William emailed me about his much loved BMW 330ci and how he wanted a paint correction to remove swirl marks, random scratches and to bring the paintwork back to life. He explained over numerous emails over a six week period that this was his pride and joy and wished to know all about the detailing process and we spoke at length about the finish and durability of various waxes and their strengths and weaknesses. The 330ci was booked in for a two day detail and a week before the detail William emailed to say that he had modified the car a little with aftermarket carbon fibre bits and pieces and was really looking forward to the forthcoming detail.

So Saturday arrived and William was on my doorstep at 9.00am on the dot. The car, as had been explained, came in an unusual colour; Metallic Techno Violet to give it its full name, which on first look was a dull flat purple. William explained that he could never get the car to shine as he wanted and wished for me to remove the swirl marks and random scratches which hindered the paintwork. He pinpointed some of the more troublesome areas and asked that I cut these back as far as possible without compromising the paint. He also went on to show me his new aftermarket carbon fibre parts and explained that these had arrived with swirls and asked if I could perhaps do something with them. Just before leaving, William opted for a highend wax and after looking through my collection chose to go for Swissvax Best of Show and asked for two coats for durability.

I began the detail by treating the wheels which were in a fairly bad state wth stubborn brakedust and a load of tar spots. The wheels were rinsed and received a dose of Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner diluted 4:1, agitated with a microfibre wash mitt and left to dwell for a few minutes. The wheel arches received the same treatment. The wheels were then cleaned with a range of wheelbrushes with the aid of a further dose of APC and the tar spots treated with AutoGlym Intensive Tar and Glue Remover and a used CYC Yellow Poly clay bar. This was an extremely lengthy process but I was delighted with the results as the wheels came up fantastic. Next the car was rinsed and washed with Meguiars Shampoo Plus with a couple capfuls of APC for some added bite and rinsed clean. Onto claying and a new bar of CYC Yellow Poly Clay was used in conjunction with Meguiars Last Touch diluted 1:1 acting as lubricant. The clay bar removed very little in terms of contamination although the new carbon fibre panels clearly benefited as they were extremely rough to the touch to begin with. The car was then foamed with the Super Spray bottle containing Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner, rinsed and dried with the Miracle Dryer ready for polishing.

So onto polishing and even though it was a nice day outside I opted to take the 330ci into the garage as I find it far easier to see defects under the halogens inside rather than out. It was quite pleasing to see that the car had very little in terms of swirl marks although there was a load of random scratches all over. Paint readings were taken and the paint was moderate showing 160-190 microns all round. So to begin with, I taped up a 12" by 12" area on the bonnet and proceeded to hit it with Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 on a 3M Compound Pad knowing that this was going to be extremely hard paint as I had carried out a similar detail not too long ago on a BMW 320d. Machine polishing was undertaken with the Metabo Rotary using speeds 1100-1500-1800-1100 and I was pleased with the 80% correction. However, the paint lacked a real gloss and this was corrected with Menzerna Final Finish PO85RD on a 3M Polishing Pad worked with the rotary at speeds 1100-1500-1100. The combination worked a treat as a great level of gloss was restored and further correction was achieved to around 90%. Only a few RDS remained which would have needed a wetsand to remove. Pleased with the pad and polish combination, the remainder of the car was corrected in the same manner with some panels such as the doors requiring two hits of Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 to achieve a good level of correction.

The carbon fibre panels were showing a lot more swirls than the rest of the car and this was surprising since these were a week old addition to the 330ci. Correction was achieved with IP PO85RD 3.02 on a 3M Polishing Pad using the rotary at speeds 700-1100-700. This was followed with Final Finish PO85RD on a Meguiars Softbuff Finishing Pad and 100% correction was achieved with no trouble whatsoever. To complete the machine polishing stage, the light clusters were polished with Final Finish PO85RD on a 4" Sonus SFX-2 Polishing Spot Pad with the Porter Cable 7424 on speed setting 5 and they came up an absolute treat. The polishing stage too just over 8 hours to complete and this was followed by a wash using the Super Spray bottle containing Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner to remove polish dust and splatter from the bodywork and was then dried with the Miracle Dryer.

The owner specifically asked for a durable finish but also desired a highend finish. With this in mind, it was agreed that the car would receive a sealant topped with a couple coats of wax. The choice of sealant was Chemical Guys JetSeal109 and this was applied to the whole car with the Meguiars Softbuff Finishing Pad on the PC7424 and was buffed by hand after 20 minutes curing time. With the clock hitting 10.00pm I still wanted to get a coat of wax on and proceeded to apply a layer of Swissvax Best of Show with an applicator pad and this was buffed with a microfibre after a curing time of 30 minutes. I called it a day at 11.00pm.

The following morning the detail continued at 9.00am and began with the wheels. The alloys received a coat of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard and the tyrewalls were dressed with a couple coats of Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel. The tailpipes and exterior chromework were cleaned and polished with Meguiars NXT Metal Polish and the windows were polished inside and out with AutoGlym Fast Glass. The final stage of this detail was to apply a further coat of wax and Best of Show was applied via hand and buffed after 30 minutes curing time with a microfibre. The car then received a wipeover with Zymol Field Glaze to remove wax residue and to prevent holograms from forming in the paintwork and the detail was complete.

William arrived at 2.00pm with his partner in her stunning BMW Z4. William was delighted with the detail and asked if I had actually placed his plates on another 330ci. He was pleased with the correction results and understood that a few RDS remained and was grateful that I had managed to cut them back as far as I had been able to. The Best of Show had brought out a fantastic flake to the paintwork and this was highlighted to full extent under the baking sunshine. William was also pleased with how well the carbon fibre had corrected to 100% and how the wax had added a wet gloss finish which looked absoutely stunning. William then asked that I look over his partner's BMW Z4 and to my horror it was covered in a load of swirl marks which were very prominent in the ice white paintwork. William said that he would be looking to book the car in for a Gold Waxxx Detail very shortly.



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