# DetailMyCar - BMW 325i, 24hr Enhancement + Ceramishield, Calipers, Engine, Interior



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

I warn you now this is quite a large write-up so please feel free to skip on or just look at the finished pictures, I don't expect everyone to enjoy reading these from me but thanks to those that do 

First of all Michael (MLAM on DW) enquired about getting his BMW 325i detailed, we agreed to do:

Enhancement detail with Ceramishield Sealant
Brake calipers all painted and sealed (Wheels too whilst off the car)
Interior Detail
Engine bay clean up

Michael also asked me to do a few bits to tidy the car up which you'll see but things that make quite a difference which are wheel spacers all round with new bolts and locking nuts, new centre caps, new rear light cluster, new plates, new badges here and there - Basically just a few bits to sort out.

We did have an issue during the detail which again you will see but the car had recently had some body work including paint on the offside front wing, unfortunately although the paint depth was massively safe at 180+ microns, the new layer was extremely thin and obviously not prepped properly as one light pass showed the original silver colour starting to come through in a patch where they had obviously blended it in. I popped the side repeater off and discovered they had just masked over that too as the original Silver colour was obvious under there too so I discussed it with Michael and told him I would recommend somewhere local should he want to get it painted another day, and possibly get the wheels refurbed should he decide to go that far - Just the inners are starting to corrode a tad so that would be the main reason.

Moving on, here's the first job painting the calipers




























Firstly sprayed with Meg's APC all over incl arches to clean the loose dirt, followed up by Meg's Super Degreaser to remove any oils or residue and help the paint to bond to the calipers.




























The calipers were then all scrubbed with a wire brush to remove loose rust and debris, this gets them ready for painting. They were painted with Hammerite smooth silver to restore a more factory look. The disc bells were done at the same time.














































After painting the calipers I set about correcting the headlights. First of all you can see how 120k miles has taken it's toll, they were quite pitted and didn't look very clear so the lenses were removed from the car, firstly to clean the insides as they weren't perfect but mainly to wet sand them and polish them back up.





































I used an air powered DA sander with some Mirka 1000 discs, followed by 2000 and 4000 to get them as good as possible before polishing up with Scholl S17+ and refining with Scholl S40.
































































Nearside before









Offside after




































They were hugely improved and once back on the car looked so much nicer.

The headlight lenses were all cleaned inside with IPA to remove any grease, finger prints or oils and put back together.

The engine bay was then sprayed with Meguiars APC and a slide-lock brush used to agitate all the areas that are usually hard to reach, a Tornador was also used to blast the loose debris and dirt out. I then went over all of it with a couple of MF cloths to remove the last bits of APC. The engine was then sprayed all over with 303 protectant and the bonnet then shut down so it could be left to absorb into the plastics and hopefully add a nice bit of protection.

Engine before




































APC used









303 sprayed on



























That was me done on Friday night so I packed up at midnight and headed home.

Saturday morning came and I decided to clean all 4 wheels inside and out, using AS smart wheels, Tardis and Iron-X it was a case of gettnig rid of as much as possible. Unfortunately some bits of old Glue were left from previous wheel weights but even soaking them in Tardis for 20 mins wasn't helping them break down so I didn't have time to remove this completely. Tyres were scrubbed with Meg's APC and after rinsing it all off the wheels were taken back inside to be dried off, and sealed with FK1000p.



































































































































































Wheel spacers were added with new bolts, lockers and also new centre caps. They were put on the car then given a coating of Gtechniq C3 spray wax and wiped over.
































































After doing all 4 wheels I got the car out of the unit and started on the outside.

Here's a few pics showing the wash / cleaning process

Before









Pressure washer set to 60 Deg









Snow foamed with Autojoy Pink Foam
Meg's APC and various brushes used on badges, grills, vents and trims
Hand washed with 2 buckets, Gliptone wash N glo shampoo and a lambswool mitt.
Rinsed off and treated with Tardis all over to break up the tar
IronX then sprayed all over to remove last remaining fallout.
Zaino clay and shampoo used as a lube to remove all contaminants on the paintwork and glass.




























Crud under window runners


















Gliptone shampoo



























Clayed









The car was then taken inside, sprayed with Last touch and towel dried off.









New lights to go on









New rear light cluster to be fitted, see the crud built up in this one









Removed









Cleaned up









New light on









Much better









I then set about taping up the car and getting ready to start polishing.










I used Menz 3.02 with a white Hex Logic pad and found it giving good correction, the whole car would later be refined using Menz PO85RE5 and a blue Hex Logic. There were a few areas I stepped up to S17+ with an Orange Hex Logic but only after wet sanding on the rear 1/4 really where there was some runs in the paint to try and improve.










Polishing









Here's a few 50/50's (always hard to show on Silver) and a few Before and After pics showing the damage.






















































































































Rear 1/4 wet sanded lightly to remove a paint run













































Here's the damaged offside wing













































Lots of paint









Here you can see the old colour showing through



























Pillars before


















After first polish but not refined









Rest of the car looking better



























Rear badge removed









Plate removed









Cleaned up









Refining polish


















Tornador used to remove dust









END OF PART 1


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

PART 2

The car was wiped down with IPA at each stage, I would usually use eraser but as the car was going to be protected with Ceramishield I wanted to make sure it had no oils or reside to cause any issues with Ceramishield bonding, as IPA is really what should be used.














































After polishing and refining, the paintwork was all sealed with Ceramishield incl lights and glass. I removed each section after 3 minutes and it buffed off relatively easy to leave a seriously slick finish!! The car was looking far better at this point so I was pleased.



















Curing


















The trims were treated with Wolfs, Tyres with Gliptone, Exhausts with Surf City's killer chrome.





































Trim before


















Wolfs









After



























Rear calipers were then painted before going home at gone 11pm to start again Sunday morning.

Rear calipers before









After









Ceramishield buffed off


































































































































































Sunday AM I got down and bolted the rear wheels on with the new spacers, all torqued up with a snap on digital torque wrench to make sure all was safe.










I then got the car off the ramp and started on the interior, all was dusted down, vac'd, steam cleaned and Gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner used on all leather. Meg's APC used on all plastics incl steering wheel to remove built up dirt. Carpets were wet-vac'd with a Vax 6131T and AS Brisk. After this the Tornador was also used with Brisk to get into the tricky areas and leave a nice dry finish. The boot and spare wheel well were also cleaned and dressed.

Tyres before













































New centres again









New rear badge



































































































That was pretty much me done with the car, after 24 hours work I was really pleased with it - Obviously there were still a few tiny issues that I would like to have done but with the time spent (and charged for) I just couldn't afford to spend any more time on it, but all in all I out my heart and soul into this one and really felt it was a job well done

Here's all the final pics, thanks for sticking with the write-up if you've made it this far, and as always appreciate any feedback and comments!

Nick - Detailmycar


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Nick that's a tremendous effort and I bet you really racked up the hours on the extra bits you did on the car - its surprising how much time these little bits can add time wise over and above an enhancement detail.

Stunning finish for silver indeed. Great transformation 

Russ.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Wow great transformation excellent job looks great


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

What a transformation, alot of work gone and its paid of well done! 

You should try another batch image resizer as they look little jittery, that goes without saying the pics still show fantastic results!


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## R9SH G (Mar 14, 2011)

that looks brilliant


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## R9SH G (Mar 14, 2011)

that looks brilliant


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

You are a busy boy Nick, that is a fantastic job and great look from all your hard work, well presented, clear and simple, a master class in every aspect. 

Well done you and thanks, you can DetailMyCar anytime.

Quality.

John Tht.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Just read through the whole lot Nick, and that's a tremendous effort! I love these thorough detail (could even call it a very light restoration i think!) and all the little touches make a huge difference!

For a car with over 120k on the clock, looks pretty damn good and value increased dramatically i would think!

Thanks for sharing!

Jon


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great write-up mate, you done a cracking job :thumb:


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## lisaclio (Sep 6, 2008)

great write up mate, nice work, think you have just persuaded me to get some wolfs chemicals trim restore


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

MidlandsCarCare said:


> Nick that's a tremendous effort and I bet you really racked up the hours on the extra bits you did on the car - its surprising how much time these little bits can add time wise over and above an enhancement detail.
> 
> Stunning finish for silver indeed. Great transformation
> 
> Russ.


Thanks Russ, I know what you mean - I like to think I did my best with the time given.



Derekh929 said:


> Wow great transformation excellent job looks great


Thanks 



Mr Singh said:


> What a transformation, alot of work gone and its paid of well done!
> 
> You should try another batch image resizer as they look little jittery, that goes without saying the pics still show fantastic results!


Yeah I think they may be resized a bit too much, that was just Photoscape but I need to look into it... Thanks for the kind words though



R9SH G said:


> that looks brilliant


Thanks 



Titanium Htail said:


> You are a busy boy Nick, that is a fantastic job and great look from all your hard work, well presented, clear and simple, a master class in every aspect.
> 
> Well done you and thanks, you can DetailMyCar anytime.
> 
> ...


Very nice of you to say John, it was hard work but glad you appreciate the write-up 



JBirchy said:


> Just read through the whole lot Nick, and that's a tremendous effort! I love these thorough detail (could even call it a very light restoration i think!) and all the little touches make a huge difference!
> 
> For a car with over 120k on the clock, looks pretty damn good and value increased dramatically i would think!
> 
> ...


Again thanks Jon, very nice words and glad you took the time to read through it - sometimes it's hard to get across just what goes into it but glad you appreciated it 



DMH-01 said:


> Great write-up mate, you done a cracking job :thumb:


Thanks as always matey!



lisaclio said:


> great write up mate, nice work, think you have just persuaded me to get some wolfs chemicals trim restore


Haha it's pretty good stuff, it's like water so only use a small amount and you'll be good to go!


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

WOW, a lot of extras gone into that job! Nice work!


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

Hi all,

Nick has mentinoed already that this is my car,

I just want to thank Nick again for spending so much time on my car and really has made it look so much better, the wheels have come up like new bar the corrosion.

The body is so slick now its unbelivable and dirt is repelling pretty well at the moment I must say.

I've even had a comment at work from a felow BMW driving asking if it had been valeted and I quote "It is looking rather spanking more so than usual today mate" 

To top it off, Nick is a great bloke to talk to and I would have no problems recommending him to anyone on here or to friends.


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Top stuff there Nick, I was worried about my next car being Silver...but not after seeing this...:argie:


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## skorpios (Sep 11, 2011)

Top level work! Bravo! :thumb:


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## FiestaDan (Jul 10, 2012)

gorgeous car and work


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

JBirchy said:


> For a car with over 120k on the clock, looks pretty damn good and value increased dramatically i would think!
> 
> Thanks for sharing!
> 
> Jon


 The car was in good shape before Nick had it, it's now in VERY good shape.

Given the miles whether it has added a lot more value or not will probably not be found out as I intend to keep it for a while yet.

However I feel a lot better driving it now and just smile when I see the immense shine on it now


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## scotty76 (Nov 12, 2011)

Nick, another epic detail. The attention to detail is stunning. If you're ever doing tuition in Newbury I'd love to come along.


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## Rgk Detailing (Dec 6, 2006)

Terrific work Nick! really enjoyed the write up! :thumb:


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## jcdub (Dec 2, 2008)

Great work. Really detailed write up. Excellent!


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## adlem (Jul 6, 2008)

Fantastic job mate! I know it took a lot of graft with all the little extras but the finished pictures say everything :thumb:

Catch you soon buddy!


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## plimpix (Jun 25, 2012)

Attention to detail, cracking finnish.


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Amazing finish Nick, what a great write up :thumb:


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## Bigcheese1664 (Mar 25, 2012)

Great work Nick,

love that Snap-On torque wrench :argie:

Kev


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## gav1513 (Apr 16, 2009)

wow top notch work, fantastic finish, bet it looked like a brand new car when it was all done


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## ckeir.02mh (Jan 5, 2012)

Excellant work mate!

How do you find ceramishield for durablility? 

Chris.


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## david_pupu (Sep 19, 2011)

great job, where you buy that new emblem ??


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

ckeir.02mh said:


> Excellant work mate!
> 
> How do you find ceramishield for durablility?
> 
> Chris.


Thanks Chris, to be honest it's not really been around long enough to start to see it failing yet but it should be anything from 12-24 months depending on how the car is treated etc, possibly more!



david_pupu said:


> great job, where you buy that new emblem ??


The owner supplied all the badges but I believe he bought them from his local BMW dealership.

Thanks again for all the comments people!


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## Ali A (Mar 28, 2012)

Well done nick...another top job fella, you can see the effort and sweat that has been put in to this job, keep up the top class work.


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## LRBK (Jul 23, 2012)

Amazing work, and a great write up.
It's threads like these that inspire me to try and improve the results I'm getting on my own car.
In fact, I'm going to have a go at my calipers as soon as I find a free weekend.
Thanks for going to the trouble of posting it all up. :thumb:


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## GolfFanBoy (May 23, 2010)

Great work :thumb:


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

Excellent write up and superb attention to detail through out. 

Very nice work! :thumb:


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## leemckenna (Oct 11, 2011)

nice work good write up


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## mjh760 (Dec 6, 2011)

What a superb write up, and more so what a transformation, superb work matey:thumb:


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Ali A said:


> Well done nick...another top job fella, you can see the effort and sweat that has been put in to this job, keep up the top class work.


:buffer: Thanks mate 



LRBK said:


> Amazing work, and a great write up.
> It's threads like these that inspire me to try and improve the results I'm getting on my own car.
> In fact, I'm going to have a go at my calipers as soon as I find a free weekend.
> Thanks for going to the trouble of posting it all up. :thumb:


I wish I had the time to do it on my own car believe me :lol:



GolfFanBoy said:


> Great work :thumb:


Thanks!



martyp said:


> Excellent write up and superb attention to detail through out.
> 
> Very nice work! :thumb:


Nice of you to say mate, many thanks!!



leemckenna said:


> nice work good write up


Thanks Lee!



mjh760 said:


> What a superb write up, and more so what a transformation, superb work matey:thumb:


Thanks mate, nice to know the write-ups don't go un-noticed and always appreciate the comments

Many thanks once again to everyone else too


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

looking really well great job.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic work


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

david_pupu said:


> great job, where you buy that new emblem?





DetailMyCar said:


> The owner supplied all the badges but I believe he bought them from his local BMW dealership.


Just to confirm I did get all the badges from my local BMW Dealer, but they are available at any dealer


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

A wash today, check out the shine


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Great write up, excellent end result achieved :thumb:.


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## Palmer02 (Jul 7, 2012)

Excellent job, what happened about the paint where the older part showed through? Repaint?


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

Palmer02 said:


> Excellent job, what happened about the paint where the older part showed through? Repaint?


 It's been left as it is for the time being as in the light it isn't actually too obvious and also the fact that there isn't any rust/corrosion issues so it's not like I need to get it done ASAP, just purely cosmetic.

I may look into getting the wheels done at some point too as the corrosion behind the rims is slowly getting worse.


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

I gave it a wash today with ONR, works pretty well I must say but a bit daunting at first.

Largely dried with micro fibre towel and any remaining water marks buffed off with plush microfibre cloth using Dodo Juice Basics of Bling QD.

Which I must say is a fantastic QD, smells nice and leaves the paint with a great shine and finish.

See the pic but sadly I forgot to take a pic straight after I done it, this was at my brother's when the light was going down.


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Thanks for the update Michael, good to see the car still looking good! Headlights still look great too!!


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## octobersown (Jun 7, 2012)

Epic, i love reading such a detailed write up like this, and such attention to detail replacing badges and indicator surrounds etc. Great work.


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## spanky spangler (Sep 20, 2009)

Absolutely stunning, great attention to detail. Just done the calipers and bells on my E46, tidies it up a treat. What size spacers were used as they make the wheels fit the arches perfectly? Where did you purchase them?


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Top work. Enjoyed the right up


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Great work fella :thumb:


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

spanky spangler said:


> Absolutely stunning, great attention to detail. Just done the calipers and bells on my E46, tidies it up a treat. What size spacers were used as they make the wheels fit the arches perfectly? Where did you purchase them?


 Hi spangler,

Can't believe I missed your post.

Spacers I used 12mm on the rear and 15mm on the front.

I couldn't really go any wider on the back as it would rub, in fact it does rub ever so slightly when you have a heavy person/load on the 12mm.

I got them from here, the guy is called Chris, he sells quality stuff and I'm tempted to get some new wheels myself but that can wait till next year 

http://www.cmwheels.com


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

I really enjoyed reading this with the great photos, explanation and attention to detail; much like the 24 hours invested into the job I suspect 

Great work.


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

I gave it a good wash today as it was looking a bit sorry for itself.

Almost the same again but this time I used Auto Finesse Citrus Power as a pre soak then used the local ARC jetwash to blast it down and I washed it with Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo, dried off with Large MF towel and then going over with plush MF towel with DoDo Juice Basic's of Bling QD.

Trims I went over with Meg's Trim detailer and tyres dressed with Meg's Endurance Tyre Gel (bottle I have from years ago is still going!)

Shame the sun went in when I took this pic but still looks pretty good, wheels looking quite tired now and would benefit from a refurb.

Ceramishield doing it's job well and the car still looks good apart from some minor marks/stone chips.


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

beautifull


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## ocdetailer (Apr 9, 2014)

Great work, all the little extras really added up , ceramicshield looks pretty sweet too


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## gazzi123 (Jul 5, 2010)

Great work - I think attention to detail is everything! Awesome job bud


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