19 year old BMW with 3 Interesting Factors

[richy]

I was really looking forward to doing this car although I knew (or suspected) that the paint would be extremely challenging. There were 3 things that were going to be new for this detail:

#1: For the first time ever, I had someone come to watch me detail to learn how I do things (more on that in a bit)

#2: I was going to try Shine Supply Chop Top for the first time

#3: I was going to try Optimum Gloss Coat for the first time

About 6 weeks ago, I was contacted by a forum member on AG who wanted to speak to me on the phone. We spoke and he introduced himself as Collin who was from Virginia and wanted to learn more about detailing as he had started his own business and wanted to improve. He asked whether he could come watch me detail a car. Realizing that he would pose no threat to my future business (not like he was anywhere near me) and thinking it might be fun, I agreed to it. We discussed my upcoming details and agreed upon this weekend as I wanted him to see a car that was going to be tough. No sense coming all that way to see something easy. He arrived on Friday afternoon after a very lengthy drive and worked with me until Saturday night. He left the next morning. Collin's going to do a write up on his experience so I won't steal his thunder and I'll let him share the story in much greater detail. The bottom line is I was honoured to be asked and tried to show him lots of things and educate him on some of the differences between our countries as well. We both had fun and now I've got a friend in Ranoake too.

#2 and 3 will be covered in the write up. You won't believe the extent of the swirls on this car! Check it out as it arrived:





Headlights in need of serious work:








Bugs & Chips:





Even outside with dirty paint it was readily apparent of the damage to this paint:








I liked the wheels on this car:






Dirty barrels:








Water spotting too:








So first up was the wheels which were done by first applying Tarminator to the barrels which was followed by Megs WB and then Zep Citrus to neutralize the acid. The faces were also done the same way. The tires were cleaned (twice) with Zep 505 and the wells cleaned with LATA. After being cleaned, I applied Aqua Bead to the barrels to make them water repellent and easier to clean in the future. I don't charge for doing that.

The car was washed with 3D Pink soap and then washed a 2nd time using IronX to decontaminate it. It was then brought inside and clayed with a clay towel. (He hadn't used one yet).

Now that the true condition of the paint was showing, I was shocked at what we were facing. We asked for a tough job, boy did we ever get what we asked for!! (There's an old saying about that!)

The hood was hideous. It was the worst:











A couple of bad previously filled chips in the hood:




The hood appeared to have been compounded before with the lines that ran parallel to the body line creases in the hood. I was afraid someone had thinned out the paint there and was very careful later when polishing that area:





The trunk lid was not quite as bad, but it was no picnic either:





So out came the Flex 3401 and a black 3D wool pad. I was looking forward to trying Chop Top but wanted to see what M100 would do first. Very little it turned out. I would have had to do many, many passes to get the results I wanted. M101 wasn't much better, although somewhat. Then I tried CT. I used Chop Top just like I do the Megs compounds: very little and work it a long time in a small area. It was brilliant! Cut like crazy and finished down very well (with the wool). This car was so bad that even using it took several passes to get it much better. We were limited somewhat as the customer did not want it perfect but did understand that it was going to take quite a bit of time to improve it significantly. So that was our goal: significant improvement. How good is Chop Top and how did it finish down? Here are some shots of the hood ONLY after using CT and the black wool:











Here's the same story on the other side of the hood with before and afters:








After that stage, M205 was coupled with a yellow B/S pad (worked better than with a white CarPro Gloss Pad which is my usual go-to). Yes, we were creating a dust storm but had to remove some clear to get down past all these imperfections. Luckily there was ample clear on this 19 year old car to accommodate us.

I hand polished the passenger side headlight with CT followed by M100 and M205 and did the same thing on the driver's side using my rotary and a 3" TB black wool pad followed by M100 and M205 with foam pads. Both looked the same but the rotary side was obviously faster. I was just curious to see what the CT was like by hand. My experience with Chop Top was extraordinary. I highly recommend it for the heavy hitter that won't leave you cleaning up behind it. Funny smell but that is easily masked by a good cigar. I know I'll be reaching for this again, guaranteed. Again, I highly recommend this product!

The wheels were chemically cleaned with DG Squeaky Clean or M205 (on one) and were then double coated with Gloss Coat. GC was also double coated on all the paint and the head and tail lights. It is ridiculously easy to use and I'm looking forward to hearing back from the customer on its durability. I topped it with Opti Seal afterward. The tires were shot with Opti Bond from my spray gun and leveled. Here she is all done with some inside shots first:































The exhaust was hand polished with M100 followed by M200 and coated as well:











Looks like Chop Top chopped off part of my legs!!!!!


























Thanks for looking. Working with Collin was a blast and I hope I didn't bore him with my "Canadian Rock" introduction. Comments always welcomed.

[WaxMaster1]

Stunning transformation on that black Bimmer! Awesome work Richy

[SKorch630]

Looks like a completely different car. Very nicely done!

[Eldorado2k]

Impressive on all accounts. Man what is this Chop Top?! Both M100 and even M101 on a Flex couldn't fade it but Chop Top could? Sounds intriguing.. I'm glad you were able to produce like a champ in front of the willing to learn novice. That's great that everything turned out well.
And as far as the customer, man I hope he really appreciates what you did for his car because you absolutely brought it back to like new, if not better. 19yr. old BMW with original paint wow. That deserves a healthy payment. Great job!👍🏽

[coles_paint_correction]

That's a transformation! Great work as always rich.
That's cool a fellow Ag member wanted to watch/learn as you go.
In my opinion no matter how old/young skilled/new you are, you can always learn something weather its a trick, tip, buffing, etc.
I've been thinking of going to some detailing sessions.

[FrankS]

Nice work Richy!

Chop Top seems to be some pretty impressive stuff.

[TTQ B4U]

you make it look too easy. nice work!

[richy]

Stunning transformation on that black Bimmer! Awesome work Richy

Thanks kindly!

Looks like a completely different car. Very nicely done!

Thanks! And thanks for commenting.

Impressive on all accounts. Man what is this Chop Top?! Both M100 and even M101 on a Flex couldn't fade it but Chop Top could? Sounds intriguing.. I'm glad you were able to produce like a champ in front of the willing to learn novice. That's great that everything turned out well.
And as far as the customer, man I hope he really appreciates what you did for his car because you absolutely brought it back to like new, if not better. 19yr. old BMW with original paint wow. That deserves a healthy payment. Great job!����

Chop Top is a new compound from Shine Supply. They have Flat Top as well which is nice but not as aggressive as CT is. There's only 2 places online that sell it as far as I know. For now anyway.

That's a transformation! Great work as always rich.
That's cool a fellow Ag member wanted to watch/learn as you go.
In my opinion no matter how old/young skilled/new you are, you can always learn something weather its a trick, tip, buffing, etc.
I've been thinking of going to some detailing sessions.

Thanks! It was cool to have someone who is knowledgeable work with you. He was an intelligent, talented young man and I think he'll do great in his area.

Nice work Richy!

Chop Top seems to be some pretty impressive stuff.

Thanks kindly Frank! Yes, I'm in love, LOL.

[Billy Baldone]

I know it's not currently sold by AG, but Shine Supply compounds are at the top of my go to list now. Classic cut is like FG400, and Flat Top cuts like crazy, and quickly on microfiber pads/Boss 21. I have used just about all of the Shine Supply lineup, and have no complaints. But for 2, I would like 32oz bottles available to me, and for Auto Geek to carry it.

[Billy Baldone]

Oh, and Richy, as always great work. You are the reason I smoke cigars and use TB wool pads on trashed out cars.