# Polished Bliss: BMW M5...



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Another new contract start for this M5, in for a 3 day correction:










The car itself is kept pretty clean but there was polish residue from the dealers all over the place:














































Hot pre-foam was done with R222:










This was left for 5 mins and then rinsed off at high pressure:










Wheels were cleaned with Gloss-It wheel gel and the various brushes:




























The arches/tyres/shuts etc were cleaned with Meguiars Super Degreaser, as was the engine bay:




























After being rinsed off at medium pressure and 40 degrees:



















The pre-foam and rinse helped remove some of the polish residue but there was still a bit left in the odd place so R222 and a brush were used to remove the rest:










The car was then washed with Shampoo Plus and de-tarred with Autosmart Tardis (including the wheels) before I put the car inside for claying.

Meguiars Aggressive Clay was used for this, with next to nothing coming off the paint:










Once dried off I checked the paint gauges were reading accurately...










...and then took some readings, with everything showing nice original levels:



















I always find this particular BMW colour doesn't always show the full extent of defects in pics due to the flake pop so it was difficult to show the true condition but hopefully these couple of pics give you an idea:



















Swirling and marring was minimal really but every panel had the odd random scratch or scuff which would need more than a 1 step polish to rectify.

Washer jets were popped out so I could machine in tight to them:










After a quick play of polish and pad combinations I settled on Gloss-It Extreme Cut and a Menzerna Polishing Pad with a drop of EVP Prime:










Being aware of how big the car was and still not 100% sure if I was going to bother doing a write up on this car I didn't take a great deal of pics during the detail from here but I got a couple of before and afters just in case 

Before:










After:



















The boot lid had a pretty deep scratch from where a bird crap had been wiped away:










Normal foam polishing didn't make a great improvement so I used a Gloss-It wool pad and backing plate:










After foam polishing:










After 2 hits with the wool pad (no refining of the finish yet):










Just a small trace still visible under the Sun Gun:










The spoiler was corrected with a Menzerna 80mm Polishing Pad:










Lower section of the doors:










The B-Pillars were also corrected with the 80mm Menz Pad as they had started to weather quite badly:










2 minutes with some 3M Ultrafina and they were as good as new:



















Side skirt after:










Thought I'd be aswell correct the number plate recess even though you don't see it with the plate on 










Top of rear bumper before:










Gloss-It Fast Cut Pad was used for this:










After (bit out of focus):



















I swapped to a Gloss-It Light Cut Pad for the areas that needed a bit more "give" so the pad would adapt to the curves better, with some areas needing a drop of FCP to add an extra bit of bite:



















Once the correction work was completed I then refined the finish with Gloss-It Evolution Polish on a Blue Gloss-It Finishing Pad.

I then dusted the paint down:










The car was then given a complete wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection. This is a worthwhile step when using the EVP Prime as you get a "drop back" effect after a while from the oils, similar to the effect you get from 3M Fast Cut Plus:










This is purely just oils and nothing filler related but a TI/IPA wipe down just helps to ensure the paint is squeaky clean for the LSP 

LSP was this:










Again, no pics from this point (It's been too hot to bother with loads of pics ) but this is the rest of the process:

- Werkstat Glass Sealant applied to exterior glass.
- Eiman Fabrik Clear Vision on interior glass.
- Full interior detail including RaceGlaze leather twins.

- Gloss-It Signature Tyre Gloss on Tyres (3 coats)
- Blackfire Metal Sealant on the wheels.
- Brilliant Metal Polish on tailpipes.
- Aerospace 303 Protectant on engine bay.

- Final wipe down with Werkstat Carnauba Glos.

Think that's about it, this is the final result after approx 34 hours of work 



































































































































































Thanks for looking 

Clark


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## banditbarron (Sep 1, 2007)

Excellent work Clark


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## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

SEX.

Love the attention to detail guys.

Brilliant.


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Wow that looks absolutely lovely, like that wool pad too


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

great work and some excellent photos:thumb:


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## Judas (Jul 3, 2008)

I think that if that car was mine and you did that to it........I would wet myself, I wouldn't be able to contain it......lol

I would be so chuffed - top notch work - well done m8.


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

nice.


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

Much as I hate correcting Carbon Black, the end results are always worth it.

Top work as always, new pads look interesting, any idea on release time Clark?


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## murf52 (Apr 23, 2006)

Outstanding work there Clarke:thumb: that a superb car


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

lovely photos that wool pad looks good.


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## baseballlover1 (Sep 25, 2007)

clark, as always im very impressed.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> Much as I hate correcting Carbon Black, the end results are always worth it.
> 
> Top work as always, new pads look interesting, any idea on release time Clark?


The Gloss-It order is on its way so hopefully in the next 2 weeks or so mate, Ive been playing about with all the pads for a while now and love them, between those and the Menz pads my 3M ones are gonna be pretty much redundant me thinks 

I'm the same opinion as you when it comes to CB, needs a fair bit of effort at times but its a fantastic colour!


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## Allblackdup (Oct 17, 2006)

Really excellent stuff as usual. 

The array of cars you guys work on is awesome!


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Stunning work as always!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Nice results as always 

The little Gloss It wool pad looks very interesting, I do enjoy using wool, great for deeper marks


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Stunning. Looks absolutely fantastic, one of my favourite cars too :thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Super Smashin' Great!!

Some quality work Clark.....

As always, it was a pleasure to read.

:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

KKM said:


> Super Smashin' Great!!
> 
> Some quality work Clark.....
> 
> ...


Cheers dude!

That "strachans inbox" e-mail cracked me up the other day, class :thumb:


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## Ultimate Shine (Jun 3, 2008)

I like it. Must have been hard as that paint is solid:buffer:

How good do you find that RaceGlaze field spray?


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## PaulB (Mar 26, 2009)

amazing. Love reading your threads. I hope i become half as good as that in the future. Always very helpful write ups


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## Vyker (Sep 17, 2008)

Just brilliant!

Great work


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## clcollins (Jul 30, 2007)

Not a fan of BMW's but have to admit to a secret love for the M5, very nice colour, great work as always, looks better than a new car :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Amazing work Clark :thumb:, how did you do it though, It's 'changed' colour :lol: looks black in most of the pics.....


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

carbon black, is it black is it blue :lol: Superb work as always, some fantastic reflection shots.


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## Cyber_thug (Aug 26, 2008)

Top job there, Clark. Awesome looking m5. Amazing pics.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Another gorgeous detail mate. That is a beast of a car!


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## pete330 (Apr 18, 2006)

Broom Broom

Love it


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## dizzydiesel (Aug 12, 2008)

That's a great looking car (now) and I really like the repair work done with the wool pad.


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## dizzydiesel (Aug 12, 2008)

That's a great looking car (now) and I really like the repair work done with the wool pad.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Lovely work as always mate, as already mentioned Carbon black is well worth the effort as the results speak for themself.
Coincidentally was talking with Bryan about some wool pads similar to the Gloss-it ones and where to get, solved my problems now.:thumb:


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

Superb work as usual Clark :thumb:



Clark said:


> Again, no pics from this point (It's been too hot to bother with loads of pics )


Not often you get to say it's too hot up there  :lol:


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

huge cars and huge amounts of work. great detail


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## Bluetacker (Feb 6, 2009)

That's fantastic! Thanks for sharing it! :buffer: :thumb:


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## PK001 (May 8, 2008)

Fantastic detail, great results & great photo's :thumb:


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## Tacklebury (Feb 27, 2008)

Roll on 2010.......... 

Stunning car, stunning job, can't wait to get one...


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Nice work as always Clark, really good correction,


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## uberbmw (Jan 31, 2006)

Cracking work as usual!


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## evolutionwc3 (Mar 17, 2008)

Great work as usual!


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## Doc (Feb 2, 2008)

Fantastic work, the residue looks like my car 

What is R222?


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Simply fantastic results as always, mate :thumb: And those reflection shots outside are awesome :argie:


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

:argie: im in love what a stunner


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## lego_man (Mar 29, 2007)

Stunning!!:thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Doc said:


> Fantastic work, the residue looks like my car
> 
> What is R222?


R222 Total Auto Wash - http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/r222-total-auto-wash-wash.html - :thumb:


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Stunning work Clark


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking write-up as always Clark


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

bloody lovely mate, some great work and some nice angle piccies.


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## Sveneng (Apr 20, 2008)

Stunning work. That looks absolutely fantastic, a real quality finish.


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## jonnyw59 (Jan 31, 2009)

as always clark awsome work, and what a car!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## chris141 (Jun 5, 2008)

top job as always Clark:thumb:


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## Select Detailing (Feb 19, 2009)

Reading the Post that Clark and Matt post on the cars they Detail.

These Guys really set the benchmark for the Detailing Industry and the quality is amazing, I can only dream of ever becoming like these guys. 

Its nice to see them pushing forward with new products that help others in the game.

Pleasure to read another one of Clarks posts.

Great M Car Great Job:thumb:


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## RobA3 (Jun 14, 2007)

Simply stunning


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

your work never fails to amaze me clark,

your workspace is always immaculate aswell!


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Top work as ever.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Select Detailing said:


> Reading the Post that Clark and Matt post on the cars they Detail.
> 
> These Guys really set the benchmark for the Detailing Industry and the quality is amazing, I can only dream of ever becoming like these guys.
> 
> ...


Very nice of you to think that mate, thanks for the kind words


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Fantastic detail, write-up and photos too!:thumb:


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Just been browsing and found this thread - Top work clark - Love your work mate :thumb:


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## sicko (Jun 20, 2009)

beautiful car and great reflections too


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## andyd73 (Jun 17, 2009)

Brilliant


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Mega..... again (and again!)

Great work Clark :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks again guys


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## Gloss-it (Nov 14, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> Nice results as always
> 
> The little Gloss It wool pad looks very interesting, I do enjoy using wool, great for deeper marks


Fantastic correction Clark!:thumb:

The lambs wool pas is excellent for quickly removing deep rids/ deeper marks. Leaves very little holograms and micro marring when used with a zenith approach and the gloss-it QD can produce a foam polishing finish ready for final jeweling. This wool is 100% percent real lambs wool.

Gloss-it has just released a new grey synthetic heavy cut wool that cuts 30 to 40 percent faster but leaves the same type of finish of the lambs wool.


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## Fastmonkey (Aug 4, 2006)

I know they are a buggar to keep clean but that just makes me soooo want a black car........ M3 CSL in Black Please.


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## gomzi (Oct 2, 2008)

Hi, Gr8 work mate. I do detailing work in India. Here problem is availability of products and pads, I usually get it from USA. I learnt a lot from this forum. Thanks to all. 

Cheeers


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Fastmonkey said:


> I know they are a buggar to keep clean but that just makes me soooo want a black car........ M3 CSL in Black Please.


You should want a decent pair of glasses soooo bad too as the car is blue, not black :lol:


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho
WOW What a motor, and what an awesome job you`ve done there :thumb:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

clark love your right ups another stunning write up 

tom


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## bbigman2000 (Aug 28, 2006)

Clark, 

Correct me if I am wrong here but I believe that car is IDENTICAL to mine !! and it is SAPPHIRE black ? They did release CB in 2008 but the paint and fleck look exact same as mine.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Great work guys. I'm a lover of woll pads so will be interested in what you have to offer. Keep me posted????


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## Nettles (Aug 12, 2008)

Great work, and gorgeous car!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

bbigman2000 said:


> Clark,
> 
> Correct me if I am wrong here but I believe that car is IDENTICAL to mine !! and it is SAPPHIRE black ? They did release CB in 2008 but the paint and fleck look exact same as mine.


The owner told me it was CB and I was pretty sure that's what it was as I've done a few CB before, isnt SB pretty much just black with a bit of flake? The CB definitely looks blue in some lights? I'm not 100% clued up on the BMW colours as you may have guessed


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

Carbon Black is unmistakeable under 'lights' as it shows up the blues and can shimmer from black to purple and blue depending on light types whereas you are correct that sapphire black is indeed just black with silver flake although depending on the mix variant can have a very small amount of blue added, although still very nice.

416 = Carbon Black
475 = Sapphire Black


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

yeah, as I thought, so I was right and Glen - you sir are wrong  :lol:

Thanks mate


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## bbigman2000 (Aug 28, 2006)

LMAO !!

I know, I had a carbon black E46 M3 lad's and it was defo more blue under the light than that one seems, however my M5 is sapphire black and it is also slightly blue under the light its a strange one, very little difference between them.

But I am happy to concede that its CB LOL


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## Gloss-it (Nov 14, 2008)

Great work Clark!:thumb: When you get a chance post on the GI board.


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## N8KOW (Aug 24, 2007)

Is your dad god clark? LOL - outstanding work man!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

N8KOW said:


> Is your dad god clark? LOL - outstanding work man!


Eh?


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## MRC (May 7, 2009)

Awesome detail on an awesome car.:thumb:


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2009)

Thats a great job there, on a beautiful car. Your attention to detail is stunning. 

I bet the owner was chuffed to bits when they saw how good the car was after you worked your magic on it :thumb:


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## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

:argie:blooming brilliant:argie:
That has got to be the ultimate daily drive


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