[psmith95]

While I had some time this weekend I decided I wanted to do a full detail on the car and get it protected for the upcoming winter. Overall, i'm pretty happy with the results. Although I didn't get all the defects out, I did remove most of them and the car now looks better than ever. Below i'll put up a ton of pics I have currently and more will come later. I'm doing the interior later today and if the weather clears up i'll pull it outside to get some pics of the exterior.

The main products I used were the following:
-Menzerna FG400 with cyan HT pad
-Sonax Perfect finish with tangerine HT pad
-Menzerna Power lock with crimson HT pad
-Meguiars gold class tire gel applied with Adams hex applicator
-Griots 6" polisher with a 5" backing plate
-Nanoskin medium grade wash mitt

Earlier in the week I started by giving the car a wash and claying the whole thing with the nanoskin. Then yesterday I washed the car with dish soap then decided to start the correcting. I did a 2 step correction and started with FG400 then moved onto the perfect finish. Also cleaned the wheels and applied sealant and tire gel to those while I was correcting. A few guys have asked for reviews of some of the products I bought a few months back so those will also be below.

FG400: Overall i'm pretty happy with it, it seems to cut very well and is easy to remove. My only complaint is the dusting. It doesn't dust nearly as bad as M105/M205 but it definitely does dust.

Sonax Perfect Finish: One of my favorite products I have bought. It doesn't cut very much but it leaves an amazing finish and is extremely easy to remove.

Menzerna PL: Another one of my favorite products. Goes on very thin by machine and then wipes off extremely easily after giving it a few minutes to haze. I also love the glossy look you get after applying the sealant.

Anyways below is pics of the process and how the car is sitting right now. Interior will come today and also going to put a layer of Sherbet Fizz wax on top of the sealant.

After wash with dish soap and clean exhaust tips:









Attempting to show the defects in the paint . Sadly i'm awful at doing this so it looks like the paint was in perfect condition. It had some minor defects but nothing really major:





Sealant and tire gel applied to wheels:



Paint corrected with FG400 and Sonax PF:











Swirl marks on B pillar corrected. Anyone know if the paint on the B pillar is a one stage paint? It left my pads pretty black after doing it...

















Powerlock Sealant Applied:





















Edit: Updated pics. Finished up today by doing the interior, cleaning the engine bay, and pulling it outside for some quick pics for the few minutes the sun was out.

Clean engine bay:







Before Interior:







After Interior:

[psnt1ol]

Good Job!!!!

Looks like you are getting the hang of it. As I recalled, you car didn't look that bad to start. Was there a reason why you went with FG400 and not something less aggressive?

[335ixm]

Nice job! Black glossy exterior items are often very thin, and I m pretty sure there is no clearcoat on top. That is why black comes off, and that is why they fade over time.

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

Good Job!!!!

Looks like you are getting the hang of it. As I recalled, you car didn't look that bad to start. Was there a reason why you went with FG400 and not something less aggressive?

Thanks! It was really weird to be honest... I don't have many swirls since I never go to drive through washes but I had a few long straight scratches and a couple of deep ones. The long straight ones wouldn't all come out with just the SI 1500 so I decided this once I would go aggressive with the FG400. I still have some deep scratches which I don't think a DA can get out but it's pretty good. Now that I have the tools to do this stuff though i'll do it twice a year and won't need to be nearly as aggressive. Next time around in spring hopefully I can do just perfect finish

Originally Posted by 335ixm

Nice job! Black glossy exterior items are often very thin, and I m pretty sure there is no clearcoat on top. That is why black comes off, and that is why they fade over time.

Ahh ok that makes sense.

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by psmith95

Thanks! It was really weird to be honest... I don't have many swirls since I never go to drive through washes but I had a few long straight scratches and a couple of deep ones. The long straight ones wouldn't all come out with just the SI 1500 so I decided this once I would go aggressive with the FG400. I still have some deep scratches which I don't think a DA can get out but it's pretty good. Now that I have the tools to do this stuff though i'll do it twice a year and won't need to be nearly as aggressive. Next time around in spring hopefully I can do just perfect finish

That is a smart thing to do. Knowing when to stop. RIDS on a DD are often not worth chasing since you have to remove a lot of CC. Spot Sanding is probably the only way to deal with them and this is definitely not for the faint of hearts.

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

That is a smart thing to do. Knowing when to stop. RIDS on a DD are often not worth chasing since you have to remove a lot of CC. Spot Sanding is probably the only way to deal with them and this is definitely not for the faint of hearts.

Yea I have a bunch of RIDS mostly from the previous owner. For a car with 58k miles though the paint is in great condition. Uploading the updated pics right now so check back in the OP for those. It was pretty fun doing this even though I spent so long... I started yesterday at 12 and went all the way to 11. I took a break between 8-10:30 though for dinner since we had guests. Started back at it today at 1 and just finished up with engine, interior, and applying wax on top of the sealant. I went through about 4-5 showers and as many changes of clothes

[Amini77]

My god....thats cleaner than from the dealership. Do mine please lol Good work. I wish you did a full step by step DIY.

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by Amini77

My god....thats cleaner than from the dealership. Do mine please lol Good work. I wish you did a full step by step DIY.

Hahaha wait until you see the updated pics i'm working on getting posted now . Bring the car out East and i'll happily do it... DIY is pretty easy you just have to watch a few videos online and read up on the proper methods. If you're actually interested in doing it and need to know what products to purchase you can look through this thread. I believe on the 2nd-3rd page is the final list of what I purchased and everything has been awesome so far.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=866273

[Amini77]

Originally Posted by psmith95

Hahaha wait until you see the updated pics i'm working on getting posted now . Bring the car out East and i'll happily do it... DIY is pretty easy you just have to watch a few videos online and read up on the proper methods. If you're actually interested in doing it and need to know what products to purchase you can look through this thread. I believe on the 2nd-3rd page is the final list of what I purchased and everything has been awesome so far.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=866273

Haha wish you were out here though! Thanks for the link! I'm definitely interested in detailing my car but its just like any other mod, lots and lots of $$$$.

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by Amini77

Haha wish you were out here though! Thanks for the link! I'm definitely interested in detailing my car but its just like any other mod, lots and lots of $$$$.

Yea I think I spent around $400-500 on just getting all the things I needed to start detailing. once you have them though they'll last for a pretty long time

[Amini77]

Originally Posted by psmith95

Yea I think I spent around $400-500 on just getting all the things I needed to start detailing. once you have them though they'll last for a pretty long time

Yeah true I'll have to start putting some money aside.

[E902009]

Those wheels look great! I've been kicking around the idea of getting new wheels when I replace my tires. Those will definitely be on my shopping list.

Stupid noob question: Is your car lowered, or is that stock height. Anyway, the cars looks sharp after the detail. Nice work!

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by E902009

Those wheels look great! I've been kicking around the idea of getting new wheels when I replace my tires. Those will definitely be on my shopping list.

Stupid noob question: Is your car lowered, or is that stock height. Anyway, the cars looks sharp after the detail. Nice work!

It's lowered. I might put these up for sale once I switch to my winters because I want to change it up next year. If you're interested and can wait you could take them off my hands

[914kid]

Whats going on bro, the car is looking great as usual!!!

Are you going to bimmerstock?

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by 914kid

Whats going on bro, the car is looking great as usual!!!

Are you going to bimmerstock?

Thanks man! Yea i'll be there, are you going?

[914kid]

Originally Posted by psmith95

Thanks man! Yea i'll be there, are you going?

Yup! Me and a couple of friends are rolling out from westchester, apparently you are meeting us there, thats what my friend said at least haha.

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by 914kid

Yup! Me and a couple of friends are rolling out from westchester, apparently you are meeting us there, thats what my friend said at least haha.

Hahaha which one? Steve? I just texted Bryce @ ACI Dynamix since i'll be going with him. If he wants to get a big caravan together we should all meet up but I think he might only want a few cars.

[SHEEDI]

A qucik question.. why pads are too dirty after full detail?

[jlspeed29]

those wheels

[psmith95]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

A qucik question.. why pads are too dirty after full detail?

That picture was after I did the B-pillar trim. Like someone in the thread said I think there is no clear coat on top of the black trim which is why paint comes off

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

those wheels

Haha the sealant and tire gel really makes them pop

[Route 16]

Damn another detail? Looks damn good.

Is that an oem performance spoiler? where/how much didu get it?

[tmdals0213]

big ass house