BluKoo
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Registered: 8th Apr 02
Location: Stonehaven (Scotland)
User status: Offline
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Another new contract start for this M5, in for a 3 day correction:
The car itself is kept pretty clean but there was polish residue from the dealers all over the place:
Hot pre-foam was done with R222:
This was left for 5 mins and then rinsed off at high pressure:
Wheels were cleaned with Gloss-It wheel gel and the various brushes:
The arches/tyres/shuts etc were cleaned with Meguiars Super Degreaser, as was the engine bay:
After being rinsed off at medium pressure and 40 degrees:
The pre-foam and rinse helped remove some of the polish residue but there was still a bit left in the odd place so R222 and a brush were used to remove the rest:
The car was then washed with Shampoo Plus and de-tarred with Autosmart Tardis (including the wheels) before I put the car inside for claying.
Meguiars Aggressive Clay was used for this, with next to nothing coming off the paint:
Once dried off I checked the paint gauges were reading accurately...
...and then took some readings, with everything showing nice original levels:
I always find this particular BMW colour doesn’t always show the full extent of defects in pics due to the flake pop so it was difficult to show the true condition but hopefully these couple of pics give you an idea:
Swirling and marring was minimal really but every panel had the odd random scratch or scuff which would need more than a 1 step polish to rectify.
Washer jets were popped out so I could machine in tight to them:
After a quick play of polish and pad combinations I settled on Gloss-It Extreme Cut and a Menzerna Polishing Pad with a drop of EVP Prime:
Being aware of how big the car was and still not 100% sure if I was going to bother doing a write up on this car I didn’t take a great deal of pics during the detail from here but I got a couple of before and afters just in case 
Before:
After:
The boot lid had a pretty deep scratch from where a bird crap had been wiped away:
Normal foam polishing didn’t make a great improvement so I used a Gloss-It wool pad and backing plate:
After foam polishing:
After 2 hits with the wool pad (no refining of the finish yet):
Just a small trace still visible under the Sun Gun:
The spoiler was corrected with a Menzerna 80mm Polishing Pad:
Lower section of the doors:
The B-Pillars were also corrected with the 80mm Menz Pad as they had started to weather quite badly:
2 minutes with some 3M Ultrafina and they were as good as new:
Side skirt after:
Thought I'd be aswell correct the number plate recess even though you don’t see it with the plate on 
Top of rear bumper before:
Gloss-It Fast Cut Pad was used for this:
After (bit out of focus):
I swapped to a Gloss-It Light Cut Pad for the areas that needed a bit more "give" so the pad would adapt to the curves better, with some areas needing a drop of FCP to add an extra bit of bite:
Once the correction work was completed I then refined the finish with Gloss-It Evolution Polish on a Blue Gloss-It Finishing Pad.
I then dusted the paint down:
The car was then given a complete wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection. This is a worthwhile step when using the EVP Prime as you get a "drop back" effect after a while from the oils, similar to the effect you get from 3M Fast Cut Plus:
This is purely just oils and nothing filler related but a TI/IPA wipe down just helps to ensure the paint is squeaky clean for the LSP
LSP was this:
Again, no pics from this point (It's been too hot to bother with loads of pics  ) but this is the rest of the process:
- Werkstat Glass Sealant applied to exterior glass.
- Eiman Fabrik Clear Vision on interior glass.
- Full interior detail including RaceGlaze leather twins.
- Gloss-It Signature Tyre Gloss on Tyres (3 coats)
- Blackfire Metal Sealant on the wheels.
- Brilliant Metal Polish on tailpipes.
- Aerospace 303 Protectant on engine bay.
- Final wipe down with Werkstat Carnauba Glos.
Think that's about it, this is the final result after approx 34 hours of work
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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...Until the owner puts it through a car wash
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Nath
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: MK
User status: Offline
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ste_p23
Member
Registered: 29th Dec 08
Location: Hindley,Wigan
User status: Offline
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Great work as ever id love to have you clean my car
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Nick-S
Member
Registered: 3rd Mar 04
Location: Leigh. Drives: RS Megane 230 F1 Team R26
User status: Offline
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thats 1 clean car. fucking love m5s
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Nath
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: MK
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by GSi_16v
thats 1 clean car. fucking love m5s
One blasted past me before and it sounded incredible!
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JonnyJ
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Registered: 23rd Sep 05
Location: Scotchland
User status: Offline
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Your bro does a top notch job Murray
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Nick-S
Member
Registered: 3rd Mar 04
Location: Leigh. Drives: RS Megane 230 F1 Team R26
User status: Offline
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Even standard they sound so so
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Jambo
Member
Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
User status: Offline
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carbon black
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JM_16v
Member
Registered: 17th Oct 05
Location: Essex Drives: GLC63S
User status: Offline
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how much would that roughly cost? £500?
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micra_pete
Premium Member
Registered: 23rd Apr 03
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by JM_16v
how much would that roughly cost? £500?
about £1100 looking at polished bliss
A lot of money to clean a car.
Great thread though as normal BluKoo, although I dont "get it" I do enjoy reading them
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BluKoo
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 02
Location: Stonehaven (Scotland)
User status: Offline
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Yeah, because that was a 3 day correction job, it was £895 + VAT and £100 + VAT for the Vintage wax.
So if i've done my sums correctly, £1144.25.
[Edited on 04-06-2009 by BluKoo]
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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Looks like dark blue to me Jambo 
Stunning finish to it
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DaveyLC
Member
Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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£1144.25???? Thats really quite sad 
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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Why?
34 (skilled) man hours, machinery, materials and other overheads plus a bit of profit. It'll soon add up.
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DaveyLC
Member
Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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Spending £1144 to just have a car cleaned, unless you are going to seal it up in a bubble or stick it in a museum for the rest of its life it will get fucked up again pretty quick?
I'd rather spend £1144 on an exhaust system for it
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BluKoo
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Registered: 8th Apr 02
Location: Stonehaven (Scotland)
User status: Offline
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Some people can easily afford, and justify that amount though.
Theres nothing sad about it.
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DAZ1985
Member
Registered: 3rd Sep 06
Location: Scholar Green, Cheshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by BluKoo
Some people can easily afford, and justify that amount though.
Theres nothing sad about it.
+1
Its obvious that their not short of cash
even though i do see your point, its paint correction not just cleaning though
Quick question though? If cleaned correctly how long would the finish last?
How much would your brother charge to keep it that way now the hard work is done?
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BluKoo
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 02
Location: Stonehaven (Scotland)
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by DAZ1985
quote:
Originally posted by BluKoo
Some people can easily afford, and justify that amount though.
Theres nothing sad about it.
+1
Its obvious that their not short of cash
even though i do see your point, its paint correction not just cleaning though
Quick question though? If cleaned correctly how long would the finish last?
How much would your brother charge to keep it that way now the hard work is done?
In theory, the quality of the shine will last forever as long as the car is cared for correctly.
And that one application of wax should last for about 12 months I think.
The guy with the M5 could book the car in again for an "All Surface Protection Detail" for £295 + VAT and again he could upgrade to the Vintage wax for another £100 + VAT.
If you want to know what that includes...
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/detailing-services-service-options.html
Some customers are signed up to a yearly contract so they bring thier cars in once every 3 months for a good wash/clean and a top up of wax, and thats for one lump sum at the beginning of the year. I'm unsure of the price though.
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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They must see these people coming a mile away! 
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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Just cos you dont get it doesn't mean its wrong or they are somehow being ripped off.
Some people might think its a waste of money or crazy to spend 1k on an exhaust for example. Doesn't mean its wrong or they've been ripped off, its just not their thing!
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BluKoo
Member
Registered: 8th Apr 02
Location: Stonehaven (Scotland)
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by DaveyLC
They must see these people coming a mile away!
Yeah, they can see the shine bouncing off their cars 
They've got a 4-5 month waiting list, so there are plenty of people who are happy and willing to pay that amount for that level of service.
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DaveyLC
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Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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I'm sure its a VERY lucrative business
Just cant work out why someone would turn a car into an orniment? Totally understand why someone would wrap a uber rare or vintage car in cotton wool but a brand new BMW? I Wish I had more money than sense
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A1EX
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Registered: 29th Mar 00
Location: Turku, Finland
User status: Offline
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Its not turning a car into an ornament at all, hes just spent a lot of money buying the car no doubt and wants to look after it. In no way dos it mean he wont drive it properly etc
Its not about having more money than sense at all, its about having the sense to look after what you've spent you're money on.
Sure theres no point in spending a grand or so to detail or corsa worth the same or less, as at the end of the day its not worth it, but on an expensive top of the line BMW it definately is!
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DaveyLC
Member
Registered: 8th Oct 08
Location: Berkshire
User status: Offline
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You dont need to spend £1144 then £300+ a year to 'look after' a cars paint. Its pretty good at looking after its self as long as you keep it clean and dont do anything stupid!
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