# BMW X6 50i wrapped in matte black



## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Hi boys and girls!

This is the newest family member of a very good customer of mine. I got my hands on it before any of the monkeys at BMW could make a mess of it and as soon as I was done with the new car prep it went straight into the elevator and upstairs so we could get it wrapped in matte black. It's got roughly around 435 HP (he's already had some tuning done to it ) and for the most part the "optical" tuning is finished. He plans on beefing it up even more, but not too much because it's the family "heathen hauler"... yes, his wife's car, who happens to be a very good driver... and hotter than a Pop Tart fresh out of the toaster. Anyway, on to the show >>

Upon arrival it had tons of water spots and had obviously been driven quite a bit judging by the amount of brake dust on the car and the exhaust tips.





































Wolf's Brake Duster wheel cleaner going to work on the "crappy" winter rims that were quickly replaced.










Foamed with Wolf's "active" snow foam 1:10 (still under development )... nice and thick .










Some sap on the roof that had to be removed before wrapping.










These are my "wrappers" . Krisztián és Csaba (Chaba)... they've been friends since birth, but the way Krisz was looking at him in this picture was a little strange  Unfortunately I could only stay for a few hours to help, because I had other pressing matters to attend to... a 599 GTB that had been left in the desert for more than a year.... Coming soon .










Some of the parts that had to be removed for the wrap.










Csaba looking a bit overexcited in this pic 










New rims on now.



















It rained a bit and had accumulated a bit of road grime which was a perfect test rat for my new snow foam.



















Wolf's Brake Duster wheel cleaner doing it's thang... the first part of a wheel detox system I've developed.



















The wheels were only sprayed off with a pressure washer at this point, but the wheel cleaner alone with no agitation did a fantastic job of cleaning them. No marring on the polished aluminum lips either 










This is after rinsing the snow foam and again zero agitation at this point. My new snow foam is not pH neutral and it has "active" cleaners inside to help break down road grime during the pre-wash stage. No it won't hurt your LSP either .










The second stage of my wheel detox: Wolf's Nano rim cleaner. Cleans up anything that the first wheel cleaner left behind (which would be zero if there were agitation, but this is sort of like the "pre-wash" stage for rims), and leaves the first coat of nano protection behind, which acts like a foundation for the second coat, Wolf's nano Rim Shield which will be applied by hand.










Beading after wheels were cleaned










All finished... A second coat of Wolf's nano wheel sealant was applied to the rims and Wolf's nano paint sealant was applied to the entire body of the car (to the wrapping). For those of you curious, no there was no change whatsoever in the matte finish after applying the sealant. In my experience (I have a truck wrapped in matte black so yes I've done extensive research on it), waxes and sealants will not affect the appearance of a WRAPPED vehicle. I personally have 4 coats of nano sealant on my truck and I have also used Swissvax Concorso and Zymöl Vintage on my truck and there has been NO change in the finish. PAINTED matte finishes are a different story... I can't recommend any wax for them, not even Swissvax's Opaque, because it still has 40% carnauba in it like the rest... though on some matte finishes it may be OK, but not for all.



















Truck Norris in the background 














































Thanks for reading and to all the Playboy subscribers, thanks for "reading"!

- Jesse O'Connor


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## HC1001 (May 27, 2007)

:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho

Stunning Jesse.


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## A210 AMG (Nov 8, 2008)

Sorry I just don't understand the mat look


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## flyfs6 (Nov 13, 2006)

Great work as usual. I saw a similar wrap on a X5 which looked nice but wasn't me. The car you've finished looks great.


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## aod (Apr 7, 2009)

Wow that's a good job on the wrap, however...


A210 AMG said:


> Sorry I just don't understand the mat look


...personally i don't think it suits the look of the X6 - I'm sure the owner thinks otherwise. 

Here's one that's near me at a garage, it's quite a beast:


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## AlexTsinos (Oct 10, 2010)

Very nice cars mate,Superb photos!


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

very nice work mate


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## marq.fcb (Jul 5, 2009)

nice work 

how much cost that job with foil ?


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## Has390 (May 21, 2010)

what car! nice job


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## Herefordquattro (May 31, 2010)

i think i like the stealth bomber matt look but there are really too many curves picking up the sun to waste. Top work anyway


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

thats a stunning bit of kit that Jesse....... :thumb:


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Excellent work Jesse, and the matte wrap came up a treat :thumb:
This X6 really looks stealth and mean now !

Regards Mario


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## Needs a clean (May 24, 2008)

Sorry mate, but that has just made an ugly car even uglier. Just my opinion mate.


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## pee (Apr 6, 2009)

That looks mean.....i love it


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

marq.fcb said:


> nice work
> 
> how much cost that job with foil ?


Thanks mate! We did it for about 1,500 Euros!


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## d7ve_b (Jul 1, 2010)

aod said:


> Wow that's a good job on the wrap, however...
> 
> ...personally i don't think it suits the look of the X6 - I'm sure the owner thinks otherwise.
> 
> Here's one that's near me at a garage, it's quite a beast:


This reminds me of an article I saw in Max Power magazine in 1996...


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

looks very nice, agree with the post about the stealth look:thumb:


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Lovely car, not sure about the wheels though.


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## big ben (Aug 25, 2009)

great work as always :thumb:


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## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

I just can't understand the owners of thoese cars. We are doing vinyl wrapung for about 8 years now. To have a car that doesn't look so good wraped it's ok, but to buy a new one and to do that I don't understand. I ppreciate your work because I know very well what it means but thoese owners.... But since on the right amount we can do anything, I guess it's ok.


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## Beemer 330 (Oct 8, 2010)

The matt look is awsome on that Beemer.

I had an E36 that was 100% wrapped in vinyl after winning a competition in a magazine. was impressive stuff and incredible how the company did my car but the draw back is that the vinyl can get tatty but the up side is that it can be replaced so acts as a great paint protector as well as also looking great whilst its on.

Nice work


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## Sharpy (Mar 25, 2007)

Lovely, i think the front end is very mean looking if you know what i mean


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

Awesome finish on the matt X6 but I think they look better gloss. Im actively considering an X6 when the convertible is coming to the end of its plan but, it'll be a sad day when I move the vert on.

Beep, beep :driver:


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Lovely work but care to elaborate on your posting below?

I can't recommend any wax for them, not even Swissvax's Opaque, because it still has 40% carnauba in it like the rest... though on some matte finishes it may be OK, but not for all. 

Which matt finishes may it be ok on and which wont it and why do you feel; that the opaque range is not suited when it has been used extensively on matt black and offered all round protection with zero side effects?


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

aod said:


> Wow that's a good job on the wrap, however...
> 
> ...personally i don't think it suits the look of the X6 - I'm sure the owner thinks otherwise.
> 
> Here's one that's near me at a garage, it's quite a beast:


But this is even more awesome imo.

A white one comes thundering past me on the M6 most mornings. X5 or X6? Hmmmmm, there's a puzzle.

Beep, beep :driver:


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

vxrmarc said:


> Lovely work but care to elaborate on your posting below?
> 
> I can't recommend any wax for them, not even Swissvax's Opaque, because it still has 40% carnauba in it like the rest... though on some matte finishes it may be OK, but not for all.
> 
> Which matt finishes may it be ok on and which wont it and why do you feel; that the opaque range is not suited when it has been used extensively on matt black and offered all round protection with zero side effects?


Thanks Marc! Not all matte finishes are the same. Opaque and other sealants, as I've tested, will be OK on wrapped cars, but there are some matte finishes that are extremely sensitive to waxes and solvents, namely a Lotus Exige Scura (here's one that I did http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=191464)

This paint is very soft and super porous so even Opaque would still probably have a negative effect on that particular paint. Another example would be a "frozen gray" BMW. The matte finish comes from the clear itself and it's actually a "textured" clear, which makes it matte. Sort of like if you spray clear on a panel from a distance and the paint actually dries a bit before it reaches the surface... this would give it a textured feel. Putting a layer of wax on that will affect the way light reflects on the finish, thus altering the matte finish. I've not done one of these cars, but this is just my hypothesis . Although on the BMW you wouldn't have to worry about the solvents changing the color of the paint, as it's got clear on it.


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Nice work Jesse


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Did you not find that by applying a wax to the matte black that it darkens the finish to an almost satin look?
I have a Matte Black wrapped car and also wrap cars myself an with the testing I have done I find that any wax on the film darkens it.


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

*MAGIC* said:


> Did you not find that by applying a wax to the matte black that it darkens the finish to an almost satin look?
> I have a Matte Black wrapped car and also wrap cars myself an with the testing I have done I find that any wax on the film darkens it.


With a normal wax I do notice that it gets a bit darker and also with the nano sealant, but with the nano sealant you can just keep buffing it with a MF for a bit and it goes away. I think once the wax has gassed a bit it will also start to "fade to black" , but it takes a bit longer than the nano sealant.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Thanks for the reply jesse.
Robbie in my experience opqaue waxing the matt black changes the apparent hue whilst its not cured but once its cured there is hardly any visible difference and definetly still a matt finish not satin although lighting in photographs are misleading showing a light throwing finish not saturating it.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Reply as in earlier not one above. For some reason i have no edit button in here :s


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

vxrmarc said:


> Thanks for the reply jesse.
> Robbie in my experience opqaue waxing the matt black changes the apparent hue whilst its not cured but once its cured there is hardly any visible difference and definetly still a matt finish not satin although lighting in photographs are misleading showing a light throwing finish not saturating it.


Very true I have opqaue just got a bit confused with OP talking about all other waxes on matte wraps :thumb:


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

vxrmarc said:


> Thanks for the reply jesse.
> Robbie in my experience opqaue waxing the matt black changes the apparent hue whilst its not cured but once its cured there is hardly any visible difference and definetly still a matt finish not satin although lighting in photographs are misleading showing a light throwing finish not saturating it.


Yeah that's what happens with my truck, as well. I prefer using a nano sealant, Wolf's WP-0NT to be exact , as the "satiny" look disappears after a little buffing. Though on a _painted_ matte finish I probably wouldn't use the sealant, as the solvent content may alter the finish (dry it out).

The Scura I take care of has had a little damage on it already and needs to be repainted. When we have that done I'm going to order some extra paint and we're going to have a scrap panel sprayed to test different products on. Will post :thumb:


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Can't say I get the whole matte look, and the X6 is one ugly mother IMO, but good job none the less


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Cracking work albeit on a pig ugly car !


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