam Lake Country Hybrid pads, Menzerna FG400, Black Lake Country Hybrid pads, Menzerna SF4000
Headlights: Flex 3401, Menzerna SF4000


Before





After





Before





After





Before





After





Protection


Paint : Collinite 845
Wheels : Menzerna Powerlock
Leather : Collinite 855
Plastics + rubbers : Aerospace 303


Interior


Mats were removed, pressure rinsed, sprayed with Carchem APC @ 1:20, agitated with a brush, pressure rinsed again and hung out to dry, then vacuumed and returned to the interior once done.


The seats and carpets were vacuumed and the seats then cleaned with Carchem APC @ 1:20 and protected with Collinite #855.
The plastics were also cleaned using Carchem APC @ 1:20 and protected using Aerospace 303. The glass was cleaned using Autoglym Fast Glass.


Before





After





Other


The exterior plastics and rubbers were cleaned using Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner. The plastics were dressed using Carpro Perl and then Rubbers with Aerospace 303. Exterior glass was clayed during the initial decon, then cleaned using Gyeon Prep and Wynn's C-Thru applied. The badges and emblems were cleaned using Autofinesse Tripple and Q-tips














Completed pictures
























































Total time spent = 34 hours


Thanks for looking, and as always any questions or comments and are welcome.


:hi:

[Mike Honcho]

Wow!!!

[SRConcepts]

Nice work bringing this one back from the dead! I had almost this exact car, only difference was mine had the M-sport package. I miss it a lot, and I'll have another if I can ever find a nice enough one.

[AZ Mike]

It looks fantastic. I always enjoy the details in your posts. Thanks for sharing.

[emmjay]

Gorgeous!

[RPM_BR]

Outstanding work, as always, Lawrence.
Best regards

[Paul A.]

Sunning work, Lawrence! I love seeing older BMW's brought back like that.

[Sizzle Chest]

Great work, pictures, and write up! Thanks for posting!

[jmsc]

Sorry for question. Must of missed it the first go around.

[FrankS]

Excellent work as always Lawrence!