Estoril Blue

BMW M135i

Enhancement Detail - Total Surface Protection

 The BMW M135i to most probably looks like a standard one series, it's not the most lary looking hot hatch but to the trained eye or any enthusiast it's certainly far from any normal one series. Under the bonnet is a three litre straight six engine with an additional twin scroll turbo which combined packs a punch of 320BHP. Not that normal little on series any more is it?

This particular M135i is owned by a soldier and it is his pride and joy. A little toy for the time he spends at home he wanted his pocket rocket looking its finest and booked it in with me after seeing my recent post about the Estoril Blue BMW 435D Gran Coupe I detailed a few months back. He wanted his to bounce with gloss and be rich in clarity as such booked it in with me to receive and Enhancement Detail along with my Total Surface Protection bolt on for the ultimate protection.

Over a 200 Mile round trip It was an early start, I travelled up to Oxford to Detail this little beauty leaving nice and early to get a good days work in. First up was a good deep clean, pulling cobwebs, dirt, leaves, grease and grime out of the engine bay, door and boot jams and then the arches. Meguiars Super Degreaser was the perfect product for the job breaking down the dirt and grime with ease. I then moved on to decontaminating the wheels. Bit Hamber Korrosol was applied liberally and let to soak. Using a variety of brushes and techniques this was agitated around the wheel to break down brake dust and fall out that had built up in the spokes and crevices of the alloy. The next step was to lay down a thick layer of snow foam, left to dwell and then rinsed. This ensures that the paintwork was free of loose dirt which helps prevent further damage when washing as I won't be dragging the loose dirt around the paint. Out came the trusty buckets and my nice big fluffy wash pad. Now the car had been safely washed it was time to decontaminate the paint. First up Bilt Hamber Korrosol was now applied to the paint and left to dwell then rinsed, then the exterior dried. Why dry it now? For tar remover to work effectively the paint needs to be dry, it does work wet but is 10x more effective when dry and quicker! Tar remover applied, dwelled and rinsed then finally the paint and glass were clayed using a clay mitt. 

Now the car is clean and decontaminated and safely dried its time to tape up and prepare for depth readings and inspection before the polishing stages. I work around the car methodically taking paint depth readings to ensure all panels have safe levels of paintwork on them to ensure the polishing can be performed safely. Readings taken and recorded I began testing on the bonnet trying a variety of pads and polishes to see which achieve the desired result. Taped up, Earphones in and Polisher on I worked around the car performing a single stage machine polish lifting light defects from the paint and restoring depth and clarity to the clear coat. After successfully lifting 90% of the defects from the clear coat leaving the odd RDS (Really Deep Scratch) behind due to it being an enhancement and not full correction. After the polishing stages were completed the paintwork was inspected using another pair of eyes (the mrs) and mine with a Sun Gun Torch which will pretty much find anything you can't.  

Happy with the results it was time to seal that finish in with the first part of my Total Surface Protection. Polish Angel Cosmic always looks stunning on German Paintwork so I decided this would suit best, the paintwork was prepped with Polish Angel Primer which contains compounds that are crucial to the bonding process of Cosmic and ensure it bonds properly to the surface of the paint. Now the paintwork was properly prepared I started applying the coating, once applied it was then layered to ensure optimum levels of protection and ensure durability. While these layers were curing I moved onto the wheels, applying two layers of Gtechniq C5 Alloy Wheel Armour and Gtechniq G1 to the glass. With the exterior coatings complete it was time to move onto the finer details. Firstly giving the exhaust a good polish to remove soot and coking, unfortunately the tips of these exhausts had perished so they were not immaculate but im sure you will agree a vast improvement was achieved. Once cleaned and polished the Tips were sealed with Gtechniq C5 which is also a heat resistant coating so can be used on the exhausts as well as the wheels. Next up is rubber and plastic trims, sealed with Gtechniq C4 and Tyres dressed with the only tyre shine that should be used, Meguiars Endurance Tyre Gel. 

The exterior complete it was time to move inside. Matts removed, hoovered and wet vac'd to remove stains and soiling, especially from the drivers matt. While they were drying I hoovered the interior lifting loose dirt in order to clean and coat all interior surfaces. Using Auto Finesse Leather cleaner and a leather brush I agitated the product to lift several years of embedded dirt from the leather pores. Once the leather was properly cleaned it was protected with Gtechniq L1 along with the Matts protected with Smart Fabric adding hydrophobic properties to the fabric. 

Onto the last part of the Total Surface protection, Sealing the engine bay. Trying out a new product on this M135i, Koch Chemie Nano Plast Care, This product forms a highly durable chemical bond with the surface and restores a satin black finish to the plastic and protects it form further deterioration. I was highly impressed with the product and it'll certainly be used again. 

The owner was blown away with the end result, commenting how he wasn't expecting such high levels of attention to detail, another transformation complete. Next!

BMW 435D Gran Coupe X-Drive

New Car Protection Detail

Picking up your new car should be a happy and special occasion. Referred to me directly by the local BMW main dealer after the customer enquired about application of coatings to the car. I advised BMW strictly not to touch the car before handover to the customer and explained to the customer why. This meant that when collecting, the car was far from clean and I fear a little to my clients disappointment. However it was all for good reason!

I arrived at the clients house the day after collection and the photos below from before speak for themselves in terms of the level of dirt and grime that can build up during transportation and prior to your collection. 

Two days work ahead of me first things first was to remove as much of the surface dirt and grime before making any contact with the bodywork. I layed down a nice thick layer of snow foam and left it to dwell for several minutes. Using a Hog Hair brush i gently agitated the snow foam in some places where small amounts of dirt had gathered to ensure they were removed then rinsed the car down. Tackling the wheels first Car Pro Iron X was applied to remove Fallout, rinsed off then reapplied for thorough cleaning with a variety of brushes. After completing each wheel the wheel arches were cleaned and degreased with Auto Finesse Verso. 

Wheels and arches now better than new it was time to move onto the other fiddly spots, engine bay, door shuts and around the sun roof. Using a variety of products, techniques and tools I spent some time removing dirt form transit, glue from the factory that had run out of panel creases and parts and small spots of grease that had flicked around the engine bay. Panel glue was also removed from the door shuts and the bottom folds of the doors. Extremely un-sightly it still baffles me how the dealerships feel its acceptable to leave the glue visible. After around 2 Hours i was finally satisfied that all the arches, wheels, engine bay and shuts were now clean I laid down another layer of snow foam to ensure I had removed as much of the loose dirt and grime as possible. Onto the washing stages, the all important two bucket method was used throughout the vehicle to safely clean the exterior. This was then rinsed, Fallout remover applied and then rinsed and clayed using a clay mitt. The car was then rinsed again and ready to be dried. The decontamination stages are one of the most essential on a new car, theres often a misconception that just because its a new car and that it hasn't been driven it won't have gathered an contaminants, this couldn't be further from the truth!

Dried safely with Auto Finesse Aqua Deluxe towels and Metro Vac Blaster the car was ready to be taped up and inspected. All plastics, rubbers and delicate trims were taped prior to polishing to prevent them being damaged during the polishing stages. Paint depth readings were taken and the lights were switched on. After inspecting the whole car I was pleased to report that there were no major defects whatsoever just a small build up of swirls and light marring. Having done some research and worked on several BMW's of late I had a good idea of the best combo that would work most effectively but as we all know every car is different so I tried a few first before settling for my combo of choice that safely and effectively removed the swirls. I spent in total around 12 Hours polishing to ensure that every defect was removed. Perhaps a little more time than was needed but i felt it necessary to ensure the car was faultless. 

Once the polishing stages were completed, I untaped and wiped down the bodywork with Car Pro Eraser to remove all traces of polishing oils any other chemicals left over that could react with the coatings. The glass was cleaned, exhaust tips polished and any surfaces being coated were prepared for the coatings. Moving onto the coatings Car Pro C-Quartz UK for the paint, G-Techniq G1 and G2 for the glass and G-Techniq C1 Alloy Wheel Armour for the wheels. All coatings were layered twice to ensure optimum protection and left to cure in appropriate temperatures for 24 Hours to ensure the coatings had correctly bonded. Once the exterior was finished I dressed the engine bay with Aerospace 303 Sealant and moved onto the interior.

The interior is just as important as the exterior and my new car protection detail ensures all interior surfaces receive the same level of protection as the exterior. I opted for G-Techniq L1 for the leather and G-Techniq l1 Smart Fabric for the matts and carpet. I hoovered the interior first to remove loose dirt, then moved onto cleaning the leather. Cream leather is by far the best colour leather in my opinion but it can be an absolute nightmare to keep clean! There was already some dye transfer on the drivers seat so I worked my way around the leather with Dr Leather Leather Cleaner to deep clean the pores of the leather and remove any traces of dye transfer prior to the application of L1. L1 will prevent further discolouration and dye transfer to the leather during its lifespan. Matts were then removed and l1 Fabric was liberally applied to protect the matts and carpets meaning that liquids will now sit on the surface of the fabric and not saturate it. 

After hours of meticulous detailing the car was complete, the lights were turned off and the car was moved outside for photos and final inspection ready for handover. I thoroughly enjoyed this Detail, the clients were extremely hospitable and friendly and the car was an absolute pleasure to work on. Being an enthusiast himself the owner wanted some advice on how to care for the coatings and best procedures for safe washing. After giving guidance on procedures and products the handover was complete and another new car was looking as it should have two days earlier when leaving the dealership!

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