2008 650i with a step-saving twist..

**richy** · 08-24-2015, 10:08 PM

My neighbour just bought himself this 2008 white BMW 650i. I was so pleased to have a break from doing black! One night as I slept (I kid you not), I had a thought come to me about mixing 2 products together to save a step. This was going to be the perfect car to try it on! More on that in just a bit.

First up was how it looked. It needed some loving, that's for sure...

First up was the wheels. He had a 2nd set that were going to be included with the car, but he had not seen them yet. He originally told me not to bother with them, but I did them up anyway just in case he needed a spare if he curbed one of the newer ones. Turned out that these ended up looking better than the other set, so I was glad I took the time on them!

The barrels and faces were cleaned with Tarminator.
That was followed up with Zep Citrus and a demoted wash mitt using Megs HW.
The tires were cleaned with Zep 505.
The wells were cleaned with LATA.

I shot some Aqua Bead in the barrels and the wells to give them some protection. Instant gratification!

Next came the wash which was done using Megs Hyper Wash. That was followed up with IronX spray and then IronX paste on a wash sponge. Here it is in action. Not a lot, but it is working:

After that stage, it was brought inside and clayed using the CarPro Clay mitt. Now I could really see the paint as well as an awful lot of chips for me to attend to!

You bet I spent a fair amount of time filling in chips!! Anyway, the compounding stage that really worked well to remove defects and give it a great look was M101 + Megs mf + Rupes 21. My next stage is always to follow with M205. That thought that had come to me in the night? Why not try mixing some M205 and some Duragloss Squeaky Clean on the pad and see what happens. Worse case is it looks terrible (although I didn't think that was going to happen) and the best case was I just combined a paint polishing and paint cleaning stage all in one. Both excel at their respective roles, but would they play nice together?? My pad of choice was a white Buff and Shine. Man, oh man, was I happy with the outcome! I called Jerry at DG and shared the news with him. He was pleased to hear how well it worked. SC is just an amazing product...period! Anyway, the whole car was treated to that combo and all the chips were filled. The windshield got Forte and the paint, wheels, head and tail lights and remaining glass all got a double layer of CQF. I keep forgetting to mention that on the last few convertibles I have done, I have put DG 341 on the top. It is a marine product and is very strong protection for a convertible top. It seems to darken it up a bit and makes it look better too IMO. Judge for yourself. The tires were sprayed with OB @ 100% from my air gun. Here she is inside all done:

Thanks for looking! Comments always appreciated!

**VISITOR** · 08-25-2015, 01:04 AM

the paint just glows in the afters, looks awesome!

**fly07sti** · 08-25-2015, 02:25 AM

Fantastic job Richy! Did you coat right after the 205/SC combo and what was the ratio you mixed the two at?

**richy** · 08-25-2015, 08:18 AM

Originally Posted by VISITOR

the paint just glows in the afters, looks awesome!

Thanks kindly!

Originally Posted by fly07sti

Fantastic job Richy! Did you coat right after the 205/SC combo and what was the ratio you mixed the two at?

Thanks! I do both steps to each panel at a time and then move on and coat at the end. I still wipe down the car prior to coating it, just to make sure no dust has settled.

**Sicoupe** · 08-25-2015, 08:28 AM

awesome as always my friend!

Kyle

**conman1395** · 08-25-2015, 09:12 AM

Wouldn't adding Squeaky Clean be adding to the oils in M205? In my head I only see two options:

1. It sill disolve the oils and dust and/or not finish well.

2. Nothing will happen, the Squeaky Clean will "coexist" with the M205 and because the M205 oils are not disolved the M205 oils are still as present as if you had not mixed it with Squeaky Clean.

I would say it was option two.

It would kind of be like priming your pad with Eraser instead of a pad conditioner or quick detailer.

**Marc08EX** · 08-25-2015, 09:17 AM

Great job as always Richy! That white paint is gleaming!

**RMM** · 08-25-2015, 09:29 AM

Great work as always richy!

Do you have any chip filling documentation? I always like to see and read your approach to it.

**richy** · 08-25-2015, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Sicoupe

awesome as always my friend!

Kyle

Thanks very much Kyle!

Originally Posted by conman1395

Wouldn't adding Squeaky Clean be adding to the oils in M205? In my head I only see two options:

1. It sill disolve the oils and dust and/or not finish well.

2. Nothing will happen, the Squeaky Clean will "coexist" with the M205 and because the M205 oils are not disolved the M205 oils are still as present as if you had not mixed it with Squeaky Clean.

I would say it was option two.

It would kind of be like priming your pad with Eraser instead of a pad conditioner or quick detailer.

I'm no chemist. SC does a great job of chemically cleaning the paint. I have used both on their own for quite a while. What I was trying to convey is that the combo of them on a pad did not seem to diminish the performance of either product. As far as oils not disolving? Who knows? I don't know how you'd measure that. I appreciate your questions and sorry I can't answer better than that.

Originally Posted by Marc08EX

Great job as always Richy! That white paint is gleaming!

Thanks so much Marc!

Originally Posted by RMM

Great work as always richy!

Do you have any chip filling documentation? I always like to see and read your approach to it.

No documentation per se. I usually just describe it to whoever is interested. My approach is simple. I dab the touch up paint onto a plastic lid and then dip a pointy toothpick into the paint. I only put a bit of the paint on the toothpick and then place the toothpick down into the chip and let it wick down. I repeat if necessary. I do this after compounding and polishing the panel. I coat the car afterward to lock it in. It's been a very successful way of doing it and I've never had anyone complain about it after.

**Heisenberg** · 08-25-2015, 11:06 AM

I appreciate how simple(but not easy) and effective you keep your technique, Richy. If it works, it works!

I need to pick up some squeaky clean. I've already been hooked on Zep 505, Tuf Buf Pads, and your chip/scratch filling technique. I'm betting that it's going to be another great rec.

Might have to look into that marine DG product you mentioned too...