Stuart found out about Hotwaxxx through word of mouth from a previous customer and living literally 10 minutes away, we met at the local drinking hole and we talked cars and detailing. He explained that he had purchased a second hand BMW 320d which he wanted deswirled and protected so he could keep on top of it himself using the correct wash process and duly booked his car in for the forthcoming weekend.

Stuart arrived at 10.00am on Saturday morning and I was greeted with a 2006 BMW 320d covered in frost and ice. Stuart then took me on a guided tour around the car and pointed out that there were severe swirl marks under all that ice. He also highlighted that the neighbour’s cat liked to use the car as a walk-thru which explained the pawprints across the bonnet. Stuart had a good understanding of detailing and knew a 100% correction would be impossible on the hard German paint and asked that I do the best job possible. Stuart then said he would pop back on Sunday at around 3.00pm and duly left.

I began the detail by rinsing the wheels and arches and applied a dose of Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner diluted 4:1 and left it to dwell for 5 minutes. After a rinse, the same was applied again and the wheels were worked with various wheelbrushes and the arches with a long-handled brush and microfibre wash mitt followed by a further rinse. The car was then rinsed over and washed using the two bucket method with a mix of Meguiars Shampoo Plus and two capfuls of Meguiars APC to give the wash some bite. There was also a lot of tar around the wheel arches and lower sills and these spots were removed with a small dose of Autosmart Tardis which a fellow car detailer had given me to try out. The car was then rinsed clean ready for claying. The choice of clay was CYC Fine Poly with Meguiars Last Touch diluted 1:1 acting as lube. Although the car looked relatively dirty to begin with, the clay bar removed very little although the front and rear bumpers and lower sills clearly benefited. The car was again rinsed and dried with a couple Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towels before being wheeled into the garage to see what horrors lay in wait.

Under the halogens and the swirl marks were highlighted in all their glory. The idea of the new BMW clearcoat is that it is a tough lacquer that acts as a barrier against swirls and scratches. However, when the car is washed using a dirty bucket and sponge every other day (the car was initially an insurance replacement car before Stuart rescued it), it will inevitably lead to swirl marks. It was also evident that a cat had indeed been a resident of the bonnet as there were several long scratch marks where the cat must have lost its grip. This was clearly going to be an extremely tough detail and it was a job for the Metabo Rotary.

I began by taping up an 18” x 18” test area on the bonnet and proceeded to hit the spot with a Meguiars Soft Buff Polishing Pad sporting Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 and worked it using 1100-1500-1800-2000-1100 to break down the polish. After a wipedown and closer inspection around 60% correction was achieved. The same pad and polish combination was given another shot and there was a good improvement although there were still some very light surface scratches and a lack of gloss. I followed up with Menzerna Final Finish PO106FA on a Meguiars Finishing Pad and although this brought gloss back to the paint, the light surface scratches remained. I decided to try one final hit with Meguiars Cleaner/Polish #83 on a Sonus SFX-2 Polishing Pad and was glad I did as the light surface scratches were removed and the gloss was enhanced further. The bonnet was then divided into 8 sections and worked using the three-hit combination of two hits Menzerna IP PO85RD and one hit Meguiars Cleaner/Polish #83. Although this was a very lengthy process, the finish was fantastic with only a few RDS remaining which was not bad at all.

The rest of the car was then polished using the same pad and polish combination throughout. A few panels required two hits with others three. The bumpers and plastics were hit twice with Cleaner/Polish #83 on a Sonus SFX-2 Polishing Pad at 1100-1500-1100 with quick movement of the rotary to avoid heat build-up. After ten long hours of hard polishing, I called it a day at 11.30pm!

Onto Sunday and I was up at 8,00am and finished the polishing. Overall, the entire polishing stage lasted just under 12 hours and I was glad for the Metabo Rotary as the Porter Cable 7424 would have struggled with the BMW’s tough clearcoat. As the car was now covered in polish dust, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try out my new Super Spray Hose End Sprayer. So with a mix of 2cm Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II, 1cm Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner and the bottle toped up with hot water, I attached to the end of the hose pipe and set about the car. The mix worked much better than I had ever expected and produced a fair amount of foam. Okay - it is not as good as a foam lance and Karcher but it is a great substitute for less than £10. The car was then rinsed and dried ready for finishing.

Taking a break from the paintwork, I began to work on the wheels which were covered in brakedust and tar spots. After a quick application of Autosmart Tardis and rinse off I set about the wheels with the previous day’s clay bar. After one hour of hard graft the alloys were as good as they were going to get. A coat of Chemical Guys JetSeal109 was applied and the tyrewalls were dressed with Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel.

Back to the paintwork and I reached for my new bottle of Dodo Juice Lime Prime. Each panel was given a thin coating with an applicator pad and immediately buffed clear. The same was applied to the plastic trim and it worked a treat. Overall impressions are favourable - it is a lot more oilier than other cleansers, is very easy to apply and remove and can also be applied to trim. Onto LSP and it was agreed with Stuart that the BMW would be treated to a coat of Zymol Glasur. This was applied with an applicator pad and buffed off panel by panel followed by a quick going over with Zymol Field Glaze to remove any wax residue and holograms.

The exhaust pipe was next and I spent 5 minutes or so with Meguiars NXT Metal Polish and an applicator pad. The alloys received another coat of JetSeal109, the tyres a further coat of New Look Trim Gel and the windows were polished inside and out with AutoGlym Fast Glass and the detail was complete. A grand total of just over 18 hours on this one but the finish was exceptional.

I gave Stuart a call and he was over within minutes and was astounded with the outcome and asked whether I had removed his number plates and fixed them onto another BMW. He was amazed at the correction and commented that he never expected such a vast improvement. He also expressed his delight at the nuance of the paintwork and the finish of the wheels. Then keeping to a promise he had made in the pub on Tuesday, we went indoors and put in a small order for a new wash kit from an online detailing goods trader as he wanted to do things right from now on. Result!



The photos - click thumbnails to enlarge