Zach McGovern
Certified Finest Installer
The owner of this vehicle contacted me with the hope that I could help bring some life back to this relatively low mileage 335i that he had just purchased. Upon my initial inspection, it was very clear that this paint needed a tremendous amount of work to restore it. This vehicle went through my normal cleaning and decontamination process, and was then followed with an intensive 3 step paint correction process to remove the majority of surface defects and greatly improve gloss and clarity. After the paint was restored, a ceramic paint coating was applied to help provide years of durable protection, easy maintenance, and incredible shine! This was a long project, but the results were fantastic!
Process
Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
Wheels: Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner & Various Brushes
Pre-Wash: CG Citrus Wash via Foam Lance then pressure rinse
Wash: ONR
Bug Removal: Meguiar's D103 and Stoner Tarminator
Paint Decontamination: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel with Nanoskin Glide as Lubrication
Tape trim and other areas of concern
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Compound/Cutting (twice): M101 with CarPro Flash Pads & Meguiar's MF Cutting Pads via Rupes LHR21ES and Rupes LHR75e
Wash & Oil/Residue Removal: Pre-Soak panel with 50% IPA, then wash with ONR
Polishing: M205 with Lake Country White Polishing Pad
Coating Prep/Polishing Oil Removal: CarPro Eraser
Ceramic Paint Coating: CQuartz UK
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish + Protection via #0000 Steel Wool
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Tire Dressing: Optimum Opti-Bond
Interior
All cracks and crevices blown out
Thorough Vacuum
All vinyl and plastic wiped down with 303 Aerospace Protectant
All weather floor mats rinsed and scrubbed with Meguiar's D103
Leather (driver's seat): Steam cleaned, scrubbed with D103, steam cleaned
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Before
When the vehicle arrived, the defects were easily visible in the sunlight. Notice the holograms, swirls, and scratches on every inch of paint.
During
As always, I started with cleaning the wheels and tires. In typical BMW fashion, these had plenty of brake dust built up on them. Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner makes quick work of this mess by reacting with the brake dust and loosening it from the surface.
A lot of filth coming from the inner barrels of the wheels
Wheels and tires cleaned up. While they certainly look better, all of the wheels truly need to be refinished as they were simply neglected for too long and are beyond repair.
The vehicle was pressure rinsed, foamed, rinsed again, and then thoroughly washed.
After the wash process, I began with the decontamination. Notice the amount of bonded particles that were removed on just a small part of the hood. It is critical to ensure all bonded contaminates are removed prior to polishing.
I began my testing on the hood. After much correction, the difference was incredible. No high powered lights needed to see this transformation!
50/50 on the hood
50/50 shot on the door after compounding
Fender before correction
Fender after compounding
Top of rear quarter panel before correction
Top of rear quarter panel after compounding
Rear bumper before correction
Rear bumper after compounding
Trunk before correction
Trunk after 1st compounding pass (notice the remaining defects)
Trunk after 2nd compounding pass. Even better correction.
Process
Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
Wheels: Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner & Various Brushes
Pre-Wash: CG Citrus Wash via Foam Lance then pressure rinse
Wash: ONR
Bug Removal: Meguiar's D103 and Stoner Tarminator
Paint Decontamination: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel with Nanoskin Glide as Lubrication
Tape trim and other areas of concern
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Compound/Cutting (twice): M101 with CarPro Flash Pads & Meguiar's MF Cutting Pads via Rupes LHR21ES and Rupes LHR75e
Wash & Oil/Residue Removal: Pre-Soak panel with 50% IPA, then wash with ONR
Polishing: M205 with Lake Country White Polishing Pad
Coating Prep/Polishing Oil Removal: CarPro Eraser
Ceramic Paint Coating: CQuartz UK
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish + Protection via #0000 Steel Wool
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Tire Dressing: Optimum Opti-Bond
Interior
All cracks and crevices blown out
Thorough Vacuum
All vinyl and plastic wiped down with 303 Aerospace Protectant
All weather floor mats rinsed and scrubbed with Meguiar's D103
Leather (driver's seat): Steam cleaned, scrubbed with D103, steam cleaned
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Before
When the vehicle arrived, the defects were easily visible in the sunlight. Notice the holograms, swirls, and scratches on every inch of paint.
During
As always, I started with cleaning the wheels and tires. In typical BMW fashion, these had plenty of brake dust built up on them. Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner makes quick work of this mess by reacting with the brake dust and loosening it from the surface.
A lot of filth coming from the inner barrels of the wheels
Wheels and tires cleaned up. While they certainly look better, all of the wheels truly need to be refinished as they were simply neglected for too long and are beyond repair.
The vehicle was pressure rinsed, foamed, rinsed again, and then thoroughly washed.
After the wash process, I began with the decontamination. Notice the amount of bonded particles that were removed on just a small part of the hood. It is critical to ensure all bonded contaminates are removed prior to polishing.
I began my testing on the hood. After much correction, the difference was incredible. No high powered lights needed to see this transformation!
50/50 on the hood
50/50 shot on the door after compounding
Fender before correction
Fender after compounding
Top of rear quarter panel before correction
Top of rear quarter panel after compounding
Rear bumper before correction
Rear bumper after compounding
Trunk before correction
Trunk after 1st compounding pass (notice the remaining defects)
Trunk after 2nd compounding pass. Even better correction.
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