# BMW 520d MSport - Brush Wash Hell to Deep Gloss Heaven (Defined Details)



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

If ever you wanted a reason not to wash your car with a brush (if you ever needed one?!), here it is...



















This was a detail where I could just post the pics and let them do the talking  ... but I think it deserves some words to guide folks through the process and give an impression of what was involved in turning this car around :thumb:

This car was booked in for a full exterior paint correction detail to sort out this damage and remove the swirls and scratches from across the car. It was not going to be an easy task, and certainly not a car that could be completed in the course of a normal working day even with two of us working - this car required a 20 hour shift from both Gordon and I to get it to the standard we were happy with, but we reckon the effort was well worth it 

The car, after undergoing our traditional wash process, was clayed and readied for machine polishing. We will start this writeup on the bonnet...










Under the Sun Gun, the bonnet didn't actually look too bad...














































apart from this region which seemed to have had a repair at some point, with machine hologramming...



















The Sun Gun should not be the only light source used though... the strip lights in the unit are also very useful for showing up some of the deeper isolated marks...










and the RDS in the finish which are typically hidden by the glare of a bright light source...



















First of all, the isolated deep marks were dealth with using a 3M 75mm Green compounding pad and 3M Fast Cut Plus for spot correction. A typical deep mark on the bonnet, that caught the finger nail so complete removal would be unlikely... (with thanks to my finger model, Gordon! :lol::lol



















Fast Cut was applied by rotary as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm
Work at 2000rpm with increasing pressure until either defect fremoved or residue of polish goes clear

After one hit... still there!










Repeat hits on the isolated spot, monitoring paint removal rates as we go, allowed for controlled removal of the scratch until it was at a level we were happy with or until we had reached a safe limit of paint removal.

Going...










Going...










Gone...



















Only the slightest evidence of the mark left, and around 12 -15um of paint removed for this - the level of correction was better than we expected for a mark originally catching the nail 

The rest of the bonnet required 3M Fast Cut Plus with the 125mm 3M Green Compounding pad applied as above - one set sufficed for most regions, a double set required occasionally. Working Fast Cut through leaves only minor hologramming (even after a panel wipe wipe down on the cooled panel), so we went from this to our refinement stage which was carried out with either Menzerna PO106FA Super Finish on a Chemical Guys Hexlogic Black Finishing pad, or Menzerna PO203S Power Finish on a 3M Yellow Polishing pad (the latter was refined again with PO85RD Final Finish to show no improvement in clarity on this paint, so Power Finish was accepted as a finishing polish for this car  ).

Super Finish was applied as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm to build a little heat in the panel and get the wax lubricant evenly spread
Work at 1500rpm, starting with moderate pressure and getting lighter, until the residue turns clear
Refine at 1200rpm for a couple of light pressure passes
Jewel at 900rpm, light pressure (supporting the weight of the rotary), for two or three further slow passes

Power Finish was applied as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm to build a little heat in the panel
Work at 1500 - 1800rpm uintil the residue goes clear, light to moderate pressure with light pressure as the residue turns clear
Refine at 1200rpm for a couple of passes
Jewel at 900rpm

The results of correction and refinement on the bonnet showing an enhancement to the gloss and depth of the finish:










RDS removed (checked using the strip lights rather than the Sun Gun, as the glare from the Sun Gun can mask these deeper marks...)










and the finish assessed under the Sun Gun...




































































































Moving onto the passenger side wing, most of this looked a bit like the bonnet - RDS and a few swirls...





































but drop below the indicator, and it was a case of WTF?! :doublesho



















After correction with Fast Cut, and refinement with 203S...














































Moving on to the passenger side of the car before...



















Some sort of repair on this door...




























and the deep marks on the bottom half of the door...




























Rear door...














































Rear 3/4, showing evidence of machine polishing repair work previously...























































Fast Cut was required across the board for correction, refined with either Super Finish or Power Finish.

Work in progress 50/50 shot on the front door...





































After shots from the passenger side...





















































































































































































Moving on to the driver's side, before shots:





















































































































































































The correction process of the deep brush marks... After one hit with Fast Cut plus, we see a big improvement in the finish:










after a second hit we see the finish is nearly fully corrected:










after the third hit, all deep marks removed, just hologramming from the compound remains, which are dealt with by refining with 106FA Super Finish...










The refined finish on the door (sill not yet machined here...)









































































Other afters from the driver's side...


























































































































































The bootlid was showing RDS in the befores...




























corrected by Fast Cut, refined with 203S...














































Following the machine correction, the car was protected using JetSeal 109 and then Chemical Guys E-Zyme wax. Tyres and trim with Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel. Glass cleaned, wheels sealed and exhaust tip polished.... and for once, we got some good weather and a good finishing time in order to get outdoor after shots of our hard work  Enjoy!!

















































































































































and a couple of sun bursts 



















Thanks for reading :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Looks good :thumb:


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## evosystems (Jun 6, 2007)

Awsome results! Im currently doing the same to my BMW in the garage right now!


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Superb work guys, yet again, and the E-zyme protected paintwork now looks stunning! 

Alan W


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## Culainn (Sep 2, 2009)

Really great work as always. Stunning finish. :thumb:


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## Rick74 (May 31, 2009)

Top class work once again,well done lads.


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## ross-1888 (Feb 22, 2009)

yeah  looks lovely. my e-zyme though. gordon didnt have his by then 
lol


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Great work Dave :thumb:


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## 03OKH (May 2, 2009)

Excellent write up.

Thanks for sharing.

Tony


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## Deeg (Mar 30, 2009)

great job guys as always!


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## -Ally- (Mar 6, 2009)

Great work again. Those wheels are real nice on the 5. 

When's Craig's Focus write up coming Dave ?


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## PIT (Apr 22, 2010)

Some good work there mate.


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## FlawlessShine (Mar 30, 2010)

Good Workmanship:thumb:


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## deano_uk (Apr 29, 2007)

I think you probably doubled the value of that car with that correction.


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## b3n76 (May 16, 2009)

great transformation guys.
How long did it take?:wave:


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

MAXI-MILAN said:


> Great work Dave :thumb:


Don't forget Gordon as well! 

Alan W


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

-Ally- said:


> Great work again. Those wheels are real nice on the 5.
> 
> When's Craig's Focus write up coming Dave ?


Cheers 

Writeup probably when I get back from a much needed holiday :thumb:


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

nice job Dave, good to see I'm not the only one who gets all the big cars!


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## Guest (May 30, 2010)

Great work as usual guys, looks shocking on the lowers.....

Obviously tried scrubbing the tar deposits off with a brush or brillo by the looks of that.....

Paul


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Exceptional work there guys , don't think I've ever seen marks like that before with some being more vertical and then the normal swirls and RDS's mixed in for good measure.

I bet the owner thought you bought him a new car :lol:


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## M3-QTR (Feb 28, 2009)

Dave and Gordon, good job !! 

Dave, how do you like the E-Zyme wax ?


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## bigbenstrikes (Sep 9, 2009)

Holy mother!!!! Whoever inflicted that much damage to that car clearly has far more money than sense!!! Great turn around!!!


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Good job guys


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb work that required a lot of skill and effort. Thanks for posting. :thumb:
It has inspired to go out and sort out my wife's Golf following it's brush with a hedge


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

You need some 2000 grit on that thumbnail Gordon. lol

Cracking correction guys. Carbon black?:thumb:


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## Alfa GTV (Apr 18, 2007)

Carbon black ftw :thumb: Great turnaround


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

great job guys.. a mess to begin with the scratch removal was amazing...


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## justina3 (Jan 11, 2008)

cracking job cracking write up great help to those of us learning, 
one question what made you chose 3ms product over the megs 105 route thought that was your prefered cutting compound of choice.


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## JasonPD (Jan 8, 2010)

Great correction guys and a nice write up :thumb:


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## jashton (May 15, 2010)

Amazing turn around! :thumb:

What do you use to remove the polish splatter from the windows? 

-Jeff


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Cheers guys for the kind words 



M3-QTR said:


> Dave and Gordon, good job !!
> 
> Dave, how do you like the E-Zyme wax ?


I love the smell, and we are finding it to be very durable just now - certainly up here in rainy Scotland... have got a layer on my car to trial over a high mileage journey to see how durable it is there too.



spitfire said:


> You need some 2000 grit on that thumbnail Gordon. lol
> 
> Cracking correction guys. Carbon black?:thumb:


Yup indeed - Carbon Black 



justina3 said:


> cracking job cracking write up great help to those of us learning,
> one question what made you chose 3ms product over the megs 105 route thought that was your prefered cutting compound of choice.


Depends on the car  Some paints respond better to Fast Cut with its sharper abrasives in the initial cut. Fast Cut is one of these compounds I rate very highly and do enjoy using :thumb:



jashton said:


> Amazing turn around! :thumb:
> 
> What do you use to remove the polish splatter from the windows?
> 
> -Jeff


Glass cleaner - Autosmart's glass cleaner in this case


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

Dave,

Looks great - quick question - how do you know the areas where you suspect there was some repair, was a repair rather than someone just having a go with a machine polisher in the past? i.e. someone just took a machine to it and did a bad job leaving the holograms? or is there something that points it to being a repair?

Thanks,
Clive.


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Super work what a mess that was


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## orienteer (Aug 17, 2009)

Brilliant job Dave KG :thumb::thumb:

Have you trialled the difference in micron removal of 3M compounding compared to a LC/Megs wool pad?

Also, do you find the clear removal of Megs 105 comparable to 3M FCP? 

regards, Ian


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

CliveP said:


> Dave,
> 
> Looks great - quick question - how do you know the areas where you suspect there was some repair, was a repair rather than someone just having a go with a machine polisher in the past? i.e. someone just took a machine to it and did a bad job leaving the holograms? or is there something that points it to being a repair?
> 
> ...


Part of the "repair" would just have been a hit with a maching polisher to remove a scratch - we have seen this a few times, random holograms on a car to show that a section has been machined which was typical of a quick hit to remove a light scratch.

However, in other cases, suspiciously thick readings in regions like this highlight some sort of smart repair or similar, indeed very thick readings can also indicate the presence of filler which can also highlight a repair has been carried out.



orienteer said:


> Brilliant job Dave KG :thumb::thumb:
> 
> Have you trialled the difference in micron removal of 3M compounding compared to a LC/Megs wool pad?
> 
> ...


Of the two Megs wool pads, the yellow Solo removes only slightly more paint than an equivalent set with foam in my experience, the difference being a cooler running panel. The red heavy cut wool removes paint easily twice as fast for me as foam does, which is good for large area correction but not so good for when I am looking for controlled paint depth removal over a smaller area.

Meguiars 105 on some paints will remove a little more than FCP, on others less - the paint type does seem to play a part in this, as above, which helps decide which compound to use. The abrasive types are quite different between the two compounds.


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Alan W said:


> Don't forget Gordon as well!
> 
> Alan W


And Gordon great work man  great teamwork :thumb:


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## Yun_says (Apr 8, 2010)

awesome job guys looks like new


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

stunning work as always mate


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Lets just hope david g keeps it that way lol


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

Did he use a yard brush to clean his wag ? lol excellent work lads


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## david g (Dec 14, 2005)

The results speak for themselves 
The guys have done a great job indeed and the pictures certainly look great but its even better in the flesh 
This car looked like new when picked up from the dealer and after one wash thats how bad it looked ,the dealers certainly love using products to hide deffects


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## craig todd (May 17, 2009)

top work as always, car looks stunning.


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## Will-S (Jun 5, 2007)

Excellent work from Defined Details :thumb:


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## vibra (Apr 15, 2007)

A lot of work, the best.


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## Dougster (Jun 12, 2007)

Lovely job Dave.

Here's the 10 year old Carbon Black M5 I mentioned..........










Better pics when I get the time but this was used as a track car and washed with a breeze block!!


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## YND (Jun 4, 2010)

What were they cleaning the bmw with? Wire brush :wall:


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