Driven Auto Detail: 2008 BMW M3 - Jerez Black

[mShu7]

This 2008 M3 belongs to forum member KKSigua. If you've seen any of Kevin's posts, you probably already know about his long list of mods. Kevin approached me because he wanted give his M3 a thorough detail after having it garaged for the long winter. About 75% of the car was covered in clear bra. The other 25% had some light swirling that he wanted to be removed. Other than that, the car was in very good condition.


Before pictures:






Notice the swirls:








Once moved inside the wash bay, the wheels, tires, and wheel wells were cleaned with Optimum Power Clean and an EZ-Detail wheel brush and a stiff-bristled tire brush.






After a thorough pressure-rinsing, the body of the vehicle was washed with a Grit-Guard equipped bucket, Optimum Car Wash diluted 1 oz. to 1 gal. of water, and a cotton chenille wash mitt. Once the vehicle was clean, it was again pressure-rinsed and died with a leaf blower.


Now that the exterior was clean, it was time to clay what little paint was not covered in a clear bra. Here you can see I used a Clay Magic Fine Grade blue clay bar. For lube, I used ONR diluted to a 2 oz. to 1 gal. of water ratio. With this being a show car, there were minimal bonded contaminants to remove.


Moving inside, I dusted all crevices with a Meguiar's Slide 'n Lock boar's hair brush.


Since the carpets did not need shampooed, I used a stiff bristle brush to pull up any contaminants that vacuuming alone would not remove.


The rest of the interior was steam cleaned, including the door jambs.




To complete the interior portion of the detail, all vinyl and leather surfaces were conditioned with Optimum Protectant Plus.








Back to the outside, I taped up the car with 3M blue painters tape, including the edges of the clear bra. I also taped off the trunk lid into 3 different sections for testing what polishing steps I would take to remove the swirls and allow the metallic flake to show through.






After doing a few test spots, I decided to use Optimum Polish II on a yellow Meg's polishing pad with the Makita rotary around 1000 - 1200 rpm's. I followed that with Optimum Finish on the PC with a Meguiar's tan finishing pad on speed 5. For areas covered in clear bra, I used Optimum Poli-Seal on a green 5.5" low-profile LC light polishing pad. Here you can see the results of that combination.










Top of the roof that is covered in carbon fiber.


With the polishing out of the way, it was time to apply the sealant. For this step I used Optimum Opti-Seal.


After a few hours to cure, I topped the non-clear bra areas with a coat of Pinnacle Souveran paste wax.


Finally, the engine bay was wiped down with ONR diluted to a 6 oz. to 1 gal. ratio.


The exhaust tips were polished Optimum Metal Polish.


As part of the final detailing the tires were treated with 2 coats of Optimum Opti-Bond, windows were cleaned with Meguiar's Detailer Line Glass Cleaner, & the wheels were treated with Optimum Car Wax.
















Quick exhaust video:

Thanks for looking!

[odgaard]

Great work Mike. Kevin is a real nice guy. Are you going to be busy next week? I'd like to stop by and finally check out the shop!

[mShu7]

Thanks Adam! Sorry I haven't gotten back to ya since your last email. I've been running around like a crazy person here lately. As of right now my schedule for next week is pretty light. 4th of July has many people traveling so it gives me a chance to catch my breathe a little. Anyway, just let me know what day you want to come over to the shop and we'll figure something out. I think you've got my number, but if not you've got my email addy.

Alright, gotta run. Thanks again!

[jibaholic101]

great job! i want to clean the engine bays in my other cars, how should i go about doing this?

[mShu7]

Originally Posted by jibaholic101

great job! i want to clean the engine bays in my other cars, how should i go about doing this?

Thanks!

If the engine bays are fairly clean, you can just use some quick detailer and some cheap microfiber towels to clean them up. Make sure you don't use those same MF towels anywhere else after they are used on the engine bay though.

If they are dirty and need more than a quick detailing, here's my process:

1 - Make sure engine is completely cool.
2 - Cover any electrical components such as alternators, etc.
3 - Lightly mist engine bay and surrounding areas.
4 - Spray an all-purpose cleaner or mild degreaser over all areas of the engine bay.
5 - Agitate with brushes if necessary.
6 - Let dwell for a few minutes.
7 - Rinse engine bay with water, being careful not to oversaturate.
8 - Spray dressing (water-based tire shine works great) all over engine bay.
9 - Close hood and run engine for about 20 minutes while you wash the rest of the vehicle.
10 - Open hood and use cheap MF towels to wipe up any excess that still remains.

Now, you can sit back and enjoy your clean and shiney engine bay.

[Dave]

mike awesome work!

pm sent

[mShu7]

THanks izz! I'll go check my PM's now...